Praying For One Another

This week is, again, a continuation on prayer. More specifically about intercession.

What is intercession? Intercession can be defined as a prayer to God on behalf of other people or another person. The Bible speaks of the importance of praying for others.

James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

Scripture also tells us that when two or more are gathered, God is there. There are so many uplifting verse that are associated with prayer. One of the being Matthew 21:22 - "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Pretend you are a person living in absolute poverty and you don't know God or haven't had the chance to know Him. If people didn't intercede for you, will you ever get the chance to learn about Christ Jesus?
We need to lift up and intercede for others so that they can learn of Christ's existance and what He did for them and the world. We need to pray that people living in poor circumstances will get the opportunity to hear His teachings. Whether that's by missionaries coming to share with them, people sponsoring them or one of the other many ways, it's up to us, as their spiritual sisters to pray for that opportunity to show itself to them, that they will hold on to it, that they may be saved as well.

We all know that Satan's ultimate plan is to keep people away from hearing the Good News. And for those who already know Him, try to fill our lives with so many distractions that we don't have time for God. But consistant prayer disrupts Satan's plans!

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

- 1 Peter 5:8

Prayer is the greatest form of worship. God loves that intimacy of it and with the devil is 'prowling around looking for someone to devour', we need to protect ourselves and others in prayer. Pray that we won't be weak but that we can stand strong in the Lord. That the enemy can find no place to get a good hold on someone. When there are multitudes of people praying, there is nothing more that Satan hates. So when we pray in groups for others, at youth group, school or church, we are not only blessing them, but protecting them from the devil's horrible plans.

There are so many different ways we can pray. Prayer is vital to the soul of a believer. So never feel discouraged, like God doesn't hear your prayers. He hears every prayer, even the whispered ones. So we encourage you to pray for one another. When we pray we often pray for our family and friends, without really thinking of it as intercession. Below are some things that the Bible is specific on praying for.

The Bible says to pray for...
- One another (Eshesians 6:18, John 17:15).
- Kings and Leaders worldwide (1 Timothy 2:2).
- Those in position of autority ( 1 Timothy 2:1-4).
- The lost to be saved (Romans 10:1, 2 Peter 3:9).
- The world to be touched (Psalm 2:8).
- Missionaries (2 Thessalonians 3:1).
- Workers to be sent (Matthew 9:37-38).
- Our pastors and leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:25).
- New Christians (Philippians 1:11,Acts 11:26, Acts 14:22).
- The sick (James 5:14-15).
- Family, friends, work or school associates (John 1:41-42).

God Bless.
~ Taleisha & Meggie

Never Say Die

And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves ; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks reveieves, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  – Luke 11: 5-10

What is persistence? In the MacArthur Study Bible (on the commentary on Luke 11:8) it says: The word can even me “impudence.” It conveys the ideas of urgency, audacity, earnestness, boldness, and relentlessness- like the persistent asking of a desperate beggar.  (Bold mine).
Otherwise, persistence means never giving up, going on and on while a glimmer of hope dares to show itself. It means when you haven’t heard Gods answer yet, and you have hope that He will yet answer prayer that you keep going. If you want to see something happen, are you only going to ask once?

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ (a.k.a. enemy) And he would not for awhile; but afterward he said within himself, ‘though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ “
Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? – Luke 18: 1- 7

So there is this judge, he is downright evil and doesn’t care for anyone. A widow comes to him begging for justice to be done in her circumstance. He ignores her, but she keeps coming back and begging him. He keeps on ignoring her but she becomes so annoying that he finally accepts and does it, just to get rid of her.
The point is, if our Father in heaven loves us, will He not do it way before the judge did? Wont God do a better job? If you keep at your praying, God says He will come through for you.

Heart Check.

Be honest with yourself and God. When God says, “No”, to your pleading, respect and fear Him by putting it to rest. There is a time to for persistent praying and a time for laying it to rest.

Next time your praying remember to keep praying throughout the day for the thing you would have God do for you, and by the weeks’ end if you have not heard from Him, keep on with your persistence, don’t give up! Keep on with your pleading and crying out, if He does not answer you straight away, keep on at it, don’t quit.

~ Meggie and Taleisha

The Power of Persistent Prayer

Hello Readers! We hope and pray that whoever is reading this, will be blessed and/or helped in whatever situation they are in at the present time. 



And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves ; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  – Luke 11: 5-10

What is persistence? In the MacArthur Study Bible (on the commentary on Luke 11:8) it says: The Word can even mean “impudence”. It conveys the ideas of urgency, audacity, earnestness, boldness, and relentlessness- like the persistent asking of a desperate beggar.  (Bold mine).

Otherwise, persistence means never giving up, going on and on while a glimmer of hope dares to show itself. It means when you haven’t heard Gods answer yet, and you have hope that He will yet answer prayer, that you keep going. If you want to see something happen, are you only going to ask once?

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ (a.k.a. enemy) And he would not for awhile; but afterward he said within himself, ‘though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ “

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? – Luke 18: 1- 7

So there is this judge, he is downright evil and doesn’t care for anyone. A widow comes to him begging for justice to be done in her circumstance. He ignores her, but she keeps coming back and begging him. He keeps on ignoring her but she becomes so annoying that he finally accepts and does it, just to get rid of her.

The point is, if our Father in heaven loves us, will He not do it way before the judge did? Won’t God do a better job? If you keep at your praying, God says He will come through for you.

Heart Check.
Be honest with yourself and God. When God says, “No”, to your pleading, respect and fear Him by putting it to rest. There is a time to for persistent praying and a time for laying it to rest.

