if i may be honest for a moment
i've come to the understanding that
when i really need god
no one has to tell me to have a prayer
life
no one has to sit me down and tell me to
read my bible
when i really need god
i somehow find the strength
to wake up early to pray
i somehow find the time to open the word
of god
despite
my busy schedule
i even find the desire to fast and pray
to wait on the lord until i receive an
answer
but i have to confess
if i'm to be truly objective and
honest my weakness is
that once my personal needs are met
that strength that i had to wake up
early to pray
is no longer there
it seems like prayer becomes a struggle
the time that i could finally open the
word of god
that time seems to disappear
and i become even busier
saints
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my problem
consistency
i need to be consistent in prayer
whether i need something or not
i need to be consistent in meditating on
the word of god whether i need something
or not
and now i'd like to pose this question
to you
are you consistent in your walk with
jesus christ
do you fight to prioritize him every
single day
do you remain faithful in prayer
do you schedule in time to read the word
of god each and every day
well the bible says in psalm 16 verse 8
i have set the lord always before me
because he is at my right hand
i shall not be moved
this verse challenges me
and the key word in this passage
is the word always
i have set the lord
always before me
this says to me that there's a level of
consistency
there's a routine that's followed
oh how we ought to desire
to reach such a level of consistency
that we can confidently say
i have set the lord always before me
whether i need something or not
i have set the lord always before me
whether i am in pain or not
i have sent the lord always before me
whether i am joyful
or in affliction
and so now let's try and expand
our understanding of psalm 16 verse 8.
as i read various translations
here's what i found that verse to mean
i have set the lord continually before
me
because he is at my right hand
i will not be shaken
another translation put it this way
i keep my eyes always on the lord with
him at my right hand
i will not be shaken
no matter which way you look at it
this verse talks about consistency
i've set the lord continually
before me i keep my eyes always
on the lord
and so people of god
i pray that psalm 16 verse 8 would be
the anthem
that plays in your heart and your mind
always from today
keep your eyes
always on jesus christ
set the lord jesus christ continually
before you
fight to be consistent with god whether
or not things are going your way
waiting on god is something that all of
us need to do as part of our christian
lives
there are times when the answer to your
prayer will come relatively quickly
then there are times when the answer to
your prayers take longer than you would
like it for it to come
these are the times when we have to wait
on the lord
these are the times when we have to
trust god's perfect timing
so i'm speaking to you if you're in a
season of waiting i'm speaking to the
person who is waiting on god to answer
their prayer request
the person who is waiting on god to act
and turn things around
the bible in psalm 130 verse 5-6 says
i wait for the lord my soul waits and in
his word i hope
my soul waits for the lord
more than watchmen for the morning
is your soul waiting for the lord
because if you are i encourage you to
wait on the lord in prayer
as you wait on god i encourage you to
pray today
pray tomorrow pray the day after that
and continue praying
don't give up this season of waiting
daniel prayed for 21 days he waited on
god for three weeks
until his prayers were answered
we too must have this same resilience
we must have the same fight within us a
fight to pray as we wait on god
too often many people are discouraged
when the answer to their prayers doesn't
come right away
but hold on to the words in psalm 40
verse 1 says
i waited patiently for the lord
he inclined to me and heard my cry
keep praying because god will hear your
prayer
keep praying because god will hear your
cry
furthermore
i want to encourage you to wait on the
lord patiently
when you need an answer don't force the
issue wait on the lord
when you need direction when you need
guidance
don't act on emotion don't act on
impulse but wait patiently on god
because there is a promise that's worth
the wait
isaiah 40 verse 31 says but they who
wait for the lord shall renew their
strength
they shall mount up with wings like
eagles
they shall run and not be weary they
shall walk and not faint
when you wait on the lord when you wait
patiently in prayer
god will answer you
god will respond
and he can respond by simply giving you
a piece of his heart about that issue
you're dealing with
he can open a new door of opportunity
so trust in the lord
continue to wait on the lord with
hopeful expectation
continue to wait on the lord in prayer
continue to wait on the lord for
direction
continue to wait on the lord and he will
renew your strength
listen
you have to do something
don't let this enemy creepy and
unnoticed
you can't keep letting the devil walk
all over you
you can't allow him to just have his way
like you ain't a child of god
stand for it no more
put up with it
no more
we need deliverance in our homes
i've often said
if you want to see me angry
if you want to really see me fight with
a passion
then mess with my family
mess with my kids and from there on in
it's a fight
and that's the attitude you should have
with the devil
he can't just walk up in your house
in your family and you do nothing about
it
and this is why i need you to get to a
level where you're desperate for god
you're desperate in your pursuit for god
you're desperate in seeking deliverance
from god
chase after god and don't stop at
nothing until you get him
and it takes a spirit of desperate faith
a desperate hunger for god
in order for you to affect your family
in order for you to affect your children
and finances
do you have a spirit of desperation
just ask
the woman with the issue of blood
desperately seeking after her healing in
any in every way
until she touched the hem of his garment
you see it's that kind of spirit
that gets god's attention
our hunger for god
must exceed our hunger for everything
else
stop giving your attention to all these
different things
and you may be pursuing things
that are not wrong
they may not be sinful
you may simply want to better your life
or career
but i'm asking you to have a desperation
an intense hunger for god that exceeds
everything else
so chase that dream job
but make sure you're chasing god first
chase that business
but make sure you're desperately chasing
god first
chase that career and make it as an
athlete
but make sure you're putting in the work
the time and effort to chase god first
what are you pursuing
because pursuing god
is the key that unlocks everything else
the bible says
