We have been studying and
praying our way through the pattern of Lord’s prayer. When we come to the end
of the Lord’s prayer, that doesn’t mean that should be the end of our prayers.
Instead we have established a solid foundation to lay our many other bricks of
praise, requests and thanks upon it throughout the day. “Rejoice
always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Th.5:16-18. “And pray in the Spirit
on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Eph.6:18
We are in a spiritual battle.
We need to develop a strong prayer life. As it’s been said, “Little prayer,
little power; much prayer, much power.” I like to take prayer walks to “fetch
power” from God for you, for myself, my family and others. If you don’t already
have a daily prayer habit of walking, standing, sitting, kneeling, etc in battle,
I want to encourage you to begin one. I don’t mean a little polite
prayer, but a time for warfare prayer. I like to go to private places where I
can even get loud with the Lord in prayer (Heb.5:7). We are wrestling against
spiritual forces of wickedness that have hell-holds on men of spiritual lies
and passivity. Cry out to God with me that these hell-holds would be broken,
that God would give us multiplying MANLY men. Envision the 75% of the men in
our congregation that are only there Sunday morning as bound by the enemy. Then
focus on a few by name. Fight the good fight of the faith. Wrestle in prayer-
pry loose with determined prayers those hell-holds that men might stand firm in
all the will of God, mature and fully assured. As I see the spiritual lack of
desire and weakness in men, I pray that God will help us model the following
and that God will give you the following kind of men- Power HOUSE men who have been lit by the flame of God's Spirit.
.png)
Power HOUSE men are:
Hungry-
I hunger for your word. I don’t have to be pushed to read it.
Obedient-
I desire to do your will O my God, your law is within my heart.
Unstoppable-
No matter how busy my day, I will read and share with my brothers.
Strong
in the Lord- I am weak, but I find my strength and identity in Christ.
Encouraging-
I know the enemy seeks to discourage others, so I will encourage them a lot.
Added thoughts on Prayer
When praying publicly, beware
of praying long prayers. Give others a chance. Also beware of the vain
repetition of certain words such as “Father God, Jesus just...” Would you use a friend’s name
repeatedly in a few sentences as you talked to him?
Also, you don’t have to always end your prayers with, “In Jesus’ name, Amen.” Surprisingly, there are no prayers in the Bible that end that way. What that means is that we are approaching our Father in the name or merits of his Son. We believe Jesus would sign his name to our requests.
Praying doesn’t simply mean asking. Your time of prayer could be dominated by singing or thanking him. Speaking of singing, cultivate a list of good God exalting songs to sing to him. Even if you only remember a bit of the song, that’s great fuel for the fire of worship. (Pet peeve of mine: songs that are misleading- "I wanna hear voices of angels singing" Ugh, I'd either be dead or crazy! "Wrap me in your arms..." That hasn't happened yet to me. What are we teaching believers to expect? We have become such a feelings generation. Where are the manly songs about standing fast in the battle? Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. :)
Incorporate more thanks in your life and praying. When you're about to ask for something, first see if you can include a related note of thanks. So instead of simply asking God to heal a sick person, you might pray, "Thank you Lord that you are the Great Physician. Help the sick and his family members to trust you in the midst of this. Instead of praying, "Lord, please go with us as we travel," we could pray, "Thank you Lord that you go with us as we travel. Help us to rest in you." By the way, why not pray more that we would be good reflections than just for protection? Just a thought.
Seek to cultivate your prayer life for the rest of your life. Read articles about prayer and read the weekly prayer blog. (Please express thanks to your prayer partners from time to time.) Our lines of communication with our King is something that the enemy greatly attacks. Protect your prayer life. It's a big rock that is so easy to neglect. The word of God and prayer are such mighty weapons- they are the sword of the Spirit and the spear of the Spirit.
So to help us be faithful in prayer as God calls us to be, you will now be rewarded and honored for being daily in it on our GREAT scoreboard. The letter A stands for a crucial ingredient of prayer- ASK! (Ask, Seek, Knock- the three words Jesus stressed in Mt.7:7- "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.") As you blog each day, you will simply give yourself credit for having had a vital time in prayer the day before. There will be a line on the blog with the letter A and you can simply put the letter A after it. A stands for Affirmative that you carried out your mission to Attack hell-holds with prayer. You didn't just pray a "Thank you for this day and for my food" generic prayer. You prayed some warfare prayers. I'm not concerned about the length of your prayers but the depth of your prayers and the focus on your prayers. We will start this on our next blog so engage in warfare prayer today. Cry out for hell-holds of apathy to be broken and for God to give us Power HOUSE men!
Also, you don’t have to always end your prayers with, “In Jesus’ name, Amen.” Surprisingly, there are no prayers in the Bible that end that way. What that means is that we are approaching our Father in the name or merits of his Son. We believe Jesus would sign his name to our requests.
