Prayer for Others - Kingdom style!

This morning while I was praying for a friend, I was beginning to list the reasons why my friend deserves Divine Intervention when the Holy Spirit stopped me.

He showed me this: by our standards, if we were to list them all, no one would deserve His Favor. But, by His standards, everyone does.

Have you ever prayed for someone and began to list things like "he/she loves You, he/she is a good moral person, he/she gives to the poor", etc? We think that our good deeds, or intentions move God.

How does God decide who deserves His favor? According to John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

According to this passage, and others, we merely have to exist for Him to demonstrate His love toward us, and bring the fullness of all that the word "salvation" means!

Check out this verse: Rom 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

There is no pre-qualification for God to act on our behalf! So why do we think that there would be for Him to show His favor toward others?

My conclusion: let us pray one for another, not based on whether or not they deserve anything, because by our standards "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God!" But let us pray for others from His viewpoint, if they exist, they have purpose, and that purpose is found in Him. They deserve God's best - just because!

So I changed my prayer for my friend, I am declaring that the Kingdom of God come to him, "on earth as it is in Heaven!"

Raise The Bar!

Here is a re post of an article I wrote last year, August 19, 2009 - Enjoy!

Sunday morning at church, I was overcome by the response of many to my greeting “How are you doing?”. The response overwhelmingly was “Hanging in there!” So many people, mostly male, are “just hanging in there!”

One young man in the bathroom, bless his heart, recieved a discourse from me. I turned and said “Hanging in there? You were designed for more! Grab that rope and start climbing!”

So for the last few days I have been thinking about this post. Actually, it began about a week ago while in the prayer tower before church. A small group of people meet about 9:00 to pray for the activities of the day, and this particular Sunday I heard the familiar voice of the Holy Spirit saying “Its time to take it up a notch!”

Here’s a verse that I quote from often, it is the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. These are His words:

Matt 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

This was His message, He spoke this everywhere He went! So let me dissect this for you one more time. The word “Repent” is a greek word, μετανοέω metanoeō. Here is what it means, taken from Strong’s Lexicon:

1) to change one’s mind, i.e. to repent

2) to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

So lets put this together. he was saying, literally, “Change your mind! Change it for the better! The Kingdom of God is here!”

He would tell the people this, then prove it with signs and actions, healing and deliverance.

So this is my thought for you today, especially if you are “Just Hanging in there!” Raise your bar, climb the rope, change your mind, because there is something better! God has designed you for so much better!

John 1:12-13: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Whether or not you know it, if you have received Him, you are a child of God! Don’t let your circumstance define you, you are not a loser! You are a winner!

If everyone around you is living in depression, you be the one to bring them out! Realize who you are! And spread the word! His word! Change your mind! His Kingdom is here!

You don’t know what His Kingdom is? Worried about what you will eat, drink, wear, drive, live, etc? Check out His Kingdom, seek it with all your heart! Everything you need will come to you! Re-read Matthew 6, but this time, BELIEVE what you read!

Raise the bar, climb the rope! You’re destiny, purpose and potential is for more, lots more!