Have no other god's before you

Do-it-yourself deities

Greg Laurie

www.worldnetdaily.com and www.harvest.org

What are you the most passionate about in life? What do you find yourself thinking about more than anything else? What one thing, if it were taken away from you, would leave you utterly destroyed? That is your god. That is what you worship.

Make no mistake – everybody has a god. Everybody worships someone or something. Maybe you can't remember the last time, if ever, that you bowed down before an idol or saw someone else worshiping one.

But have you ever seen the way that some people treat their cars? They park in more than one space. They have the emblem of their car on their jacket and their hat. Other people have pictures of their family; they have a picture of their car from every angle. Is it possible that car could be a god to that person? I think so.

Everyone has built an altar to something in their life. Their god might be materialism. Their god might be sex. Their god might be music. Their god might be some sport. Whatever you put at the forefront of your life, that is your god.

Yet God is very clear in pointing out that he will not share his glory with another. He says, "Have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3 NIV).

It is fine to love your family. It is fine to have a career. It is fine to have a hobby. It is fine to drive a nice car. But don't make these No. 1 in your life. Make God No. 1. He should take priority over anyone or anything.

But it is easier to slip into idolatry than we may realize. We find a good example of this in the Old Testament. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God, his brother Aaron had been left in charge of the people. But after Moses had been gone for a while, they approached Aaron with a concern: Moses had been gone for a long time. He wasn't even around. The people wanted some kind of god to worship, and they wanted Aaron to do something about it. So Aaron told them to bring him their gold earrings. Then he melted them down and formed the image of a calf. Aaron announced to the people that this was the god that delivered them out of Egypt, and the next day would be "a feast to the Lord." So the people actually began to worship this golden calf.

Meanwhile, God told Moses to get back to the camp. Moses arrived, holding a freshly inscribed set of the Ten Commandments that, among other things, said, "You shall have no other gods before me."

Moses looked over at Aaron, who came up with a line that should be included in the Excuse Hall of Fame: It is not my fault. I told them to bring their gold, we threw it into the fire, and this golden calf came out!

Of course, that is not exactly what happened.

While Moses was away, the people decided they still wanted spirituality, but they wanted to party too. They wanted to have some fun. They were saying, "We still want God in the mix, but we want to do it our own way. We need a new kind of religion."

In the same way, a lot of people today want spirituality, but they want it on their terms. They want a do-it-yourself deity, a designer god. They have given God a 21st-century makeover, as if to say, It's a new time. We don't need these rules. We don't need these standards. We want to live as we want to live. We don't like these absolutes.


But imagine if someone said, "I don't like the whole thing with traffic lights. Someone has said that green means 'go' and red means 'stop.' But that is their truth. My truth is that green means 'stop' and red means 'go.' Therefore, I will live by my standards instead of society's oppressive standards."

A person who adopts those beliefs won't live very long – and unfortunately they will take some other people down with them.

We live by laws and rules. We want order in so many areas of our lives. And that applies to the spiritual as well.

I suggest that the golden calf became the Israelites' second idol. Moses was their first one. They were worshiping Moses instead of the God who was using Moses. And when Moses was gone, everything fell apart.

Sometimes we can make idols out of people God uses in our lives. Maybe it is someone who is very spiritual, someone we look up to. Then one day, they do something very human. They mess up. They fall short. They sin. They are inconsistent. And we find out they are human like we are. So we think, That is hypocrisy! I thought they were perfect! If they are going to sin, then I can't follow Jesus anymore.

Understand that we are all sinful. Even spiritual leaders will make mistakes. I am not rationalizing it or justifying it, because those of us who are called to leadership should be good examples. But remember that it is Jesus we ultimately should be following rather than people. He never will let you down. He never will be a hypocrite. He never will be inconsistent. Look to him. Worship him. Because people will disappoint you.

But we have to give credit to Moses, because by his godly living and personal integrity, he kept more than two million people from full-tilt idolatry. Moses represented God to the people.

They respected him. But when he left, things fell apart. He is described in the Bible as "the man of God" (Deuteronomy 33:1).

What kind of influence are you having on others around you right now? Are you drawing them closer to God or driving them away? Let it be said of us that we are men and women of God.

Importance of parenting

Learned Behavior

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

“For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it,” Proverbs 2:21, 22.

Remember when you were growing up and you misbehaved? One or both of your parents would tell you to behave yourself. As you grew bodily and intellectually, your behavior actually took on characteristics belonging to your parents. We learn from our parents and we pass along our learning to our children. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding,” Proverbs 4:7.

If children grow up in a home that is full of iniquity they will pick up such behavioral traits themselves. Parents have so much influence on their children’s behavior that if the parents were to actually live the Christian lifestyle, their children would most appropriately emulate that lifestyle; the opposite is also true. If our lifestyle is focused on debauchery, our children’s behavior will ultimately reflect the same.

A Christian child growing up in today’s society needs to have continual correction in order for them to hold fast to Christian values. Our minds, and our children’s minds are bombarded daily by the words and actions of people who live contrary to God’s will, and this can be overwhelming. Bringing up a child in a morally upstanding home environment will always necessitate some form of mind modifications because of outside evil and immoral influences. Mind modification sounds awful, but it is practiced throughout our society. TV and movies promote the greatest of these manipulating practices, followed closely by our government run public school system.

Everything goes back to a learned behavior. Beginning with a young mind, for example, erroneous influences can create barriers to truth. Children learn a form of truth from their parents, and accuracy of truth hinges on those parents’ presuppositions. Children parrot their parent’s views. For example, my daughter has a friend who hates Chevrolets. Why? Because her dad hates Chevrolets! This young girl has never owned a Chevrolet so has no experience with car ownership of any kind, but she parrots her father’s views.

I can give many examples of leaned behavior such as drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking cigarettes, immorality in the home (such as adultery or watching TV shows which promote an immoral behavior), and of course physical and mental child abuse. All this becomes embedded in a child’s mind to a point that they see nothing wrong in such behavior and it becomes a part of their lifestyle when they become adults. Of course then it becomes a domino effect passing this behavior on to each generation.

