Being desperate ignites a search for personal change. DESPERATE is “to have a great need or desire for something.” Seeking the face of God with earnest prayer is to feel a burning desperation to encounter more of God personally. “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me.” Proverbs 8:17.
God did not create mankind without a purpose. We are not an accident. Our Creator has equipped us specifically to fulfill HIS passionate purpose. When we seek God, His Spirit awakens a passion in us to serve HIM with our God given talents.
Therefore, we examine our burning passions. What most SATISFIES us for the longest period of time? With ETERNITY in mind, how is the bulk of our time spent? As a Spirit filled believer, has the blessed resurrection of Jesus in us made us entirely possesessed? Are we so passionate of our pursuit of Him that we are contagious? Phil 2:13 “For it is God who works IN YOU to will and to ACT in order to fulfill HIS good purpose.” Consider this true story. For years a man was paralyzed. He would drag his mat to go to a pool with other sick folks. His daily habit remained unchanged until he met a man that changed his life forever. What about us? Do we welcome Jesus to heal, change, and ignite us?
John 5:5-6 “One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, HE asked him, “Do you want to get well?” Hmmm “Yes!”
What did Jesus say to us?John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever BELIEVES in ME will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even GREATER things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Can we say that God is working through us in greater ways than He did through Jesus? Do we WANT to be well equipped to do great things to the glory of God? Do we want to know JESUS more? How much time do we invest in our relationship with Him?
If saved for 10 years, do we act different? Shine more? Or do we take salvation for granted? Do we hunger for more of what God has for us? Is our DESIRE to be more like Jesus a reality or a fantasy? What we choose to do with our time, signifies IF we have a passion. Does our firey PASSION to KNOW JESUS consume more of our time? Over the past 5 years, has time spent seeking His Presence increased or decreased? Does His Spirit invade our comfort zone? Does our life reflect more of Jesus? Does our ZEAL for the things of God cause us to pray more?
Paul told Timothy, “God hath NOT GIVEN us a spirit of fear, BUT of POWER, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND ” 2 Timothy 1:7 – Do NOT be insecure or shy about your FAITH in Jesus Christ our healing King. ❤️ One WORD in Hebrew has multiple meanings. The KJV of God’s Word uses the word “time” as A) chronos B) kairos. Chronological time is chronos. Kairos, means strategic or opportune time. Our understanding goes deeper by our research. From planting until harvest is chronos time; the harvest WINDOW is kairos. The farmer must know the very important difference!
The word FEAR in Greek has 3 meanings. 1) Eulabeia means “reverential fear or awe” and applies to “the fear of the Lord.” 2) Phobos means “terror, dread, or phobia” which is an emotional response to potential harm, pain, or loss. Believers are in awe of God, but we do not dread His Presence and we are not afraid of God. 3) Deilia means “timidity, shy or insecure”. Claim the power, and speak boldly trusting God is faithful. His word never returns void.
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed.” Proverbs 15:22 A few advisors who lead by experience, are the best choice for us to listen to. Who is wise Counsel? The Holy Spirit is the Counselor of all who seek wisdom, therefore we carefully choose who we listen to. Many people are willing to give their opinions, however, many voices dilute and confuse the Word we get from God. We know that Social Media is full of ungodly counsel, so we may seek counsel from a friend.
Unfortunately, a person who always agrees with us, or a person who is familiar with our childhood, their input could come through a lens of our capability, rather than what God can do by His activated Spirit in us. Wise counsel comes from someone with a history of God’s blessings. Their personal experience of walking in His Way will help us avoid pitfalls. We only need a few folks to speak into us. “A person with many friends comes to ruin.” Too many voices muddy the pure water of His Word. Seek Wisdom, not buddies.
Historically, the demands of slavery were and remain 24/7. The task master in our mind may demand constant effort and attention, BUT GOD. Our Father commanded a day of rest and His law was written in stone. God sent Moses to speak words, and to part the sea for the tortured slaves of Egypt. They were no longer in physical chains, but their slave mentality was hard to break. A call to “Remember Me” and what Jesus accomplished when He said. ” It is finished.” AMEN
Today we can get stuck in mental chains of being a slave to the clock, or of not being enough. Thank God, there is rest for the saints. Through prayer we break the mental torture of self condemnation and defeat the devil. Who is out to kill and destroy us 24/7? Prayer was designed by God for the purpose of lifting our daily burdens, renewing our minds and for spiritual warfare. Faith to Believe
We speak the name of Jesus and stand firm on His promises, however, the enemy never gives up. Satan and his huge army of demons are crafty and full of ideas on how to distract us from the truth. God’s unlimited grace is sufficient, but we must trust that He never departs and that His Word is living, active and powerful to destroy strongholds. Pray that the Spirit of God increases your PASSION for His Word, Ways and righteousness.
Get your holy fire ignited, get your cutting edge ‘mind of Christ ‘ sharpened, get your passion burning again with written down Scriptures and prayers that target your heart for Jesus. See sample prayers in comment section.
Our Father SEES us and He KNOWS us. He HEARS us and He CARES about us. HE provides what we NEED as we act upon the Words that He gives us. Pray with a passion for His hand to reach into the lives of the weak and the weak.
Living Abroad 
Psalm 51:10-12 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” FORGIVE as you have been forgiven.
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Suddenly we stop praying because we THINK God does not care or listen! That is a CLUE that the DECEIVER is at work 😳 in us to DETOUR us from deploying our most devasting, nuclear WEAPON. Grab hold of the TRUTH and know God has your name in His book and His plan for you is to bless you in all your comings and goings. PRAY to recover your PASSION to PRAY and TRUST GOD for any lost family members, all your relationships, your marriage, health, and kids.
