Praying for Finances in the Name of Jesus

The following is an excerpt from Kenneth Hagin’s Bible Prayer Study Coarse and it was too powerful for me to not put here…

“If you’re praying for money, let me say it again, bind Satan over your finances and command the money to be loosed in the Name of Jesus. You are to command money to be loosed because the money you want or need is here on this earth. God is not a counterfeiter; He’s not going to make money and send it down from heaven. All the money is here in this realm.

God put all the silver and gold (Haggai 2:8), and the cattle upon a thousand hills (Ps 50:10), and the world and the fullness thereof (Ps. 24:1; 89:11; 50:12) on this earth for you and me. He didn’t put it here for the devil and his crowd.

God put it here and then gave Adam dominion over all of it. Then Adam committed high treason and sold out to the devil, and the devil became the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). Actually, Adam had dominion (Gen 1:26-30), but he sold out to Satan and now Satan is the god of this world. The devil is the one who is controlling the finances on this earth.

But, thank God, Jesus came and defeated the devil. Jesus gave us the right to use His Name. If you want deliverance, the Bible tells you how to obtain it. The Lord taught me this.

I was poverty-stricken and my nose was to the grindstone. I began to see this truth, and the Lord told me to never pray for money anymore. In other words, I was not to ask God to give me money. He said that He would not send it from heaven; it is already down here on earth. He said that in the Name of Jesus, I should command the money I need to come to me, because it is already here in this earth.

Jesus said that whatever amount of money I needed or wanted, I should claim. It’s Satan, the god of this world, who is trying to withhold money from us. But God said that He wanted His children to have the best. He said His Word declares “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1:19). God says in His Word that He would give good gifts (Matt. 7:11; James 1:17).

We need to realize the principles by which God works. He has given us the Name of Jesus to use. The Lord told me He was not the one who was withholding finances from me. He said He wasn’t the one who was withholding finances from me. He said he wouldn’t be the right kind of father if He wanted this for His children. He said that even any sinner who has a heart is concerned about his children. Even an animal is concerned about his offspring.

The Lord said He would be out of step with His whole creation if He wanted less than the best for His children. He said there never was an earthly parent who desired to do more for his children than He did for his children. But He said most of His children wouldn’t cooperate with Him.

God told me to command the devil to take his hands off my finances. You see , God can’t do anything for believers if we don’t cooperate with Him. And we can’t pray for God to do something when we are not doing our part my standing in our place of authority in the earth- in the Name of Jesus.

You see, if we just pray for the Lord to do everything, when God is actually waiting on us to stand in our place of authority with the Name of Jesus, then we are putting all the responsibility on God. That is not where the responsibility is. We have a part to play because through Jesus Christ deliverance has already been obtained for us. Now we are to stand in our authority against the devil and circumstances which do not line up with God’s Word. God will do His part, but we must do our part.

I immediately began to do what the Lord said to do, and from that day to this, I never prayed anymore about money. I just always tell Satan to take his hands off my money, and I claim whatever amount of money I need in the Name of Jesus. You see, when I am standing in my place of authority in that Name, then I am doing my part. (For further study, see Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin’s minibook How God Taught Me About Prosperity).

Angels Are Ministering Spirits For Believers

Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Angels are ministering spirits that are sent to minister for those who are heirs of salvation. The word “to minister” means to wait on or to serve. I used to think that Hebrews 1 :14 said that the angels would minister to those who were heirs of salvation. That means that angels- ministering spirits – wait on or serve those who are heirs of salvation. If you go into a restaurant, a waitress waits on you and serves you. This is an illustration the Lord once gave me while I was praying in the Spirit.

Actually I had a vision and I saw an angel. I asked the Lord who it was. He related what His Word says about the time He was on earth and some families brought their children to Him to be blessed.

The disciples thought Jesus was tired, so they rebuked the parents. “But Jesus said, suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16). Then Jesus said that the children’s angels were ever before His Father’s face (Matt. 18:10). He told me that just because you grow up, you don’t lose your angel.

Jesus also said if Christians, those who are heirs of salvation, would learn to read and study the Bible, they could put their angles to work for them according to God’s Word.

Jesus said the angel of the Lord told Philip to go to Gaza (Acts 8:26). And the angel of the Lord appeared to Paul when he was on board a ship (Acts 27:23). The Lordhad been talking to me about prosperity when He told me this.