Praying doesn’t simply mean asking. Your time of prayer could be dominated by singing or thanking him. Speaking of singing, cultivate a list of good God exalting songs to sing to him. Even if you only remember a bit of the song, that’s great fuel for the fire of worship. (Pet peeve of mine: songs that are misleading- "I wanna hear voices of angels singing" Ugh, I'd either be dead or crazy! "Wrap me in your arms..." That hasn't happened yet to me. What are we teaching believers to expect? We have become such a feelings generation. Where are the manly songs about standing fast in the battle? Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. :)
Incorporate more thanks in your life and praying. When you're about to ask for something, first see if you can include a related note of thanks. So instead of simply asking God to heal a sick person, you might pray, "Thank you Lord that you are the Great Physician. Help the sick and his family members to trust you in the midst of this. Instead of praying, "Lord, please go with us as we travel," we could pray, "Thank you Lord that you go with us as we travel. Help us to rest in you." By the way, why not pray more that we would be good reflections than just for protection? Just a thought.
Seek to cultivate your prayer life for the rest of your life. Read articles about prayer and read the weekly prayer blog. (Please express thanks to your prayer partners from time to time.) Our lines of communication with our King is something that the enemy greatly attacks. Protect your prayer life. It's a big rock that is so easy to neglect. The word of God and prayer are such mighty weapons- they are the sword of the Spirit and the spear of the Spirit.
So to help us be faithful in prayer as God calls us to be, you will now be rewarded and honored for being daily in it on our GREAT scoreboard. The letter A stands for a crucial ingredient of prayer- ASK! (Ask, Seek, Knock- the three words Jesus stressed in Mt.7:7- "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.") As you blog each day, you will simply give yourself credit for having had a vital time in prayer the day before. There will be a line on the blog with the letter A and you can simply put the letter A after it. A stands for Affirmative that you carried out your mission to Attack hell-holds with prayer. You didn't just pray a "Thank you for this day and for my food" generic prayer. You prayed some warfare prayers. I'm not concerned about the length of your prayers but the depth of your prayers and the focus on your prayers. We will start this on our next blog so engage in warfare prayer today. Cry out for hell-holds of apathy to be broken and for God to give us Power HOUSE men!
1.-Write out the above Power HOUSE acronym (Hungry, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord, Encouraging) on your 3x5. Memorize it and pray it often for yourself, our team and your future protégés. This is how to wrestle in prayer against the hell-holds of spiritual apathy, so that men may “stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” Col.4:12. (And when we pray together, delight my heart and pray for such crucial Power HOUSE issues. Thanks!)
2.-Read Eph.6:10-20. Then write on your 3x5 this manly passage- “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…against the spiritual forces of evil…” Eph.612 NIV. (I cut it short so that we could easily remember it. Feel free to work on the entire verse if you wish.)
3. If there are any other suggestions you want to add to this vast subject of prayer, please feel free.
4. R?
5. A? (This is what you'll see on the next blog. So as you pray for Power HOUSE men today, you will be fulfilling that.)
Announcements
See you at Jack's this Sunday at 3:00 sharp for a great M3 meeting. There will be honors and awards bestowed and a few surprises revealed! It's all happening at 10749 Cherrywood Dr. Palos Park.
Also, please be ready to share with the group and guests who will be at your awards presentation some things you've liked about M3. That should be easy since you just identified 3 as part of your test :) So invite your family and prayer partners. It's going to be great!
Kudos to Jack! despite both hands being bandaged up from surgeries, he somehow has managed to faithfully type his comments, despite the pain. You are Unstoppable Jack! And look at your brothers below on the GREAT scoreboard being unstoppable as well!
| G=God's Word | Right Wrongs | E | A | T=Team members recruited | |||
| For Wed.1.7.15 | |||||||
| Alpha Force | |||||||
| Fire Team 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Jack Rogers U.1 | Y | R | 2 | Daniel & Roger | ||
| 2 | Daniel Contreras U.1 | Y | 1 | Vince | |||
| 3 | Vince Diaz | Y | |||||
| 4 | Roger Vinlasaca U.1 | Y | |||||
| Fire Team 2 | |||||||
| 5 | Israel Fuentes U.1 | Y | |||||
| 6 | Sam Vargas U.1 | Y | R | 1 | Robert | ||
| 7 | Robert Roman | Y | |||||
| Delta Force | |||||||
| Fire Team 3 | |||||||
| 1 | Alvin James U.1 | Y | |||||
| 2 | Dave Heidekruger U.1 | Y | |||||
| 3 | Mike Pagan U.1 | Y | |||||
| Fire Team 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Eddie Morales U.1 | Y | 2 | Gary & Ismael | |||
| 5 | Gary Remson U.1 | Y | |||||
| 6 | Ismael Andrade U.1 | Y |
1.- Did it
ReplyDelete2.- Ephe 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Thank you Lord that through your Word you give us the weapons we need daily to defeat the enemy. Thank you that we can communicate with you the Almighty through prayer everyday and face whatever temptation we may face.
