Adonai Ro'i

 

    Adonai Ro'i is ה' רֹעִי in Hebrew.  It means The Lord, My Shepherd.  Psalms 12 is celebrating God using  Adonai Ro'i.  ה' is Lord.  רֹעִי is ra'ah which means to feed or tend.  That is where shepherd comes in.  When you pray to Adonai Ro'i you are praying in confidence that God is going to take care of you.  You know no matter how scary life may be you do not need to be afraid.

    You pray to God using the name Adonai Ro'i when you feel like you are in your darkest moments.  A good shepherd will leave his entire flock in the care of hands or protector dogs to find his one lost sheep.  When you pray out to Adonai Ro'i you are calling to God in faith that he will find you and rescue you from what is causing the darkness.  

    If you are a Christian, then you learn God's voice.  When you pray out to Adonai Ro'i take the time to listen for Him calling to you.  God doesn't speak auditable, but His voice is unlike anyone else.  If you are listening, then you can hear it in all the chaos.  The closer you get to God the more clear His voice becomes.

    When you walk with God it doesn't matter how dark life gets.  You can trust that He is there.  David is a great example.  He lived a life of extreme ups and downs, but he put all his trust into God.  Adonai Ro'i eased his soul, led him to rest, and comforted him.  He never abandoned David no matter how badly he messed up at times.  You can trust that God is your shepherd and will support, comfort, and be with you when you need it.

Psalm 23

Elohim Part 2

 

    Elohim is the English spelling for the Hebrew word אֱלֹהִים. It is the fundamental name for God.  It appears over 2,000 times in the Hebrew Bible.  It is the first name ever used in the Bible for God.  This name embraces God's majesty, sovereignty, and creative power.  It tells you that God is supreme.

    When you pray using Elohim you are summiting yourself to your creator.  Since the word is actually plural it recognizes the trinity.  It is probably the most accurate word for the trinity.  This may be why Elohim is one of the most used names in the Bible for God.  When you pray to this name you recognize His power, might, divineness, and great supremacy.  

    You pray using Elohim when you are in a state of awe.  It is appropriate when you see His creation and feel joy, overwhelmed, awe, and praiseworthy feelings or attitude.  You can use Elohim when you thank God for making you and being grateful for who you are and how you look.  That is not vanity.  That is appreciation for God's artistic ability and ability to create something so complex yet simple.  It is good to appreciate all that God made including yourself.

Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 5:6-21, Psalm 82, Jeremiah 29:10-14, Habakkuk 3:12-19, Mark 12:29-31, & 1 Corinthians 13:8-10

AB

 

    AB is Hebrew is it אב pronounced as ahv.  It means father, patriarch or the source.  You see the name come about with Moses as he began calling God father.  It also indicates that Moses trust God to be the decision maker.  In Aramaic AB became Abba meaning the father or my father.  As a Christian it is the name you have for God as His adopted child and heir.  

     When you pray to AB you are praying to God in a childlike manner.  You go to Him like you would a good father: trusting, loving, humble, and innocent.  You experience your time with God in awe and enjoy the mysterious beauty of the relationship.  It is the relationship that Jesus was talking about when he said come to God with childlike faith.  

    When it comes to AB simplicity is the key.  Be open, curious, and adventurous.  It helps you love people the way God loves them.  You accept people where they are, but you pray for them to get where they need to be.  You love them even if you don't agree with or approve of some things in their life.  It is this kind of love that may make them open to seeing God like this.  

Matthew 18:1-4, Mark 14:35-36, Romans 8:15-17, & Galatians 4:4-7

Praying Using God's Name

 

    There is power in the name of God.  God did not have a specific name like the pagan gods.  His names were more descriptive in the Old Testament.  Each name was used in prayer for a specific cry out to God.  The original names came from Hebrew.  If you know Hebrew, then you have a certain advantage.  Most of us have to rely on the Bible being translated from Hebrew, to Greek, to English.  Words and how you use them are important.  

    God's does not need your faith for His name to hold power.  You need faith to understand God's power.  When you pray in the name of God you are aligning your will with God's will.  You seek understanding and for Him to meet your needs.  It is an act of faith that signifies the importance of your relationship with God.  

    Praying in the name of God brings God the glory of what He will do in your life.  It is accepting that things will be done His way not your way.  It brings you solace and confidence in your salvation.  He has the power to heal anything and calling out His name acknowledges that fact.  Praying God's name in faith can drive away evil.  He has many names since they were descriptive.  Learn the ones you can, but understand reaching out to Him in faith, love, and devotion is enough.

Psalm 31:1-5, 143:7-12, John 14:12-14, 16:19-24, Romans 10:5-13, & Colossians 3:16-17

Pray Over Feelings

 

    Feelings are strong.  They influence moods, attitudes, and can direct relationships if allowed.  Feelings are meant to be indicators, but not rulers of your life.  The pursuit of happiness only brings discontentment, but the pursuit of contentment gives you a lot of happy moments.  Feelings need to be prayed over, so they hold the proper perspective in your life.