So, the Lord told me to say, “Ministering spirits, go and cause the money to come in Jesus’ Name.” I’ve been doing this ever since and it has been working because there is authority in the Name of Jesus – authority that the Church has yet to fully utilize!”

ANOTHER Great Testimony...

Meahgan Whatley submitted the following testimony! Thanks for sharing with others...

When I was about 7 or 8 I was bound by a Spirit of fear that took over my life. Being afraid of practically everything especially death. God delivered me from that spirit of fear after a long battle. This past year as a College student,20 years old, I was spiritually attacked by fear again. This time much worse affecting my body physically and mentally, battling tears and unhappiness. I trusted God and spoke His promises daily knowing I was Healed. Pastor Chris and his wife as well as others prayed over me after a Sunday service. A couple nights later I had this crazy dream that encompassed so much fear and anxiety where everything was out of my complete control. The dream ended with a Giant Piece of glass shattering! The next morning I remembered the dream vividly and God spoke to my Heart and I knew I had been set Free! Thank God! He is Amazing! I am a Victor and Not a Victim and I know that I am Destined to Reign in this Life full of Purpose! I hope that my testimony can help others! If there is one thing I could tell others battling fear it would be that God will Complete His perfect work in You, no matter your struggle He is and Does what He says He will!

Love, Meahgan

The Power of Prayer Testimony!

Teresa Crockett submitted the following testimony to the FLC website. Thanks Teresa!!!

"My father was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer about 10 years ago. After many tears and a lot of prayers, my father had surgery and five years later we were having his first five years of remission celebration. That was about five years ago. About two years ago, he was told that his cancer was back but that they did not know where it was so he went through six weeks of radiation. About a month ago, we were told once again that his blood tests indicated that his Cancer had probably returned. After filling out a connect card asking for prayer (i love you all!) i received the news this past Sunday that his bone scan revealed that there was nothing to be seen! Praise God! Now we can go on vacation and enjoy our entire family this month and savour every moment that God has blessed us with! Thank you Lord! You are the Healer and are in control of ALL!. Thank you all for your prayers."

I was amazed by the POWER OF THE WORD Testimony...

The following is an awesome testimony from my friend, Charis Blacka. I asked her if she would email it to me after telling me what had happened. Thanks Charis! I pray that this will empower others to do the same...

"I was feeling frantic about a training class for work and the day ahead. I thought back to the verses you gave me regarding my finances. I figured if reading and saying those verses out loud helped me with the worries of my finances, I would try it over my fears of the day.

I went to the computer and pulled up www.biblegateway.com. I typed in 'fear' in the topic search and tons of scriptures came up in reference to fear.

I began writing them down and saying them as I went. I read them on the way to work and I read them again before I got started on the phones that morning. It totally worked! My fears were calmed and I had a great day. I truly believe that repeating God's word to myself and knowing that His word is truth got me through that morning. I was amazed by the power of the word."

Testimony of Using the Power of God's Word!!!

The following is a testimony from Yvonne Klich, Reflection's Women's Ministry Leader. She finally had the time to type it up since I have been bugging her to do so after I heard a shortened version of it one Wednesday night at women's ministry. I found it very powerful and something others needed to hear about. Thanks Yvonne!

"Fear had been a part of my life since I could remember. As a young child my dad would sit on the end of my bed until I fell asleep, because I didn’t want to be left alone due to my fears. I was afraid of the dark and I often sensed an evil presence. I can express it now, but as a child it just felt like someone bad was in my room or outside my window. It got a little better as I got older, but if I read a book with some sort of evil in the story line, I wouldn’t sleep in my room, so I would have to sleep on the floor of my older sister. None of my four sisters were tormented by fear, just me. Sometimes even now when we get together and the subject of fear comes up, they will all reminisce about my various episodes of fear and me ending up in my sister’s room.

