21 Days of Prayer - Day #9 - Monday January 15, 2024 God's Work on the Inside of Us - Transformation

Day 9 - Monday  January 15 - God’s Work on The Inside of Us - Transformation

Being Free Indeed

MLK Day today. Martin Luther King Jr declared “Freedom” and so did Jesus.

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:31-36 (NIV)

The authority and power of God’s Word - “His teaching”.. Your freedom is attached to your relationship with the Word of God.

The Prayer process of finding Freedom

Repent  -  Renounce - and Replace

1. Repent - meta-noia - change your mind and it will lead to a change of direction

This comes from our holding on to the Word of God

2. Renounce - I’m going to break the spirit of the negative

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[a] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[b] loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 (NIV)

Name the spirits that blind me and by the Holy Spirit’s power and the Word of God - I’ll bind these in Jesus name. They will have no place and no power in my life.

I will then “loose” them - they will have no more control over me. I’ll turn them over and trust the Holy Spirit to fill me and guide me.

3. Replace - I’m going to replace the lies of the enemy with the TRUTH of God’s Word.  I can do this by praying scripture. Praying God’s word and doing so in the first person.

Example: Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd,” .. .to “Lord, you are my shepherd, I ask you to lead me and guide me.”

Example: Phil 4:6-7  “Do not be anxious about anything..”  to “Today, I’m not going to be anxious about anything that comes up…”

I replace the lies with God’s Word - which is such a powerful offensive weapon. 

I have the Armor of God for defensive protection, but I also have the Word of God as the offensive piece - meaning I’ll take action and not allow my life to be led by the lies of the enemy.

Today I’ll repent, renounce and replace.

21 Days of Prayer - Day #7 - Saturday January 13, 2024 - It’s All About Jesus - Jesus is My Sanctifier

Day 7 - Saturday  January 13 - It’s All About Jesus -  Jesus is My Sanctifier

Jesus is My Sanctifier (Jehova Makeddish).

It literally means we are set apart. 

God takes this imperfect vessel and makes it special.

God has a call on your life to make a difference and so He wants to set you apart for that call.  

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 ..(NIV)

He had a plan for your life before you were you.

 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, [a]sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NKJV)

Some have varying degrees of how you know and understand your purpose.

I like this. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself.  It doesn’t say God does this, it is something that we have to be intentional to do. 

We want to become a vessel of honor (fine dining dishes or paper plates). The fine china you only take out for special occasions and purposes unlike the ordinary paper plates. 

For example,  a pizza box - nothing special about it - but 

1. It needed to be Empty

2. It needed to be Clean

That’s what we're praying

Empty ourselves of our past.

Empty ourselves of our plans. Empty of what we wanted in it to let God put His plans in.

We’re going to be clean.

We’re going to have a Clean Body.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 

We are going to have a Clean Mind.

When we do this, we can be the fine china for the Lord and ready for those unique and special purposes that He has for us.

21 Days of Prayer - Day 6 - Friday January 12 - It’s All About Jesus - My HEALER - Jehova Rapha

Day 6 - Friday  January 12 - It’s All About Jesus - My HEALER - Jehova Rapha   

When prayer becomes our habit, miracles become our lifestyle.

What Jesus did on the cross is enough to provide for our healing.

May we seek the healer more than the healing.

24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,”[a] but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:24-25 (NIV)

By His wounds we have been healed - that’s a promise.

Two promises that bookend this..

1. Let’s espouse our right standing with God. Jesus suffered so much that we might have right standing with God. The greatest healing is our salvation - eternal life.

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21 (NIV)

The great exchange - we gave Him our sins and He gave us His righteousness.

That’s what “espouse” means.

When we do this, we receive all the benefits of the cross.  

Praise the Lord, my soul,   and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit   and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things  so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:2-5 (NIV) 

2. Embrace our journey of faith. 

We accept it. We embrace all of it. The high and the lows. 

Too many became parked in the point of their pain. 

We embrace - we take action, we take steps toward God’s miracles.

This can begin with serving on a team or in a small group. We need community.

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 (NIV)

Having faith on the journey no matter what - even when we don’t understand.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV)

God makes it all work out whether we receive healing now or later.

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  2 Timothy 4:18 (NIV)

Does He heal us or take us to heaven - the answer is YES.