If a child is brought up in the admonition of the Lord through a regime of daily Bible reading, and with a dad and mom who are devoted to the Lord Jesus as well as to each other, in all likelihood that child will carry that pattern into their adult life, and pass it on to their children. “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. If on the other hand there are deviations from such a lifestyle, these deviations will soon be picked up by our children. Consequently over generations this systematic departure from the truth becomes expanded upon, finally resulting in a learned behavior that is at odds with the truth of God’s word. “The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools,” Proverbs 3:35.

When a society deviates from God’s word, the result is a people steeped in immorality. It’s a learned behavior that spreads like a cancer, affecting everyone in its path. Destructive lifestyles are caustic to a moral society, and when immorality is not condemned the result will be the eventual demise of that once moral society. If parents won’t stand for decency in a society, their children will not learn to be morally decent and will pass their lack of morality on to the next generation of children. Ultimately this will lead to the complete breakdown of the moral structure of any civilization. “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble,” Proverbs 4:19.

The following poll was conducted by the Barna Research Group and gleaned from a WorldNetDaily.com article that shows definite signs of learned behavior.

“The pollsters asked adults if, in the previous week, they had viewed pornography, used profanity in public, gambled, gossiped, engaged in sexual intercourse with someone to whom they were not married, retaliated against someone, got drunk or lied. A majority of the respondents acknowledged engaging in at least one of those eight behaviors.

Here are the specific results:

28 percent admitted to using profanity in public;
20 percent admitted gambling, including the purchase of a lottery ticket;
19 percent admitted to intentional exposure to pornographic images;
12 percent admitted getting drunk;
11 percent admitted lying;
9 percent said they had sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse;
8 percent said they had retaliated against someone.

While only 1 percent of married adults acknowledged having sex with someone other than their spouse, 21 percent of single adults said they had sex with someone in the previous week. In fact, reported the Barna Group, those under 25 were more than twice as likely to engage in these activities.

"Their choices made even the Baby Boomers – never regarded as a paragon of traditional morality – look like moral pillars in comparison," the study concluded.

Among the under-25 group:

64 percent admitted using profanity in public;
38 percent engaged in sex outside marriage;
37 percent lied;
25 percent gossiped;
26 percent used pornography;
33 percent engaged in acts of retaliation.”

What can we expect from a society that continually glorifies wicked and depraved people and shuns that which is righteous? Of course the result will be a complete collapse of the moral structure of a society. When evil prevails in a nation it will always lead to even more depravity. Every society that allows a cesspool of filth to permeate the minds of the young people will undoubtedly reap what they’ve sown. “The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked,” Proverbs 10:3.

Sitting in my doctors waiting room the other day, I overheard a few of the ladies who were also waiting to see the doctor discussing with the receptionist all the daily soap operas they miss because they work all day, and how they tape them so they can view them at a later time slot. Interestingly, living in a small town as I do, I know all these fine ladies are professing Christians. TV soap operas are pure filth and yet these women have no problem watching such filth. Learned behavior passed on from generation to generation. Harmless you say? Destructive I say.

Habitual bad behavior of children comes, in some cases, from observing those people they most respect, such as parents, grandparents, school teachers, even U.S. Presidents. The worst perpetrators of this morally wrong behavior are the hero’s of this current generation: actors, actresses, singers, and professional ball players with minds so depraved, that in any society that practices God’s precepts for morality they would be locked away. These are the folks who encourage a destructive lifestyle, a behavior that promotes every vile and gross iniquity known to man, and yet it seems the world can’t get enough. These so called heroes are championed by the media who are used by Satan to feed this trash to a hungry public who are looking everywhere for fulfillment, except to Christ. “The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity,” Proverbs 10:29.

Have you ever stopped to realize that the easing of societal taboos is something that happens quietly at first, under the radar so to speak? As folks become numb to each new broken taboo, another one is attacked and soon falls. Before anyone knows what’s happened, all of society’s taboos are gone, leaving a complete and total breakdown of morals. Each generation that follows becomes more immoral but unaware that they are in a depraved state because this immorality has become commonplace. All of which can be attributed to learned behavior.

The Bible is being shunned or mistranslated to accommodate those with evil agendas. Yet in this frequently mistranslated and disparaged book all the immorality and evil vileness we see happening today was prophesied 2,000 years ago. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ” 2 Timothy 3:2-5.

It’s not easy to escape “learned behaviors”, especially those which contradict God’s word, but it is possible. There is always a way out of every evil behavioral situation. The Holy Spirit is always at work in each person’s life, as is the devil. Satan will try to thwart any and all efforts put forth by the Holy Spirit. It is a constant battle. Ultimately Satan loses the battle, but not before he convinces a huge majority of every culture and people to follow evil instead of God.

If you love Jesus and make manifest your love for Him in your life, your children will learn from your behavior. Ultimately they will become more knowledgeable of who Jesus is, what He should mean to them, and what He expects of them. Learned behavior can lead either to righteousness or evil, but it depends on each of us as parents and how our lifestyles promote Jesus Christ.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,” Proverbs 3:5, 6. If we consistently follow this advice, so might our children. If not, well.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scriptures are from the KJV

Time Management

Cindy Trimm:

"The Importance of Ordering Your Day"

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."—Psalm 90:12

Your future comes one day at a time—it is God's present to you. How you use it is your gift to Him. Time Management is the art of making every moment of every day count. You should not just spendinvest in time by ensuring that every action, every thought you think and word you speak is in alignment with the Word of God. time, but

You have been given the opportunity to create a masterpiece of your life. Ephesians 5:15-17 (Amplified Version) gives us a foundational key regarding this very principle:

"Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time (buying up each opportunity), because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is."