draw near to god
and he will draw near to you
so what part of the day are you offering
god
what are you sacrificing in order to
spend quality time with god
what are you prioritizing because when
you chase god
you put yourself in a place where you
can meet the lord
you put yourself in a position to meet
the healer
instead of just chasing the healing
you put yourself in a position to meet
the redeemer
instead of just chasing redemption
yeah we've got things to do
and life happens
but god is calling you from the heavens
where are you
draw near to me
and i'll draw near to you
have a desperate spirit
a desire and obsession
to have a pure and holy
passion
you've got to get up and fight stop
letting the devil walk all over you have
an aggressive prayer life that says i'm
not taking this no more
i'm fighting for my family i'm fighting
for my children and i'm fighting
for my marriage
and it's not the kind of fight that
needs cute prayers or kind of sort of
believing god kind of faith you need
bold prayers you need bold faith
command that devil in the name of jesus
leave my house leave my family alone
set a boundary around your home a
perimeter with the blood of jesus where
he knows he cannot cross that line
and for those of you who feel like
you're not strong enough for those of
you who feel like you can't fight this
fight right now
i want to speak to you
get up and take back what the enemy has
taken from you
get up and fight god is on your side and
no devil in hell can compete with that
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i truly love jesus
because he has been my defense
when the devil tried to condemn me
i found there to be no condemnation
in christ
when the devil pointed at my weakness
and laughed
i found that the grace offered to me by
the lord was sufficient for me
and in my weakness
his strength is made perfect
i truly love jesus christ because when
satan
called for me to be cast away
when he tried to tell me that i was
unworthy of love because of sin
i found there to be an invitation to
approach the mercy seat of christ i
found an open invitation
to
come boldly to the throne of grace
so that i may maintain mercy and find
help in the time of need
at one point in time i was hurt
i carried a lot of pain
but the more i leaned on jesus
the more i gave that pain
to him
the more i found him to be a healer
one who can mend the innermost parts of
a person
i love god
because there have been occasions where
a car should have hit me
but it didn't
there have been occasions where i was
moments away from tragedy but somehow
i was late that day my alarm didn't go
off or i decided to go a different way
but in hindsight it was no coincidence
it wasn't luck
it was the hand of god
it was his grace and mercy protecting me
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god is good all the time and all the
time god is good
this is a very popular saying among
christians but do we really mean it
it's easy to say god is good when things
are going our way and running smoothly
but are we able to say the same when the
going gets tough or when we face
hardships in our lives
are we still able to say
god is good when we've fallen behind on
the mortgage payments
are we able to say god is good when a
lifelong friend turns around to betray
you
are we able to say god is good when the
business venture we've launched just
doesn't seem to be working
i would like to submit to you that god's
goodness is constant
he is good regardless of who's loyal to
you or not
he's good regardless of whether that
idea you had is making money or not
as children of god we should be
believing that god is good we should
still be saying god is good even when
things are not so good for us
our trials are temporary
our difficulties don't last forever
the bible tells us that we should be
joyful in all circumstances and not just
that
but we should hold on to jesus even more
tightly when we are in distress
i would go as far as to say the deeper
you're in distress
the deeper your trust in jesus christ
should be
the more fiery your problems seem to be
the more on fire for god you need to be
if it's painful
you should be prayerful
if it's agonizing you should be even
more prayerful
the rockie your life seems to be the
steadier your faith in jesus christ
should be
now of course putting this in practice
isn't easy it requires maturity it
requires faith and it most definitely
requires the holy spirit but once you've
been through some things
once you've faced enough battles
then you don't just memorize certain
scriptures
you begin to live them
you begin to so desperately hold on to
them
and one of those scriptures is proverbs
chapter 3 verse 5 to 6. and listen to
this here's what it says
trust in the lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding
in all your ways acknowledge him and he
shall direct your paths
that means that if you are feeling
crushed with disappointment
then you trust in the lord with all your
heart
if you thought this was the person god
intended for you to marry but they
walked away from you
then continue to lean not on your own
understanding but to trust in the lord
with all your heart
if you prepared you studied you met all
the criteria required for that job for
that position but they rejected you
well child of god lean not on your own
understanding
god will direct your paths
this is what all believers are called to
do
so
no matter what comes
keep believing in jesus christ
no matter what comes remain anchored in
the one who rose from the dead
no matter what comes do not i repeat do
not give up
hold on to jesus because when you are
weak
he
is strong
so use his strength
use his might
no matter what comes your way
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the bible never said that because we are
christians
no trial or challenge will come our way
rather it says many are the afflictions
of the righteous
but the lord delivers him
from the mall
first peter chapter 4 verse 12 and 13
says
beloved
do not think it's strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you
as
though some strange thing happened to
you
but rejoice
to the extent
that you partake of christ's sufferings
that when his glory is revealed
you may also be glad
with exceeding joy
in short
we are told to expect trials
don't look at them like they are strange
happenings
and we are also not to judge god's love
for us
by the things that happen
or don't happen
in our lives
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and so beloved
the god we serve is one who turns things
around
for the good of those who love and trust
him
we serve a god that turns threat
to triumph
a god that took joseph from the prison
to the palace
he is the same god yesterday today and
forever
he is not a man that he should lie
nor son of man that he should change his
mind
does he speak
and then not act
does he promise
and not fulfill
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you