Posted in JESUS, PRAYER, Safe with Jesus, Uplifting Christ

Building Strong Relationship to Receive His Best

give thanksI am the LORD, the God of all the people of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27, NLT)

Joseph M Scriven’s “What a friend we have in Jesus” is one of the inspiring and educative hymns in the body of Christ. It talks about our relationship with Jesus Christ and the privilege we have to take our needs, burdens, trials and temptations, etc to Him. In stanza one, he said

Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

God desires to have deep, rich and satisfying relationship with us because it is basic requisite or fundamental to receiving supernatural breakthrough in whatever we do. The secret is that the more we talk to, or interact, with him, the more we know him. And the more we know him, the more we do things that please him (like living holy lives and walking by Faith). In other words, we walk/live by believing that He is more than able to do what He promises during our talk or interaction with him.

20121127-085653.jpgWe talk to God through prayer. Prayer is a major ingredient to growing our relationship with God. As we talk to Him, bringing everything (including our major and minor decisions) to him, He guides with His word as to what steps to take to get successful results. But often, we ignore this privilege. We prefer to talk to our neighbours, pastors, friends, family, etc to find out what they think about our situations and the result is that we become more confused with the answers or suggestions they provide because they don’t know us more than ourselves. The only person who knows us more than ourselves is God. The scripture says that “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began” (Psalm 139:16, HCSB)

In the New Testament, Jesus added that the very hairs on our heads are numbered. In effect, it is unwise to talk to man (people) about your problems, difficulties, etc when it is evident that they don’t know you more and can’t offer any better solution(s) than your Creator.

Give a thought about the following and see how you can connect them:

  • I am the LORD, the God of all the people of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27, NLT) emphasis added
  • Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT) emphasis added
  • “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” emphasis added

    Peace Rock - John 16:33

  • Is anything too hard for me?

The common answer is No because we believe God, the Creator of the Universe, is Omnipotent God. He can do all things and doesn’t need anyone’s permission to act. He is who He says He is, and What He says He is. Nobody can challenge His supremacy.

  • Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

If you believe, like I do, that nothing is too hard for Him, then you don’t have to worry about anything. Instead of worrying, Pray. You choose prayer over worrying because you believe that as you talk to God about your needs, He will do it. God would never give you a cheque ( or a promissory note) that would be dishonoured because of insufficient funds. In other words, He would never promise what He doesn’t have or more than what He has. His resources are insatiable to meet your satiable needs. Therefore, if His Word tells you not to worry about anything but Pray about everything, it means that He is able supply or meet every need you have.

In Mark 11:24, Jesus said “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (KJV). Notice Jesus didn’t put restriction on what you should pray for, and I believe this is a great privilege for us in the body of Christ.

  • “…All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

The question now is why do we worry and carry loads of burdens, hopping from one door to another seeking for help?

The answer is that we often miss the basic part; we pay little or no attention to our relationship with God. It is easier for us to get on social media (whatsapp, facebook, twitter, etc) to talk to friends throughout the day than to talk to God. We get time for social events but struggle to get time for Church activities. We can read novels in days but find it difficult to spend 30 minutes studying His Word. We can talk on phone for hours but struggle to pray to God for 30 minutes. We spend quite substantial amount in changing our wardrobes in a year but spend less in buying materials that will help our Spirit to grow and draw us closer to God. Your relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, should come first in whatever you do. Spend your resources (including time and money) in building your relationship with God.

When your relationship with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, is solid, you will talk to him about everything because you Trust Him. As you continue doing that, the Scripture says that “your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3, NLT)

You have borne your pains, disappointment, failures, hurting, sickness, sins, mistakes, and fears among other for so long. It is time to talk to the Lord. All things are possible with Him and He is faithful. You must tell Jesus today

 

 

 

Posted in GOD CARES, PRAYER, SOUL FOOD, Uplifting Christ

Everything to God in Prayer

20121127-085653.jpgDo not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.” (Philippians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

I love hymns and I know most Christians do, especially when we are confronted with situations beyond our control. One of my favourites is What a Friend We have in Jesus written by Joseph M. Scriven. The words are comforting. The message is clear and it tells why God’s children worry for nothing.

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

When we understand the concept of “everything to God is prayer“, there will be no such thing as worrying or being anxious. Philippians 4:6 says that “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God” (AMP). This re-echoes the fact that we should be constantly be connected to God because the more connected we are, the more we talk to him about everything.

When you are constantly connected to your Source, you don’t go about talking to people about how unfair you have been treated, or how people have disappointed you. Instead you take everything to God in prayer. That is you will talk to God about the things you see as good, and those you see as bad or challenging.

Related post: Stay Connected

Often we carry loads or weight that could have otherwise been avoided if we had spoken to God immediately we encountered them. The scripture says that “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” (‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭AMP‬‬).

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). ” (‭‭Psalm‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

The problem is not the sin you committed because when you confessed, God forgave you. The problem is not about the mistake you made because you might have learnt your lessons well. The problem is not about the person who hurt you badly, or how you lost your loved one(s). The real problem is that you have not given them to God. You are still carrying the guilt, resentment, pain, bitterness, etc. You have not released the weight, all your worries, all your anxieties, and all your concerns on Him. Carrying your loads means you have not fully trusted God to take care of you. From today decide to take everything (good or bad) to God in prayer

O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Posted in believe, FAITH, SOUL FOOD, Uplifting Christ

EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT (PART 2)

Philippians_4-6In part One of Everything’s gonna be alright, we concluded that if we pray for God’s grace, discipline ourselves and keep moving forward, we will be able to overcome the desires of the flesh. In this piece, God wants me to tell the person who is in some difficulties that everything is going to be alright. Although you may not see a way or don’t know where help is going to come from, He wants me to tell you that He has a way and your help is going to come from Him.

Everything is going to be alright. It doesn’t matter what the problem is, everything is going to be alright. Go to God in prayer and tell Him what is happening in your life. Sometimes it gets to a point in life when there is no one to talk to, when everyone seems to turn deaf ears to your problems, when you are overwhelmed by issues of life, when you feel like ending your life. You may be among people who believe that life is not fair.

Friend life is fair and God wants you to enjoy life. Jesus said in John 10:10 (AMP) that “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows)”. God allows you to go through such situations in order to make you strong in faith. How would you know you are growing in faith if your faith is not tested? A student may be scared of writing tests/exams yet that is the only way he/she can be assessed and promoted. The scripture says that “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” (Proverbs 24:10)

When it gets to the point where you see no way or no help coming from nowhere, remember that God has a way and your help is going come from Him.

In Genesis 21 (NLT), Hagar and Ishmael were sent away by Abraham. When their water got finished, Hagar didn’t know what to do. She thought there was no hope for the child so she put the boy in the shade of a bush.  Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears.

But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.

From the passage, when there was no one to comfort Hagar and her child, God sent help from Heaven. When she got to the point where she saw no way and thought her child was going to die, the angel of God showed up. God opened her eyes to see a well full of water. He saved her and her child.

It is my prayer today that God opens your eyes so that you can see opportunities around you. I know, I believe, and I trust that if you keep on praying to God, and believe that you have received what you have asked for in prayer, you will get it in Jesus’ Name.

Everything is gonna be alright in Jesus Christ.

I will close with this hymn:

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!