Prayer Request - Sunday, 2/25/07

Hello Ladies, I have two prayer requests today: 1.) Please pray for my grandmother. Her name is Linnette and she is in the hospital in Macon with Congestive Heart Failure. 2.) I have a friend, his name is Rob. He found my email address after about 7 years. As we were catching up etc... I shared my faith with him. This is what he replied:

You know that I really wish that I can do and feel the way you do. My life for the most part of it is a living hell. I don't know what it is that I am doing wrong but things never seem to go right. Like my marriage, it's crazy my job situation it sucks. I just don't know what to do. On top of all of that I am getting messed over by the VA. I just need a fresh start. If I had the mental strength I think I could do for myself. How did you start? I know that it was hard. I have no idea what your life has been like and what you have been through but just tell me what I can do to feel what you feel. I don't go to the clubs, I still don't drink or smoke, I don't cheat on my wife. I just can't stop the lusting for other women. I'm always online looking at them and if I see something nice when I'm out, I can't keep my eyes off of her. My mind goes on a sexual rampage. I just need some help bad!

Ladies, Please pray that God would show me where to go from here, and that I can be an effective witness. Also, pray that God would continue to work in him and give him the desire to want to be saved.



Thanks, Be Blessed!

Kenyatta

A little reminder

This comes from a calendar of inspirational messages one of my coworkers gave me:

Without a source to refill our lives,
giving will quickly drain our reservoirs
of strength, caring, patience, and kindness.
We must make time to do those things
which renew our inner strength. Daily
walks, reading, and spending time with
friends and family can help us to revitalize.
Most importantly, we need to spend
time with the one Source who can supply
our every need -- God, our Father.

Gwen Ellis

Sharing Thoughts - Contentment

Although I was fighting for my contentment in singleness...this message is very universal and can apply to any situation:

As each of you know, I've been celebrating in my new found "contentment" of being single. My new found space is primarily due to getting a biblical perspective on what it means to be content in all things and anxious for nothing. I used to think that to be content meant that I'd have to be "void" of a desire or "indifferent" to the outcome of that desire. However, what I've recently discovered is that to be content means to be joyful where you are and knowing that God will deliver and bring to pass those desires in our heart. See, it's not anxiousness or fretting that gets God's attention, it's our faith. Anxiousness and faith cannot co-exist together; one will cancel out the other. We can choose to have faith and not be anxious. Yes, it's as simple as making a choice.

Around 9:00 p.m last night (Thursday, Feb 22) those old feelings of anxiousness tried to creep in. Within minutes of their arrival, I began to feel a shift in my emotions, thoughts, and joy. I started speaking God's promises over my life and proclaiming that I will be joyful in my current state because God is faithful. I had to talk to myself (verbally and mentally) throughout the night and even this morning when I woke up. The battle got more and more intense from last night to this morning (Friday, Feb 23) and suddenly the following thoughts started to invade my mind "see, you aren't content. You spoke too soon, you celebrated too soon…etc etc." How-be-ever , I continued to "cast down every thing that exalted itself against the Word of God, and brought down every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" – 2 Corinthians 10:5. In His faithfulness, wisdom began to flow as I brushed my teeth. Here's the wisdom word I received today:

Matthew 12:43-45 (feel free to read it for your pleasure…I love the Message Bible's version of this text)

In a nutshell, the parable talks about when a person is delivered or grows up in an area, those old habits, mindsets, spirits, etc leave and tries to find somewhere else to live. Once the old habits realize that there's no where else for them to go, they come back to their old home ( i.e. you) and find it all cleaned up and vacant. This is good news to the old habits so they run out and gather seven times more spirits and they all come back to live in the new cleaned, vacant you. Why is vacant in bold? There is a difference between abstinence and deliverance. A vacant space represents someone who's abstaining from whatever those old habits were. Abstinence can have the appearance of deliverance because those old spirits are out searching for a new home; HOWEVER…they will come back to see if their old home ( i.e. your mind) is available. If those old habits find the old home vacant and available for them, then that person was not delivered, but rather abstaining. How do you know you're delivered?

