Praying the Scriptures

Ephesians 1:16-21 (Kenneth Wuest, Expanded Translation)

Father, I pray that you, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of the glory, might give to _______a spirit of

wisdom and revelation in the sphere of a full knowledge of You; the eyes of his/her heart being in an enlightened state

with a view to him/her knowing what is the hope of Your calling, what is the wealth of the glory of Your inheritance in

the saints, and what is the super-abounding greatness of Your inherent power to us who are believing ones as measured by

the operative energy of the manifested strength of Your might, which might was operative in the Christ when You raised

Him from among the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, over and above every government

and authority and power and lordship and every name that is constantly being named, not only in this age, but also in the

one about to come.

Eph 3:16-21 (K.W., Expanded)

I pray that out of Your glorious riches you may strengthen with power through Your Spirit in his/her inner

being, so that Christ may dwell in his/her heart through faith. And I pray that they, being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to

know this love that surpasses knowledge--that they may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of You, Father. Now to

You who are able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to your power that is at work within __________

, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Col 1:10-14 (K.W., Expanded)

Father, fill _______with the advanced and perfect experiential knowledge of your will through all spiritual wisdom

and understanding. And we pray this in order that may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him

in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing by means of the advanced and perfect experiential

knowledge of You, by every enabling power being constantly strengthened in proportion to the manifested power of your

glory, resulting in every patience and forbearance, with joy constantly giving thanks to You, Father who qualified___________

for the portion of the share of the inheritance of the saints in the sphere of the light; who delivered ______out of

the tyrannical rule of the darkness and transferred him/her into the kingdom of the Son of Your love in whom_______

has redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Phil.1:9-12

For this reason, since the day we heard about , we have not stopped praying for you. We ask

you Lord to fill__________ with the knowledge of your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And

we pray this in order that ____may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please You in every way: bearing

fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious

might so that may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father.

Jesus' Prayer for Us (our names in the blanks)

John 17:24-26

“Father, I desire that also,________ whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that may see My

glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the

world has not known You, yet I have known You; and have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name

known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in , and I in them.”

Prayers for Believers

Philemon 1:6

I pray that_______ may be active in sharing his/her faith, so that they will have a full understanding of every good

thing they have in Christ.

Phil.1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that _____'s love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that

he/she may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of

righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.

The word "peace " carries the meaning of nothing missing ,nothing broken .Complete . Full . Jesus completes us .We are complete in Him ,

Col 2 :9-10

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

 And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power:

The Word calls the gospel , the gosple of peace .

Eph 6:15

And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.

If youve ever wonderd what Jesus preached ,He preached the Gospel of Peace . He is our peace , He is the Prince of Peace . Nothing missing ,nothing broken . We have all we need in Him , were lacking notta. We ar made complete in Him .

Philippians 4:7 (Amplified Bible)

7And God's peace [shall be yours, that ^[a]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall ^[b]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

That revelation of Peace , that idea of what peace is ,and who peace is , will protect you. It will mount guard over your heart and mind . Knowing you lack nothing , knowing you have everything you need in Him , knowing He is your Peace , He is your completeness , will keep you and protect you from the lies of the enemy. Lies that your not gonna make it .Lies that you dont have what it takes . Lies that you will fail ,your just not  spiritual enough, your just not smart enough .

The word says we are complete in Him .We have whatever we need in Him .

If we lack anything He will be that to us ,and for us .

He is our peace . If we need money or finances ,He is our prosperity .

If we need help ,He is our Helper.If we need strength.He is our Strengthener.

You name it ,And He is it , He will be what ever you need HIm to be .

 He is the Great I AM .

I Am what you need Me to be .

Glory to God ! 

Isa 54:10

For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed,

yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you,

nor shall

My covenant of peace and completeness be removed,

 says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.

Yes ,Amen ...

 He is all I need .. I have it all in Him ..

Im in Him , and Hes in me

I am one with Lord my God. We cannot be seperated ,Glory to God !

Where ever I go ,He goes too .

Remember Jonah , inside the fishes belly ,

He couldnt get away from the Lord , you cannot either  .

He is where ever you are . Waiting to be invited to your life ,your circumstances, He needs the invite .. you have to ask .

Theres a reason for that . You have not because you ask not . 

In Him the answer is always yes ,and amen !!

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But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,

that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

When Jesus main man John the baptist was not only killed , but beheaded in prision , Jesus went away ,but the people followed Him .He did not yeild to the sorrow of the world ,or the grief of losing His cousin ,His friend . He resisted the devil and He got right in the middle of ministering to the people .

Matt 14:6-16

6But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.

7Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.

8And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.

9And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.

10And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

11And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

12And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

13When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

14And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

15And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

16But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

He didnt let the grief or the sorrow get a hold of Him. Grief is a spirit it comes with the idea of losing something .It is always accompanied by a spirit of death . They hang together . Thats why when someone close to you dies ,

and your grieved , you also feel like you want to die too sometimes .Its that spirit of death taking hold on you . You need to resist that like you would the plauge . It will kill you if you let it .

Matt 10:21-22

21Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

When Jesus spoke to the rich young ruler , and told Him to get rid of his possesions .He was grieved , because he saw it as a lose ,not a seed to recieve a harvest . The whole kingdom of God is built in sowing and reaping . Seedtime and Harvest .

But this man didnt see it that way he only saw looseing it all . So he was grieved ,he saw the lose of all of his things ,and probly the death of his self ,

Jesus was also calling him to be a disciple .He wasnt ready to give up anything yet .

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 (Amplified Bible)

8For even though I did grieve you with my letter, I do not regret [it now], though I did regret it; for I see that that letter did pain you, though only for a little while;

9Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance [and so turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us or harm for what we did.

10For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].

The only godly sorrow I can find is here wher Paul talks about it .And what hes saying here is he heard about the insest that was going on in the church ,and he had wrote a letter , { 1 Cor} to the church for correction , and it had caused a godly sorrow , it caused then pain , but it caused them to repent and turn to God .Which is what it is meant to do . Correction doesn't always feel good it causes pain to our flesh . But it has to be done to cause us to turn around and repent at times . But he is not talking about sorrow of the world here . yopu can see that as you read it esp . in this translation .

10For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret;

Here he tells us the reason for worldly sorrow ...

and what happens if we keep yeilding to it . In stead of resisting it like were told to do .

but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].

If your loved one was saved ,then you will be with them again ,they are not lost . Like the people of the world there loved ones are lost .they have reason to sorrow . We are of God ,we have HIs promise to save our children , to save our household . When we did were not lost ,we know exactly where we go .

To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord .

2Cor.5 :6-8

6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Sometimes just like our flesh enjoys a good pity party , we also in the flesh "enjoy sorrow" .It makes us feel responsable , if we dont grieve we dont love or care about the person . Its one of those "I" selfish things we do to make us feel better we think But actually it only invites demons of grief and death into our lives , satan loves this because he has us incapacitated then were all depressed and wanted to die ,were no good to anyone ,our family or our selves .And esp not to God and His work ,we can't do any anything . Our emotions can't ever be let loose to control our lives .Satan is good at lying . He uses these kinds of things against us all the time .Its time we stood up and said NO to the crafty things the devil tries on us ,instead of falling for it over and over again .And wondering why God did this to me ! God didn't do any sush thing to you ,its the devil who comes to kill steal and destroy you ,your family ,your kids , your babies . We as the body of Christ have been given authority over the devil ,we rule him .. Dont let him lie to you anymore .

The only way I know to handle this is resist the devil ,snd all his grief and sorrow , And death. Allow Jesus to fill you with His grace ,His joy , His peace . Start out by praising Him for His goodness ,continue praising until it lifts and departs from you and it will ,it cant stay in God s presence , and God does inhabit the praises of His people .

Worship the Lord . This is what David did when his child died . He worshiped .

2 Sam 12:18-23

18And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead?

19But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child was dead. So he said to them, Is the child dead? And they said, He is.

20Then David arose from the floor, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.

21Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept while the child was alive, but when the child was dead, you arose and ate food.

22David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live?

23But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

Jesus is our example ,were to follow Him . He says sorrow not as the world .When He says anything to us that means He gives us the power to do whatever He says to do . So we can sorrow not .

 He always makes a way to escape ...

Praise Him !

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Isaiah 45:11
Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

Do You Ever Demand Anything From The Lord?

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John 4:23
A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened,

Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (^{[a]to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?}

that My King .............

Healing

Psalm 107:20
'He sent His Word and healed them'

My son , attend to my words ; incline thine ear to my sayings, let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh .(Prov.4:20-22)God wants us well , whole , and healed . It is His will that everyone be healed . The same as it's His will that everyone be saved .

Gods word is health or medicine to all our flesh . In the natural , when you go to a doctor and he gives you a prescription to take , you take the medicine he gave you . Usually several time a day .If you go home and neglect to take the medicine , you could get worse .The medicine is laying right there on the table in front of you .You have it .It wont work just because you have it .You MUST get it down on the inside of you ,before it can work . If you want results .The same is true with the word of God It dosen't work just because you have a Bible laying on the table in front of you .It doesnt work just because you go to church .YOU MUST take the word and meditate on it , and think about it ,get it down on the inside of you , from your mind to your heart , to your spirit . Then it can work .

