The Fourth Man
Prayer
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Be Faithful in Prayer
I've heard people say, "I pray and things don't seem to get any better". Yes, God answers the prayers of those who trust and believe, but He isn't some sort of cosmic vending machine that dispenses whatever you want when you push the 'prayer' button. For many, prayer is like that little red box on the wall that says, "In case of Emergency Break Glass". Prayer is not just for emergencies. One thing that the Bible is telling us to do when it says, "be faithful in prayer" is to have a consistent, ongoing two-way conversation with God. Some parents only hear from their grown children when they need money. Many of us treat God the same way. Our Heavenly Father wants us to come to Him in times of need, but He also wants a day-by-day intimate relationship with us. He wants to share good times and bad, our questions and revelations, our highest hopes and broken dreams. He is our Father and best friend.,
When Jesus taught about faithfulness in prayer, he said, "“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened". [Mat 7:7-8] This literally means that we should ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. The answer to our prayers often does not come as quickly as we would like, but we are encouraged to be both consistent and persistent in prayer. The answer will come in God's perfect timing. Most often, the answer will come in ways that we never expected or imagined. That is one of the many, many things I love about the Lord. When the answer comes, our immediate response should be to give Him thanks and praise.
When Jesus taught about faithfulness in prayer, he said, "“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened". [Mat 7:7-8] This literally means that we should ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. The answer to our prayers often does not come as quickly as we would like, but we are encouraged to be both consistent and persistent in prayer. The answer will come in God's perfect timing. Most often, the answer will come in ways that we never expected or imagined. That is one of the many, many things I love about the Lord. When the answer comes, our immediate response should be to give Him thanks and praise.
Know Your Enemy
It seems you can't walk very far in this life without finding yourself in the middle of some sort of battle. In each and every one of these conflicts, one thing is certain: we want to win. According to Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War', in order to see victory, it is essential that you know your enemy. You may be thinking, "I know my enemy very well, we work together 40 hours a week" or "I hear all about my enemy's political maneuvering on the news every day" or "oh, I know all I need to know about my enemy, let me tell you about my ex." Scripture tells us that we must look beyond the tangible, visible world to recognize who our true enemy is. Although we live in these physical bodies, we are actually spiritual beings and the real enemies are spiritual as well. There are dark forces waging war against God annd his people. Being aware of this in our day-to-day life is half the battle. I am not saying that there is a demon behind every bad thing that happens to us, but we must be aware of the reality of spiritual warfare. Satan does his best to keep us focused on fighting flesh and blood enemies with worldly weapons, but victory only cones when we use God's weapons against the unseen forces. Our arsenal icludes, the name of Jesus, prayer, worship, love and forgiveness. Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus explains it quite succinctly:So put on all of God’s armor. Evil days will come. But you will be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you will still be standing. So remain strong in the faith. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God’s word. At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:13-18