revking88

My congregation, being very small can still raise the roof in its glory and praise to God. Feeling His presense is awesome. Give all the glory to God, by the way we live and love, by the way preach, our obedience and most certainly by our praise and worship. We need to keep the faith and keep Jesus alive in our hearts, alive in our church, alive in all that we do. Jesus deserves all the glory and honor and praise that we have to give. We must go out into all the world and preach the gospel as Jesus commanded. By reaching out to others you can bring glory to God. To God be the glory in all that you do. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe Happy New Year. Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

It is exciting, full of anticipation of answered prayer. Knowing that God can do so much more than we ask for. We can pray big because He is a big God, wanting us to come to Him with all of our prayers, big or small. It is letting God know that you believe that He will do what He says He will do and even more. Knowing that there are no boundaries to his goodness opens the door to endless possibilities. When we limit God by our own ablilty to comprehend we block all of the goodness that God has for us. We don't allow Him to answer our prayers. We have to be willing to give it up and know that He is God. Know that nothing is greater or mightier than He is. I KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT I KNOW HE IS ABLE. Speak it out all of the time and soon you will believe it. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Yes I have, not as often as I should (I realize that now) but I have in the past. I would be praying that the Lord fill him/her to the brim with all that He is, till their cup runneth over. To be honest with you, I should be praying for that for myself too. Ephesians speaks of being without blemish, blameless and Colossians speaks of presenting everyone perfect in Christ. Christ Himself was without blemish, He was blameless and He was perfect. These are all qualities of being filled with the fullness of God. These are what we ought to be praying for, in hopes of achieving, to be Christ-like. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

I think that Paul wants us to know beyond any doubt that Christ loves us. He wants us to know how much He loves us and how deep that love goes. Our minds find it difficult but if we can grasp Christ's love for us, then we can love others in the same unconditional way. I think it expands our spiritual life. If we can grasp His love for us it opens the door for understanding many other facets of God's character. As we become more like Him, others will see Him in us and want to know Him. No, there is no end to Christ's love for us. His love is infinite. We may feel that He doesn't love us but in reality it is us that has shut Him out. We can walk a thousand miles away but when we turn around, His love is right behind us. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

The Holy Spirit lives in the inner man. Paul prays for us to have strength that we don't falter and so that we grow and become more Christ-like. We should pray the same way that Paul prayed. Kneeling, or in our secret place, praying earnestly, with all of our hearts. I think because that is where Christ is meant to live, inside of our hearts. This is where the center of us is, all of our energy and emotions. Where better for Christ to grow in us than our hearts? It is an established fact but believing is the key. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

It is the same power that Jesus has that is in us. We have to believe it so we can do the will of God. It is faith at its best. You have to believe deep down inside that it is there, that you have "incomparably great power". We have to pray it, believe it and use it, then we can see it. Just as Paul prayed for us to receive this great power, we are to pray for others. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

If God is poverty-stricken what is the point? It is exciting to know that there is something better waiting for us. It is motivating, kind of gives us a push, sometimes a shove, to do His will. To pray more earnestly for others as well as ourlseves to get to know Him better. We can pray for others to see the greatness of God and all that He offers us and all that is waiting for us. REMEMBER JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Recently I found myself as being one with "no hope" and was ready to call it quits. Hopelessness is probably the worst feeling that one could ever have. I was reminded by a dear friend that God still loves me even though I was ready to kill myself and that she and her mother were praying for me to find hope. I suddenly found myself remembering scriptures and cried to God to give me hope in my lost world. He opened my eyes to see that my task is not finished and that my hope lies in Him. He reminded me to believe in the work He is doing in and through me and to not let go of the hope He has given me. I go on everyday, with the faith and hope that God will use me in whatever manner He see's fit so that I may be a good witness for others and help bring hope to them also. I believe that they can lose hope altogether. I also believe that with intercession, someone standing in the gap, they can come to have great hope in all things. I would pour my heart out to God for them. I know how hopelessness feels and I would stand in the gap for as long as it takes to help them get through and find hope in something. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Paul is praying with his whole heart. He prays that God give the people wisdom, revelation, strength, etc. so that they will know God better, on a more personal level. I think that prayer is a powerful tool and many. many, many Christians have come to know God through intercessory prayers but at the same time, through Gods help, the reading of scripture and other tools there are some who have come to know Him also. Yes, God can do a mighty work in them. Look at Paul, the great persecutor of believers. I do not believe that it says in scripture that anyone was praying for him and look what God did. Totally amazing to me. This kind of prayer is extremely important because so many are reached by the power of prayer. There are so many that may have been lost if someone wasn't out there praying for them. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