The Key to Investing Your Time

On a daily basis, God gives us opportunities to advance His Kingdom. The key to making the most of every opportunity is to grasp firmly the will of the Lord. This is why it is vitally important to renew your mind continually with the Word of God. You must daily align your thoughts and words with God's. Jesus gave us a fundamental key to successfully commanding our every situation when He told us in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

This is why God instructs us to meditate on "the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe (exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it)" (1 Thessalonians 2:13, AMP). God's Word is life and health to those who find it (see Proverbs 4:20- 22). In Psalm 90:12, Moses made this request: "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Ordering your day requires the ability to prioritize. It requires the ability to discern what is distracting busywork and what is Kingdom business. Effective time management requires getting God's heart on what is worth "investing" time in versus what we should not be "spending" or even "wasting" time on. As with any financial investment, you must ask what kind of return your time investments are yielding. Time "spent" is a cost—and you must be mindful of the benefit you are exchanging for the cost you are incurring.

God provided the ultimate example of effective time management and order in the Book of Genesis. In six days He created the earth and everything in it, and on the seventh day He rested. It all went according to plan. There was an order to when and how He created what and when—a succession and progression to how He developed each organism and species. God did not waste His resources, especially His time. He was purposeful and concise as He unfolded life on our planet.

Take Control of Your Day!

Do not miss out on the rewards of well-managed time. Order is what gives you the freedom to be creative. Order gives you the peace of mind you need to tune into God's supernatural frequencies and tap into divine inspiration. Without order you will be distracted with the cares and concerns of this life so that you cannot still your mind to hear God's voice.

It is impossible to imagine and envision when you are overextended and stressed. You need to schedule time to purposefully paint the canvas of your life by investing in creative dreaming. Stop to think. Order your day so that you have the time and peace you need to create the masterpiece God has preordained for you. Make certain that you have scheduled time for praying, meditation, reading the Word of God, praise and worship. I pray that you will bring order to your day and to your life.

I speak order to your life, ministry, finances, health and all things concerning you. I speak that your faith fail not.

You may also gain more insight on this by reading the Commanding Your Morning E-Book which you can order below.

Blessings,

Your Kingdom Servant,

Ambassador Dr. Cindy Trimm
Cindy Trimm International
Email: info@cindytrimm.com
Email: www.cindytrimm.com

About Cindy Trimm: Dr. Cindy Trimm has given her life to instructing and activating persons in the atomic power of prayer and equipping nations to pursue destiny. She is a 21st Century leader who has partnered with heads of state, business moguls, politicians, church, civic and world leaders for more than 30 years to equip and empower millions to maximize their potential. Her track record as a revolutionary thinker and prolific communicator has established her as a well-respected and sought-after leader in the world today. She founded Cindy Trimm International (CTI) to bring practical solutions to spiritual and social ills; effecting change within our communities while transforming the course of our global destiny. Dr. Trimm is best known as the General in the Art of Strategic Prayer and Spiritual Warfare, Kingdom Practitioner and is a respected prophetic voice, bestselling author, life coach, and Ambassador of Hope. She is the author of: The Rules of Engagement and Commanding Your Morning books and has been featured on many television, streaming, and radio programs.

Are you feeling homesick?

A homing instinct

Greg Laurie

www.worldnetdaily.com and www.harvest.org

Have you ever been homesick? It's something that I experience, especially if I have been traveling for more than a few days, and especially when I am visiting another country. A pleasant aroma or some familiar thing will jog my memory and give me that feeling of wanting to be home again.

As Dorothy said in "The Wizard of Oz," there's no place like home.

I think, in a sense, that all of us have a homesickness for a place we have not yet been to – a place called heaven. God has essentially wired us this way as human beings. The animal kingdom doesn't have this drive, but humans do, because we were uniquely made in the very image of God. In fact, the Bible says that God has set eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). I don't think we ever will find complete satisfaction in this world, no matter how idyllic or beautifully things are going. It is always going to fall short.

C. S. Lewis summed it up well when he talked about that longing for someplace else: "All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it."

It is almost like a homing instinct. Our aircraft today navigate electronically, picking up radio and satellite signals using complicated equipment to translate information so a pilot can tell where he or she is going. For years we've known that birds can navigate great distances without any such system. I have never seen a bird flying around with a little GPS unit. They have this natural homing instinct that God has placed inside them.

I read recently about a unique bird known as the Manx Shearwater, which nests off of the coast of Wales. These birds are noted for their incredible homing instincts. Scientists took a number of them and then tagged and released them at different points around the globe to see whether they could find their way back to the coast of Wales. One bird was released in Boston, some 3,200 miles from home. In just over 12 days, that bird returned to his nest, having traveled 250 miles per day from a place it had never been before to reach home again.

Another bird, known as the Golden Plover, which is native to Hawaii, migrates during the summer to the Aleutian Isles, 1,200 miles away. There they mate and lay their eggs, and their little fledglings are born. Then the Golden Plovers return to Hawaii, leaving their fledglings to grow up a little. What is amazing is that these little birds that have never been to Hawaii then make the journey 1,200 miles away to a place they have never been. That is an amazing homing instinct.

I think, in a sense, that we all have that in us: a longing for something more ... a homesickness for heaven ... a desire to be in a relationship with God.

The Bible tells the story of a prodigal son, a young man who left home, became homesick and eventually returned. It is one of my favorite stories in the Bible.

Apparently, this guy wanted independence from his father, and there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. After all, don't all parents want their kids to grow up and be independent – as opposed to their still living at home when they are in their 40s?

In this particular case, however, it was not independence in the normal sense. This son was making an unreasonable request. He was putting a great financial hardship on his father, not to mention the fact that he was breaking his heart.

Under Jewish law the oldest son would receive two-thirds of the inheritance, while the rest was divided among the younger children upon their father's death. So this son had no right to go to his father and ask him to divide the estate at this particular time. He had no concern about how his father would be inconvenienced. He was thinking only about himself.

So he went to a far country with his newly acquired wealth; he probably made a lot of fast friends. But when his money ran out, his friends ran out with it. Soon he realized the emptiness of life without his father. And when a famine developed, the Bible says that "he began to be in need" (Luke 15:14 NIV). This prodigal began to be in want not only because he lost his money and friends, but also because he had no inner support. There was nothing spiritual left in his life to fall back on.