When I was 23 years old, I had just moved back to my parents’ house after graduating from college. On one particular night I was getting ready for bed as usual, but when I attempted to go to sleep, I couldn’t, because of fear. I felt an evil presence around me and I was afraid to close my eyes. It was so tangible, it felt as if I could almost touch it, and the hairs on my arms were standing on end. This was a familiar battle, but the evil presence seemed to be increasing in intensity. I knew it was a demonic attack and I began to sing praises to God. As I sung, I felt the presence of God and I felt His strength, but the evil was still present and very palpable. I kept singing and speaking to the evil spirits rebuking them in the name of Jesus and using the word against them. The demonic presence was so great and I knew who was behind it, so at one point I even spoke to it and said, “Satan, I know you’re here, so you might as well manifest yourself.” He didn’t appear, but I felt bolder and more peaceful as the night progressed. This went on for two or three hours, I can’t remember, but it was at least that much. I recall the hour, but at the culmination of the battle, and after much speaking of scripture and singing praises to God, the evil presence broke. I felt the Holy Spirit flood me with peace and the demonic force left. The evil left, it did not gradually go, it left all at once, and broke as if a large chain had been snapped. I know that battle was a decisive victory in the heavenlies, because, ever since that night, I have no longer been tormented by a spirit of fear. That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes feel a little fearful, but I am no longer tormented at night by demonic spirits of fear."

Please email prayer@freedomlifechurch.com any testimonies of your walk with God and the tangible way that He is involved in your life; we would like to share them here to empower others...

Praise, Petition & Persevere!

What's New with Interface???? The old but new is returning to FLC...

...back by popular demand, the new & improved 'soak': now called 'DRENCHED!'

6:30-8PM, live praise & worship.
Beginning Thursday August, 14th
and then every other week in the FLC Sanctuary.

Did you know that praise & worship is a powerful form of intercessory prayer? Once our complete focus is on God, then everything else just takes care of itself. Once your relationship is straight, then you become refreshed. Your cup gets full and out of the overflow you have strength to do anything you are called to do!!! Please join us, you WILL leave refreshed, we promise! Feel free to worship extravangantly, or to grow in your intimacy at your own pace. Prayer sections will also be available for a little quiet space.

QUESTION MARK

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Okay, as many of you know by now, I am only having 1 baby! OUCH!!! I was totally expecting to see twins at my appointment. BUT all I can say is SHEEEEEEEEEEW… (that is supposed to be a BIG sigh of relief).

It was crazy because everything in my dream happened in the doctor’s office! They did a regular belly ultrasound and only saw 1 heartbeat. Then they also did a 2^nd internal ultrasound which would verify for sure if there were multiples. They stick a long thing up you know where… and when they did in the office, the equipment malfunctioned! They could not get the picture to show on the screen. The malfunction was not in my dream. So the doctor said she only 1 heartbeat with the other ultrasound and she was pretty sure there was only one baby!

So now what? I know I was hearing you clearly God. So I have been searching for the answer. This thing with twins HAS to mean something!!!! So what does it mean? I have been extremely busy so I have not even had time to seek Him for the answer. Jesus always spoke in parables. Why can’t God just speak to us in a clear and precise way? Then I guess it would not require time and effort to seek His voice.

I was hoping to post this blog sooner because now I do know what the TWINS thing is about but I cannot reveal it until about 1 month from now. I got revelation of the whole picture while I was driving back from a church in Virginia Beach on Wednesday night. We have been going there with my brother-in-law to try to get him connected to a church home. It just all came to me at once, this big light bulb went off! All I can say is that a major thing has happened during the 14^th week of my pregnancy (which ended Thursday) and will continue during my 17^th week… I promise to post all the details in about one month.

Does God Speak Through Fortune Cookies?

I posted the picture of the twin fortunes I got along with the receipt showing that it was on Saturday the 26th. The funny think that I did not mention in the last blog is that my fortune stated, "Ideas you may believe as absurd ultimately lead to success!" Okay God! I do think He uses everything to speak to us as long as we pay attention. I stole this title from Shawn, my husband, after he shared with me a fortune cookie incident in which he asked,"Do you think God speaks through fortune cookies?"

I got a call today and my appointment is Tuesday the 13^th @ 10:30AM. I am very anxious about the appointment. I will be 13 weeks and not 14 like in my dream. I was telling God that He better give me my appointment during my 14^th week like in my dream! And He spoke back to me in my spirit, my “inside voice” and said, “It doesn’t matter when I give you your appointment because you know it is true that you are having twins.” Then I remembered the scriptures in John:

10:27 (New International Version):27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

10:3-5 (New International Version) 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

I keep having these doubts and fears like, “What if I missed it God and just put myself out there?” I have to constantly cast all of that aside and remember that I KNOW how the Lord speaks to me and when those verses are brought to my mind, it calms my fears.

