Monthly Archives: July 2012

Prayer to be Holy in Christ

It has been my continual prayer that God might use what is written to increase in His children the conviction that we must be holy, the knowledge of how we are to be holy, the joy that we may be holy, the faith that we can be holy. And may He stir us all to cry day and night to Him for a visitation of the Spirit and the Power of Holiness upon all His people, that the name of Christian and of saint may be synonymous, and every believer be a vessel made holy and meet for the Master’s use. — from the preface to “Holy in Christ” by Andrew Murray.

When we are Low, the Lord is our Strength

10 Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.”  Nehemiah 8:10  — this is something to remember when something in our day pulls us down.  It seems every day there is something to effect us, so remember the joy of the Lord is our encouragement.

Prayer and Joy in the Morning

Look at these Bible Passages on prayer and joy in the morning.

Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Psalms 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment,and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night,but  joy comes with the morning.

Christ comes from Letting Go!

Notice the word “loss” and what Paul gained. Paul gained Christ. Each loss is pared with Christ.

Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Forgiveness and Bitterness

Jesus in Matthew 6 teaches us to pray:  “Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ”  Then He says:  14 “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.

Jesus mentions the word “forgive” six times, it must be significant.  The opposite is to hold a bad feeling, and eventually get bitter.  Bitterness is subtle and hurts ourselves more than others.   Both an unwillingness to forgive and bitterness will hinder prayer.  That’s why the Lord mentioned it in Matthew 6 when talking about prayer.