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| DAY 3: The Power JANUARY 3, 2010 |
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"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you
with power through His Spirit in your inner being..."
(Ephesians 3:16) |
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| MORNING DEVOTION - "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)
Scripture Reading: Luke 11:11-13
We meditated on the promise of prayer yesterday: the promise that our prayers will be answered; and we have been exhorted to persist in prayer until the answer comes. God has given us the ability to accomplish such a difficult and holy task by, again, giving us what we needed before it even entered our mind to ask - He gave us the wondrous gift of His Holy Spirit (reference John 14:16-17). A gift provided to us by our great intercessor Christ Jesus, who "asked" His Father to fill us with His power. Jesus knew that without His Spirit living inside us we would not have the power, nor the patience, to labor in prayer.
Jesus explained to His disciples that if we ask of our heavenly Father we will receive, because our Father in heaven desires to give His children good gifts (reference Matthew 7:11). His first gift being His own Spirit - "the greatest of God's gifts" - to dwell within us; guiding us to His throne to receive what He has planned and purposed for our lives so that we will be equipped to accomplish the work of building His Kingdom (reference 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-13).
John Wesley articulated well the importance of the indwelling Holy Spirit in accomplishing God's work in, and through, our lives: "In using all means, seek God alone, look only to the power of His Spirit, and the merits of His Son. Beware you do not get stuck in the work itself; if you do, it is all lost labor. Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul. Therefore, fix on Him in all, through all, and above all. For all the power, and all the merit is of Him alone." We would do well to accept this treasure that has been given to us, and surrender to His work so our labor will not be in vain, and our toil too burdensome and heavy.
Heavenly Father,
I praise you for your most wondrous treasure
that you have placed inside this earthen vessel.
I desire to be fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit's teachings
so I will be equipped to labor for your kingdom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
[The Holy Spirit is God's most wondrous gift - He is responsible for teaching us, guiding us, training us, comforting us, and bestowing additional gifts of the Father upon us. As we come to the Lord in prayer, surrender to the Spirit's leading and allow Him to ignite your prayers with power through the Scriptures He brings to your mind for the people He burdens your heart with].
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AFTERNOON DEVOTION - "Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed..." (Daniel 6:10)
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:26-27
God and His Spirit are interconnected - in giving us His Spirit is He has given us His very life to live inside us. The Spirit speaks for us when we have no words because He already knows our needs and the Father knows His thoughts. It is an amazing relationship that we have been privileged to take part in, as His sons and daughters. The prayers He places in our hearts are given from the Father who desires that we exercise our divine appointment to pray so He can accomplish His Kingdom work. The Spirit will lead us to pray in accordance with the Father's will, ultimately fulfilling God's purposes, when we, in our weakness, surrender to His power.
There is no greater gift than God's Spirit. He is the greatest need to help believers live out the Christian life - because He is God's very life being lived out within us. When we pray to God, His presence should be our greatest priority so we will be enabled to live the abundant life God purposed for us as we learn daily to yield to the direction of the Holy Spirit (reference Romans 8:4-9). When we surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit we experience the greatest blessings as sons and daughters of God - receiving all the rights and privileges of this relationship and all the blessings of His Kingdom. Our life and our prayers will yield much fruit when we allow this relationship to claim the highest position in our lives.
Heavenly Father,
I desire the most intimate relationship with you,
which you have made available to me
through your indwelling Spirit in my life.
Help me to not take for granted this wondrous
and extraordinary gift - but surrender myself
to this part of you that will guide me to be like you.
In Jesus' Name. Amen
[There are times that we are so deeply burdened that we don't even know where to begin except to know we must go to God. It's in this place of absolute weakness, when we've come to the end of ourselves, that the Lord can begin His work in our lives through the power and presence of His indwelling Spirit. Allow His Spirit to whisper God's Word into your heart, giving you the Words you need to pray for those people and problems on your heart today].
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EVENING MEDITATION - "...and on His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:2)
Scripture Reading: Galatians 4:1-7
The moment we receive Christ as our Savior we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. God, who called us to be His sons and daughters, uniquely interconnects our lives with His forever by giving us His very life as a deposit of the eternal life we will have with Him in heaven. We have been given a taste of our life in heaven while we walk this earth. Our lives are so intimately connected with our heavenly Father, we can cry out to Him, "Abba", as Jesus did, and have the confidence that He hears us, even when we are too weak to speak. This is the most extraordinary relationship. It is no wonder our heavenly Father calls us to a life of abiding in Him - He is there waiting to fill us even more - all we have to do is ask.
Heavenly Father,
Only one word is needed, Abba,
and you hear my every cry.
You have so connected me to you
that nothing can separate us.
Help me to abide daily in you
so I can experience the fullness of your life
through your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
[We are intimately connected to God through His Holy Spirit. Tonight offer a pray of praise to your heavenly Father for His most extraordinary gift. Ask Him to pour out His Spirit on others; praying that we will be adequately prepared to receive such blessing].
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| "I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day
that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community
in which each person can be unleashed through the
empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God's creational intentions."
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