That is sin for you. It promises freedom, but it brings slavery. As Jesus said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:34 NKJV). Sin promises success, but it brings failure. It promises life, but it brings death.

I have seen husbands, under the influence of sin, abandon beautiful wives and loving children to chase after some passing pleasure. People who have been in the ministry throw it all away, under the influence of sin, for a few moments of guilty pleasure. The Bible warns of the elusive glamour and trickery of sin.

The prodigal finally recognized his sin for what it was and came to his senses. He decided it was time to go home. His father, seeing him in the distance, ran out to meet him. Now, in this culture, it was undignified for an older man to run. He would have had to pull his garment up above his knees to get to his son. Yet he sprinted to get to his boy. Then he threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Jesus told this story to illustrate what our heavenly Father is like. So here we see that God accepts us as we are. He loves us the way we are in spite what we have done. But in this story, we should also note that the father didn't leave the prodigal son in the state he was in. Having embraced him, he then gave the command for new clothes to be brought out for his son. And so the great party began.

In the same way, God says to us, "I love you as you are, but I want to change you. I want to transform you."

If you are a prodigal in any way, shape or form, it is time to come home. God has given you a homing instinct. You are wired this way. Your heavenly Father has missed you. He wants to throw his arms around you. He loves you. Will you come home?

Has Satan Assigned A Personal Demon For Every Believer?

Your Personally Assigned Demon

Psalms Fifty Five through Fifty Eight nestles a background in which David was up to his neck in alligators. He was in big trouble. Friends had turned on him and his enemies were closing in on him. All he could do in this situation was cry unto God. In Psalm 57:1, David cried out and said

Ps 57:1-11

1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth. (KJV)

In the above passage, David is encompassed on all sides by the enemies marshaled against him. Even in David's limited theological knowledge, he still had much power with God. But we have knowledge about the things of God that David did not have. In addition, we have Five Offensive Weapons that enable us to combat the forces of darkness that are thrown against us that David did not have. We know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against wicked spirits that inhabit the high places

Eph 6:12

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (KJV)

David could only view his enemies from the stand point of the flesh. He did not understand the spiritual forces behind the scenes that operated in the flesh. Like David, we see flesh and blood. Flesh and blood may come against us, but there is a principality, a spiritual force, (a hoard of demons) that lurk around and operate behind the human flesh that we see. They motivate the flesh (in the form of evil men) to come against us. David did not know this, but we know it.

My personally assigned demon

By revelation, God showed me something that I can not prove with a specific Scripture, but I can cite the case of one man concerning it. From this man's experience, combined with my own, I believe that every child of God has a personal demon assigned to him, that tracks him constantly, whose job is to derail him, one way or the other (including sickness). In other words, I believe that the devil has given a personal assignment to one specific demon to harass and afflict each individual Christian. Paul had a personal demon. No, Paul was not demon possessed. Neither are we. That demon never possessed Paul. His mission was not to possess Paul; his mission was to kill him, to wipe him out, to buffet him with his fist until Paul lay dead with his lips silenced and his job for God cut short by this death dealing power.

The Holy Ghost revealed to me that everyone of us has a specific demonic assignment whose life long job is to derail you as a Christian. Can I produce scripture to support it?

No, but you can not produce one to contradict it. My personal experience, however, reveals that this is the case, confirming what the Holy Ghost revealed to me about this.

The demon that tracks you like a blood hound knows your every weakness. His assignment is to derail you from being and doing what God wants you to be and do. His greatest attacks upon me occur when I am the closest to the greatest spiritual breakthroughs of my life.

The closer I come to accomplishing bigger things for God and penetrating deeper into the things of the Spirit, that demon's attacks on me become unbearable and unmerciful. He does everything he can to derail my moving into a deeper understanding of the things of God. Have you ever been there?

As God began moving me deeper and more powerfully into physical healing through the use of Jesus' name, the more intense the derailing attempts of this personal demon became. He occupied my mind with other things so that I had no time to stop and think about what I saw God doing through me.

I have seen God's power operate through me when I combine His Word with Jesus' name and speak them through my lips. Moreover, the more I try to stop and meditate upon what I have seen God do, the harder the demon hits me to derail even my meditation.

My demon and my computer

My personally assigned demon got into my computer. All that is done on that computer is the LORD's work. Nothing else is ever done on it. I have no use for it apart from the LORD's work. I have a program called Stacker in that computer. This is a program in which all other programs sit. This program "doubles" the size of the space on your hard disc.

The other day a friend and I were doing some work on my computer, and all of a sudden, that Stacker program disappeared out of that computer. It was not deleted. If you delete a program, only the first letter of the program disappears; everything else remains in it. Restore that first letter and the program comes back. That Stacker program was not in there. It left. That is supposed to be impossible. The disappearance of this program produced a battle royal. It occupied my time because I had to put this and put that back into the computer. I had to relearn this and redo that. There is a personal devil that agitates me, to keep me sidetracked so that I neither do nor become what God wants me to be.

There are many women who have a desire for the things of God. The deeper that desire becomes and the more you attempt for God, the more you come under a demonic attack to derail and to sidetrack you. This derailing demon usually messes up the mind of your husband. Consequently, you wonder what is happening to you. Unless you are deep enough in the things of God, you will fail to see that this is an attack by your assigned demon, who stays with you twenty four hours a day. He was sent after you from the pits of hell, by the devil himself. He has but one motive: he aims to derail you any way he can, including sickness. Furthermore, your demon has many other demons that he can call in to help him do it.

But you fight flesh and blood. You get mad at your husband. Husbands get mad at their wives. That is silly. Your problem is not flesh and blood. The problem is a spirit problem, for there is an assignment against your husband too. Sometimes these demons will team up, but their whole mission is to derail you one way or the other and they will hit your weak spot.

Paul's personally assigned demon

I know what Paul's weak spot was. The thorn that Paul had was not a sickness, it was a personally assigned demon. Paul spells it out. He had a "messenger" of Satan.

