PRAYER AND FAITH

Mark 11:24 - "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. " (NKJV)




FAITH IS A NECESSARY INGREDIENT OF PRAYER. Before we come to God in prayer, faith must be present. E.M. Bounds said that, "In any study of the principles and procedure of prayer, of its activities and enterprises, first place, must, of necessity, be given to faith. IT IS THE INITIAL QUALITY IN THE HEART OF ANY MAN WHO ESSAYS TO TALK TO THE UNSEEN." I totally agree with this statement. It really takes faith to pray and talk to someone whom you do not see and have not even seen. And it takes even more faith to trust and believe that He can provide answers to the petitions we will utter.

PRAYER IS AN EXPRESSION OF OUR FAITH IN GOD. Praying regularly sends a message to God that we trust Him, that He can do something in every situation in our lives. That's why when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he told them to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Jesus wants us to express our faith to Him each day of our lives through prayer and trust him for our daily sustenance.

OUR FAITH IS BEING KEPT ALIVE BY PRAYER. "When faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live" (E.M. Bounds). Have you notice that the more time you spend with God in prayer, the more your faith gets stronger. And the less time you spend in prayer, the weaker your faith becomes. When we don't pray, we are becoming more susceptible to satan's temptations, we tend to lose our focus on God, and we start to make bad choices and decisions.

OUR FAITH DETERMINES THE ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS. In Mark 11:24, Jesus clearly stated that if we "believe" we can have WHATEVER we ask for in prayer. This is a promise with a condition, and the condition is FAITH. We need to have a strong faith in God first before He can deliver the answers to our prayers. The kind of faith we need to have is the total trust and dependence on God's power and ability to do even the impossible things and fulfill whatever He promised in His Word.

As we have declared 2009 as the "Year of Overflow", let's express our faith in God through prayer and fasting that He can truly provide overflowing blessings in our lives and He alone has the power to release the answers to every petition we have. The more we become faithful in coming to God in prayer coupled with fasting, the more our faith will be strengthened. And when our faith is strengthened, we will please God and this will cause Him to unlock the door of blessings and release the overflowing answers to all our needs and requests.

Let us not get tired of bombarding heaven with PRAYING AND FASTING until we obtain the answers and the OVERFLOW. Believe and have faith that as we faithfully come to God in prayer each day, he is faithful to grant us the answers we need. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (NKJV)

JESUS IS STILL THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

WITH A FEW DAYS LEFT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
REMEMBER:

JESUS IS BETTER THAN SANTA . . . . .

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
Santa is a myth
But Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.

JESUS IS STILL THE REASON FOR THE SEASON . . . . . .

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.

BEARING FRUIT THAT LASTS

John 15:16 says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last." This passage states what Jesus is expecting from His genuine disciples - to become fruitful!

But you may probably be asking, "What kind of fruit is Jesus talking about?" Galatians 5:22 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Fruitfulness is a very serious matter in the kingdom of God. There is judgment attached to it as well as blessings. In John 15:2, Jesus said, "He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." Jesus speaks of two kinds of Christians - the unfruitful and the fruitful one - and the actions that will be done to each kind. An unfruitful Christian is one who professes being a Christian but do not live a life that is consistent to the faith he profess. Though he is a member of the Church and attends every activity and church service, he doesn't really have a close and intimate relationship with Jesus. His relationshp with Him is only external. While a fruitful Christian is one who possesses and manifests the "fruit of the spirit" in his daily life, a person who radiates the true image and character of Jesus as he interacts with all the people around him. He is a genuine believer of Jesus Christ and has an intimate, personal, close and internal relationship with Him. He trusts and puts his faith on Him in all situations and circumstances in life, and walks with Him in his daily journey in this world as a Christian.

An unfruitful Christian will be cast away from the Kingdom of God as Matthew 7:21-23 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "

On the contrary, a fruitful Christian will be "pruned" (trimmed, purged) so that he will bear fruit continuously. Hebrews 12:11 gives the reason for this pruning process, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Mark 4:19 lists the causes why Christians need pruning, "but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." As we continue to live in this world, we will be tempted by the devil in every way so that we will go back to our old life, forsake our faith in Jesus, and become unfruitful believer of Jesus. We need God's discipline and correction in order for us to become strong and mature in our faith and grow more in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and bear lasting fruit for Him.

John 15:4-5 reveals the secret for fruitfulness, it says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (NKJV). The secret of fruitfulness is abiding in the vine - Jesus Christ. The synonyms for the word "abiding" are remaining, enduring, surviving, unshakeable, long-lasting and permanent. In other words, a person who is abiding in Christ will have an enduring, surviving, long-lasting and permanent relationship with Jesus. He will never be shaken or defeated by any temptations, difficulties, trials and problems in life. Instead, he will continue to bear the fruits of righteousness. This verse also implies that the quality of our relationship with Christ determines our fruitfulness. Matthew 7:17-20 says, "Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit . . . Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

A genuine disciple of Jesus Christ will be known by his fruit. We were commanded by God to "be fruitful and multiply" and "to bear fruit that last". Thus, we were all called to reproduce. As we live a fruitful Christian life and become living testimonies to all the people around us, we will be able to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus to our unbelieving relatives, friends, neighbors, etc. This will cause them to see the light of Jesus Christ shining though us and will cause them to desire the life that we have in Jesus. The souls of men that we will bring out of the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light are the only fruits that we can have that will last until eternity.

Let us be a shining light of the image of our Lord Jesus Christ to all the world and bear fruits that last!