On Thursday I saw my old boss and was prompted by the Holy Spirit to tell her how God has been speaking to me about these twins! She is not a believer that I know of. She just sort of looked at me and said, “We’ll see.” After I ran into her I went to BJ’s and I saw a lady pushing a cart in the parking lot with twin boys in it! That same day a friend had a dream about me with my 2 older boys with two smaller babies!

I was thinking about baby names since I thought they were both boys. I was going over all of my favorite boy names that I used to fight Shawn for when deciding our other 2 boy’s names. One name we have agreed on and with the second name, nothing sounded right at all. It was strange because all of my favorite names were just not appealing. Then I figured one must be a girl! YAH! I want a girl so bad. Maybe I am wishful thinking.

Shawn and I decided on the name last Monday: Alexis Brooke. So then, Thursday at the play ground a lady goes to get her daughter and she says, “Come on Brooke!”. Friday I took David to a doctor's appointment and I signed him in under another signed-in child's name “Alexis”. I only could focus on that name and everything else was blurry. Coincidence? Okay God, one is a girl?!?!I was talking to someone about it and she was thinking that one is a girl too!

Hearing His voice takes a lot of practice and when you know it, you know it. Like when you know your child’s cry or you know your husband's voice as soon as you answer the phone. It is all about spending the time with Him and learning how He speaks. I use the same confirmation technique when doing anything with the Prayer Ministry. I never want to do something that is just my idea before moving forward. I want to make sure it is ordained by God so it will flourish. I want to make sure I get confirmation over and over from Him. So I have to tell my self everyday, I know your voice God, I have no fear and I know I will see 2 little beans on the ultrasound next Tuesday, I know You will show up BIG! I would not even post this twin thing or have told anyone seriously in faith about it if it weren’t for Him, His purpose and His idea!

“God-Incidences”

The last post I talked about my belief…that there are no coincidences, only “God-Incidences”. So I feel the urge to share about the biggest thing God is doing in my life right now and how He is speaking to me. You may not even believe this is true. I would not even post this if I was not standing in complete faith…

I am expecting for the 3^rd time in 3 and ½ years; a few months sooner than my plan. I was asking God to let this be the last pregnancy and make it permanent because with 2 children I am at my threshold and with 3 I am over my limit. So I am waiting for my 1^st appointment and since the health care I use is at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, and many veterans don’t have babies, they outsource prenatal care and delivery to Eastern Virginia Medical School. This takes ages for paperwork to process so I am still waiting for my first appointment and I am almost 3 months along.

2 weeks ago I had back to back prophetic dreams from God. One dream was about a friend and I woke up and I felt the urge to immediately call her and tell her the dream. I waited until afternoon and she said she has been having that same situation go on in her life! This is generally what the 1^st dream was about:

In my dream I was having a dream about my friend. Then I woke up and I saw her. She asked me a question and then I said, “I just had a dream that you said the same thing!”

Hopefully you are following me. I had a dream that I had a dream. Ha!

Then the next night, I had another dream and this is what it was about:

I was at my 1st appointment getting an ultrasound. The lady printed out the picture and handed it to me and said you are 17 weeks pregnant. I looked at the picture and there were 2 baby faces side by side that looked just like David (my 11 month old). I was obviously having twins. I then went into another room and a different nurse gave me another ultrasound and said, “You are 14 weeks pregnant and look they are twins!” I said, “The other lady told me I was 17 weeks.” The nurse said, “Well this says you are 14 weeks.” So I said, “That is strange.”

Then I woke up. I immediately remembered all of the smallest details not mentioned here. Usually when I do, I ask God, “What are you saying, is this prophetic?” I said/asked, “Oh my God, am I having twins?” I told my husband about my dream and I was like, “I am not sure if it was from God, but how funny would that be?” So he said, “Honey, you remembered all of those details, I think it is from God. Just a few days ago I had a thought cross my mind, 'What if it is twins?' But I did not think twice about it. I have never had those thoughts before with our other boys.”

I then talked to a friend who is spiritually discerning and asked her to see if God tells her anything about the truth of my dream. She then called me the next day. She said, “I haven’t really prayed much about it but I think something that I don’t want to say for sure.” So I proceeded to drag it out of her and I promised not to hold her in contempt if she was off. (ha!) So she told me as she was going to pray for the pregnancy she said to herself, “Let me pray for the babies.” Then she told me that she has never thought in plural about my other pregnancy. An since that slipped out of her mouth she then asked to the God, “Is it true, twins?” and then felt in her heart, “Yes.”