2 Cor 12:7

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (KJV)

The word translated "messenger" is the Greek word ANGELOS, from which comes our English word "angel." Paul's thorn was the angel of Satan. That is a demon. Paul says what it was. Furthermore, the demon was assigned to kill him. Read 2 Corinthians 11 again, in the Introduction, to see what this demon did to Paul. Keep in mind, your demon knows your weak point and he will aim at that. The weak point with some people is alcohol. With others, it is dope. That demon knows your weakness, and he will move on it. Paul's was his intellect and the volume of great revelations he received from God. He had the most brilliant mind of his day. That demons job, then, was to kill Paul.

I firmly believe that all of us have these personal demons that have been assigned to us. I can not give you book, chapter and verse where it says in Hezekiah 31:47, "Brother Jay, you have a personal demon." I can not give that verse. I can not give you one where Jill or Bill or anybody else has a personal demon. But you can't give me one that shows we don't. Paul had one and my personal experience demonstrates to me that I do also. Because there is something out there that knows too much about me. He knows what hurts. He knows what it takes to shut me down. He knows what it takes to move me off to the side. He knows what it takes to stop me. When I allow him to move me off to the side, I am empty, I am unfulfilled, I am not everything that I ought to be. I end up powerless, which is what he wanted all along.

I have become aware of the power in Jesus' name linked up with the Word and spoken through my lips. I have seen things happen that the average Christian just would not believe. The devil hates this. Therefore, he assigned a demon to me to stop it any way he can.

I saw a lady with a hand deformed with arthritis. I stood right there and watched the Holy Ghost straighten it out. God even changed the color of her skin. God changed her hand from a clinched, deformed fist into a straight, normal hand which had a glow to it.

That is the power of Jesus' name. Now the devil does not want these things to happen. You see, he wants to move me away from being able to meditate on it to get more gutsy and do it some more.

So, he steals a program completely out of my computer. It is working one minute and the next minute that program is gone. Do not think that we hit a wrong key, because the mouse and everything else went out. Everything stopped. That program was gone. It was no longer in there. You can not restore something or undelete something that is not in there. That program left. My personally assigned demon caused this.

You also have a personally assigned demon. Some people have a problem with this, that or the other. Your problem may be the desire for money, the desire for power, the desire for fame or the desire for all them. Whatever your weakness, your demon will come after you, but he can not beat you

What's the answer?

I have described a problem. Now, let me put forth some answers. Notice Psalm 57:2. In the midst of all the trouble that this demon threw at him, (he did not understand Spiritual Warfare like we do), David battled against people. He asked God to break the teeth out of their mouths. He is dealing with people. He wants God to put a hurt on them.

We know that we must look beyond "people" to the spiritual force (demon) that caused them to attack us. Even so, we have a common denominator with David, who in verse 2 said, "I will cry unto God Most High, unto God, who performeth all things for me." Look at the expression, "who performeth all things for me.", Let that sink in. "Unto God who performeth all things for me." God can take that demonic attack and turn it around for your good. Romans 8:28 says,

Rom 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (KJV)

Many people worry whether something is the will of God or not. I want to tell you something; you are the will of God. The Word of God says that you have been begotten by the Word of God through His own will. If you have been born again, you are the will of God. You are the express will of God sitting right where you are while reading this page. Furthermore, the Bible says that you have been called according to His purpose. Consequently, God's Spirit turns every thing around and makes it work for your good. Even these demonic attacks can be made to work for good because, through the attack, you learn more about the enemy. From his attacks, I learned how to derail him on his next pass through. I learned, also, that there will, indeed, be another pass at me. But when he comes at me again, since I learned something from his last pass at me, I will not allow him to put the same old story on me that he did the last time.

Every time he comes at me, God over rules him and teaches me something. God works it out for my good. God performs all things for me. It is as though I was the only person on this planet. God makes the stars shine for me. Are the stars things? God performs all things for me. It is as if I were the only person on the planet and a big rain came. Why did it rain? Is rain a thing? God performs all things for me. Let the attack come. I will learn from it. God will make good come of it.

Many people say, "You ought to be strong in the face of temptation." If you could be strong in the face of temptation, it would not even be a temptation. Temptation is something, from which, you do not want to walk away. Otherwise, it is not temptation. So, the devil will throw his biggest guns at your weakest point. He will find your weakness. It doesn't matter what it is. Different people have different weaknesses.

If the devil is trying to derail you, this is an indication that you have a particular weakness, even while someone else has another. His ultimate objective, concerning you both, is to derail you so that you will neither be nor do what God wants you to be and do. He will aim at your weakness to sidetrack you. Then, you are shut down as far as power and usefulness is concerned.

Some men get bent out of shape when their wives get mad at them. It just derails them. It totally punctures them and folds them up. Some women are the same way. They totally collapse when their husband gets a little bit miffed at what they have done or said. The devil knows all this.

Moreover, your personally assigned demon has studied you better than you have studied yourself. He knows more about you than anyone. He has known you from birth, since he was assigned to you, I firmly believe, from that moment.

Furthermore, I do not believe that the devil changes demons on you. I think that he is the same demon at all times and that he stays with you until you learn how to beat him. He is an assignment and he can call for other demons to help him. Through these other demons, they can marshall forces of people to bring against you.

While I was pastor of Believer's Covenant Church in Pearland, Texas, I spoke to pastors. As they heard all that had happened to that church, they said, "Brother, I have not had as much trouble in all my combined ministry as you have had in two years in that one church". You see, the devil hated that church and everything that it stood for. However, he never won a thing. We experienced total victory in that church.

David said, "God performs all thing for me." We must recognize that an assignment is against us, for we are encompassed with enemies composed of both people and demons. People become our enemies because of the demons. We must recognize that we have this demon assigned to us and his one mission is to sidetrack us. If he can sidetrack you no other way, he will kill you. To sidetrack you is his objective. It is his marching orders. This is exactly what he is after. The one job assigned to him by the master devil, Satan himself, is to derail you, get you off track and stop you as a Christian.