True deliverance represents a trading in of your mind for God's mind, your thoughts for God's thoughts, and your desires for God's desires. You don't give up something and not replace it. Deliverance is proven when (not if) those old things come back and find their old home fully furnished, therefore not providing any room for them or seven of their friends to return. Those old thoughts tried to find space in every room…my thoughts, my joy, my emotions, my declarations, every room of my soul. However, every door they tried to enter, they were greeted with the Word of God, the thoughts of God, the peace of God, the promises of God. I traded in the old for the new. Deliverance doesn't mean those old things won't try to come back…deliverance means – COME ON BABY, THERE'S NO ROOM IN THE INN!!! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so (I used to love that song by Virtue…and of course I love the scripture too - Psalm 107:2).

Barbara

February 21, 2007 - Living Life on Purpose

On the subject of living life on purpose and coming together to share prayers for and praises to, ...

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

9For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Or as it's written in The Message:

God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

Ladies, it was already written! Now how awesome is that?!?!?!

Praise Report - God's Favor for Court Decision

Good Morning Ladies!

I am elated to report that Miss Cicley is at home with her family and ALL charges have been dropped!!!! Praise the Lord! Her mother is in the process of typing up an email to share the details of yesterday's events, but she sends her many thanks for your prayers and concern for her daughter. I am genuinely excited about how this experience will change Cicely's life.

Thank you for your prayers!
Kristina

Prayer Request - God's Favor for Court Decision

Greetings Praying Women of God!

At this specific time it is most critical that I solicit your prayers for a dear friend of mine. My afternoon was spent with one of my spiritual mothers and I was presented with the unfortunate news that her daughter (Cicely) is currently in jail for charges she did not commit. To make a long story short, Cicely was an innocent bystander to a robbery crime committed here in the Metro Atlanta area. She was sitting in the car when a male associate burglarized a local jewelry shop (he told her that he simply needed to pick up some jewelry he placed in the shop). Gunshots were then fired between the male associate and the police right in front of Cicely's face (literally). By the grace of God, none of the bullets hit Cicely; however, a police officer was wounded. Even though she did not enter the jewelry shop, nor step outside of the car, or possess any knowledge as to what was taking place or what this man's plans were on that day, she is being charged with everything the burglar is being charged with: assault, robbery, and wounding an officer.

Cicely has now been in jail for 1 1/2 months. She's 22 years old, she's a Christian, and she's in the learning process of discovering all that God is able to do in her life. The entire time she has been in jail, she has been in prayer about this situation, seeking God in His Word, and truly cleansing herself to get ready for the court hearing which is tomorrow (2/20 - 2 PM). Her parents have prayed and fasted, and are soliciting the prayers of godly people to support their daughter. In speaking with my friend today, I mentioned how I truly believe that I am linked to an amazing group of anointed women in our prayer circle. Without hesitation, she asked that I share this situation with you all to be in prayer for Cicely. I am just asking that God's favor be upon her tomorrow as she goes before the judge and that the judge looks at all the evidence of the case to realize that she is clearly innocent and had no knowledge of what was going on. Of course, we all know that sometimes being in the wrong place at the wrong time and associating with the wrong people can unfortunately place ourselves in negative situations. BUT, God IS able to use this situation somehow to add to the call upon her life (she's a writer and singer of praise songs). I am just expecting great things to come of this situation, that she WILL be released from prison, and that she will not forget this experience.

Throughout this whole ordeal, Cicely has been in good spirit and she is actually excited about sharing her testimony because she received warning signs about this fella and unfortunately did not heed those signs. So, she is learning first hand the importance of heeding God's voice the first time and she is excited about sharing the story of what she's going through with others. So, I ask for your prayers that she finds favor with the judge, that all charges are dropped, and that she is able to move on to truly tap into all the things God has planned for her (incorporating this experience as a part of her testimony as she writes songs of worship unto the Lord).

I thank you for your attention to this email. You gals are all awesome women - I personally cannot wait to meet you all in person! Be on the lookout for the blog that will be established for us to post all our prayers, praise reports, and testimonies. I honestly expect wonderful and great things from God via the website! Who knows whose eyes will gaze upon the website and how it will serve as a blessing and a ministering tool to others...just to see that prayer actually works. When you trust and believe God for things in life, stand by His Word and promises, no matter what comes your way, He will surely see you through it - surely -and that is His promise! That is His promise!

So, I thank you once again and be blessed of the Lord this day!
Kristina