So I try to dismiss the whole thing. I think, “Yeah right, twins does not run in our families and I am just focusing on it too much.” I cannot get this out of my mind though.

So this past week, on Monday or Tuesday night, I had another dream:

I was dreaming that I was having my original dream about the twins. I then woke up and called my aunt who is not a believer and I told her about my dream. I told her that I was going to have twins and had not been to the Dr. yet but God spoke to me through my dream.

I woke up and I said, “Am I supposed to tell my aunt, Lord? to testify about You being living and active and speaking to me?” I did not feel an urgency to do so then and I waited and kept asking for confirmation. She has previously rejected any conversation regarding God, church or prayer.

So now Friday, I was on my way to an appointment in VA Beach. I have not told my mom about the dream or “twins” yet. So she calls me and asks how Malachi is doing since he was sick. I say, “He has an ear infection.” She said, “Oh he is just like his aunt Destinee, she has one too, tell him that she is his twin.” I say to myself, “Ok God very funny.” Then on the way home I passed a public bus stop that I usually glance at and there is a lady standing there with 2 strollers with twin girls! I do not want to believe this is true and my husband starts laughing and saying, “God is going to keep confirming this until you believe it!” So I get home and I let my son watch a cartoon called Dilbert, first time seeing this one. In the cartoon, Dilbert and his mom went to pick up his friends, twin boys Jeremy & Jeffrey.

Yesterday, we go out to eat at Peking before church on Saturday and get 5 fortune cookies. We have 4 in our family. I get two of the exact same fortunes! Twin fortunes! Shawn is now laughing again and saying, “Do you believe it now?”

I kept ruminating on the fact that I would not have a prompting from the Lord to tell my aunt unless it was true and going to bring glory to Him, for her to believe. So today after church, I called her and told her as I did in my dream. I had a strong urge to do so and could not stop thinking about calling her so I knew the Holy Spirit was prompting me to call her right now. By the way, I now had that many more “God-Incidences" to share with her.

I will get an ultrasound on my 1st appointment since EVMS has them in all rooms and they usually use it to check heartbeat at all appointments. I will medically confirm the God confirmations then. I will be sure to post the results here. 14 weeks begins May 16th and I expect my appointment to be during that week. Now it’s time to work on my patience…

Coincidences?

Yes, I am far behind with posting regular blogs about my prayer life. I must do something different and I have come up with a plan so things should begin to improve. God has been speaking to me about obedience!! I talked to Carrie Pollock, my partner in crime, and guess what?? Obedience. I told my husband about what I have been hearing and guess what? He has been hearing obedience as well.

How have I “heard” this? I started to read a recommended book by Brad Jersak, called “Can you hear me? Tuning in to the God who speaks”. In it, he talks about obedience. He also talks about disobedience. If prompted to say or do something and we fail to obey exactly as ordered, then we do not see the consequences of how that affects so many others, not just us!! Then, Wednesday morning, I happened to look for the weather on TV and I caught Joyce Meyer. I do not regularly watch her but I “just happened” to stay on her channel. She was talking about obedience! She said, “When God tells us to do something that no one else does, don’t look at them, you just be obedient, don’t complain.” I do not think there are any coincidences. As soon as I stopped assuming so, then everywhere I turned, I saw where God was speaking to me. I am not sure if it was always that way, but I feel that since I now look for it, it happen a lot and I see clearly when God speaks to me through others and things, even on TV! So this morning, I let my son watch some cartoons. On TBN they have Christian cartoons and it was the 1^st time I saw this one. There was a little cherub singing and talking about reading your bible every day and letting it sink into your heart and OBEYING what it said! It seems he is currently speaking obedience to Shawn, Carrie & I. And you? What is He speaking to you about? How is He speaking? Please share!!! prayer@freedomlifechurch.com

And what about coincidences? Think twice the next time you start to say, “What a coincidence”. God speaks to me all the time through those “coincidences”. About a year ago I was on campus at ODU (I am a late bloomer will be done with college in December) I was thinking about John Pollock, (Carrie’s son) who is a traditional student. I had something in particular on my mind about him and so I was praying silently as I was walking to class. Then I ran into him! I said, “Hey! I was just in the middle of praying for you about ____. " He was surprised! I never ran into him before at that time of day. I always walked the same route to class from my car at the same time in the morning. Coincidence?

