Paving The Way

Paving The Way

I am always amazed when Christians don’t always think prayer is the power that paves the way. Prayer, in fact, is often the last thing people think of when they’re facing the challenges of health, finances and relational problems. Prayer time is often scheduled as the last thing in life when looking for solutions to problems – even by Christian leaders. Have you ever heard someone say “Well let’s pray about it!” and get a response of something like “OH! Has it come to that…?!”

When prayer is low on our agendas we are saying our self-sufficiency is enough.

Our belief systems affect our decisions and our behaviour, which affects our lives. If we don’t believe in prayer, we’ll never exercise authority in the power of the Name of Jesus. We’ll go about our lives without any acknowledgement that God is our Father and He desires to help us. We’ll never behave as people who believe in a living God, who hears and answers our cries, if we do not believe in His Word (Jer 33:3) and pray.

It’s good to trust the Lord and develop your faith. I usually get trained into a new level of faith through adversity. The opposite of faith, humility, and boldness, is fear and unbelief. The level of our humility is shown by the amount of trust and confidence we put in God, acknowledging Him as the source of our authority, instead of ourselves. When we are proud, we say “I did it all by myself”. When we walk in false humility we say “God did it all, I did nothing”. When we walk in true humility we say “I resisted temptations and evil, by the grace of God!”

Heartfelt prayers release Spirit inspired boldness, and are the key to every successful advance in God’s kingdom.

Acts 4:31 tells us “the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” A lot of things have been shaken and dismantled, and it’s not over yet. God’s kingdom is at hand, and everything that can be shaken will be.

The primary focus God wants is for us to confront any challenges on the basis of our authority in Christ. Our dependence upon Him will be clear and our witness that God resolves our problems, rather than us in our own strength, or in the world’s way. God does not want us going to Egypt for our help – He wants us to run to Him.

Sometimes my heart is like a fountain bubbling with prayers for the purposes God has revealed for me, or the ministry. It’s easy to pray with a divine flow of intercession out of which prophetic prayers flow, when I know what to pray and do. Other days it’s hard to feel connected, and on those days I have trained myself to ask for extra GRACE knowing GOD IS WITH US ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and my faith is growing stronger.

Yes, there will be surprises, and unexpected issues that will crop up. Again, I did not say this is an easy path, but God’s way is the best. So this year, keep it simple, love stronger and pray longer – and let your prayer life grow to be the power that paves your future.

Psalm 18:6-24 (The Message Bible) says:
A hostile world! I call to GOD, I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence — a private audience! Earth wobbles and lurches; huge mountains shake like leaves, Quake like aspen leaves because of his rage. His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke; his mouth spits fire. Tongues of fire dart in and out; he lowers the sky. He steps down; under his feet an abyss opens up. He’s riding a winged creature, swift on wind-wings. Now he’s wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness. But his cloud-brightness bursts through, spraying hailstones and fireballs. Then GOD thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout, spraying hailstones and fireballs. God shoots his arrows — pandemonium! He hurls his lightnings — a rout! The secret sources of ocean are exposed, the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered The moment you roar in protest, let loose your hurricane anger.

But me he caught — reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. They hit me when I was down, but GOD stuck by me. He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved — surprised to be loved! GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to GOD’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. GOD rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

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