Praying with the Holy Spirit...Craig Denison Ministries

 Praying with the Holy Spirit

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

As believers, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper, Teacher, Friend, and seal for the promised inheritance of eternal life with God. His presence, guidance, and wisdom in our lives are our greatest gifts while here on earth. Through him we have access to direct connection with our heavenly Father. Through him we receive spiritual gifts to empower us. And through him we are able to bear the incredible fruit of abundant life. Open your heart and mind to all that the Holy Spirit would give you, show you, and lead you to this week.

Scripture:“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” Jude 1:20-21

Devotional:   

God loves to respond to the prayers of his people. We see him respond to the desire of Adam for a helpmate with Eve, the prayer of Abraham in saving Lot and his family, the prayer of Moses in the salvation of his people, the prayer of Elijah in sending down fire upon an altar, and the cry for a Savior in sending his only son, Jesus. And through the death of Jesus we’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit,  God himself sent as our Helper. Our Helper not only longs to guide us and empower us, but also to help us pray and to pray for us.

Jude 1:20-21 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” We’ve been given the incredible gift of praying with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who searches the deep things of God desires to help us pray. He desires to reveal God’s desires to us in the midst of our circumstances, relationships, and opportunities and longs to help us pray in line with God’s will. When we pray in the Spirit we are praying along with the will of God himself. When we pray in the Spirit we are asking God to do the very thing he desires to do. It’s crucially important that we as children of God learn how to discern the will of our Father through the Holy Spirit and pray according to that will.

Matthew 21:22 says, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” And Romans 10:17 teaches us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Scripture tells us to pray in full faith that God will give us what we ask for because faith is always meant to begin with the word of God. Prayer is meant to be as simple as asking God to fill us with the knowledge of his desire and then praying in accordance with that desire in full faith because God will always fulfill his promises.

What’s more, when we don’t know what to pray we can trust in and lean on the groanings of the Spirit. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Did you know that the Holy Spirit prays for you? Did you know that he intercedes on your behalf? So great is his love for you that he asks God to help you. So great is his desire for you to walk in abundant life that he intercedes on your behalf when you don’t know how to pray.

Aren’t you thankful for the grace of God? In his grace he’s blessed you with the Holy Spirit to help you pray and intercedes for you, all because he loves you. You’ve been given an incredible, powerful gift in praying with the Holy Spirit. Take time today to listen to your Helper as you enter into a time of prayer.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the Spirit’s desire to help you pray and to intercede for you.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” Jude 1:20-21

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27

2. Ask the Spirit to fill you with the knowledge of God’s will for whatever it is you desire to pray about. Before you speak, listen.

3. Pray in line with what the Spirit has revealed to you. Ask God, in faith, to bless you with whatever you feel he has shown you. Pray along with Scripture! Rest in the assurance that God will provide you with any and every thing that is in his perfect will for you when you ask him to.

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

God loves to make the Christian life simpler than we often make it out to be. I used to believe that to discover God’s will I had to ask God for things and wait to see if life’s circumstances panned out in line with those prayers. But God longs to fill us with the knowledge of his will even before you ask so that we can simply pray in full faith and joy in accordance with what he already desires to do. He blesses us with a life of simplicity if we will simply, wholeheartedly follow him. Take time today to search out the will of God for your life and rest in assurance of his faithfulness as you pray.

Extended Reading: Hebrews 11

What if It’s Wonderful?...NICOLE ZASOWSKI

 What if It’s Wonderful?

NICOLE ZASOWSKI 

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45 (NIV)

What if my hope leads to disappointment? 
What if I embrace joy only to have it ripped from my hands?
What if I try but fail?

These are the questions we often ask as we stare into the unknown and wrestle with uncertainty.

I’m guessing you, like me, know what it’s like to encounter heartache that makes you hesitant to delight in your days and look to the future with an expectant heart. When we’ve experienced pain, it can be difficult to trust God’s promises. Pessimism is easier. Cynicism is safer. But the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah in Luke 1 extends a different invitation.