No, I don't believe that Jesus received special treatment. Jesus had angels appear to give Him strength, many angels appeared to other people both before and after the death and ressurection of Jesus. Yes, God sends us angels, some we see, some we don't. We may need strength, encouragement, love or any of 100 emotions and actions. I think that angels can come in many different forms. Such as a person in the right place at the right time. Recently I think I had an angel on my shoulder when a friend was encouraging me to keep on keeping on. He will NEVER leave us or foresake us. He is always with us and when we are in tune with Him we can see the angels at work in ourselves as well as others. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Yes, I think the Father was happy because Jesus was truly willing to let God's will be done in His life. At the same time I believe that the Father was saddened that it had to come to this. Passive, uncaring, dispassionate prayers mean notheing. It comes back to the "God if you do this for me I'll do this for you." He wants to hear prayers that are real, from the heart. From your own Holy of Holies. A prayer of submission should come from deep within the heart. To let Him have all control in our lives. We need to surrender all things to Him and let Him work though us, to let His light shine so that others may see and want to know what it is that is different from other people. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Not to be a smart aleck but gosh, I'm sure that Jesus didn't want to die in this manner. He was destined to do this but He still asked that if at all possible don't make me do this. Jesus was in agony at the thought of what was to come. He was praying for the strength. I think that each time Jesus prayed it gave Him the strength and resolve that He was going to need and that is why when the soldiers came for Him He was calm and able to tell His disciples that everything would be ok and that soon they would understand. He wanted the Lord's will to be done. I don't think that Jesus was resisting the Father. He knows who He is and what He is supposed to do but I don't think it hurt to ask, "Hey Daddy, did you find another way to this?" REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Jesus wanted His disciples to pray so that they would not fall into temptation. He does not want to see His disciples give into temptation and the best way to do this is to pray. I think that it is that they may betray him as Judas did. That they would pray for strength and not turn from all that Jesus had taught them. Jesus wanted them to pray with Him that they not fall into temptation I think that they started to pray diligently but then they kept falling asleep. "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." Because He was dealing with His own temptations and His prayers were for many other things. He was praying for the will to do so His Father's will. He was praying for the strength to take His Father's cup and for the ability to follow through and sacrifice Himself for the rest of the humanity. I think that he knew the others would not understand. REMEMBER, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Being fired, banished from the King forever. To help him get through the moment with courage and steadiness and the strength to be bold. The "arrow" prayer is just a quick calling for help in the heat of the moment. Nehemiah knows he has prayed and agonized about this and has asked for the courage to seize the moment when it came. When it did finally come he just asked God for the strength right then to go through the moment and ask what he needed to ask. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

Yes He does place people in strategic positions. God has His hand in everything. He already knows what is going to happen and that it all happens for a reason. God places people and situations in our path to help us along on our journey. If Nehemiah wasn't where he was at that moment, he would not have known that he needed to intercede for his people. It is like way back in my life, if God hadn't placed one certain person in my life, I would not have never accepted Jesus as my personal savior six years later. We are to do whatever it is that God asks us to do. Sometimes this may include sacrificing everything, even our lives but if God put you in that position, at that time, we must obey and act. Being in the right place at the right time? I suppose He has in a couple of situations. I usually pray for the moment to just to get through the situation right then. Then I pray for whatever the problem is. It gets more intense. I leave it on my heart as a continual prayer until the situation works its way through, then I thank God for being so punctual and attentive. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

The confession of sins. He quotes back to God what God has promised. The people have scattered but God promises that if they get it together He will restore His fortunes upon them. He quotes back to God, God's own promise. Kind of bold but effective. That God is God of His word. That one man can stand in the gap for a whole nation and pray for them expecting the result that God has promised. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