CELEBRATE OUR RISEN LORD

Sunrise Service
6:30 AM, Sunday, March 23

The Hamptons Golf Course

(320 Butler Farm Road, Hampton, just off of Magruder Blvd. across from Tysinger Motors).

**Breakfast to follow at FLC at 7:30 AM**
Join us until the 9:15-10:30AM service begins!
2nd service 11-12:15PM



24 Hours of Prayer
Will be leading us up to the Sunrise Service Easter morning!
5:30 AM Saturday March 22nd through 5:30AM Sunday March 23rd

Look for the Prayer Wheel at FLC this weekend.
Interface Prayer Ministry will start signing up FLC’ers this weekend for 30 minute slots (that’s 48 people, although we will certainly double-up or triple-up if necessary!!!).
Prayer Focus is relationships, where do you fit in with FLC as we are starting a 3rd service?
Where can you get plugged in when it comes to relationships?
How can we improve our vertical relationship with our God as well as horizontal relationships within FLC?

A time of sharing will take place at the Sunrise service for anyone moved to do so; otherwise just come and worship in the early morning hour as we remember together that Christ rose from the grave and gave us VICTORY!!! That’s reason to be EXCITED!!!

For Questions, please email Tara Fisher or Carrie Pollock at prayer@freedomlifechurch.com

The Word Continued...

Okay, I have to continue this discussion about the power of THE WORD!!! The power of praying scripture. I just found this tremendous scripture today:

Jer 23:29 "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"

WOW! Okay God! Yes, Your Word is like a hammer, it is like a fire!!! We must not try so hard in our flesh when we pray. I used to do that. I would pray and it was like I was trying to make something happen while I was praying it, but then I meditated on this powerful verse:

Jer 1:12 (MKJV) And the LORD said to me, You have seen well; for I will watch over My word to perform it.

You LORD perform Your Word! We don't perform it! Our only job is to pray the Word then step out in faith to receive what He has promised us already! We pray it and claim it, then our only job is to believe He is performing it! How do we believe it? Just as Paul said:

Acts 27:25 (RSV) So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.

BELIEVE GODS WORD AS IT SAYS!!! Don't doubt! Amen!

Okay, I am probably a little too "exclamationy" but I get so fired up for His promises. Once I started taking hold of them in my life and seeing the fruit of studying the Bible and claiming the promises, I just can't help it. :)

So you may see there are several different versions I have used. Wording is different for different versions. You can go to www.biblegateway.com and look at all the different versions side by side for FREE. Another great resource I just learned about for FREE is www.bibleexplorer.com, then go to "library". You can look at the Greek and Hebrew text and learn in what context a word was used in. Also www.blueletterbible.com was recommended by Lisi last night at women's bible study. These are all free and Power Bible is not.

Please go dig...

I can't sign off without giving an example. God is speaking about His Word(s) again here so please read verses 20-24 to get the context... This is copied and pasted from my notes in Power Bible. In the brackets are the Hebrew words from which the verse came. The Greek/Hebrew words are only given when I click on the King James Version on Power Bible:

Proverbs 4:22 For they are life (chay) unto those that find (matsa')them, and health (marpe)to all their flesh. (basar)

Next I clicked on (marpe') and I pasted below the definition from the Strong's Hebrew Dictionary:

marpe', mar-pay':properly, curative, i.e. literally (concretely) a medicine, or (abstractly) a cure; figuratively (concretely) deliverance, or (abstractly) placidity:--((in-))cure(-able), healing(-lth), remedy, sound, wholesome, yielding. )

So now after studying that one scripture today, instead of just praying, "God, your Word is life to me and health to my flesh" I prayed, "Your Word is health to my flesh, it is medicine to my body, it is my cure, it is deliverance, I am whole! I claim it, your Word is like a Hammer! It is like fire!! In Jesus' name!!!"

So can you read the difference? I do not mean to be writing "to you" as I am sure many of you are versed better than I am in all of this. I hope this little step by step example helps. Please email with any questions, suggestions, comments....prayer@freedomlifechurch.com

Why Pray Scripture?