However, in the midst of this attack, God can make it work in our behalf. He made it work for Paul, who said in so many words, "In my weakness, I discovered that the power of God rests on me greater when I acknowledge that I am up against something that I can not handle. When my back is against the wall and I am totally out of strength, I recognize the power of God more in my life than at any other time." God overruled that demon and made the situation work to Paul's advantage. He does the same for you.

We must know that a personally assigned demon is after us. But God, who performs all things for our benefit, can overrule it. What is included in "all things that God performs" for my benefit? Everything you can name that has any good to it, God performs that. There is nothing good that happens to you by chance. God performed it for you.

When you get a handle on the great fact that God performs all things for you, you are on shouting ground! God is performing all things for me. No wonder David said in verse 7, "My heart is fixed." In other words, I am not going to be moved. I know who I am. I know who my God is. I know where my help is coming from. I know the puny condition of the demon coming against me. When God is on my side, nothing can hurt me. Therefore, "My heart is fixed," David said.

The source of your help against demons and sickness

Look at verse 3 again. Not only does God perform all things for me, but He also, "shall send from Heaven and save me." God has no need to utilize any earthly thing in our behalf. He is not restricted to using earthly things to help us. The Bible says, "He will send from Heaven." God has things up there with which to help us that the mind of man has not even imagined yet. He has an arsenal in the skies that we have not tapped yet. David said, "God shall send from Heaven, and deliver His children." He has some things in Heaven He has not even sent down here yet. When we have God going for us, what demon can be against us and prevail?

Rom 8:31

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? (KJV)

When the demons attack, the average person blames their husband or wife or somebody else. Blame a person, however, signifies a carnal Christian (one who is not walking in the Spirit). If they were walking in the Spirit, they would look beyond that which our physical eyes see and look right in the face of a demon.

I know everything about my personal demon except his name. I will not let him speak or I would know his name. It is always the same demon. I must give him credit, though. He knows what it takes to rattle my cage. He knows just when and how to jerk my chain to make me mad. I am not as fiery as I used to be. It did not take much of a jerk on my chain some few years ago to fire my temper. But you see, now, I am beating him in the Spirit.

The only way to defeat a demon induced sickness

I have learned that the only way I can battle him and win is link the Name of Jesus to the written Word of God and speak it in his face. My confession of the written Word of God linked with the Name of Jesus assures me of victory over him.

Every time I link the Name of Jesus to the written Word and say it out loud, God sends instructions from Heaven to the Holy Ghost: "Get over there and kick that demon out." Guess what the Holy Ghost does? He works that demon over in ways that I never could.

My problem is neither my wife, nor my kids, nor people who may have called me everything but a decent person. These are not my problems. My problem is that personally assigned demon who called in other demons and stirred them up. He said to these other demons, "Go get Jay. He is vulnerable to criticism."

We are all vulnerable to criticism, aren't we? I do not mind a person thinking that maybe I could have done something a little better. Maybe I could have made a different choice and the outcome could have been a little bit better. Maybe I could have done something this way, rather than that way, and maybe it would have been done better. I do not mind that. I profit from it.

It bothers me, however, for somebody to impugn my integrity and attack my character. That does several things to me. It hurts me and it makes me angry. This is one way the devil comes after me through this personal assignment. I have had to battle this all my life. It may be some other way with you, but this is how he gets to me.

When my wife refuses to walk in the Spirit, she deals with me in flesh and blood, rather than in the spirit. She becomes upset with me and deals with me as flesh and blood, rather than see the personal assignment that may be causing me to do this or causing me to do that. This bothers and derails me, as it does most married people.

You see, that personal devil knows more about you and yours than you do yourself. Consequently, he will use the things against you that bother you the most. He will catch you in a moment when you are not aware of him. Then, he will walk through the door of your weak spot. All of this is designed to derail you and make you less than what you could be and what you are.

Many times he will derail us and we don't even know it. Here is a quick test. Do you have the zeal for God that you had at any previous point in your life, or is it less? If it is less, you have been "had" by your personally assigned demon. You have bought his lie, whether or not you like it or realize it. Then you will wonder, "What is missing in my life?"

It is really simple. You are not doing for God what you should do. You have been derailed and you lack the depth in the Spirit to distinguish what has happened to you. You will think it is this or you will think it is that. You will try this or you will try that to correct it. Furthermore, this is why many people seek with counselors who take them right down the road to destruction. All the while, they have just been derailed by their personally assigned demon who knows how they function and how they react.

He knows that he can do things to them (including sickness) and they won't even know who did it. These people know something is out of pocket, but they neither know what nor why. Since they know neither what it is nor what caused it, they do not know what it takes to put it back together again. Paul experienced this.

He had a personally assigned demon. It is called, in the Bible, his "thorn in the flesh." The Scripture also spells out what it was; it was a personal demon, an angel of Satan, who stayed with him. Like a blood hound, he stayed on Paul's trail to destroy him.

I wish I had known in the early years of my ministry what I know now, not just head knowledge, but revelation from the Holy Ghost. There are many battles I lost that I would have won. But I just didn't know how. In one town where I pastored, we shut down one of the most famous streets in that state. It was famous for sin and iniquity. On that street were dope dens, beer joints and whore houses. My church was right in the middle of it. We lived next to the church. At that time, my two little girls were very small. I was fearful to let them go out in the yard and play by themselves.

My first week on the job, I walked across my yard, across the street, up the steps of the church that I pastored. At this point, I was propositioned by two prostitutes who were sitting on the front steps of my church. They did not know that I was the new preacher in town.

I declared war on this. With God's help, our church shut down every whore house, dope den and beer joint on that street. We took that mess into the state capital and fought it until they padlocked the dens of iniquity on the whole street.

I discovered that many of the people who owned much of the property, up and down that street, were big people in one of the political parties. They were the ones who were leasing space to this underworld element. We took them on. They did everything they could to destroy us. I know what it is to have that personally assigned devil come after me. He knows that criticism against my character, integrity and work bothers me. He knows this hurts me and slows me down, so that I can not function at my best.