    True contentment and healthy feelings come from a healthy relationship with Jesus.  Loving Jesus and putting that relationship first puts all your other relationships in a healthy perspective and alignment to holiness.  To be content is to be strong emotionally and spiritually.  You don't need support to do what it right.  You are sufficient and independent from circumstances because you rely on God in all things.  Choose loyalty and faith to God over what the world offers you.  

    Pray over your feelings so you can find contentment in all circumstances.  You don't need  more money, time, education, or things.  You need to learn how to use what you have to honor God.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  The closer you get to God the more content in life you will be.  Pray over what is true, honorable, right, pure, good, and loving.  Pray kindness over your life while you praise God for what He has done already.  Pray for strength to apply it to your life to become sacrificial and be humble instead of me focused.

    When you have contentment you can really discover the joy.  You could be going through the worst thing you ever have experienced and still have joy.  Contentment does not come with comfort.  To find true joy you sometimes have to abandon comfort.  Trusting God in this way will make you bold because you don't have anything to loss.  Pray helps you find contentment when your whole world is shifting under your feet.  Change is hard, but prayer helps you accept it better.

    Praying over your feelings also lead to being able to forgive in a way that you can let the past be the past.  You may not forget like God does, but  you don't have to hold onto the pain like a weapon either.  Not everyone you forgive gets free access to you, but God can give you the wisdom to know when to walk away and when to move forward.  The words I forgive you hold great power.  Remember how you felt when you realized God forgave you of yours sins.  Learn how to forgive and you can have really strong relationships.

    You have to be able to love, forgive, and be content in life to be able to approach God on His throne in confidence.  It starts at salvation, but it does not end until you meet Him face to face.  God's Word is our judge in life.  We can see where we stand in there.  Atone now and live free without doubt.  

    When you have control over your feelings you will have true confidence in your relationship with Jesus.  This will give you boldness to change.  You get to understand God's grace the way it was meant to be lived.  Your relationships with people will change.  Some will disappear, but other will get stronger.  Ruling your feelings is a challenge especially if you are hurting, but remember the power of forgiveness.  Stand on the Word of God and you can do anything even if it feels impossible.

Mark 11:22-26, John 17:7-10, Acts 1:12-14, 4:31, 6:2-4, 10:30-33, 13:1-3, Philippians 4:6-20, Hebrew 13:5-6, & James 4:7-10

Confessional Prayer

 

    Confession is hard because you have to admit that you were wrong, at fault, the one responsible, or guilty.  Confession is vital, but God also wants repentance.  You can confess what you did and never feel bad or guilty.  Until you do, you will never repent and change.  God wants you to turn from your sin(s) toward Him and a righteous life.

    Confession in a prayer can lead to a repentant heart that can be used by God to do some wonderful things in the world.  When you confess your sins in prayer you release them to God.  When you do so with a repentant heart you find forgiveness.  God will forget your sin ever existed because He is merciful and He loves you. 

    God's justice is truth.  Sin will be punished, but only the unrepentant heart will suffer eternally.  Jesus showed us this truth in his short life as a human.  He endured and showed us how to love like God.  He was nice to spare feelings.  He was kind by speaking truth.  He never lied.  He called sin sin.  He forgave those who were repentant and held those who were not accountable.  Repentance leads to forgiveness and acceptance from God.

    A confessional prayer with a repentant heart leads to atonement then a life change.  It is powerful.  It is beautiful.  It leads to refreshment in your life.  There is nothing bad or negative about confession with a repentant heart.  The end result may not be what you want in life, but it does set you free.  Confess your sins to God, then those that love you if needed, lastly those that you may have harmed or hurt.  Take responsibility for you own life and the choices that you make.  

Psalm 51, Proverbs 15:7-9, Isaiah 1:10-20, 56:1-8, Acts 3:17-23, & 1 Peter 2:21-25

Impactful Prayer

 

    The most impactful prayer you will ever make is the prayer of faith inviting the Holy Spirit to live in you.  After salvation is when your prayers can really have impact.  You need to know who Jesus is and how he impacts who you are for your prayers to become productive.  When you put your faith in Jesus and choose to walk life with him your prayers are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  

    You have a direct line to God where anything holy, pure, and good are possible.  Prayer becomes a part of your life.  Your sins are forgiven by God's grace.  It is His grace that changes your life driving you toward prayer.  It helps you see life from a different perspective.  It transforms your heart to love what you were not able to love before.  It gives you strength to be bold and impactful in the world around you.  

    Prayer helps you prune your life to transform you to look more like Jesus.  Pruning is important because it shapes the person you are and will be.  You choose to turn away from your sinful nature to embrace being someone you never would be without God.  Your prayers lead you toward humility, facing and repenting your personal sins, grace, forgiveness, and other attributes that you need.  

    Prayer impacts you and those around you because it aligns you with God's will.  You pursue being in His presence.  When you do that you can't help but have it impact and change your life.  Prayer endures and helps you stay close to Jesus and his purpose for you.  Prayer produces fruit that enriches your life and those you pray for.  

John 1:10-13, 15:1-8, Romans 6:20-23, 10:5-15, Galatians 2:17-21, 5:22-23, & Colossians 1:9-10