Psalm 139:13-16 “For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” AMEN ❤️
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BE ENCOURAGED and GET your FAITH ENLARGED for GOD’S astounding WAYS! This story stirs hearts whenever bad things happens to good folks. 2 Kings 6 “The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.” And Elisha said, “Go.” As one hard worker was busy cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” The man of God (Elisha) asked, “Where did it fall?” The distressed disciple showed Elisha. By faith, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the depth of where the iron landed. The disciple had been in action for good when this unfortunate accident occured. To his great surprise, the iron axehead floated to the top. What had been lost, was recovered. The astonished servant reached out his hand and took the floating axehead out of the water, no doubt praising God. God’s Ways are not our ways. With Him all things are possible. In April 2024 Iran sent hundreds of rockets into Israel. Thousands of prayers were answered. By God’s sovereign hand, 99% of the rockets were intercepted.
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Savor these refreshing words slowly. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you clarity of God’s promises and His faithfulness. Ask for what our Father already wants to deliver unto all who seek Him. Deuteronomy 11:13 “So if you faithfully OBEY the commands I am giving you today—to LOVE the Lord your GOD and to serve HIM with all your HEART and with all your soul— then I will send RAIN on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains.” ❤️ Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” ❤️ Luke 12:34-36 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their MASTER to return from a wedding banquet, so that when HE comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for HIM.” ❤️ Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will GIVE you a NEW HEART and put a NEW SPIRIT in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and GIVE you a heart of flesh. And I will put MY SPIRIT in you.” ❤️ Hosea “He will come to us like rain.” Receive His Word into your new heart, listen to His delight in you. AMEN
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Oh Lord we thank You in all things, always. Your Word satisfies the hunger in our souls. Psalm 16:9-11 “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will You let Your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6
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Charles Spurgeon on prayer.
“And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” Exodus 17:12 — So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discouraged the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. So, in the soul’s conflict, force and fervent prayer, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. We must wrestle with our sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God. Like Moses, our prayers hold up our end of the covenant before the Lord. The rod Moses held was the emblem of God’s working with Moses, the symbol of God’s government in Israel. Learn, O pleading saint, to hold up the promise and the oath of God before Him. The Lord CANNOT DENY HIS OWN DECLARATIONS. Hold up the rod of PROMISE, and have what you will. Moses grew weary, and then his friends assisted him. When at any time our prayer flags, allow FAITH to support God’s hand. ENLIST the holy hope of intercessors. Prayers land upon the stone of Israel, the rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ. By God’s will, we persevere and prevail. Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying. The more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for SPECIAL STRENGTH, and may the SPIRIT of GOD, as HE helped Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady “until the going down of the sun;” till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise.”
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PRAYER WORKS: An Israeli scientist who works for the security system, a doctor of physics is emphatic that the fact that 99% of the rockets were intercepted —is a miracle from God. He wrote the following words to his Rabbi on April 15, 2024.
“On Shabbat night April 12, 2024 something happened in Israel on the scale of the splitting of the Red Sea. Over 880 pounds of explosives in just 1 ballistic missile. April 12th around 120 were fired by Iran at Israel. The world must recognize Iran’s attack could’ve ended very differently. Praise be to God for His hand. The advanced aerial defense systems and the prayers of everyone.
“I am a doctor of physics and I worked for several years in the defense industry in Israel, in projects that are still the cutting edge of the State of Israel. When I look at what happened on Saturday night on a scientific level, it simply cannot happen. Everyone, and I mean everyone, acted as one man in overall unity.
He continued: “The likelihood that everything works out just as it should does not exist in complex systems like the defense systems that were operating. They have never, I mean never, even beyond the State of Israel, been tried in real time. I took a pencil and dove into the calculations to check the likelihood that such a result would materialize.
“The large number of events that had to be handled at precisely the right time doubles the chance of making a mistake.
“With all the high technologies, the expectation was for a breach in the defense of the skies of the State of Israel. Even if we got 90% protection it would be a miracle. What happened though is that everyone, I mean everyone – the pilots, the system operators and the technology operators – acted as one man at one moment in total unity. If this is not an act of God, then I no longer know what a miracle is.”
And the doctor marvels and adds, “This is sharper than the victory of the Six Day War or the War of Independence. There it can be explained according to nature. The rescue that took place for the people of Israel on Shabbat night is simply impossible naturally. I believe that this miracle saved the lives of many people from Israel. If the defense system had failed to intercept a number of cruise missiles, the result would have dragged us into a very complex campaign.
“I wouldn’t bet that next time it will work like this without divine supervision. The simple proof of what I said is that the managers of the security industries who develop and manufacture these systems guarantee no more than 90% success!
“’Since the day you came out of the land of Egypt we have shown you wonderful things!’ Happy Holidays!” The 2024 Passover is next weekend.
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“I don’t know when the Lord’s return will take place. But I do NOT believe this war now in Israel is the end, or that it is Ezekiel 38. There is a great harvest coming, and that should be our focus. Preaching the gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 16) and discipling nations (Matthew 28) is our assignment. Stay focused on saving and discipling, not leaving. During the Charismatic and Jesus People Movements of the 60s and 70s, some opportunities were lost because people were so focused on Christ’s return…why plan for the future? Let us not make the same mistake with the next outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Maintaining our peace and faith is sometimes difficult. Jesus knew this would be the case. He told us, “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful” (John 14:27 NASB). Notice that He used two words to describe the unsettledness that tries to overtake us: troubled and fearful. Troubled (tarasso)(1) is a word meaning “stirred up or agitated” like roiling water; it is, therefore, a word describing inward commotion, disquietness, or restlessness. Picture the agitator in a washing machine; this is what can occur in our minds and emotions. Jesus said not to allow this. Instead, we are to receive His shalom – peace and wholeness.”
Pastor Dutch Sheets 4/17/24
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