I think that he is in agony over the state of Jerusalem. Nehemiah realizes the wickeness of is people and prays for forgiveness and the will to help the people of God. He knows that all the sin of the people and their shame is also his as he is a part of the Jewish community. He mourns for his countrymen. I think he is crying out to God, pleading with Him to help his countrymen. No, in a way I think it can be related to a loved one pleading to God, crying out for God, for someone who they just found out has cancer, for someone who is destitute and ready to end it all. Fasting and weeping and crying out to God shows the dedication that one might have to reach God. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

Intercessory. Daniel needed to stand in the gap between God and the nation of Israel for the continuation of Israel. First that God is a God of mercy. He wanted God's mercy for his naiton. Because of his knowledge of the scriptures he knew that God had delivered the Israelites from Egypt even though they were also an unrighteous people and that if He did it once He would do it agan. Daniel reminds God that Jerusalem bears His own name and that He wants His own people to return to it. Daniel is relying on God's merciful nature in answering this prayer. God honors Daniel's intercessory prayer for his people. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

Even though Daniel is a righteous man, he is part of the sinning nation. To intercede we must present ourselves as the ones we are interceding for. Daniel takes the sin of his countrymen and stands in the gap asking for God's forgiveness and restoration for his nation. Daniel intercedes on Israels behalf by praying for forgiveness and restoration. Both Daniel and Jesus stood in the gap between the unrighteous and God himself. The difference between Daniel and Jesus is that Daniel was praying for the nation of Israel to come back to God and Jesus was praying for every individual to come unto Him. Daniel stood in the gap where Jesus became the bridge over the gap. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

Daniel prays earnestly and with all humilty for forgiveness for his people. Daniel fasts and puts on sackcloth and puts ashes on his head showing his humilty and willingness to be an intercessor for his people. Willingness to take on their sins. Daniel knows that he has no right to ask for his nations forgiveness because they don't deserve it. He knows that without an intercessor all is lost for the nation of Israel. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God and take on the burdens and/pr sins of those we are intercessing for. We must stand in the gap for those who need helpl TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

Daniel's knowledge of the scriptures told him the 70 years was almost over and that Israel needed help in getting started. He knew the consequences of not praying to Darius alone, yet he took on the sins of the nation of Israel anyways. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

Who wants to give up control. We tend to think that we know all of the answers and we don't need God...well, I can only speak for myself. The first time I prayed like this was at a concert. I was 18 years old. The circumstances were unbelievable but the outcome was more than I could ever imagine. The result was the beginning of my personal walk with Jesus. At the time I was an atheist turned agnostic turned to someone who just didn't give a ****, with a heart turned stone cold with ice in my veins and no reason for hope. If I hadn't prayed a surrendering prayer only God knows what would have happened to me. I shudder to think about the alternative life I would have had. I don't believe that you can be a genuine disciple. You must be able to surrender everything to be able to give yourself in service to Him. It is an every moment project but when achieved, true dicipleship happens, even if it is one moment at a time. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

It brings me to the awareness that He thought enough of me to create me in the first place. That God has created something special and perfect in he womb. That life begins at the moment of conception. For the father-to-be it is an exciting time and knowing that God has used him in a special way has got to be a great feeling. Not being able to be a mother or a father kind of leaves me out of the loop. I know how I believe, that God has ordained us to a purpose and He knows before conception what that purpose is. When conception occurs God is watching and weaving us into His plan. "For above all things He is powerful and above all things He is a King, and above all things He is merciful, but above all things.....He thought of me." Rebecca St. James TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

God leads and guides and helps the psalmist through the hard times. Many, many times. God has made me feel special and when I let Him, He has turned my life into a direction I never expected. He has never misled me although I have had questions about His wisdom and at times I have put a good fight before I decided that Abba Knows Best. Every time I have yielded to God's guidance (or a 2x4 hits me in the head) it has been good. It gives me peace to know that He is driving and I am sitting in the backseat enjoying the ride of my life. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART!

I think that we want to flee from God because we can't understand how He can know everything and if He knows everything we can't hide. We don't want Him to know that we have done something wrong. We are afraid that God will punish us in the way that we feel we deserve. I think that some people look upon God as an "absentee landlord". If He is not around how is He gonna know, unless somebody squeals. I wish that I could say, "NO, I have not ever felt that way." But since God already knows that is a lie, I am inclined to tell the truth. Yes, at times I have felt that I can get away with stuff even though I know better. TRUST IN THE LORD WOTH ALL YOUR HEART!