Hearing
and knowing God's Word and then going and doing according to His Word will
result in many answers to our prayers.""I love the Lord because He
hears my prayers and answers them. Because He bends down and listens, I will
pray as long as I breathe!"" Psalm 116:1
Praying
an Effective Prayer.
All
we have to do, as God’s people, called by His name, is to obey the Set Requirements:
1.
Humble Ourselves;
2.
Pray;
3.
Seek His Face; and
4.
Turn From Our Wicked Ways
...
THEN...AFTER
THAT...God Promises to Hear From Heaven; Forgive Sin and Heal the Land! God
knows our tendency to forget His blessings and go our own way. And often times
we get so caught up in what God did that we act as though He can’t and won’t do
anything else. But God has so much more in store. But in order for Him to
release it, there are some conditions that have to be met. And these conditions
still remain today. God said:
1.
“If MY PEOPLE, who are called by MY NAME. We must turn from self promotion to
God promotion. God makes it clear from the start, you are “.MY PEOPLE...” and
you are called by ...MY NAME.” Somehow we’ve managed to high jack God’s Church from
Him! We’ve made all the programs, protocols, banquets, anniversaries, services,
and the like about US...NOT HIM! But the 2 very important requirements for us
to always remember is that “IT’S NOT ABOUT US OR OUR NAME! The first thing we
need to get back to is FOCUS! And not on US, but on HIM!
2.
“Will HUMBLE THEMSELVES and pray. We must turn from self reliance to God reliance.
I love the fact that Humility comes BEFORE Prayer! In fact, I believe we would
pray much differently and effectively if we entered prayer in Humility first!
3.
“And Seek MY FACE. We must turn from self direction to God direction. But when
did we get so caught up in His Hand that we forgot about His Face? Before we
enter prayer with our long to do list for God, all of the blessings we need
bestowed, the miracles we need performed, the debts we need cancelled, the
sickness we need healed, how about we try instead to enter in prayer with
Worship?! NOT entering in hoping that God makes it Worth our While! The word “Worship”
is defined as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a
deity; great admiration or devotion. Listen, while so many are waiting for the Lord
to hand them Prosperity from His Hand, Prosperity comes from His Face!
4.
Remember: Seek HIS FACE “And TURN from their wicked ways.” We must turn from
self indulgence to self-examination. I love the word “Turn” because it’s
defined as “to move into a different position, especially so as to face or move
in the opposite direction.”Today is your day to make a Turn for the better! And
after all of that what happens next? Well, the Bible says: “THEN”! ...THEN will
I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land! ” I
love the word "Then” because it's defined as "After This or After
That "! So after WE, THE CHURCH, fulfill the preconditions of
God......THEN Happens! The turnaround this country needs is dependent on if and
when we make the decision to turn back to God! The change doesn’t happen when
unbelievers turn to God, but GOD said, “IF MY PEOPLE...CALLED BY MY NAME.”
Birthing a significant, effective, change for the better has always begun with
GOD’S PEOPLE.
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. THEN there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV) And things were NEVER the same. If there is going to be a National turn around, it has to begin with “MY PEOPLE...CALLED BY MY NAME.” And when you look at the 3-fold blessing that God will bestow it makes you wonder what are we waiting for?
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. THEN there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV) And things were NEVER the same. If there is going to be a National turn around, it has to begin with “MY PEOPLE...CALLED BY MY NAME.” And when you look at the 3-fold blessing that God will bestow it makes you wonder what are we waiting for?
A
simple guide to help us be more effective in our communication with God can be
remembered by the acronym ACTS.
·
Adoration.
This
means we worship God for Who He is rather than just for what He does. In
adoration we verbalize our worship, praise, honor, and exaltation of God. Many
of the Psalms help us focus on the attributes of God, such as His loving
kindness, His mercy, His majesty, and many other attributes. Adoration is
expressing our love for Him through our words.
·
Confession.
As
we begin our prayer with worshipful adoration of God, the Holy Spirit will
often reveal any sin in our life that needs to be confessed. To confess means
"to agree with."In other words, I agree with God concerning my sin that
it is sin. I also agree with God that the blood of Jesus Christ has paid for
that sin. This leads me to thank Him for His forgiveness.
·
Thanksgiving.
Giving
thanks expresses faith, and faith pleases God. In giving thanks we are verbally
expressing our gratefulness and appreciation for what God does. Thanksgiving is
a way of telling God," I trust You."It is the opposite of whining and
becoming bitter.
·
Supplication.
Supplication is telling God our requests. We can pray for everything that
concerns our lives, as well as for the needs of others. ACTS helps our prayers
stay focused on God's priorities for us."Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God."
Philippians
4:6. "When I make a request to God, how can I pray with confidence?"
Four
key words answer this question.
1.
Abiding is the key to successful praying. In John 15:7 Jesus states, “If you
abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be
done for you."Colossians 3:16 says "Let the Word of Christ richly
dwell within you."
2.
Ask. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7, 8,"Ask, and it shall be given to you;
seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one
who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it shall be
opened." Someone has said, when we get to heaven we’ll find a lot of
unopened packages with our name on them because we did not claim them through prayer.
3.
Believe. In Matthew 21:22 we read, "Everything you ask in prayer, believing
you shall receive."Faith, which is an attitude of believing, pleases God.
4.
Receive. If you are abiding in Christ, and if you have asked, believing, get
ready to receive the answer. In other words, when you pray for rain, carry an
umbrella. John 16:24 says, "Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be
made full."
All
we have to do, as God’s people, called by His name, is to obey the Set
Requirements:
1.
Humble Ourselves;
2.
Pray;
3.
Seek His Face; and
4.
Turn From Our Wicked Ways
...
THEN...AFTER
THAT...God Promises to Hear From Heaven; Forgive Sin and Heal the Land! I reiterate,
CHURCH, what are we waiting for?
Blessings
J.P. Olson
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