Roger, thanks for your dedication to M3 as you are a great leader by example--always on time with inspirational posts and prayers
DeleteI like your prayer Roger and prayed it out loud. Very good!
Delete1. Did it
ReplyDelete2. Ephesians 6:12 " For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
3. I have found it powerful to pray with my wife as first fruit in the morning--it helps us focus on our 1st ministry (our marriage) of course after God! Many marriages struggle due to lack of communication and this allows for a great start of the day with your 2nd Love.
M3 can be a bonus to the marriage, as we can capitalize on guiding our families in prayer and leading the way for our spouses and children in how to communicate better with the Lord directly based on what we are learning. Reassure her that she is a very important priority in your life and that the time on the blog is for us to move forward together in Christ.
"Wow!" is what I said out loud. Excellent Jack!
Delete1) DID IT
ReplyDelete2)“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…against the spiritual forces of evil…” Eph.612 NIV.
3) Prayer is a very powerful weapon that we have. Prayer for me is like boost of energy physically. I may be tired but after I pray it like I can start the day even get the strength to get through the day. I feel that GOD wants to hear from us. He wants us to spend time with him. Why not spend time with our king. The more plus side of prayer is that it help me spiritually. It may sound strange but I feel like more encourage after I pray. Especially when I am going through something.
Thank you GOD for this very powerful weapon. Most of all Thank you for drawing an ear to my prayer.
GOD BLESS
Yes indeed Vince! Jesus was strengthened in the garden as he prayed. I told my son recently as I left the house to pray, "I go to fetch power." Keep up the great work Vince!
Delete1 & 2. Did it.
ReplyDelete3. PUSH. Pray Until Something Happens.
If you think about the wrestling, filling the gap for others, our church, our city, our families, ourselves...how is our endurance? I have heard that God only needs to hear a prayer once for Him to do something, which I believe is true. But I also heard of persistence in praying. There might be something about spending time alone where you are just sharing and spilling your heart. I have a few prayer partners, and often times when I have a problem or issue, they just allow me to talk and vent and ask these hard questions out loud. Ultimately, I find myself getting answers to most of these tough questions, not by necessarily having the other person share their insight and advice all the time, but by them asking me questions to further my thinking and continuing to talk it through. This may not always be the case with God, but often times having that constant, persistent prayer time with God, He listens and allows me to talk it through. Then by His word and His Holy Spirit He challenges and asks questions pertaining to my actions, behavior and motives...I'm grateful for that and the communion I have with God, because its about a heart renovation and not simply checks and balances type of thing.
I like that you posted about God renovating our hearts. May we always be a renovation project for God.
DeleteThat's a fresh perspective on prayer Eddie. Very good!
Delete1-2 Did it.
ReplyDeleteDave, after reading your vent. I thought about giving you a hug :). Phileo brother.
I pray that we stay strong in the Lord, that we raise our shields, and stand firm when it comes time to battle, that we choose the gospel of peace, may we be blessed with righteousness and truth by the sword of the spirit.
Thanks for letting me vent. Hugs not drugs! :) Good prayer based on the armor.
Delete1. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” John 3:34 "For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
ReplyDeleteThose God calls, He equips. He's not looking for ability, He's looking for availability ;-)
2. Did it :-)
3. Brother Dave, sometimes it's necessary to vent, otherwise you'll burst :-D
Thanks Robert you mighty man of valor!
DeleteDid it.
ReplyDeleteGod does not call the qualify He qualify's the call. Which means to me that anyone can do what the Lord wants us to do. We just have to have the heart to do it and than He will give us the wisdom and strength to do His will. The prize is not on earth. The prize is in heaven and God is waiting to see what we do on earth to further His Kingdom.
Dave I feel your frustration there has been many times I feel the same way. What keeps me going is knowing God is in charge and all things are possible with Him.
As for all the men of this group I pray for an extra shield of God's protection for all of us. I pray He keeps giving us the strength and wisdom to do His will.
Thanks Mike. It's good to know you also are thinking through what is being sung. Well done Mike! See you Sunday and hope Maria can come too.
