Prayer Warrior

Battles are fought and won on our knees. Through prayer, the door to Heaven’s Throne Room opens and a supernatural, all-powerful response is elicited from The Lord of Hosts. Thus, we gain access to the spiritual realm and power over our enemy and his strongholds.

Pray as a confident warrior, suited up in all your spiritual armor! Engage the enemy with all the authority God has assigned to you through Jesus! Align your thoughts, will, and emotions with The One who created all things seen and unseen. Pray without ceasing and remain steadfast in faith and Truth. Remain patient as The Lord works on your behalf - He has already blessed and protected you in ways you cannot fathom. Draw upon His power and strength! Praise Him and claim the victory in The Name of Jesus!

Brethren, we are called to walk victoriously as confident conquerors in Christ! Stay vigilant, watchful, and close to The Lord. Although we may be subject to attacks, the war is won, and the power of the enemy has already been demolished through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!

1 Thessalonians 5:17

pray without ceasing

Psalm 116:2

Because He has inclined His ear to me,

Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

Ephesians 3:14-15

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

1 John 5:14

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Psalm 145:18

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

1 John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Deuteronomy 3:22

You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Guarded Treasure

Let us be steadfast in truth and protect the precious treasure entrusted to us through the indwelling of The Holy Spirit. 

May we be vigilant in our watch, guarded against temptation and doubt in this lawless and decaying world.

For, what seems to be even the most meager compromise concerning God's Word, can lend the enemy treacherous jurisdiction to wreak havoc in our hearts.

1 Corinthians 10:12

So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.

2 Peter 3:17

Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard not to be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

2 Peter 1:10

Therefore brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble...

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

1 Timothy 6:20

O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called "knowledge,"

Ephesians 5:6

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.

Proverbs 4:23

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Jesus Wept

Some of the most powerful healing can come through the most painful of circumstances. One of those extremely painful circumstances is grief but need not look further than Jesus and His word for healing.

Mary was distraught and beside herself with grief when Lazarus had passed away. But what she did was not run and yell at Jesus, not turn away from Him, not call Him names or question Him. No, she ran and fell at His feet grieving and sobbing. Humbly at His feet He met her. Jesus wept. Jesus wept the tears with her, He groaned and sobbed the same pain and from here the healing took place. He gave her the only thing that could heal her-His Comfort, His Love and His promises! “Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)

And one of the most profound miracles recorded happened!

Weep at the feet of Jesus...here lays the comfort, love, healing and promise of hope that with His tears will wash away grief. "Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows. Isaih 53:4 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise." Jeremiah 17:14 "He has made all things beautiful in His time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

#jesusheals #bible #grief #thebalmofgileadministries #helpforhurtinghearts #dailydevotional #dailybible #shereadstruth #butfirstjesus #freedominchrist #daughteroftheking #biblicalcounseling #emotionalhealing

In His Hands

 .

Let us invite God into all aspects of our lives, not withholding anything from His Heavenly Hands.

Let us make Him the top priority...more of Him, less of us and all else.

For, it is in this type of transparency, surrender, commitment and partnership that He can restore and refine our whole heart...fill us with the full measure of His love and anointing of The Holy Spirit...complete His authentic and abundant plan in every facet of our lives...as we are honed, sanctified and refined for His purpose.

May His will be done, His Kingdom come...and all glory, honor and praise to our Abba God Almighty forevermore!

Psalm 40:5

Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.

1 Corinthians 1:8

He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:19

The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

Let Your Conversations Always Be Filled With Grace

Every person has a learned pattern of behavior when dealing with conflict. Some lash out; others become critical, defensive, and sarcastic, while some retreat like a turtle and avoid conflict altogether. None of these patterns work towards solution and even create more conflict, adding layers of bitterness and resentments, causing hearts to get hardened and broken intimacy in relationships.

What’s God’s solution when conflict in relationships arises? GRACE! You see, people model what was modeled to them. If they attack, they were attacked. If they are critical, they were criticized. If they avoid, stuffing and avoidance was the name of the game growing up. These patterns are brought into relationships and affect those we love. It’s important not to personalize the wrongful reactions of other people. It has more to do with their faulty filters and less to do with you. Grace understands this. It can build a bridge to healthy relationships.

God’s word says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Instead of getting angry and replying in kind, commit to sifting every conflict through a grace sifter. Nothing gets through unless it contains grace. Just like a flour sifter catches big lumps of flour that will ruin a recipe – nothing critical is allowed to sift through that will ruin our relationships.

There is nothing wrong with the flour. It’s just the wrong consistency. Likewise, conflict issues are legitimate and must be addressed and dealt with. But it’s our negative reaction to conflict that needs sifting through the filter of grace.

