Psalm 63:7
Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
I have had people tell me, “Please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know that this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”
Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. He helps those who are helpless and dependent on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem.
If you say, “My problem is that I am weak.” God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.” If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.” God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.” If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”
Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we can still do some things to help ourselves?
Your Father’s Heart
Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Today, God wants you to know that He is NOT the kind of Father who wants you sick and defeated, keeps you poor and wanting, refuses to provide for your needs and denies you your blessings.
If you, in spite of your faults, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to you when you ask Him! My prayer today is that you will know just how much your Father loves you!
God Hears Your Prayers
Romans 4:7–8
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
Some people think that if they were more “right” with God, then He would hear their prayers. For example, they sometimes believe that if they had not quarreled with their wives or had those bad thoughts earlier in the day, then God would answer their prayers.
God is not like that. He wants you to know beyond any doubt that you can always come to His throne of grace with boldness and have every confidence that you will receive His mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16) You see, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you are already right with God. You don’t need to do anything to make yourself more right with God.
In fact, by faith in Jesus, you have received the righteousness of God Himself! (2 Corinthians 5:21) And no matter how many mistakes you make, you will never lose that righteousness because in the first place, God gave it to you apart from your works. (Romans 4:5–6) In other words, God did not impute righteousness to you because you were good, but because you believed in Jesus.
Because of what Jesus has done for you at the cross, all your sins—past, present and future—are forgiven. God will by no means ever remember your sins or count them against you! (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17).
Ask In Jesus’ Name And Receive
John 16:23
“…Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
Whenever we ask God for anything in Jesus’ name, Jesus says to us, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” This means that in your prayer for healing, when you say “in Jesus’ name”, healing comes over your sick body because it is by His stripes that you are healed. (1 Peter 2:24) In your prayer for protection, when you say “in Jesus’ name”, you are kept safe because the blood of Jesus protects and delivers you from evil. (Exodus 12:13)
Only one name under heaven can save you—Jesus! And the good news is that His name in Hebrew, Yeshua, means salvation—healing, preservation, wholeness, wellness, provision, safety and deliverance for you and your family!
Just Trust God’s Goodness And Pray In The Spirit
1 Corinthians 14:14
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
God has given us a powerful prayer gift—praying in tongues, which is not limited by distance, time or head knowledge. When you pray in tongues, you could be praying for your future or even a loved one overseas. You won’t know what you are praying unless God tells you. This is because your “understanding is unfruitful”—your mind is not involved.
Beloved, don’t stop praying in tongues just because you don’t know what you are praying. You could be praying for the safety of a loved one in a life and death situation. Especially when you feel an urge to pray because you sense danger, pray! Pray until you sense a release as the burden is lifted. The Holy Spirit will know exactly what is going on, who is in danger and how to pray for deliverance. (Romans 8:27)
Jesus Your High Priest Intercedes For You
Hebrews 7:25
…He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Look at what Jesus prayed when He stood before Lazarus’ tomb. He declared, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” (John 11:41) He prayed these words even before Lazarus came forth from his tomb alive. Jesus knew that what He said would come to pass because the Father always hears Him. (John 11:42).
So what does “Jesus always lives to make intercession for us” mean?
Because Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), we get a picture of what happens when we pray when we understand what the high priest in the Old Testament did with the burnt offering of a bird. (Leviticus 1:14–17).
The birds brought to the high priest are a picture of our prayers “flying” to the Lord Jesus because we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Now, just as the high priest removes the bird’s feathers after killing it, Jesus removes all that is superfluous and unclean from our prayers, such as unbelief and self-centeredness.
Then, just as the high priest offers the bird as a burnt sacrifice, a sweet aroma to the Lord, Jesus our High Priest adds His perfection, beauty, excellence and fragrance, which the Father so delights in, to our prayers. That is how He presents our prayers to the Father. That is how He lives to make intercession for you.
Thank Your Way To Peace and Turn Your Cares Into Prayers:
Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
My friend, God doesn’t want you to be fearful, fretful or anxious. Instead, He wants you to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”.