Everyone reading this page has a personally assigned demon. But I want to tell you something. My deliverance from that thing is through the power of God because God performs all things for me. When God is performing something for me, you better line up with His will, or God may send a brick bat to fall on your head.

You must "Fix your heart."

No wonder David said, "My heart is fixed." He was not about to be shaken by his circumstances. "My heart is fixed," he said. I am anchored to the truth. I know that God will send from Heaven. He will help me with a spiritual weapon that nobody has even seen yet. "My heart is fixed." Hallelujah! I do not have to put up with this. I do not have to put up with people. I do not have to put up with spirits because I have the victory. God will send from Heaven and help me! Glory to God! This is who we are, what we have and where we are. It is not a matter of flesh and blood, it is a matter of the spoken Word linked to the name of Jesus.

Don't get bent out of shape when your husband or wife isn't doing right. Look behind that husband or wife and look at the demon who attacked them. I am not in the mood to let any demon have one member of my family. When that demon makes them not act right, I will get right in his face because my heart is fixed. God will send from Heaven and deliver my wayward, family member. My heart is fixed. No wonder David said, "I will sing and give praise." When your heart is fixed, you can sing right in the face of adversity. You can praise God when the whole wide world is blowing up in your face. God is performing all things for me. As long as I have that, I need nothing else. God is performing all things for me. This is shouting ground.

Website: www.jaysnell.org

Dreams are coming true!

Joni Ames:

"Wake Up! Your Dream is About to Come True!"

Dear Friends,

I want to talk to you about your dreams. Not the kind you have when you are asleep, but the ones that are in your heart for your purpose, call and destiny!

Many of you have probably seen the video of Susan Boyle...it has been viewed over 51 million times. What an amazing message and lesson to the world! Don't judge a book by its cover! God truly has amazing treasures in unlikely looking earthen vessels. It is truly precious! (To view Susan Boyle's video click here.)

I felt like the Lord told me that there is a true message in all of this for us. The title to the song here is, "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. In this song the person's dreams were killed "by life." In this particular time and season, many have felt much like what these lyrics talk about. However, do not pay attention to how things look!

I believe the message of what happened with this woman, Susan Boyle, is much greater. God wants to restore and fulfill dreams, even now, when it may look the most unlikely or even "dead." Why? Because then He will truly get all the glory!

And so...

• Even if it looks as though your dreams have died, don't give up! They are about to come to life!

• Don't let how others judge or treat you determine your outcome!

• No matter how long it takes, trust God and that His Word is TRUE and He has GOOD plans for you to give you a FUTURE and a HOPE! (see Jeremiah 29:11)

• Don't let anything stop you, for it will always try to stop you!

No matter what is going on in your life, be encouraged! Know that it doesn't matter how things look. God is greater! He wants to sing over you and be the "glory" and "lifter of your head" in this time and season! And He wants you to know—Dreams really DO come true! Do NOT give up on YOURS!

"But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head." Psalm 3:3

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:24

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Ephesians 3:20

Les Miserables - I Dreamed a Dream Lyrics:

There was a time, when men were kind,
And their voices were soft,
And their words were inviting.
There was a time, when love was blind,
And the world was a song,
And the song was exciting.
There was a time it all went wrong.

I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life, worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid,
No song unsung, no wine untested.

But the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart,
As they turn your dream to shame.

He slept a summer by my side,
He filled my days with endless wonder.
He took my childhood in his stride,
But he was gone when autumn came!

And still I dream he'll come to me,
That we will live the years together,
But there are dreams that cannot be,
And there are storms we cannot weather!

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed.
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

God's plans for you are GOOD!

Love and Blessings,

Joni Ames
A.C.T.S. Ministries
Email: joniames@aol.com
Website: www.joniames.com

Prayer Warriors

Francis Frangipane:

"Prayer Warriors Are the Most Frightening, Powerful, Demon-Chasing, World-Moving Beings on Earth"

In our rapidly changing times people are desperate to know the future. Barely do we adjust to the last changes, when totally new realities explode into our world.

In answer to the common fears spawned by change, society has seen a plethora of occult and demonic sources—fortunetellers, astrologers and psychic hotlines—all pretending to be able to peek into the mystery of tomorrow. Indeed, how many otherwise intelligent individuals glimpse, at least occasionally, at their "astrological signs" trying to get an edge on knowing the future!

Why anyone would consult someone who can't predict their own future is beyond me. These fortunetellers almost always live in abject poverty. Shouldn't their ability to predict the future at least work for themselves? They could invest in the stock market or pick the right lottery numbers. They can't even predict or better their own fortune, yet people go to them for discernment.

Tremendous Power In a Christian!

For Christians, God condemns this demonic, fleshly probing into the unknown. Indeed, as intercessors, He has called us not to wonder about the future, but to create it through the knowledge of His Living Word and prayer! Our Father gives us access to the future right now. You ask, How do we know what to pray? The Lord Jesus told us plainly,

"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." Matthew 6:9-10

We can look at the conditions of the world and faint or look at the possibilities of God and take faith. To bring revival is to pray for the reality of God's Kingdom to manifest on earth. Jesus was not offering His disciples a millennial prayer focus, for that rule of God's Kingdom is coming whether we want it to or not! No, but Christ calls us to pray for God's Kingdom to manifest in our world today.

How will tomorrow look if God answers the prayer Christ gave us? Read the Gospels. What we see in the life and power of Jesus Christ is a faith picture of God's Kingdom. Jesus said that we can have that same full manifestation. In fact, He actually commanded us to pray for Heaven's release!

The Prayer Womb

The reality God has planned will always manifest first in the prayer life of His intercessors. When you hear from God and then pray His Word, you are impacting the unformed essence of life with the Spirit of God Himself! Thus, God calls us, not only to know His Word, but to pray it. We must go from intellectualizing God's Word to being impregnated by it.