What is the benefit? Why read the Word? I try to study and memorize the Word as much as I can. Only because it directly affects my prayer life! If someone asks me for prayer at church, or on the phone, or I am praying in my private prayer time, scriptures will be brought to my mind that I have stored up in my memory. So then I pray those, as they are brought to my mind, over that person or situation. I also like to have my Bible open and reviewing scriptures before and during my time of prayer. Sometimes I get directed to certain places in the Bible. These places may be of scriptures I have forgotten or new ones. I often end up turning to a verse and then I will get a thought of someone in my head; I have learned that is my way of knowing to pray that scripture over that person or situation. I will not tell someone that I was praying for them unless prompted by the Holy Spirit.

2 years ago, I was awake at a very odd hour, like 4 in am, and I was praying scriptures from a brochure over the missions team. I got stuck on this one verse. I could not take my eyes off of it. I just said it out loud and gave it to God. I kept saying it out loud over and over for a good minute, then I got a picture in my head of someone dear to me. I prayed this scripture over them for about the next 4-5 minutes until I felt that I could move on. I made a mental note of the exact time. Later when I saw them, I got a thought in my head to tell them what scripture it was and what happened. They happened to be going through a physical ailment that scared them. They thought they were all alone and could not make it through at that very moment. They were trying to fight fear in prayer and could not believe what I told them!!! If you get woken in the middle of the night, then it may be God! He is looking for people who want to be used in prayer.

The Bible gives us the following powerful versus concerning the Word of God….

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Okay, I’ll stop there. If we meditate on just those 3 scriptures, who wouldn’t want to pray scripture? I would just like to encourage you, don't think the Word is intimidating, just pick a spot and start there. Biblegateway.org also has a search engine that you can search topics and read all the scriptures pertaining to that topic right there online in the same spot. I have a Power Bible CD that a friend, Carol, recommended and I would highly recommend it if you enjoy studying the Greek and Hebrew, since it gives you the ancient words next to the translation with the definitions all with just a point and click of your mouse.

Please let me know how studying the Word helps you! Send me your testimony! I will be posting several topics and what the Word says regarding them throughout the year.

If a 1 & 1/2 Year Old Can Do It...

....then why is it so hard for us to do the same? We must make it a lifestyle! This clip of my son Malachi was taken on my phone 1 year ago, February 28, 2007. I was thinking, "Yes Malachi, you're making me look good!" Carrie & I showed this clip during a portion of the sermon a few weeks ago when Pastor Chris was preaching the series, "Extreme Makeover, Family Edition". We were asked to share what we did with our children to raise them to have a Christ-centered focus. Of course, (cough, cough) my little 2 1/2 years experience pales in comparison to Carrie's; so I had to let her have the most time of our 15 minutes or so. :) There are so many other parents with many great things they do, have done and are doing with their children. Please email us your pearls of wisdom so we can share here on the blog. One thing I am getting questions about is the book I referenced that my husband, Shawn, bought online: The Memory Bible Narrated by Kirk Cameron and written by Stephen Elkins. Here is what it looks like:



If our little ones can memorize a nursery rhyme, then they can memorize these little memory verse songs. They are all scripture which most Praise & Worship music is. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God; so Malachi gets these little songs stuck in his head and runs around singing them building every one's faith within an earshot! Amazing!

7 Steps to Answered Prayer

Be Specific and stand on Gods promises: Once you know what you want from God, find the scriptures that definitely promise you these things. Ask God for what you want: Then believe that you receive them according to the Word. Be positive in your thinking: Let every thought and desire affirm that you have what you have asked for. Guard your mind against every evil thought that tries to make you doubt God's Word: Do as Jesus, "it is written" and quote your scripture that promises you complete healing, etc... Meditate constantly: Speak out loud God's promises upon which you have based your answer to prayer. Continually thank God for the answer: In your every waking moment, think on the greatness of God and His goodness, and count your blessings. Once you have asked him for it, just stand in faith thanking God for making it happen rather than praying for it all over again! Make every prayer a statement of faith: It is thinking faith thoughts and speaking faith words that lead the heart out of defeat and into victory. Interface Prayer Ministry www.freedomlifechurch.com Praise, Petition & Persevere!

1440 of them

I recently read Life Wide Open by David Jeremiah. One quote that really stuck out to me was this: “You have as much of God as you really want. People may say they wish their relationship was better with Him or they wish they had more time to spend with Him; but if a person truly desired this then they would do whatever it took to make it happen.” I did not make time to search the book for the exact verbiage but that is a good paraphrase.

OOOOOUCH! That hurt when I read that!