The next part of the recipe calls for seasoning with salt. Salt is a preservative. If your conversation is full of grace – allowing for faults and imperfections of others – it preserves relationships and brings peace to our lives. This is the perfect recipe for healthy God-centered relationships.

-

“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Colossians 3:14

Prayer for A Wounded Heart

Gracious Lord, You know me better than I know myself and I need Your healing touch on my life today. You know all about the emotional pain that I have been going through, and oh Lord, I need You to come into my heart and to bind up the brokenness within me. I feel that I have been battered and bruised emotionally and am almost gasping for breath, due to the pain that has been stabbing my heart.

Lord, You know that I have no one in whom I can confide, because no one really understands the searing wounds that have shattered inside me and the deep anguish I am going through. Oh Lord, I come to You to heal my emotions, heal my wounded heart I pray. Heal the anguish that is deep inside.

Lord, flood every corner of my being with Your soothing balm and Your healing love, and root out all the negative emotions that are bubbling inside me, like a smouldering volcano. Release into the aching void within, Your love and Your peace, Your hope and Your gracious presence, and gently carry me as a kindly Shepherd would carry a frightened, little wounded lamb. Lord, I am trusting in You, because I know that You alone can be trusted.

Amen.

Have you ever had a crushed spirit?

Disappointment. Grief. Pain. Sorrow. Strife. Broken relationships.

All of these in isolation, or all together, are enough to crush even the strongest among us. And a crushed spirit can often last much longer than any sickness. Illnesses often have cures or medicine to alleviate the pain. A crushed spirit knows no such relief. Or does it?

Psalm 34:18 says that the Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. The psalmist goes on to say that while the afflictions of the righteous are many, the Lord delivers him out of them all. 

The proverb is true. We cannot bear a crushed spirit. But God can. While we would break under the sheer weight of such sorrow, God upholds us. And we are not alone. God knows our circumstance and is there to deliver us. Is it always immediate? No, but it will happen one day. While he will always be near to us in our moments of deepest suffering, he might not deliver us right away. Deliverance is coming, and while we wait for that day his promise to be near sustains us.

But there is something even more profound about this God who is near to the crushed in spirit. He knows the crushing blows intimately well. How can we know this? Because he crushed his own Son for our deliverance. The Savior, God the Son, was crushed for us. The Father was momentarily separated from him so we would always be near him. No one ever experienced a more crushed spirit than Christ on that day on the cross, all so we would never face such wrath and condemnation. Our ultimate deliverance from pain and sorrow is sure because the cross is sure. Psalm 34:18 is true because the cross is true. 

A crushed spirit is impossible to bear, this is true. But by God's grace and kindness we do not have to bear such crushing blows alone. We have a God who not only promises his presence in every pain, but also knows our pain most intimately. A crushed spirit only God can bear, and he daily bears us up.

Godly Sorrow vs Wordly Sorrow

 

Repeated apologies, promises never to do it again, remorse, tears, pleading for another chance are things repeat abusers say to those they hurt. Whether they are causing harm through emotional or physical abuse, committing adultery, being deceptive, lying, cheating, or are engaged in other destructive behaviors such as addiction, they may genuinely feel bad when exposed and confronted and offer appeasement for the moment, but nothing changes.

The behavior continues causing pain and destruction at all levels in families and relationships. That’s because God’s word says there is a huge difference between feeling sorry for what we do and repentance, regretting the wrongs we have committed and committing to change behaviors that bind and hurt others.

Worldly sorrow does not lead to the brokenness and humility needed to get the human heart to a place of genuine Godly sorrow and repentance before a Holy God that produces a desire to change. Worldly sorrow causes the heart to hardened and brings forth death in all areas of our lives, while Godly softens the heart and brings forth life.

If we continue to allow others to appease us with worldly sorrow, then we must understand that things will remain the same. This is called enabling. We can’t change another person’s heart but God can. Release them to God, guard your heart, and pray the Lord will orchestrate whatever needs to take place to produce Godly sorrow in someone who is hurting themselves and others.  That’s where true change begins.

You Can’t But He Can

When we continually fail in an area, when we continually try to do things in our own strength, and when we feel like we just can't go on another day, we need to remind ourselves of the Truth. That yes, maybe WE can't, but Jesus, HE most certainly can. And with Him IN us, every day, how can we not rise above whatever it is we are trying to conquer in our lives, and KNOW that with Him, we will eventually have victory and arrive?!

Guys, we have to quit forgetting that at our weakest point, we are at our strongest in Him. That when we have tried to accomplish something over and over again on our own, and not succeeded, is the very moment we need to look up, invite Jesus in, and then try again, WITH Him.

