Faith

Helen Keller was quoted in saying:  “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”.  This is even more important when it comes to God working in our lives, and working through us for the benefit of other’s lives.  It is then very appropriate that we start our devotions with asking God to fill us with his Holy Spirit of Faith. 

The Importance of Faith:

Let us focus on why this characteristic of God’s Spirit is so important.   One first needs faith to even believe in God.  If we were confronted by a thought or message, and the first thought that followed, was..."that doesn't sound right"...chances are it would be thrown in the mental trash can discarded.  But if the thought makes sense, or sheds light on a topic, we would be more likely to give it consideration, or even accept it as truth. 

 This is faith in action within our mind.  This is how God works within us too.  He designed our minds to work with this type of intensity, scrutiny, curiosity.   Consider Mary when she was told she would bear the Son of God, and her doubt of that revelation (Luke 1:29).  But Mary chose to believe the angel, and look what came of it.  Paul encourages the reader in Romans 14:5: "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth ever day alike.  Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind". 

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8  "for ye are saved by grace through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God".  

Paul also wrote in Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".

 

It was because we chose to believe that grace was able to bring us to the saving knowledge of Christ.  Without faith, this would be impossible.  It is faith that gives us the impetus of experiencing all things in God.  As the writer of Hebrews states:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.  Hebrews 11:1-3

If we are to take the author of Hebrews at his words, that faith is the “substance” of our hopes, and faith is the vehicle for the most important acts of spiritual work in our lives, then we should pray to be filled with faith.  We should pray that those around us would be given an opportunity to practice their faith, maybe by witnessing the faith we work out in our lives. It is therefore appropriate we meditate on faith as our springboard to understand how His Holy Spirit works in us.  

The Practical application of Faith:

As we pray for ourselves and others to be filled with faith we should be aware that the Holy Spirit of faith is a mighty weapon against doubt fear and depression.  We can use this Spiritual characteristic to battle some of the toughest issues in our minds.  As the man that approached Jesus for help, he cried, "I believe, help me in my unbelief" (Mark 9:24)  If we can have that mindset, it would be a tremendous leap forward in battling the evil spirits of doubt, fear and depression.  Even though evil spirits such as these are strong in minds of man, God's Holy Spirit is stronger. The following are scriptures for your consideration while we focus on faith this week.  May you be filled with the Spirit of faith.
      
Matthew 23:23          1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Romans 1:16,17        Hebrews 11:1,6
Romans 5:1,2            2 Timothy 1:11
Ephesians 6:16      

  

 

Prayer

Prayer, the Secret to God’s Heart

My friends, it can’t be overstated that prayer is well under used, and way miss-understood.  What would happen if we as the only example of God’s people some folks will see really understood how to be effectual and fervent with our prayer life.    Is prayer a means to financial freedom?  Can prayer be used for receiving material possessions, or our “heart’s desire” in relationships?    Have you ever wondered why aren’t my prayers getting answered?  How many sermons have you heard of prayer?  Did they put you to sleep?

The purpose of this devotional series is to begin to understand what prayer is according to the Bible, and what it actually means when God says…the effectual, fervent prayer…or when we are commanded to be in the state of continuous prayer.  We don’t have to dust our knees off, or have a specific schedule for this communication tool.  But, if we can begin to understand, truly understand, how God works, and in turn works in us and through us, we then can become much more effective for Him. 

 

I hope this series will be useful, and one that doesn’t put you to sleep, ha ha.  But encourages you to be thrust into a deeper knowledge of our Father, and how He really wants to work His kingdom within us!  Each week you will receive a one page devotional dealing with one specific characteristic of God’s Holy Spirit.  But, Bob, I thought we were going to learn about prayer?  We are!  But, the key to an “effectual fervent prayer” is to understand the Holy Spirit that will do the work. 

It has been said that the prayer of a righteous man meets God at the very heart of Him.  Since God is righteous, it is only fair to see the truth in this saying.  If we want to know God, we need to meet Him on His terms.  This is the importance of prayer.  Prayer cuts through the muck of life, and enters into the Holy of Holies, and gives us a direct line to the Creator.  Paul absolutely understood this when he wrote:

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  (Ephesians 3:14-19).

He understood the importance and power of prayer.  But prayer is much more than words.  The attitude and motivation of the prayer warrior is of the utmost importance.  If you notice the above prayer of Paul was to ask God to instill within those he was praying for with “might by his Spirit in the inner man…that Christ may dwell in your hearts…by faith…that ye be rooted and grounded in love…”  It was for this reason that Paul bowed his knees on this occasion.  He was asking God to affect in the most profound way our lives. 

In the weeks to come, we will begin to investigate this “Spirit in the inner man” and how He can empower us and our prayer life, and thus those around us.  God wants so much to richly bless us.  All we need to do is learn how to ask.  We will also have the opportunity to journal our thoughts through a simple daily devotional.  The weekly devotionals will include a list of scriptures that you may want read, meditate on and use as a springboard for your prayer time with our Father.  Or, you may want to use your own scripture.  That is wonderful too.  The key is to be in His Word daily and to exercise the idea of having that mindset of continuous prayer.    May God richly bless you in your endeavors to learn and practice the wonderful act of prayer.

This week’s scriptures:

Luke 11:9-10                          Ephesians 4:1-6

Philippeans 2:1-5                  James 1:3-5

Luke 17:20-21                       Matthew 5:48

1Corinthians 3:16