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Comment by Ladyjd721 on May 28, 2009 at 7:13am

GOD'S TREASURE REVEALED

2 Corinthians 4:7-12
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=2+Corinthians+4:7-12

Dear Father, powerful sustainer,

Thank you for putting your treasure in a cracked clay pot like me
so that it will be evident that the treasure is from you, the
transcendent and powerful God, and not from me, the container.

Thank you for upholding all who serve you. When I am afflicted in
every way, I am not crushed; when perplexed, I am not driven to
despair; when persecuted, I am not forsaken; when struck down, I am
not destroyed.

Reveal your immortality through my mortal body. May unbelievers
see the glorious work you are doing in my life.

I come as your humble servant, in the name of your only Son. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on March 26, 2009 at 4:41am

VERSE:
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we
may be also glorified together.
-- Romans 8:16-17
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+8:16-17&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
Your Brother died and left you the family inheritance! That's
the message here. Because we have God's Spirit, we are God's
children. If we are God's children, then we are heirs of all that
God has to offer us. We are co-heirs with Christ, whose death made
our adoption into God's family possible. So if we have to put up
with some hard times or some painful difficulties, we will not
despair. We know the time is coming when we will inherit all the
blessings of heaven!

PRAYER:
Father, thank you for your grace. I need you to pour out that
grace more and more. Please help me bear up under the weight of my
trials and temptations with character and faithfulness. Please give
me the courage to hang on through the tough times because I know
that I will eventually share heaven with you. Thank you for your
Spirit, my assurance that I am your child and that I will share in
all of your blessings. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on March 20, 2009 at 8:32am

Prophecy Revelation
Jeremiah 7-11 Saturday: Mark 7-8
Sunday: I Corinthians 11-12
Monday: Exodus 5-8

Jeremiah 7
1
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2
Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
3
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
4
Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
5
For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
6
If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
7
Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
8
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
9
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
10
And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
11
Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
12
But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
13
And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
14
Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
15
And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
16
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
17
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
19
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
20
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
21
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
22
For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
23
But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
24
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
25
Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
26
Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
27
Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.
28
But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
29
Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
30
For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
31
And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
32
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
33
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
34
Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.



Jeremiah 8
1
At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
2
And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
3
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
4
Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
5
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
6
I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
7
Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
8
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
9
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
10
Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
11
For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
12
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13
I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
14
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
15
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
16
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
17
For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
18
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
19
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
21
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
22
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?



Jeremiah 9
1
Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
2
Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3
And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
4
Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
5
And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6
Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
7
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
8
Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
9
Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
11
And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12
Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
13
And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14
But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16
I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
17
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
18
And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19
For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
20
Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
21
For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
22
Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
23
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
25
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
26
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.



Jeremiah 10
1
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
6
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
7
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
8
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
9
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
10
But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
11
Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
12
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
14
Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
15
They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16
The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
17
Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
18
For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
19
Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
20
My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
21
For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
22
Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
23
O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
24
O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
25
Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.



Jeremiah 11
1
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,
2
Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3
And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4
Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
5
That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
6
Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
7
For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8
Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but they did them not.
9
And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
11
Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12
Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13
For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
15
What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
16
The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
17
For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
18
And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
19
But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
20
But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
21
Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:
22
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:
23
And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation

Comment by Ladyjd721 on March 17, 2009 at 6:28am

VERSE:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God.
-- Romans 8:14
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+8:14&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
Over the last two weeks we have been blessed to read a number of
Scriptures that speak of the Spirit's work in our lives. In the
last several days, we've celebrated being God's children. Now the
two concepts come together in one glorious declaration: we are
God's "sons," his children with full inheritance rights. We have
not only been given grace, but we live as his children and enjoy
the blessings of his eternal family.

PRAYER:
Dear Father in heaven, may your name be recognized as holy in my
life as your child. May your will and your reign be known in my
life just as the hosts of heaven honor it. Father, I am confident
that you will give me today, the food that I need and I thank you.
Please forgive me of my sin as I commit to be forgiving to those
who sin against me. You are glorious, dear Father. Your Kingdom is
eternal and is the goal of my heart. Your power is my source of
strength. I love you, dear Father. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on February 17, 2009 at 10:03am

A HOLY TEMPLE

Romans 12:1-2
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+12:1-2

Dear Father, dweller of my temple,

Please give me the mind of Christ and make my body a temple of the
spirit of holiness which is his.

Make me holy through and through. May my whole spirit, soul, and
body be kept blameless by your power until the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ.

I trust you to do this because you are the one who has called me,
and you are faithful. Your word says that you will do it!

By the authority of Jesus and in his name I ask for this growth in
grace. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on February 2, 2009 at 7:45am

God's Love
Bishop Walter S. Thomas
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)

God does not just talk love, God demonstrates it; God shows it. It is so easy to talk about love when it is a noun, the subject of a sentence, but God shows love as a verb. He acts upon what He says. It is so strange to accept the fact that God could love us. We are so prone to mistakes.

We are so given to mischievous behavior. Pied Pipers of this world often lead us off into sin. Yet in spite of all of that, God loves us and loves us with an everlasting love. He has declared that nothing can or will separate us from the love He has for us. I must admit I shutter every time I think about so great a love.

He demonstrates that love for us in and through His son, Jesus Christ. Christ so loved us that he came to give us eternal life. He did not come in riches. He did not come to a palace. He did not come to the acceptable of society.

On the contrary, he associated with sinners, divested himself of his eternal glory, and came to outcast and rejects. He demonstrated that the Omnipotent God loves the lost, the lonely, and the left out. He loves us so much as to come to where ever we can be found. He will stop by a pool and teach us to walk. He will step into our place of employment and tell us that we are unfulfilled. He will walk across waves to help us handle those same waves.