Both Elizabeth and Zechariah walked faithfully with God, even as they carried shame and grief in being unable to conceive a child. When the angel Gabriel visited Zechariah, assuring him that he would have a son, Zechariah was unable to release his doubt and embrace the good news. As a result, God silenced him for a period of time. (Luke 1:19-20)

Zechariah had known God as his Comforter but was unable to trust Him as his Celebrator. He wanted proof before deciding that joy was a good idea.

In contrast Elizabeth readily received God’s gift of grace, seeing beyond her personal experience to what is possible with God. (Luke 1:25; Luke 1:45) She was not entangled by doubt, nor did she allow the dread of what could happen to cause disbelief in God.

Honestly? I’m more like Zechariah. I long for a future that’s guarded with guarantees.

But, with God’s help, I’m growing toward having a heart like Elizabeth.

I want to recognize God in pain and joy and be unafraid to celebrate, knowing that God is present in both experiences.
I want to look into the unknown and choose to wonder about how God will move.
I want to say “yes” to a dream without weighing it down with ideas about everything that could go wrong.
I want to build plans with possibilities instead of problems.
I want to feel unafraid to laugh or cheer out loud in the face of good news.

It’s worth noting that Zechariah’s pessimism didn’t keep him from the promise. Though Zechariah was silenced for a time because of his doubt, God was faithful to His promise.

When hope feels scarce, sometimes we wonder if we need to demonstrate a certain level of faith before God is willing to intervene in our circumstances and bring breakthrough and healing. It’s easy to assume that our pain is the result of some sort of formula, our failure to be enough — good enough, strong enough, brave enough.

But God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t depend on our faith. His goodness is not a function of our goodness. There is simply so much joy available to us when we trust God and take Him at His word.

We don’t hope because of what we receive. We hope because of who we receive: the person and presence of Jesus Christ. No matter what the future holds, we can celebrate that God will be exactly who He says He is.

Looking ahead, will we allow our awe of God to expand beyond the limits of our own imagination? Will we hold an expectant heart, one that can celebrate God’s promises in the midst of all circumstances? And when faced with uncertainty, will we ask ourselves … What if it’s wonderful?

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are faithful to Your promises. Thank You for giving us a permanent reason to celebrate in Your Son, Jesus Christ. As we look toward our futures, give us the courage to celebrate You and hold expectant hearts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Blessings of Inadequacy...Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Blessings of Inadequacy

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Paul never claimed he was capable of accomplishing all that God called him to do. He simply learned to look beyond his own inadequacy to the sufficiency of Christ. If we'll adopt the same practice, we, too, can discover the blessings hidden in our own experiences of inadequacy.

Our insufficiency drives us to God. When we realize a situation is bigger than we can handle, we're quick to open the Bible and diligently pray for guidance and power.

Inadequacy relieves us of the burden of self-effort and self-reliance. The Lord has us right where He wants us--at the end of our rope with nothing left to give.

Inability motivates reliance on divine power. We'll never be adequate until we draw from the Holy Spirit's inexhaustible strength. He does in and through us what God never intended that we do on our own.

By using weak, inadequate people, God demonstrates what great things He can do. He actually delights in choosing unlikely individuals to carry out His purposes. There's no limit to what He can do through someone willing to give Him full control.

Inadequacy challenges our faith. Paul says, "Our adequacy is from God" (v. 5). Those who focus on the reliability of this promise and step out in obedience will grow in faith.

Why go through all the fear, pressure, and frustration that accompany feelings of inadequacy when there's an alternative? Let the Lord make you adequate: rely upon Him and allow Christ to live in and through you. He will replace your anxiety with a quiet spirit of contentment.

How to Pray without Ceasing...By Kelly O’Dell Stanley

 How to Pray without Ceasing

By Kelly O’Dell Stanley

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, ESV).