Next time you’re praying remember to keep praying throughout the day for the thing you would have God do for you, and by the week’s end if you have not heard from Him, keep on with your persistence, don’t give up! Keep on with your pleading and crying out, if He does not answer you straight away, keep on at it, don’t quit. But remember that God always answers us. Sometimes He says "Yes", sometimes He says "No", and other times He says "Not yet." While it's good to pray, it's also just as important to listen. Listen to God throughout your week, and seek for what He is trying to get through to you.

God Bless.

~ Taleisha & Meggie

Yelling Out at the Top of Your Lungs!

O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name! – Daniel 9:19
My heart was almost wrenching out of me. Two girls, really great friends of mine don’t have God as their Lord, and I wanted them to know God.
Then I went out on a limb, and invited them to youth group (almost biting my fingernails the whole way!) When they didn’t give a yes (or no!) answer, I sat and prayed…and prayed…

And prayed.

Have you ever felt like you wanted something to happen, so hard, that you just couldn’t stop praying, begging God to let it happen?

Pleading isn’t just quietly asking God: “Hey, if you could I’d love to see this happen.” No, it’s when you’re at your wits end, you’ve worked out that it will take a miracle to change the situation or get the thing you want. When you want something so hard, that’s when you are down on your knees, literally screaming: ‘God come and do this!!’
We must go for a blessing, and not be satisfied till we have it, like the hunter, who is not satisfied because he has run so many miles, but is never content till he takes his prey. – Charles Spurgeon.
Crying out is the same as pleading, but is deeper. When a friend gets into trouble, when a family member is close to death, times when we just want find the nearest cliff and jump off it; times when tears come more often than eating, when from the depths of your soul you sob out- your hearts hurts.
Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me from for Your mercies’ sake!
For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?
I am weary with my groaning;
All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with tears.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies. – Psalm 6:4-7

Don’t hold back the tears. Tell God all; yell out at the top of your lungs what you want turned right. Cry out to God for a miracle; cry out for God to save you!
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. – Job 7:11
That week, I pleaded with God, I argued, asked, cried out to Him. Please God, have mercy, they need you so much. If they could come to youth group, and hear Your words and experience worship, maybe then they will be saved.
Our God is a miracle-working God. That Friday Night… they came to youth group
(And I have to wonder, if it was Gods plan to use this to teach me how to cry out, because they haven’t been back to youth group since…:D )

Heart Check…
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
– Jonah 3:8
Be aware, that you need to come with a clean heart to God. Sin blocks prayer, so matter how hard you plead, if you are still sinning and ignoring God as He is trying to point you in the right direction, your prayer will be blocked. Listen to God, chuck Satan behind you and pray.

If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear. – Psalm 66:18

Next time you pray, try crying out to God and pleading with Him for those things that pull your heart strings. Come before Him, don’t give up. And give yourself a heart check to make sure that your listening out for Gods commands and keeping sin locked up in the closet.

Have a great week! – Taleisha and Meggie




　

Short Prayer, Heart-felt

Hi girls,

The next topic we are going to be doing is prayer. Praying persistently, pleadingly, Arguing in prayer, and Praying for forgiveness, intercession, petition and thanksgiving are some of the topics we are going to be sharing about. (Don’t get scared by all the long words! :D) This week were going to look at the Lord’s prayer, next week will be ‘Praying Persistently” (meaning: not giving up when you pray).

A Modal for all Prayer – Matthew 6:5-15

In this manner therefore pray:
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. – Matthew 6:9-13

I know you have probably heard this prayer heaps of times before, but bear with me and open your eyes to this treasure. Do you see how simple it is? It doesn’t say: Our majestic, triune Father in the wonderful realm of angels in heaven. No it simply says: Our Father in Heaven. God doesn’t want flowery prayers full of many words. He doesn’t want to hear a lovely oratory prayer that scholars enjoy (and only scholars understand!). He wants your prayer. How you speak.
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard for their many words.” – Matthew 6: 7
I once was praying with one of my friends, and when I had finished I opened her eyes and found her crying. I asked her what was wrong. “You pray so beautifully, I can’t pray at all.”
I tried to tell her, but she couldn’t see that He would have preferred her prayer over my own. Because hers was real, it was from the heart, it was full of mistakes and normal words. Nothing flowery and many unconnected thoughts. I realized that day how much I have to learn not to pray ‘with many words’, but normally.

Why not be distinct, and say what we mean as well as mean what we say?...Ask for it plainly, as before God, who does not regard your fine expressions, and to whom your eloquence and oratory will be less than nothing and vanity. You are before the LORD; let your words be few, but let your heart be fervent. – Spurgeon’s Sermons on Prayer, Order and Argument in Prayer.

Take a look at the Lord’s Prayer again. Notice it starts with God, praising Him and submitting to Him. My pastor once said: ‘Thanksgiving is the doorway to Gods presence’ If you want to be with God, give thanks with a grateful heart.
Then it says “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” - Its saying: Lord, everything I am about to say and ask, only let what you want to be done. Your will be done. No matter how much I would like this, no matter what I would rather, or see as logical- let your plan be done.

Then comes three demands; it doesn’t just say: Lord, if you could, would you give us our daily bread? If it doesn’t match up with Your will- that’s okay. No- demand of God, you have submitted to His will, ask what you would have and believe.
“Whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing you shall receive.” – Matthew 21:22
Give us our daily bread. And forgives us…

It ends again with praise to God and acknowledgement to His name. Don’t let your prayers be: “Dear God, please give me a new IPod, Amen.” Remember to praise God and submit to what He wants… He is only, well, the King of the universe after all! J

When you pray, don’t use flowery language and lots of words. Pray it like it is. Praise God throughout; don’t leave a paragraph without thanking Him for what He has already given. And ask with confidence, don’t be feeble about it- expect that God will answer!

~ Taleisha and Meggie