The miracle of God's love is that Christ did not stop with identifying with us. He died for us. He took love to another level. He did more than show us the way. He died to fully open the way and to guarantee that it stayed open. Paul cannot fathom the fact that someone would love us so much that he would endure so heinous a death; yet; he knows that Christ did it because he loves us.

He wants us to enjoy the fruits of the kingdom and to know God for ourselves. We do not see this kind of love anywhere but in Christ Jesus. We would never know the real meaning of love, the selfless giving, that is love, if God had not revealed it to us in his son Jesus Christ. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Comment by Ladyjd721 on February 2, 2009 at 5:37am

WAITING FOR REDEMPTION

Romans 8:26-27
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+8:26-27

Dear Father, who knows my secrets,

Help me to wait patiently for my redemption. Thank you for giving
me your Holy Spirit to make up for the inadequacies of my body and
spirit. I know not how to pray as I should, so I praise you for
your Spirit, who takes my inexpressible groanings and lifts them to
the Lord Jesus, thus sharing in his intercession for me.

I thank you that the Holy Spirit searches out the remotest cranny
of my heart, knows me in a way that I cannot even know myself, and
expresses to you what I wish that I could say but cannot. How
wonderful! How loving!

Thank you, Lord, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hallelujah.
Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you again!

In the name of Jesus and with the support of your Spirit I come to
you, with gratitude for doing these things. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on January 31, 2009 at 9:55am

CHRIST LIVING IN ME

Romans 8:9-15
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+8:9-15

Dear Father, who indwells me,

Show me that I do not really live in the flesh, since your Spirit
really dwells in me, else I would not belong to you. So with Christ
living in me, my spirit is alive because of righteousness, even
though my body is dead (doomed for decay!) because of sin.

May the same Spirit which dwelled in Jesus continue to dwell in me
and give life to my mortal body. Enable me by the Spirit to put to
death the deeds of the sinful body, and thus find life. Help me
cast off the spirit of slavery, and be a true son of yours.

Thank you that I can call you "Abba, Father," as a fearless
testimony of my sonship. Thank you, God, for condescending to be my
Father and for making me an heir of your glory.

It is in the name of Jesus and by his authority that I have such
boldness to come to you, asking these things according to his will.
Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on January 31, 2009 at 8:46am

Keep the Faith!
Dr. Creflo A. Dollar
Evidence is defined as "something that indicates" or "an outward sign." In a court of law, the evidence you present to a judge can mean the difference between prison and freedom, or in some cases, life and death. In the kingdom of God, the evidence you present to your heavenly Father will determine whether or not you receive from Him the things you desire. When it comes to proving to God that you are ready to receive all that He has predestined for you, faith is the most compelling evidence you can present to Him.
The term faith is sometimes used as if it means "belief" or "hope." But faith is really much more than either of these words suggest. According to Hebrews 11:1, "...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In other words, faith is knowing that the things you hope for are available to you, even when you don't see any outward signs that they exist. Believers often sincerely "hope" that God will help them-- they even pray for hours-- but nothing happens without faith. If you don't understand faith, you won't know how to operate in God's system.
Imagine that you need money to pay your car note. You've tried several options, but they've all failed. Now you're desperate and you need God to "work a miracle" on your behalf. What are your options? You could cry, feel sorry for yourself and say, "I'm a good person. Why doesn't God just help me?" If you take this approach, God will see you crying and sympathize with you, but His Word says,"Without faith it is impossible to please him..." (Hebrews 11:6), so your emotional expression is unlikely to change anything.
To get God to act on your behalf, you could choose to pray a traditional "religious" prayer: "Lord, You work in mysterious ways. Please stop by my house, God. Please! Please, Father. Please don't pass me by...." This is the way many people pray, but this type of prayer doesn't express faith. It has the form of a prayer, but it lacks the power to produce results. James 1:6 (AMP) says that we must ask in faith without wavering or doubting.
As a Believer, you have the right to receive answers to every one of your prayers. But the key to getting answers is faith. Whenever you pray or call upon God to help you, you must present evidence of your faith. For example, if you want God to show you how to get your car note paid, you have to petition Him correctly: "Father, your Word says that You will supply all of my needs according to Your riches in heaven. I ask you, Father, to show me how to pay my car note. I surrender this problem to you, and I know that it is already resolved. I thank You, Father, for answering my prayer." A faith-filled prayer that is firmly rooted in God's Word will get answers!
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so build your faith by spending time reading and studying the Word. God's Word (His book of promises) is the evidence you must present to receive the answers you need. His Word is your confession. It is the thing you say to Him in prayer, thereby increasing your faith. Pick up your Bible and find scriptures to match the things you're petitioning God for. Using His Word assures your response.
When you know what the Word says about the things you are entitled to receive, you can pray for those things and receive the answers you need. You never have to beg, plead or bargain with God to have Him answer your prayers. He is moved by your faith in His Word. Show God your faith, and He will show you His love by pouring out His blessings in your life and fulfilling all of the promises He made in His Word.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on January 30, 2009 at 10:11am

VERSE:
There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the
counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

-- Proverbs 19:21
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Proverbs+19:21&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
"What are your plans for today?" If you are like me, you
prayerfully try to plan your day. You make appointments with people
in the future so you can address their needs, hear their concerns,
or discuss issues and projects. But, we need to always live humbly,
recognizing that none of our plans will be of value unless those
plans come from the Father!

PRAYER:
Holy God and righteous Father, please bless me as I seek to
discern your will in my decisions today. I recognize that each
breath that I take is a gift and that each success is because of
your grace. Please use me to your glory and help me find your path
for my life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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