PRAYER

Not only are you to pray in such Joy, but to also love such as the mother and be conscious of this in your everyday actions as if it is second nature.

Paul teaches us to be positive in our thinking, why? Positive thinking and prayer are a sign of the fruits of the Spirit and is the way forward. And no amount of simple positive thinking by itself can save the mother and her children, but positive prayer with the attitude of true joy and following the guidance as given to us in scriptures and that of the Holy Spirit will make a difference in the life of the mother and children.

I remember reading somewhere I think it was something said by Pastor Rick Warren, that positive prayer can make a difference in someone else. And that if you want to transform a failing or negative relationship to that of a positive and good one, is to start praying for that other person.

The Apostle Paul and our scriptures even teach us how to pray for others: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).

The guidance of scriptures and the Holy Spirit can and will lead us in our daily lives, the fruit of the Spirit as it grows within us leads us in our daily walk with God and draws us nearer to him through Christ Jesus his son, our Lord and Saviour.

Nothing is impossible with God! Remember that, yet, this will not mean people will not suffer or die, Jesus suffered, he took our sins on himself and took our place so we could become one with him and run the race of life knowing we are his, he Jesus purchased us with his blood and the Holy Spirit guides us in our daily walk in life and into Gods will.

Scriptures are your guide book in life and learn to study it daily and constantly seek the Holy Spirits guidance as if you were talking to a true friend and seeking help in everyday situations. And when it comes to praying, we can learn from the above how to grow and draw nearer to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is there to be your friend, your guide, to give wisdom in situations which are beyond your understanding, and I pray that we all can learn to draw nearer to Christ Jesus and mature daily in the love given and charged to us as we grow in the wisdom, knowledge and guidance of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Focus your mind into a new pattern of prayers, possibly try changing them into a conversation with God where you are pleased and overjoyed to be in his presence and giving thanks for all he has done not only in your life but that of others.

(Praise) Scriptures guide us in our prayers, yet many seem to fail to follow these guidelines.

Situations which had once been hopeless in your life and causing you stress can be elevated to a position of Joy as you constantly walk in faith, hope and love knowing the Joy in your heart.

Yet I hear so many asking why their prayers had not been answered, why were they suffering and why was so much happening around them within their lives? Again, the Scriptures guides us in how God speaks to us and guides us in our daily life, look at the book of Job, starting at verse 8 to verse 26:

8/ But you have said in my hearing – I heard the very words – (Note Scripture clearly states that He God heard the words spoken)

9/ “I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin. (Note can we honestly say such before our God?)

10/ Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. (Note even though Christ Jesus Atoned us, do you know if your actions enable fault to be found in you, do you regard yourself as an enemy?)

11/ He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps a close watch on all my paths.”

12/ But I tell you, in this, you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.

13/ Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words?

14/ For God does speak – now one way, now another – though no one perceives it.

15/ In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds,

16/ he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,

17/ to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride,

18/ to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.

19/ Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones,

20/ so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathe the choicest meal.

21/ Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.

22/ They draw near to the pit,

23/ Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright,

24/ and he is gracious to that person and says to God, spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them.

25/ let their flesh be renewed like a child’s, let them be renewed like a child’s;

26/ then that person can pray to God and find favour with him, they will see God’s face and shout for Joy; he will restore them to full well-being.

(Note in verse 14: it states God does speak to us and we know that he hears us. Our problem usually is as I am often told is that people are too busy or too lazy to listen. And often enquire how do we understand this process?)

Again, the above constantly brings me back to the scriptures in our Bible and like I said before it becomes our guidebook our inspiration and guide in life. And therefore, I suggested that we read the scriptures daily and make them a part of our daily life.

I must, therefore, ask you a question myself included.

Do you spend enough time with God, and are you prepared to open yourself to God, and then be prepared to be always open to his guidance?

So how will, and can God guide you? We have already stated the Scriptures, and in addition spend time with him, a quiet time and could I suggest through our church teachers, those delivering to us the congregation a message from God, and then you feel the Holy Spirit speaking to you through that message, possibly something that only you and God could know.

In our church, we lift those who are about to deliver the word to us so the Holy Spirit can speak through that person and open our ears and hearts to receive that which God wants us to hear.

How do we know what is said confirms with Gods will? I could suggest by comparing it to the historical record in our possession, in the Holy Spirit and in the Scriptures in the Bible our Guide Book.

Then there is the context in our lives, is a certain situation within your life guiding you in a direction where you place your trust in him, like the sample of the children and their mother?

It is not as straightforward as you would imagine, as we all must adjust to our daily lives, the circumstances change and we find ourselves confronting various situations which bring us, again and again, to stand before Father God.

I have found that in my life it is only when I start to seek God and listen that I can find Gods will and then take a course of action which brings my life into his will. It has only been when I seek such guidance and learn to listen and seek guidance in understanding that I find myself talking with the Holy Spirit and drawing nearer to Christ Jesus and Gods will.

And I can assure you it brings Joy into your heart when you realise how God truly hears you, how he listens as well as guides you and you see yourself drawing nearer day by day.

I suffer serious health issues and each day I thank father God for a new day, and I have made such a mess of things in the past, yet God in his infinite love and gentle understanding has guided me, and time and time again drawn me back towards him, understanding I need time to adjust and learn.

he fruits of the spirit growing and ripening and maturing with the Holy Spirit manoeuvring me.

I truly was not joking when I said, come and talk to God as a friend, I believe from my heart that he actively expects this from us.

You could tell God this in a prayer or better still, in simply talking to him. Tell him you desire to be his friend and that you are not trying to be presumptuous, tell God you want to talk with him.

Try to imagine walking and been in the company of a friend who ever only spoke to you when they needed something, the friendship would be unusual at the best and the friendship would become strained.

God wants us to communicate, simply talking as you would in everyday life, and that is the mental attitude that a person needs to genuinely adopt in your daily life.

Pastor Rick Warren gave us a prayer which we could use in such a case as we have discussed above although not accurate in the word for word it is like this.

(Pray this today: “Dear God, I’m astonished you would want me as a friend. I desire to be with you and learn to have conversations with you. Please assist me to devote time to you every day. And thank you that you care about every detail of my life. Jesus, I want to know you more and more every day, and I want to rest in joy and trust on you for guidance in my job, my family, my future, and in every area of my life. I invite you to be the manager of my life, my Lord and Saviour, as I follow you and trust you. In your name, I pray. Amen.“)

Throughout the above I have tried to draw you towards the scriptures, look at (James 1:5 NIV). If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

The scriptures in our Bible is our guidebook and it also gives guidelines in every aspect of our lives. When we need to learn Father, Gods will, then there is a process. Again, using scripture read the rest of (James 1:6 NIV). (Look it up).

Believe in your heart with full joy like Paul the Apostle, when you talk with God, and simply tell him you have a situation which requires help or guidance.

I understand that some of us find this difficult, can you imagine how young David as a shepherd boy must have felt when he saw let alone had to face the giant. How do you think you would feel, but change it around and view the giant as whatever problem you may be facing, again as I have already used the children and their mother, a huge giant of a problem, and two innocent young lives hang in the balance and that of their life ahead of them?

Now take the attitude David had when he faced this giant, he did not hesitate to believe his God could overcome such a problem, even if others quivered in utter fear. Look at the (NIV Application Study Bibles notes on 1 Samuel:17 26.)