by: Cherie Sheridan
April 22, 2010
http://www.ontrackrp.com
Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. Isa 56:6-7
God has made it clear, HIS house is a house of prayer, not everything else we have seemed to turn the church into.
We of course are His temple. Our personal house must be a house of prayer, as well as, the corporate house, the church.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 1 Corinthians 3:16-18
Prayer is the vehicle that God uses to move things forward in our lives. It is the direct communication with God Himself that propels us into our destiny.
Unfortunately, prayer is one of the most difficult appointments we have keeping, yet it is our very life.
The enemy knows how important prayer is to fulfilling your purpose so he works overtime to disrupt your appointed prayer times.
Here are some typical strategies that the enemy uses. See if he's been able to use any of them on you.
You have decided you are going to early morning prayer the next day. You go to sleep and either suddenly become ill in the night, can't sleep, the children stayed up, the dogs barked all night, your neighbor blasted their loud music....something so you would be tired and not have energy in the morning. So what do you do? Sleep in? Or get up and go to prayer anyways?
You make it out the door to go to prayer and....you have a flat tire, traffic accident on the road.
You are ready to go to prayer and get a phone call and time just disappeared and missed the prayer meeting.
O.K. You make it to prayer. You actually participated in a powerful prayer meeting. Then you get home and things suddenly got worse instead of better in your life. That's called retaliation. But you take the easy way out and decide to quit before you break through.
Your kids suddenly get sick and need you to stay home.
I believe these examples should give you an idea that satan is good at his job. We have to be better at ours!
Too often we just fall right in his lap. Where is our spiritual backbone? Where is the determination that comes with being a warrior? You are a warrior aren't you? Are you not a part of the army of God?
Yes, when you start praying there is opposition, “hello” it's a war! Prayer is the most effective weapon, coupled with praise that we have in our arsenal. How do you expect to change the planet, or even your neighborhood without prayer?
The time for coming to the church weak and defeated is over. It's time to gear up and put on your spiritual armor and take your position in rank and file.
“I just want to jump up in the lap of Daddy God.” “I'm a lover, not a fighter” Then you wonder why there is not power in the church or more specifically YOUR life.
There is a time for spending time in the presence of God, just gazing upon His awesome loveliness. There is also a time to start praying for your family members, your spouse, your boss. Wait, it's much easier to complain and get of divorce. Let's just discard the people and start with fresh ones. Is that not the new policy of the church? O better yet, lets just fornicate and not get married at all. Just live together without true commitment and covenant. Is this hitting any tender spots? Good. That let's me know that you are at least alive and can feel. This is God addressing issues in your life, now is the time to get them right. REPENT.
Some people may get mad and even offended by what I just wrote. That's O.K. Ultimately it's between you and God. I'm just the messenger. I want to see you make the grade. We are in a moment in God's eternity where play time and practice is over. We are “in game”.
People have become comfortable going to a powerless church where there is no conviction of.....SIN.
If we as a body will start praying as God commanded we'd get on track with HIS agenda and not man's. When people came into our church houses sick and hurting, they would leave healed, saved and delivered. Everyone wants to have a revival in America but that will only happen when we pay the price down on our knees. It really doesn't matter what you or I think. It matters what God thinks and says.
I don't want to hear one more excuse why God didn't heal someone or why someone didn't come to the Lord. I don't remember reading in the new testament that God didn't do mighty works. On the contrary, He was all about doing great and mighty works. I do remember reading alot about prayer.
We are to do the works that Jesus did and greater works. Jesus spent more time in prayer than He did ministering. That should tell us something. We must spend time in prayer individually and corporately. There are some things in the realm of the spirit that require us to come together to defeat and release. I can tell you this. The enemy gets his crew together for meetings and diabolic rituals regularly. They almost seems more dedicated to what they do than most Christians.
Cherie, why are you being so strong in this? Are you angry? No I'm not angry at all. I've been spending a lot of time in prayer with others. Daily. When you spend time in prayer you find your backbone again. I'm not even going to try to be politically correct. There is only one way to be, and Jesus said it.
“49. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” Luke 2:49
When you spend time in prayer the fire of God is stirred up in you. He fuels the flames with Himself.
You can't stay quiet anymore. You can't be “nice”. You MUST tell the TRUTH. Because the Spirit of Truth is stirred up in you.
I know, I can hear this in the spirit. We must speak the Truth in love. Look at the total context of this scripture. If I don't tell you the Truth, I don't love you. You will never grow, and you will never grow up in Christ.
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Lack of prayer will keep you in darkness, keep you alienated from the life of God. It will cause you to stay in ignorant and blind in your heart. The eyes of your heart will never be enlightened and you will never know who you are in Christ, nor will you know the extent of His love for you.
19. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20. But ye have not so learned Christ;
21. If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
How do you renew the spirit of your mind? Well, it stands to reason if the eyes of your heart are in your spirit, so is the spirit of your mind. We are not talking about the soul here. How do you renew the spirit of your mind? Through prayer, communion with God and reading and studying His word.
24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27. Neither give place to the devil.
28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:14-32
The only way we can do what these scriptures say is by yielding the to the Holy Spirit in us. The way we are empowered to yield is through prayer. It doesn't matter how you pray or even what you say, as long as it is sincerely coming from your heart. God will change you from the inside out.
“Soaking” is NOT prayer. It's letting someone else refresh your flesh.
Prayer is active, it is not passive. Every believer has a responsibility to come to the meeting charged in prayer. Instead we expect the preacher to pay the price in study, maybe prayer??? The musicians to move us. Hopefully they've prayed so they have something to release. Then if you are fortunate to have some faithful intercessors in the house you may feel a slight presence of God.
I hear this all the time. “I'm not called to fight demons and do warfare like you.” I understand that even within prayer there are different anointings and callings. But, as soon as you walk out your door your going to confront something. You might as well take the offense instead of the defense. By the way, I don't fight the demons. The Lord of Host and His army does. I just open the gates through prayer and declaration of the word of God.
I'm tired of seeing a defeated church. Aren't you? I want to see people saved, healed and delivered. I want to see broken hearts healed and people made whole. I want to see people empowered and released to fulfill the reason why they are here on this earth. Isn't that why Jesus died on the cross?
Stop biting the hook that satan throws your way to lure you with excuses not to pray. Prayer must be the FIRST thing on your “To Do” list.
If you are already pressing in in prayer, thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness to stand before the Lord and lay down your lives for others. While you build the Lord's house in prayer He will take care of yours.
Let's pray.
Father God, please forgive me for not making Your house a house of prayer. I repent. Please give me the desire to pray, to take my proper position in the ranks of your army. Help me to press through the hindrances that have stopped me in the past. Holy Spirit help. Thank you. In Jesus name. Amen.
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