Week 25 of 52 Faith is Loving the Unlovable because God first Loved Us

Faith is loving the unlovable because God first loved us - Lord increase our faith

If it seems like I am repeating myself, you may be right. The topic of Love and the various ways of looking at it (loving God, loving our neighbor and loving our enemy) cannot be stressed enough in the Christian walk. We are to be walking talking examples of Christ; especially in our love.

Jesus talked to and encouraged those people who most Jews would reject or avoid. He talked to the Roman occupiers (and called a Roman Centurion a man of great faith), to lepers, to blind people to a Samaritan woman (a double whammy because both Samaritans and women were to be avoided by Jewish men). He partied with tax collectors (basically Roman sympathizers and traitors) and other sinners. He visited the poor and the rich. There was no one that Jesus wouldn't talk to. He showed compassion for the downtrodden and those rejected by Jewish society and he gave to super religious a tongue lashing.

In his Sermon on the Mount recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, he said a very disturbing thing. He said, "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" In other words being nice to those who are nice to you has no special value in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is challenging us to love those who are unlovable. In a sense, He is saying, " This is the kind of love that matters."

We cannot do this in and of ourselves. We need to Love of God, Jesus' example and the power of the Holy Spirit to do this. God loves us, He demonstrated that in Jesus' death on the cross and He has given us His Holy Spirit so that we might live the life He lived. So I encourage you to look for those people that are difficult to love: in the workplace, the marketplace and even in your family, and love them the way Christ would. Invite Jesus into that moment and see what He can do through you.

Lord, you demonstrated Godly love in loving the unloved of your time. Lord,
help us to love the unlovely with your Love demonstrating the power of you Love in faith - Lord, increase our faith.

Week 24 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is worshiping God with our whole being; body, mind and soul

Faith is worshiping God with our whole being; body, mind and soul - Lord Increase our Faith

Worship (according to the Preacher Al's definition) is the appropriate response to the presence and/or the knowledge of God.  Or Worship is part of our relationship with God.  There are lots of word pictures in the Bible where worship involves people bowing down both in the OT and the NT.  Worship should happen when we realize that we imperfect sinners are in the presence of a Holy and Righteous God.  For the longest time, I thought worship was merely singing songs in church.  But I have learned over the years that many acts can be expressions of worship.  David danced before the Lord, psalmists wrote songs, others fell on their faces.  Worship expresses our gratitude, our joy, that we are humbled in the presence of a Holy God.

Worshiping God by faith then becomes how your spirit responds to the presence of a Holy God.  It could be like Peter falling at the feet of Jesus declaring, "Depart from me, a wicked man"  It could be tears of joy it could be songs of all sorts, but ultimately worship is an act of faith where we each respond in a way that honor's God and recognises our position and relationship to Him.

Lord, we worship you by faith, responding to your Holy and Righteous presence - Lord, increase our faith

I would remind you again that this is a contemplative exercise.  It is not enough to just read the article, you need to spend time in prayer asking the Lord what this means to you.  What is HE saying to you through this article?  Spend some time in quiet contemplation and meditation asking for God's wisdom and insight into each of these articles.  I highly recommend a prayer journal to record both your thoughts and what God reveals to you.  May your faith increase leading you to greater, love, joy, and peace.

Week 23 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us

Faith is always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us - Lord increase our Faith

Forgiving someone is an act of the will and an act of faith.  We can choose to forgive someone even when we don't feel like it, because the Word of God says to.  We can forgive someone as an act of faith because even though we don't feel like it, we have faith that The God of All Creation can change our hearts when we choose to follow His Ways.

Jesus paid for our sins so we have been forgiven.  Because He has done this, He has made it possible for us to forgive others.  When we say that we cannot forgive, we deny Christ's redemptive work on the Cross.  He can make a way where there seems to be no way.  God has empowered us to forgive others, we just have to accept it by faith, knowing that forgiving others is God's will for our lives.

Lord, thank you that You have made a way for us to forgive others - Lord, increase our Faith.

Week 22 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness

Faith is seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness - Lord increase our faith

In the world around us we are receiving all kinds of conflicting advice about what we need and what is the most important thing. Many people of faith have been led astray by the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this life. But Jesus asks us, "What does it profit us if we gain the whole world and lose your immortal souls." As people of faith the words of Christ are paramount. They aren't something we relegate to some minor importance. What He says is of primary importance because it affects our immortal souls. Our life is not just here on earth. Earth is just bootcamp for we Christians, a testing ground to see if we can follow some simple instructions like "Love God and love your neighbor"

When Jesus tells us that we should seek first God's Kingdom and its righteousness, He is actually trying to make life better for us. The world around us and even God's Law can cause us to worry. We ask ourselves things like: "Am I eating the right thing?" "What is really important?" "What should I wear?"; "Am I going to die young?"; "Is that mole cancerous?" "Will they like me?"

Questions like this rob us of joy. They make life worrisome and scary. Ultimately God doesn't want us wasting time worrying about things which we may or may not be able to control. Jesus tells us that God knows all our needs; if we will just seek God's Kingdom and His ways first, then the rest will get sorted out.

None of us are immune to life's difficulties, but if all we do is focus on the problems, then we won't get to enjoy the life God has given us. That is why we must accept by faith that God's ways are the best ways. We must seek His Kingdom and its Righteousness by faith, trusting that in the end God will help us sort it all out. We may die young, we may die of cancer or we may live a good long life. But what is most important is that we live it trusting that The God of all Creation has good plans for us.

Lord we acknowledge that your Kingdom and your righteousness are more important than the daily cares of life. Lord, increase or faith.