I began to think about this a lot. I have been one of those people. At any given minute in my life I have a choice; I can do homework, I can catch up on cleaning, I can play with the kids, I can converse with my husband, I can sleep, if the house is quiet and both kids are sleeping I can read my Bible, I can sit silently in God’s presence, I can pray, I can waste time online, etc… there are endless possibilities. So now I often stop myself and think about my priorities and instead of wasting that spare minute doing something that is not Kingdom minded, I decided to turn my countless wasted minutes into productive ones. After all we only have 1440 of them each day.

The Power of Prayer-Our 1st Testimony!!!!!

The following is a testimony from Charis Blacka! This was so encouraging to me that I asked her if I could post it here. Thanks Charis!! I know there are more out there!!!!

God has been very faithful to us. no matter what we go through with our finances or lack of child support we have a roof over our head and food to eat. i think that makes us a pretty blessed household. i have to share this with you. yesterday my car broke down. joe murphy was kind enough to ride over and take a look at it. while he was looking over the car i called carol to pray with me. just as we said amen, joe changed a fuse and the car cranked right up. coincidence??? i think not. it was totally God's doing for giving joe the wisdom of what to look for. He already new my need and provided the answer. i truly believe chandler and i are highly blessed and favored. even, though i fall so short daily tara, God continues to pour grace and mercy over us. God's girls ministry is blessing me with chandler's christmas. how awesome is that? i had no idea how i would be able to afford getting him anything. it is so tight for us. blessed and favored again that he put it on lesa's heart to help us. i am enjoying my bible study on monday nights at sozo. it has been very eye opening and helped me draw closer to the Lord.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS (original title, huh?)

It was truly our intention to keep this blog updated as frequently as possible. I just posted a separate Prayer Challenge, (see below). In my honest and wholehearted attempt to express what a life of trying to live prayerfully with God 24/7 is like for me, I also face that fear of rejection and fear of man. I struggle with it. But God desires obedience more than sacrifice so I have no choice but to put my experiences out there. I haven’t been doing a great job lately of focusing on God and focusing on my victory that I already have in Jesus. The Word says in Philippians 4:8. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” God just reminded me that I am not casting down every thought that does not line itself with the word. 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

I have had a horrible attitude lately and I have not been spending my time with God that I should be. Both the attitude and lack of focused time are products of each other. I used to have a daily focused time of intercession where I would just let the Holy Spirit lead me in prayer and bring things to my mind. I would think of scriptures then turn to them and then God would bring someone to mind and I would throw down in spiritual warfare prayer!!! It felt great! Since the birth of my son David and now having 2 little ones running around….I have had a very hard time getting back into the swing of things. I do have periodic times of intercessory prayer where I am sensitive to let God use me throughout the day while I am driving, walking, shopping, cleaning, etc… but when I feel best is when I have this focused one on one time with God only for intercession.

This time of intercession is separate from study time in Word and separate from my relationship with God where I try to talk and listen to Him 24/7 throughout my day. Those could also use a lot of work though too but I don’t want to blur the line of what I am referring to.

SO I was driving on Harpersville Rd. this morning and I drove by a house that had 2 snowmen in the front yard. All snow has melted from last weekend except for about ½ of each snowman. I had an encouraging thought from God, (I know this is from God because I have never really been an original thinker) just as the snowmen have survived, we are not to do it alone. Each snowflake sticks to the other and they form a large ball. I thought, “look at all that snow that is still packed together when all other snow has melted?" So He said through another thought, “Share your burdens, don't do it alone or you will melt away. It’s okay that you can’t get it together right now. Your life right now may not look the same, you are still doing your job, but it needs a little more work with the help of others.”

Then I thought of 1 Cor 9:24-27 which I have been mediating on for the past 2 days:

“24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Okay God so I get it, I need to discipline myself. I need a trainer. I need others to help out, to encourage me, to kick me in the butt. All great athletes have others helping them. So that is my only New Year’s resolution: to get help to keep up with this blog thing. Everyone should get a blog; it definitely helps to keep me accountable.

THIS WEEK'S PRAYER CHALLENGE

I will make it my personal goal to pray with my family _____ times per week for the next two weeks.

During the Extreme Makeover, Family Edition sermon this past weekend, Pastor Chris detailed our family roles in a Christ centered home. A family that prays together, stays together! Let's try it. Pastor Freddy worked with us to come up with an excellent challenge. Let us know how it's working for you!