Impossible, right? Maybe in the olden days, when every task directly affected your family’s survival—of course they prayed, because if the crop died, they’d starve. If someone got sick there was no medicine to help. Life was dangerous and fragile, and people weren’t distracted by social media and cell phones. But today? Who could be expected to keep their mind on God at all times? Surely God wouldn’t expect that of us, because He knows more than anyone how flawed we are, and how short our attention spans are.

Except that nowhere in the Bible is there an asterisk after that verse that says, “*unless you’re really busy.”

Here’s the good news. Not only is it possible to pray without ceasing, but it’s possible to do so without making any significant changes to your schedule or time commitments. It’s all about shifting your thought process and turning everyday moments into prayer. Keep that connection open and talk to God as you go through your day. Here is how you can pray without ceasing:

Begin with gratitude.

Psalm 100:4 says “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” 

In other words, start by telling God what you’re thankful for. Prayer doesn’t have to be asking for something; it can simply be thanking Him from your heart for what He has already done.

Incorporate prayer into everyday chores.

Let your everyday tasks become acts of worship by turning them into times of prayer. As you fold laundry, pray for each family member—and then if your laundry piles are as high as mine, and you’re done praying but not done folding, branch out from there. Pray for your child’s soccer teammates, for the teachers standing in front of your children’s classrooms, for the partner who works hard to pay the bills, for health to stay active, for the workplaces where the clothes are worn. Or simply give thanks for the warmth of the home where you relax in those pajamas.

Sing a song of praise.

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise” ( James 5:13).

Often, we think of prayer as what to do when we need God to fix something or when we’re unhappy. But the Bible encourages us to pray at all times. Try listening to worship music. As you sing along, offer it to God as your prayer. Or, better yet, make up your own song along the way. Nobody is listening but Him, so don’t worry if you’re out of tune.

Stop talking once in awhile. Instead, just listen.

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” ( Matthew 6:7).

The number (or quality) of words you use in prayer doesn’t matter, because prayer is about God, not about us. Allow yourself to contemplate the nearness of God. Trust that He is your constant companion. Don’t monopolize the dialogue, but spend some of your time just being, simply sitting and resting in His presence. And keep in mind that the best conversations are two-sided, but you won’t hear anything if you never stop to listen.

A Prayer to Make Room for God...By: Alisha Headley

 A Prayer to Make Room for God

By: Alisha Headley

“…I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in.” (Malachi 3:10)

Have you ever tried to fill your coffee cup in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee when the cup is already full? In the same way, have you ever thought that maybe God wants to pour a fresh word, a fresh anointing, and a fresh blessing into us every day, but our cups and lives are already full?

Full of other things, people, priorities, agendas, and worries. Or perhaps it’s just full of yesterday’s old coffee, with no room for the new.

We live in a world of distractions. From the moment we open our eyes, before we can make it into our kitchen to start brewing coffee, most of us have notifications, alerts, emails and reminders on our phone. We have kids waiting for us and their endless demands. Naturally, we tend to fill ourselves up with the world, but God wants to fill up on His Word before anything else.

In fact, just as today Scripture points out, He wants to open a window so wide, directly from heaven, so he can pour out blessings that we won’t have enough room to take it all in. How beautiful is that? But on the other side, how detrimental it is if we have no room for Him to pour it into us?

We must empty out our cups daily, allowing room for God to pour into us with a fresh word. Therefore, when Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:11, “give us this day our daily bread…”, He was teaching us to do this on an everyday basis. It is something we must be doing daily because God has a new word and a fresh word waiting for us.

The world will try to fill us up with things of the world before we fill ourselves up with the Word of God. Today’s verse is a great reminder to empty our cup, so we can allow the one who made the cup to fill us up first before anything else. 

Let’s pray.

Father,

Thank you that you want to pour into us. That you desire to fill us up with you. Lord, you know what bread we need each day and you know the amount we need to be full of you. Please prompt us each day to empty our cup out.