Meditate = to think about it , study it , give it your attention , talk about it, and listen to it .Mark 4:13-20; The sower soweth the word ... in vs. 20 ; and these are they that are sown on good ground such as hear the word and recieve it, and bring forth fruit , some thirtyfold , some sixty , and some an hundred..... your crop or results depend on how much you sow and how much you prepare the soil .( your heart )
When we do that God can take that word and make it grow inside of us .Its like planting seed .You can plant seed of the word of God on healing .Put the scriptures in you .God will cause them to grow , and bring forth fruit . Healing fruit = health , wholeness. With out the word He has nothing to work with . You have to put the word in your heart , you are responsible for doing that .

Mark 5:25-34
And a certain woman , which had an issue of blood twelve years , And suffered many things , of many physicians , And spent all that she had , and was nothing bettered , but rather grew worse ,

When she had heard of Jesus , came in the press behind , and touched his garment ,For she said ,If I may but touch his clothes , I shall be whole .

And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up , and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

And Jesus , immediatly knowing in himself , that virtue had gone out of him , turned him  about in the press , and said ;' Who touched my clothes?'

And his disciples said unto him , Thou seeth the multitude thronging thee , and thou sayeth thuo , Who touched me ?

And he looked round to see her that had done this thing .
But the woman , fearing and trembling , knowing what was done in her , came and fell down before him , and told him all the truth .

And he said to her ;'Daughter thy faith hath made thee whole ,go in peace and be whole of thy plague .'

Ive heard alot of people talk about God and His timeing , when that timeing is connected to His healing . Some say you can only be healed in God's good timeing .And I do realise God does have timeing for a lot of things , that havent been done yet .... but some things have been done your salvation , your healing , your redeemtion , these things have been done .They were bought and paid for over 2000 years ago on the cross by Jesus Christ . ( see Isa 53) And in the light of that , how can we think that God is holdingout on us ?

When is Gods good timeing ? How will I know ? Should I expect it , or will it just happen ?

2 Cor.6:2 .... NOW is the day of Salvation

Strongs says Salvation= soteria, rescue , or safety , ( phys.or mor.)-deliever,Health , healing ,salvation , save, saving.

In this scripture in mark we just read , this woman didnt wait for Jesus to come to her . She didnt wait for God to touch her . She went after Him . And he wasnt mad at her for it either . She came after him . She touched him , and He healed her . How can we touch Jesus ? We touch Him by faith .Faith in His word , we get a hold of His word and dont let go .
How long have you been waiting for for healing? How long have you been waiting for Jesus to pass by .? How long?

According as His divine power hath given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness....2 Peter 1:3 hath = already done , we = you and me ... All = everything . Healing of your body , healing of you diseases , pertains to your life .

3 John ; Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayeth prosper and be in health , even as thy soul prospers .
Go after Him , you go after Him , you touch Him . How do I do that ? I cant see Jesus .
Jesus Christ, the Word of God . Jesus is one with His Word .Whatever Jesus will do His Word will do .

John1:1; In the begining was the Word , and the Word was with God , and the Word was God .

God has never changed . He healed people in the Old Testament, and He healed people in the New Testament . He heals people today ! It's Gods will that you be healed and walk in divine health .

Sickness and disease is from the enemy Satan ,John 10 ,'The thief comes but to kill steal and destroy , I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly ', Jesus said .

Put Gods word first in your life . He says ' seek me early '. You dont have to wait
until your on your death bed to find out what God says about healing. You dont have to seek every other doctor and medicine , then when none of them works , decide ,as a last resort to seek God .

 Seek God first . Give His Word First Place . See what He says first , before your doctors ect... Theres nothing wrong with the doctors . Thank God for the doctors , but if your not mixing faith with the doctors , your in trouble . What ever is not of faith is sin .

God heals many different ways . Through His Word . Through laying of of hands , through gifts of the Spirit , through anointed cloths .

They are all by faith in Jesus Christ .

The ABCs of Divine Protection
by Gloria Copeland

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.  Psalm 91

Security. That one word, perhaps more than any other, sums up what the world is searching for these days. Everybody wants to feel more secure.

Yet with every day that goes by, things get more dangerous. Disasters that just a few years ago would have seemed unthinkable are now very real possibilities. Nuclear arms in the hands of renegade terrorists…biological weapons that threaten whole cities with once-extinct diseases like small pox or bubonic plague…terrorist attacks striking closer to home than we ever imagined.