There are so many things that we will be told we can't do by people, ourselves, and by the enemy, and often times, they might be right. We sometimes can't on our own, but with Him, ohh with Him, we CAN. And that, that is all we need to change the game. To quit believing the lies that we can't change, rise above, or ever overcome. And to have victory after victory in our relationships, our struggles, at work, and then some!

His power is made perfect in our weakness, and if you have been weak lately, in any area, realize just how much strength you are about to invite in when you hand it all over to Him! He is ready to help you. Ready to come to your aid. But it takes YOU asking Him in first. It takes YOU, calling His name. And it takes YOU, finally saying, "Lord, I cannot do this. But, You, You can. And so I give you my weakness. I ask for your strength, and with all that I am, I invite You in. And with you at my side, I am ready, Lord. I ready to try this again.”

@sarah.jean.armstrong

The Author of Peace

God brings order out of chaos, even the chaos we create ourselves.

If there is conflict and confusion in your life today and you lack peace, chances are you are looking at the relationship, situation, or problem through the eyes of the world. Doing so brings about impatience, disorder, and anxiety, which can cause us to lash out unlovingly at others.

But when you shift your focus through God’s lens, His peace begins to reign in your heart. God is able to help you respond to others in love, patience, and forgiveness thus, maintaining peace with those around you. It’s your choice – you can live in confusion or chaos, or you can live a life marked by peace.

Proverbs 16:7 

When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Isaiah 26:3 

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

John 14:27 

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:33 

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Philippians 4:6-7  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Nothing Wounds the Heart Like Rejection

 .

The dictionary defines rejection as “an act of throwing away or discarding someone or something,” which implies a lack of value in the person or thing being thrown away. Being rejected then can make us feel valueless and worthless.

Since every human being has three fundamental needs ….to be loved, valued and accepted, rejection results in wounding in the heart so painful that people cannot deal with it.  So they suppress it in their mind, stuff the pain away inside, pretend it’s not there and live in denial of their suffering, but later it surfaces in various negative behaviors causing deeper pain, problems, and conflict much like a layering effect. 

Rejection can be rooted in our family of origin, peers, those in authority (teachers, pastors, etc.), resulting from verbal abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, troubles in the home, adoption, divorce, abandonment, infidelity, and peer rejection.

Sadly rejection can breed more rejection if the roots are not dealt with.  People with rejection issues often feel victimized and place themselves in situations where they are always the victim, whether real or imagined and it sets a pattern that becomes a way of life,  Others turn to exhausting ways to feel accepted – people pleasing,  perfectionism, workaholic, etc. Others refuse to deal with it all together and check out through, drugs, alcohol, anger, immorality, and other negative behaviors.  Unless the root is dealt with, the truth is accepted and replaced --the by-product or rejection will always be rejection.

Despite the rejection of the past, our God can heal you. He can walk into the darkness of the pain and shed His marvelous light on the path of your healing journey. The one who created you and numbers the hairs on your head will never reject you. He wants to heal those painful roots of rejection so that you can live in His acceptance.

“I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do: I will not forsake them. “

(Isaiah 42:16)

“For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.”

‭‭(Psalms‬ ‭94‬:‭14‬)

Bitterness Doesn’t Give Others A Chance To Repent

Sometimes we hold on to hurt without communicating the nature of hurts to others.

They often aren’t even aware they have offended us. When we stuff our feelings eventually, the stuffing is going to come out.

That’s because when you fill anything with pressure, it will explode. In the same way, the outburst in our hearts can result in broken marriages and relationships, especially our relationship with God.

Some are shocked to find out that we have been keeping score of their wrongdoings against us.

Give people a chance to state their case and learn to forgive. Don’t stuff your feelings. Express them, forgive and release others to Jesus – the One, who displayed to us with His precious blood how mercy triumphs over judgment.

Healing Relationship Breakdowns

God cares about our relationships and wants us to be right with one another. Too often close relationships are torn apart due to hurts, misunderstandings, offenses, pride, unresolved issues, and emotions can run deep, cut at the heart filling us with bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness. And usually, it’s the relationships we treasure the most that breakdown and cause the deepest pain.

Rather than confront the issues, it may seem easier to avoid, blame others and feel justified holding on to our hurts and anger.

Yet God calls us higher. His word says that as much as depends on us to live at peace with all people (Romans 12:18). We need to forgive those who have wounded us and ask for forgiveness when we have wounded others.

We will never be free unless we learn how to forgive and release our offenders at the foot of the cross. We need only take ownership of our wrong doings and leave the rest at God’s feet endeavoring always to extend grace and leave the door open for reconciliation whenever possible.

Are you struggling with forgiveness? Sometimes all it takes is to go to Jesus with a sincere heart and ask Him to give you a willingness to forgive, make amends and pursue peace. There is nothing God can’t do with a willing and surrendered heart.