I know churches have special areas where intercessors can pray or people meditate. But maybe we ought to change the name from "prayer room" to "prayer womb." For everything good and holy that we see manifested in people, in churches and in life is first conceived, and then birthed, in the womb of prayer.

We have answers to prayer all around us. The place you are living in is an answer to prayer. Your church is an answer to prayer, as well as are your pastors, teachers and youth workers. As a church member, your attendance and participation is an answer to the prayer of your pastors and intercessors. When you asked God to lead you to the church you should attend, your current church became God's answer to your prayer!

Paul wrote, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might" (Ephesians 1:18-19).

If you are a Christian, there is a power accompanying your life that is greater than great—the "surpassing greatness of His power." It is not human power, but the actual "strength of His might."

Think About It: The Strength of God Almighty is Attached to Your Prayer Life!

The power of God's might is His resurrection power. What does resurrection mean? It means that things which look dead, smell dead, and act dead, can be touched by God and raised to life!

God demonstrated this "power toward us who believe" first "in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the Heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:19-20).

Right now, you have resurrection power attached to your prayer life! You can look on things that are absolutely dead and pray forth eternal LIFE! The power in us is the same potency God demonstrated when He raised Jesus out of the grave; it is resurrection power. Our mission is to bring resurrection life to situations that are dead.

If the devil challenges your prayer, remind him that you are seated with Christ, "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come" (Ephesians 1:21). Christ's authority is final. But not only has the Father put "all things in subjection under His feet," but He "gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23).

Notice the Lord uses anatomical metaphors to explain the downlink of authority: Christ is the "Head" of a "Body" that has all things put under its "feet."

This is a most profound understanding of our role: What the Head, Christ, has attained, the feet of the Church walk out. In other words, God has positioned the Church as the living bridge between the terrible conditions on earth and the wonderful solutions from Heaven!

As we truly, passionately, and accurately submit to Christ in prayer, the Kingdom of Heaven steadily enters our now prayed-for world. The key of course, is to know Christ's Word. We do not have authority; Christ has authority. What we have is revelation and submission. But as we submit to the Word, and persevere in prayer, we can see the future conformed to God's will.

Prayer Warriors Are Positioned By God

Jesus told a parable to show that men ought to pray at all times and not lose heart (see Luke 18:1-8). In other words, if you are not praying, you will lose heart. Most of the things I pray for I have to persevere and pray through to get the answer. God desires to see something deeper come out of my prayer time than just answered prayers. He wants me to become like Jesus, so He arranges battles that are character-forming. Not only will they ultimately change the world around me, but they'll change me first. This is what all true prayer warriors have discovered.

When we picture a prayer warrior, we usually see a great-aunt or grandmother. I think that every family has one. You never find them looking into a crystal ball to know the future for little Johnny—they are at the throne of God creating Johnny's future in prayer. They are not wondering if Mary is going to make it; they are praying her through to victory. They do not have time to lament Harry's drinking problem; they are storming Heaven to see him delivered.

Prayer warriors are the most frightening, powerful, demon-chasing, world-moving beings on earth. In truth, they act like children of God! If they were to gaze at a crystal ball, it would explode! They look at astrological predictions and rebuke them. They never wonder about the future because they are too busy creating it through their faith in God.

Prayer warriors are positioned by God to pray for their families. I remember when my Dad came to the Lord. For ten years we would intellectually clash about God during our visits. Finally, on one trip he arrived at our home "armed" with an argument against God. He said, "If there really is a God, why doesn't He always answer prayer?" He was secure in his position, and I was tired of the argument. I went into another room for a few minutes and prayed, "Lord, You've got to give me an answer."

When I returned I could see my Dad felt he won this round. I love my dad very, very much, but I said, "Dad, forget all the people that you think didn't get answers to prayer—you yourself are an answer to prayer! You are alive today because our entire family daily prays for you." (He was very overweight and smoked a pack of cigarettes daily). Then I continued, "But let's experiment. You say God doesn't answer prayer; we say He does. So, for one week we won't pray for you, and we'll see what happens."

I can't remember ever seeing my dad turn so pale. He looked over at my Mom and said, "Hon, tell the boy not to do that." Then, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead, he said to me, "Okay. What do I have to do to keep you praying for me?"

In three minutes, he went from not believing in prayer to begging us to keep praying for him. I said, "Dad, the only way I'll keep praying for you is if you pray right now and give your life to Christ," and my dad at that moment received Christ. The Lord answered my prayer.

Prayer anchors us in God's strength for our battles. Each of us knows prayer works: we are saved because someone else prayed for us! Thus, looking at the miracle of our own conversion, we gain confidence in God's help to transform others.

You Are a Prayer Warrior!

Luke 21:36 tells us to be "praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Every time the Bible talks about standing before God, it is speaking of a position of anointed authority and commissioning. Elijah stood before God as did Gabriel. It speaks of one who stands before God as an attendant to the Almighty. When they decree God's Word, it comes to pass.

Jesus said, "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Under that banner, we pray and believe God. The Holy Spirit ever lives to make intercession. All we need to do is open our hearts to Him and prayer is going to come forth.

Look at the terrible issues of our world right now. Every need we see is where God wants us to release, through prayer, His future for that situation. God shows us what is wrong so we can pray for things to be made right. Why waste energy criticizing what's wrong when our prayers can change it!

The Lord our God in the midst of us is mighty. Our weapons are mighty to pulling down strongholds. Stop thinking of yourself as unable to pray. That's a lie out of hell. You are a prayer warrior!

There was a time when that great aunt or grandmother was a younger woman. She might have been just like you, and God showed her the needs around her. His grace came and she made a decision not to judge, but to pray. She didn't start off strong, but she became strong. Now it's your turn to make that decision to be the prayer warrior for your family, church or city!"

Let's pray: Lord Jesus, You said that the armies in Heaven follow You, and Your name is called "the Word of God." Help me to not only believe Your Word, but pray it in the power of the Holy Spirit! I accept that You have called me to be a prayer warrior. By Your grace, I receive a new anointing in intercession. Amen!

Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email:francis1@frangipane.org
Website: www.frangipane.org