Is it possible to live in this crazy world with all its dangers and still feel secure?

Yes it is and Psalm 91 tells us how.
I've loved and taught on that psalm for years. But I've never been more grateful for it than I am right now. It was definitely written for us today. If we will just believe and act on the words God spoke to us there, we will be able to live in total freedom from fear even in the worst of times. No matter what kinds of threats arise around us, we will be able to say to the Lord like David did, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" (Psalm 56:3).

Although promises of God's protection are echoed many times throughout the pages of the Bible, there is no single passage that captures God's wonderful ability and desire to deliver His people in times of danger better than Psalm 91.

Every single verse in this psalm is worth studying, but in this article we'll focus on the first seven verses.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you (New King James Version)

Enveloped in the Arms of God

Those verses prove that God declares the end from the beginning! Thousands of years ago, He saw our day coming. He knew the exact dangers that would confront us in the year 2002 and He specifically promised to protect us from them.

Someone might say, "Well, those things have been around for a long time."

Not to the magnitude presented by this psalm! In the day it was written, there were no weapons that could kill ten thousand people at a time. The kinds of pestilence it refers to had rarely been seen. One Hebrew commentary I read said the word for pestilence used in Psalm 91 refers to "a sudden pestilence or plague that comes in a moment without warning and causes such destruction that the world order is betrayed." That's a very fitting description of the chemical and biological warfare that is threatening our world today.

Such things are naturally terrifying to the human mind. Yet God said we should not be afraid of them because when they come, we can run to Him and He will be our refuge. A refuge can be defined as "that which provides shelter or protection from danger, distress or calamity; a stronghold which protects by its strength; a sanctuary which secures safety by its sacredness; any place inaccessible to the enemy."

Doesn't it comfort you to know you can live in a place that's so secure, it's inaccessible to your enemy?

Certainly that would include any human enemy. But what's more important, it includes our real enemy—Satan. He is the one behind every evil terrorist plot. He is the one who's come to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). But Psalm 91 tells us when we trust God as our refuge, the devil can't touch us.

Just think, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you can be in the place of refuge! You may be traveling on an airplane to another country, and all the while you're surrounded by the protection of God. One commentary says that the person who takes refuge in the secret place of the Most High "will be enveloped by God's providence so that he can continue to seek holiness and wisdom without fear of those who would seek to do him harm."

I particularly like that phrase "enveloped by God's providence" because it expresses the kind of comprehensive protection depicted again and again in Psalm 91. Verse 4, for example, says God will cover us with His feathers and under His wings will we trust and find refuge. If you've ever seen a mother hen gather her chicks under her wings, you know that she draws them so close to her and covers them so completely that they all but disappear beneath her outstretched wings.

That's how thoroughly God takes care of us! He so covers us with His mighty, protective arms that no harm can even come near us.

God promised that kind of protection to His people under the Old Covenant and He promises it to us as His people under the New Covenant today.

The "A" of Abiding

As wonderful as God's promises of protection are however, there is something you need to know about them. They don't work automatically. We aren't supernaturally protected from harm just because we're born again.

There are some conditions we have to meet. They're not complicated conditions though. In fact, you might say they're as simple as A…B…C.

We find the first condition at the very beginning of Psalm 91 where it says, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." This verse makes it very clear that the person who will enjoy the protection of God is the one who abides in Him.

The abider is not the person who comes and goes in his relationship with God. He's not the person who walks with God one day and rebels against Him the next. The one who abides is the person who endeavors to stay as close to God as possible all the time. He's stable and fixed in his love for the Lord. He doesn't obey God just when it's convenient. He continually reverences God and purposes in his heart to do what He says all the time.

First John 3:6 puts it this way. "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not…." Of course, that doesn't mean the abider never makes mistakes or does anything wrong. We all miss it sometimes. We all have to repent at times, but the person who abides doesn't live in habitual sin. Instead he is steadily seeking God and growing in the knowledge of Him.

In other scriptures, we find to abide means "to keep the teachings or the Word of the Lord" (John 15:10 and 1 John 2:27). Reading a couple of scriptures once a week in church won't make us abiders. We need to be reading and thinking about the Word of God every day. The Word must be of paramount importance in our lives. If it is, we'll find ourselves abiding in Him!

The "B" of Believing

Abiding in the Lord is a wonderful way to live. But to live in the fullness of His supernatural security we can't stop there. We must also specifically believe and act on God's guarantees of divine protection.

Believing is absolutely vital. Many dear, devoted saints who loved and abided in the Lord have still fallen victim to calamity simply because they didn't know God had promised to deliver them from it. Because they didn't know…they couldn't believe—and because they couldn't believe…they couldn't receive the benefits of their covenant of protection.