So when you have a care or worry, straightaway, turn that care or worry into prayer. That is supplication. And when you are troubled by a care or worry that you don’t know how to pray for, pray in the Spirit or tongues. And in the midst of that prayer, thank God that He is already your healing, provision, good success and victory. That, my friend, is thanksgiving.
Keep on praying. Pray in the Spirit until the worry lifts or dissipates, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:7)
The Bible tells us to cast all our cares upon the Lord for He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) Now, here comes the most powerful part—thanksgiving. Finish off with thanksgiving. Thank God for His faithfulness.
The more you know God’s Word, the more you can thank Him. The more you thank Him, the more His peace reigns in your heart. And many a time, before you know it, it is morning! You don’t even remember falling asleep. The peace of God reigns like that.My friend, whatever your concern is, bring it to your Father in prayer and thank your way to peace!
Our Abba Father is so strong that there is nothing He cannot do, and He is so loving that there is nothing He will not do for us!
Mark 11:24
24Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Change your vision on the inside first. Start seeing yourself with the answer. See yourself healed. See yourself living in the bigger house that you need. See yourself enjoying more than enough. When you can see it and believe it, then pray in faith, and you will have whatever you ask for!
‘Help Me Pray, Holy Spirit’
Jude 1:20
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
When you are faced with a crisis, you can tell the Holy Spirit, “I don’t know how to pray about this problem. I have done everything I know, but I don’t seem to be getting my breakthrough. Help me pray, Holy Spirit.”
And as you pray in the Spirit, you will feel like there is a prayer going on within you. Flow with it until you feel a release. You will feel peace, the burden lifting and a note of victory inside you. The Holy Spirit will assure you that everything is going to be all right or He will prompt you to do something. Then, you will find that what has been hindering you from receiving your breakthrough is removed, and in its place is the answer you need!
You may say, “Well, I can just pray in English.” You can, but your prayer will be very limited because you don’t know everything. It is better to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things.
My friend, you don’t belong to the natural, limited realm. You belong to God who is unlimited! So pray in tongues, and see great things happening for you and through you.
Pray Perfect Prayers In The Spirit
Romans 8:27
27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
When we pray in tongues or in the Holy Spirit, we can never pray out of God’s will because the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”
In other words, we pray perfect prayers in line with God’s will when we pray in tongues. And the Bible goes on to tell us that “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him”. (1 John 5:14–15)
He knows the heart of God and precisely what you need. And He makes intercession for you because He loves you very much.The Holy Spirit is like your lawyer or legal counselor. He knows what belongs to you legally. He knows what your blood-bought rights are in Christ. Best of all, He knows exactly how to enforce them in your life!
Beloved, when you pray in tongues, you allow the Holy Spirit to pray perfect prayers through you. He pleads your case before God. He knows where you have gone wrong and what the root of the problem is. He also has the wisdom, solution and power to win your case. With the Holy Spirit on your side, you cannot but come out victorious!
Only when we realize that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13) Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favor of God deliver us from every evil!
My friend, because Jesus has been punished for your sins, today, God is not counting your sins against you. This means that your sins won’t stop Him from hearing and responding to your prayers. So you can always run into His presence knowing that you can boldly stand in and enjoy His presence and His love.
When you know this truth, it is going to set you free in your relationship with God. You can talk to Him without fear or any sense of condemnation. You can practice His presence and trust that He always hears you. Should something happen at home or at work, you don’t always have to call for your church leaders—you pray and God hears you!
My
friend, you don’t have to run to a church leader to get him to pray
“more powerfully” for you. You can pray yourself. Then, take advantage
of Jesus’ intercession for you and say, “Lord Jesus, I don’t know what
else to say…please intercede for me.” And when Jesus gives His personal
touch to your prayer, you can be sure that it will be answered!
Beloved, you are righteous in Christ and God hears your prayers—all because of Jesus!