DeleteMike, my fellow warrior :) I am so excited to be Advancing the kingdom of God with you! I look forward to seeing you on Sunday :)
Delete1. did it
ReplyDelete2. did it
3. I just wanted to share, since beginning in this Manly band of brothers, my prayer life has increased easily 10-15% everyday. With each lesson on the Lord's prayer and with the fact that we are literally in a Spiritual War sinking into my spirit, mind, heart and my whole being, I am beginning to like prayer more and more. My faith is growing and so is my desire to Pray! I feel like God is stirring up Mighty Warriors in this group! I love what you (Dave) wrote "You didn't just pray a "Thank you for this day and for my food" generic prayer. You prayed some warfare prayers. I'm not concerned about the length of your prayers but the depth of your prayers and the focus on your prayers." --- I have prayed generic prayers far too long in my life, and the Lord is helping me pray more and more Warfare Prayers. Jesus, you get all the glory! Continue to use me in Powerful ways in this spiritual battle, as I help advance the Kingdom of God! May I be bold and confident in You and Your word and in what You have done for me :)
4. By the way, I feel the same way sometimes about worship songs, I wish we sang more Manly songs too. ( I am not complaining ), but Whatever happened to "Hail, Hail Lion of Judah"?? and some more Aggressive Songs?? I have many at Home though :) I am not Venting, LOL
Fantastic Israel! Perhaps part of the problem is that we have been warriors that have not been called out to the battlefield. Now we are being deployed as a team. Your words do my heart good! And any warrior type songs you have or come across, please recommend such. Thanks!
DeleteDid it
ReplyDeleteIf we have to take our battle to a different realm or a different battle field. Now when we pray there is boldness to run the race that we are commissioned to. I am always convicted in prayer without ceasing. In my prayers I remember that As soldiers we are girded for battled like the warriors that march on into the fight. It is with full confidence that the Lord empowers us to fight like there's no tomorrow. Furthermore may He continue to gift and empower through His Holy presence, declaring your presence and dominion. Let not the fiery arrows of the enemy interrupt your voice and what you are communicating.
There indeed is power in prayer. It is our petition to God that we are battling in His name and ushering His kingdom forward. Rather than purposeless prayers.
Dave I could recommend a few Hymns that are exceptionally helpful as to outpouring of God's spirit. My favorite is "Old Rugged Cross."
Yes Gary- and do you remember this old hymn? "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before." Lord,help find more of these songs!
Delete
ReplyDelete1) Wrote down the “HOUSE” acronym.. (I love these acronym tools.)
2) Ephesians 6:12 – did it.
3) Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
I long for those times of prayer, when the Holy Spirit quiets my mind and heart, and fills me with a special sense of God's nearness and presence. As the Holy Spirit speaks the Word so clearly in my mind, my heart burns within with awe and rejoicing. I’m get so energized and filled with praise and exaltation of our Lord. I think that may have been a little how the two disciples felt after spending time with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke24:32).
So glad you're liking the acronyms Dave. May the Lord continue to fill you and flow through you and give you Power HOUSE men to build up.
Delete1. and 2. Did it!
ReplyDelete3. Pray without ceasing...That's the frequency with which we are instructed to pray for each other in 1st Thessalonians. I use this strategy all of the time; breath prayers that I utter to the Lord throughout the day. However, I must admit, a focused time of prayer daily seems to give more powerful results.
I think both types of prayers are needed Alvin- ongoing short prayers of communion as well as focused and fervent warfare prayers. The latter has largely been neglected by the spiritual formation circles. They seem to forget that there is a war to be won in their pursuit of a sense of God's presence. They seem so focused on the practice of his presence, that they forget the practice of his purpose- Mt.28:19-20. Blessings!
DeletePrayers for myself are generally those of gratitude for the many blessings God has seen fit to provide. When petitioning Him it is usually a request for help for another person in need or pain, or for personal strength when facing adversity.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have you aboard Andy!
ReplyDelete1. & 2. Did It.
ReplyDelete4. Hard one for me to text about... but as a newlywed I've been trying to find ways to encourage my wife to be in the Word on regular basis, to pray regularly, and even to share anything with me.. Frustration has set in me that instead of encouraging words coming out of my mouth, they were more complaints. I just sounded like a big baby complainer and I felt that when she pretty much stormed out of our place. My heart dropped after replaying the words that came out, when she came back there that silence through out the day. I sat her down and asked for forgiveness, there is no reason why I acted the way I did or excuse. Really the root that should be is that I need to set that godly example, through prayer on being a MANLY MAN for her, family, friends etc... through God's divine Word and my relationship with God, he will show me how to better my words and actions and how to cultivate my wife in those areas. It starts with me..
No problem for venting, thanks for being real. We need more authentic men.
Very good Ismael! I highly R- Respect you for making the wrong Right. I could be so much more godly in my marriage if it wasn't for being married :) Marriage is a painful mirror at times, revealing things I don't like to see in me. Being good at R is essential in marriage. So, on the bright side, you're actually off to a good start. Phileo, dave
ReplyDelete