Think of it this way. If someone were to deposit a million dollars in your bank account but you didn't know anything about it, you wouldn't be able to spend it. It would do you no good. That's the situation many Christians are in today. God has promised to be their protector and their refuge but because they don't know and believe it, His promises aren't operating in their lives.

"That's tragic!" you might say.

Yes it is. But it's happening nonetheless because everything we receive from God we must receive by faith; and faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The new birth, for example, was available to us all many years before we were saved. But we couldn't receive it until we heard, believed and acted on what the Word of God said about salvation.

The same thing is true with our protection. We must find out what the Word of God has to say about it and feed on that Word until faith arises and we believe it—not just with our head but with our heart.

To live in the secret place of God's supernatural protection we must know what God has said He'll do for us. We must also believe He is faithful and that what He said, He will do. The more we hear and read the scriptural promises of protection, the more assured we'll be that it's God's will to keep us safe. The more we read about real people in the Bible who were supernaturally delivered—like the whole nation of Israel was from the hand of Pharoah—the more confident we'll be in His ability to take care of us in dangerous times.

We'll realize that God truly is our number one Source of protection. All other means of protection, helpful as they might be, are not fail-safe. Nothing in the natural realm can truly guarantee our protection. Only God can do that.

Then when we're faced with a frightening situation, instead of caving in to fear, we just depend on God. Or as one Hebrew commentary says it, "If you put your faith in God, fear will be banished from your heart."

That's important because fear will connect you to the devil the way faith will connect you to God. You can't be in fear and in faith at the same time. You can't have it both ways. You can't receive deliverance while living in fear because deliverance is received by faith. By believing the Word of God and trusting in Him, you open the way for Him to deliver you from any situation. His history with man fully proves He is well able to do it.

The "C" of Confessing

Once we're abiding in the Lord and firmly believing His promises of protection, there's something else we will do. We will begin to confess, or speak words that express our faith in God's delivering power. We'll be like the Psalm 91 man who doesn't just believe with his heart, he opens his mouth and says of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust" (verse 2).

One commentary describes this man as a "devout man who declares publicly that God is his refuge from all physical dangers and his fortress protecting him from all human enemies." He is one who is so outspoken where God is concerned that people understand who His God is and they know he believes Him to be his refuge in every time of trouble.

Don't ever be ashamed in a time of calamity of crying out to God. Don't be ashamed to say, "God, thank You for helping me." Don't start speaking unbelief when calamity comes. Stay on your faith and speak words of deliverance into that situation.

Don't say, "I'm scared to death!" Instead go around saying things like "I trust in God. He is the source of my protection. He is my security. He is my refuge and fortress. There is a wall around me that the enemy cannot penetrate because my God is the Most High God. Satan, the killer, the destroyer cannot come into this fortress. I abide in the presence of God."

I'll be honest with you. That will be difficult (if not impossible) for you to do unless you have prepared in advance by filling your heart with the Word of God because the scriptural fact is that out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34).

So if you want to be secure in this life, you need to make a lifestyle of spending time in God's Word. You need to do what Noah did in his day. He obeyed the Word of the Lord and built an ark to protect Himself and his family from the flood. And he did it before the rain began to fall.

In the same way, you need to build God's promises of protection into your heart and life before trouble comes. You need to make it a daily habit to fellowship with Him, hearing and heeding the direction He gives to your heart. Then, when trouble does come, you'll not only abide, believe and confess the Word of God, you'll be able to hear the voice of God tell you what to do.

I heard the testimony of one woman who did exactly that and it saved her life and the life of many others on September 11 last year. She had made a habit of waking up every day and saying, "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!" She had a lifestyle of fellowshipping with the Lord, abiding in Him. She kept faith in her heart and in her mouth on a daily basis.

As I recall the story, her office was on an upper floor of the World Trade Center tower that was hit by the second plane the day of the terrorist attack. When the first tower was hit, the people in her office gathered together on another floor to await instructions. After a few minutes, a voice on the loudspeaker told them everything was safe and they should return to their offices.

As she headed toward the elevator to return to her floor, the Lord spoke to her heart and said, "Get out of this building as fast as you can and take as many people as possible with you!" Because she was accustomed to hearing and obeying the Lord, she instantly obeyed. As a result, many lives were saved that day.

That was a dangerous day…and there are more dangerous days ahead. We can be ready. We don't have to wait until the moment of crisis to take our dependence off the world and put it on Him.

We can start now...abiding, believing and confessing. We can start building ourselves an ark today.

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