Your Word says in 1 Peter 5:7 to “cast all our cares upon You, for You care for us.” Thank you that you love us in a way like this, that is so indescribable. Today, we pour out all our hurts, concerns, worries, agendas, unforgiveness, and everything else that is filling our cup up today. We ask that you take it all from our hands, empty us out completely. We ask that you fill us with your provision today, your presence, your will, and your purpose.

Fill us up with all of you, so that we can be a light and pour out onto others. We are so grateful for your blessings, and we praise you for being a God of abundance. You came so that we may “have life and live it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Thank you that you want to pour into us so that “our cup overflows with blessings” (Psalm 23:5).

We love you Lord and love that you desire to pour into us each day and that you “take great delight in us” (Zephaniah 3:17). We give you this day, a new day, asking that you fill us full of the freshness of your Word.

Thank you, Jesus, for being the Lord that you are. An overflowing, ever-loving, never-ending God of abundance. 

In Jesus’ Name, 

Amen

Change Is Good...By Liz Lampkin

 Change Is Good

By Liz Lampkin

 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Have you ever taken a moment to notice the beauty in the change of seasons? Think about it. With each season, there is something to appreciate and celebrate. Springtime announces the end of Winter. It represents the beginning of hope and new life. With plants blossoming and a shift into warm weather, Spring is a time to appreciate the newness in nature. After Spring, there’s Summer. Many would say it represents freedom and relaxation. Vacations, the blaring sun, and an abundance of outdoor activities is what this season brings. Some may even say it brings about new energy and the urge to get active. 

After Summer, there’s Autumn or Fall. This time of the year often represents preparation, preservation, and comfort. Fall often brings about a sense of comfort. A shift from hot weather to just right warmth coupled with the beautiful colors’ leaves turn, baking, apple cider, and harvest time is what this season is often associated with. Last but not least, Winter. Often associated with bitterly cold weather, hot cocoa, snow, giving, family gatherings, and the gleeful holiday season. Each time of the year brings something to look forward to and celebrate. 

Each year, nature shows us how and why change is necessary. So why are we so reluctant to face and accept it? When you think about it, you realize that all of nature’s changes depend on God. As each season begins and ends, things that come about with them are natural, and each of them depends on God’s care and grace. Could you imagine if there were only one season to experience? What would things look like? Would we be able to experience this portion of God’s grace and beauty? 

Change is inevitable. It’s unavoidable. It brings about the unexpected, things we didn't plan for. Whether good or bad, it comes with something new. It pushes us out of our comfort zone. It forces us to adjust to circumstances we may or may not have been ready for. However, no matter how ready or reluctant we are to make or embrace change, one thing is for certain God is with you every step of the way. I believe what we fail to realize is that God orchestrates the changes in our lives for His glory and our good. We do this because we tend to make our plans and trust in them. When we do this, we create the outcome we desire. When things don't go the way we anticipate we become disheveled. This shouldn't be. Why? Because as believers our trust should be in God and our will should be His will, changes and all.

God is aware of all that goes on in our lives. He creates the plans, He creates the changes. Shifts in life are a part of His plan. Whether we like it or not, we all know God’s plans are always best. 

Intersecting Faith and Life
Do you struggle with change? If so, why? How do you react when changes come about in your life? Do you pray and ask God for the lessons He wants you to learn during the change? 

No matter what life brings your way, God is with you throughout every change to lead and guide you. Without His presence, you wouldn’t know of His goodness and how the changes He brings about in your life help you become better for His kingdom. With every change you go through in life you become different, better. As believers, every change should bring you closer to God. The closer you get to God, the more your faith in Him increases. The more your faith in Him increases so should your trust in all He has mapped out for you. The more you trust God, embracing the changes He orchestrates for your life will become easier. 

Further Reading:

• 2 Corinthians 5:17
• Proverbs 3: 5-6