Enter 2016
With a Prayerful Heart
Are you setting resolutions for the year during this first month of 2016? Are they focused around weight management, better financial stewardship, and other life issues that you plan to do better with in this New Year? Do you have a plan for your spiritual life? Are there some changes you hope to make this year to go deeper with the Lord? Many choose to pray and fast at the beginning of the year. Hearing from God during such a time is critical to be able to follow His direction throughout the year.
Make the Commitment
One of the most important things that you as a Christian can do is to develop a strong prayer life. It is important not to become legalistic about prayer. Committing time and establishing a structure is certainly the way to begin a rich prayer life. However, diligence must be used to ensure that the time will not be reduced to simply mechanical repetition. Do not make a religion out of what God wants to use as a tool to deepen your relationship with Him.
Let your our prayer life become a fine woven tapestry, rich with the color of diverse experiences held in prayer. It is further enhanced in the pattern of a fabric handcrafted with each life encounter and opulent with a distinctive texture that can only be defined by the Master Weaver. Without His touch, the fabric of your prayer life is listless and flat like the Pharisees who “for a pretense make long prayers.” (Jesus, Matthew 23:14) Let your prayers deepen your relationship with Him. Be honest, be real and most of all, be open to hear His voice to you.
It is All or Nothing
After His resurrection, Jesus gives the Great Commission to His disciples and all who would come after them in His name. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of this age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
In these two power-packed sentences, Jesus uses the term ‘all’ three times. Nothing is missing: all authority, all nations, and all things. Are you walking in the ‘all’ or are you diluted in your daily footsteps? Without consistent, focused, dedicated prayer you cannot walk in the ‘all.’ Do not look too far ahead. The work is now. He is present to you in the present. Be present to Him.
Prayer-Do Not Leave Home Without It!
In Ephesians 6:10-17 you can read about the whole armor of God. Make putting on the armor the first thing you do each day. The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, feet shod with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, which is the world of God, comprise your protective gear. If you are a follower of Christ you are part of the spiritual warfare between His Kingdom and the kingdom of darkness. To enter each day without your armor would be foolish to say the least. What follows in verse 18 is the seventh part of the armor-prayer. “Praying always” is a most important part of protective covering for Christians. Sadly, this is most often overlooked. Prayer is critical.
“If My People…”
The times we are in throughout the world and in the United States of America call for Christians to arise now in prayer. If your prayer life has been lukewarm or barely existent, change that today. The time to ‘play church’ has ended. It does not matter where you sit on Sunday. What matters is that you are sitting at the feet of Jesus each day. God is raising up a remnant in this season to intercede for His people. This is the year of intercessory restoration. What has been lost, stolen or impeded will be restored. But, this requires committed, strategic prayer. Start today and allow God to work mightily in your life and in our world and in our country ‘for such a time as this!’
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” ~2Chronicles 7:14
It Is Never Too Late!
If you have not yet made the decision to accept Jesus into your heart, do it now. Do not wait another minute. Speak to Him from your heart (for it is always a heart issue). Tell Him you have fallen short in your life. Sincerely apologize for your sins. Ask Him to cleanse you and come into your heart and be Lord over your life. From this moment forward let His Spirit guide you along the narrow road that leads to everlasting life. Let Him be your Christmas miracle!
Quotes To Ponder This Week
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” ~Romans 12:2
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” ~2Corinthians 5:17
“…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” ~Ephesians 6:18
“Behold, I make all things new.” ~ Revelation 21:5
“Why does our nation, whose motto is “In God We Trust,” seem to be unraveling under God’s watch?…Maybe just maybe it’s because we view prayer as a meaningless platitude. Maybe just maybe it’s because our knowledge of the God in whom we say we trust and to whom we address our prayers has been skewed discounted by evolutionists, distorted by humanists, discarded by secularists, disavowed by atheists, defied by the politically correct, and even discredited by the religious….Maybe just maybe it’s because the one true living God is waiting for us to sincerely, humbly, earnestly, and intentionally ask Him to fix this.” ~Anne Graham Lotz, December 30, 2015, Washingtontimes.com
“…only the Christian church has the “military hardware” to intervene in the spiritual realm in the heavenlies…the one who wins in the heavenlies ultimately determines the course of history. So, the most significant action you can take for the sake of history is to be an intercessor. By so doing, you will pray through spiritual issues in the heavenlies that will determine the history of nations on earth.” ~Derek Prince, Pulling Down Strongholds, 2013
“Prayer is the light of the soul. When it glows within we may ignore the darkness without.” ~Ilion T. Jones, Strength for Service to God and Country, 1942
Please Join Me in Prayer
Father God, We thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to set us free. Thank You for the newness of this year. As we stand on the threshold let us take hold of Your Commission to each of us ‘for such a time as this.’ Let us look forward with anticipation for Your plan for each life this year. Keep us ever present to hear Your voice as You lead and direct our steps. .Lead us by Your light to Your perfect will in each of our lives Great is Your faithfulness, oh God! We thank You that You keep Your hand on America. Forgive our sin and heal our land that we will remain One Nation Under God. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.
A Prayer Request
Please join us in prayer, covering the issues listed in the link below:
https://drmicheleburke.org/esthers-warriors-ministry/
May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. We continue to pray for truth to prevail as we saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk. Fail not in this hour. #Pray for America.