Week 21 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is loving God with all our all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Faith is loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength - Lord increase our faith

Again I am using active words with regard to faith. Loving is an active verb. Love is a feeling but that is not all that it is. Love is action; Love Does (to borrow the title of a recently published book); love is the motive that guides a Christian's behavior. So when we talk about loving God, it involves more than our emotions

The Bible tells us that God first loved us. It tells us that God so loved us that He sent Jesus so that we could know Him better. The Good News is really "God loves humanity and He has demonstrated that in the person of Jesus Christ".

Knowing that God loves us and has demonstrated that love, demands a response from us. This only seems right. Just as children love their parents when their parents love them, so we must love God because we are his children and He loves us. Jesus said if fact that Loving God is the greatest commandment and the next thing closest to that is loving our neighbors.

Each of you will have to learn what that means to you. For me, it means I am a pastor/preacher/teacher who serves God by loving, teaching and training the people He puts in my path.

Lord, we thank you that You first loved us, help us to love You with our all of our hearts minds, strength and souls - Lord increase our Faith

Week 20 of 52 Weeks of Prayer - Faith is receiving Christ supernaturally in the communion elements

Faith is receiving Christ supernaturally in the communion elements - Lord increase our faith

You might notice that this week, I have changed from "Faith is knowing" to "Faith is Receiving" Faith is an active word. Faith is not a passive thing. There is understanding and knowing things by faith, but there is also receiving and doing things by faith. This week I want to look at how faith can help us receive from God.

Now talking about communion this way may sound a bit Catholic to some of you, but if we take the word's of Jesus from the Gospel of John, there are a number of things to consider.  First in Chapter 6 of John, Jesus says, "He who eats my flesh will have life in him." He goes on to say, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will abide in me." This has relevance later in chapter 15 where Jesus says that we must abide in him in order to bear fruit.

Later then at the Passover meal (the first communion service) Christ doesn't say this wine is "like" my blood or this bread is "like" my body. He says they are his blood and body. I know that in protestant circles there are various ways of looking at the communion elements. One as an ordnance give to us by Christ - "Do this in remembrance of Me." Jesus said to it so we should do it. Others see it as a symbolic way of look at Christ in us. Others have gone so far as to see it as an almost useless, archaic ritual that has little or no meaning. I am not such a person.

I firmly believe that we must see faith as a supernatural act; something that is not necessarily logical or practical. Faith is believing in something that we cannot see, something that from a practical perspective that might even be considered impossible. Yet faith demands that we trust God and what his Holy Word says. Faith demands that we take Jesus Christ at his word and see the bread (host) and the wine as his flesh and blood. We may taste a wafer and fruit juice, but by faith we need to receive them as his flesh and blood.

We do this to be obedient to Christ's command, we do this to remember what He did for us and we do this so that we may abide in Him and have eternal life. The first two things we can do intellectually and with understanding but the third thing we must do by and in faith; believing that Christ's life will inhabit us as we take his flesh and blood in the form of bread/wafer and wine/juice.

Lord thank you for the life you give us supernaturally by accepting the communion elements. Lord, increase our faith.

Week 19 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is realizing there is nothing good in us apart from Christ

Faith is realizing there is nothing good in us apart from Christ - Lord increase our faith.

This can be hard for us to accept, because many of us think we are pretty good people. We think that we are kind and loving and have forgotten what we are/were really like apart from Christ. One look at children and you can see the worst of us. Our childhood memories are both wonderful and terrible all at the same time. In children we say there is innocence, but if we look a bit closer we can see the dark side of human nature. Children are natural liars, tattletales, they are selfish and greedy. Unless constrained by strong parental control, they can become tyrants who try to dictate to their parents how things are going to be.

There is a quote once attributed to Socrates concerning children of his age - "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

I am not full convinced that all children are bad, but in our children we can see some of the worst of our society at times.

We have all worked for or with people who are "the worst" who cheat and lie and steal in the work place. We have all met bullies in school and in the work place who have made our lives miserable. These people I believe exemplify the Biblical text, in Romans 5:10 where Paul tells us that we were once enemies of God. In 1 Cor 6:9-11 he gives us a big long list of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God and he goes on to say that many of his readers were these detestable people. But now in Christ they were washed and sanctified and justified in Christ Jesus. It is only through Him and by Him that we have any hope of pleasing God.

Faith demands that we accept and believe that we cannot please God in and of ourselves, because apart from the redeeming work of Christ on the Cross and entering into his baptism, we have no hope of doing anything good or right. If we believe that we are good enough we will never be able to accept Christ's saving grace and we will never be more than Pharisees convince of our own righteousness and therefore forever lost in our sin.

Lord, we know that apart from you we can do no good - Lord increase our faith

Week 18 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is knowing that we are incompetent in and of ourselves but God still uses us

Faith is knowing that we are incompetent in and of ourselves but God still uses us - Lord increase our faith.

I think most of us fall into one camp or another. Either we think we are incompetent and so we think God cannot use us Or we think we are so competent that we don't need to depend on God. Neither of these positions are positions of faith. Faith says two things, first that we need God; "We can do nothing apart from God" And the second thing is that with God we can do any thing; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

It's okay for us to say that we are incompetent in and of ourselves, but we are never so incompetent that God cannot work in our lives. Only disbelief and disobedience hinder God's work in our lives. Admitting that we are incompetent in and of ourselves makes room for God to work when we admit we need His help.

This attitude can then lead to confidence, not in ourselves, but in believing that God can and will work through us. Through God the Holy Spirit, He has given us gifts to help others and through God the Son, Lord Jesus, He as given us ministries (places to serve). These gifts and opportunities give us what we need to bless and encourage others. These come through faith.

God is bigger and wiser than us. When He grants us gifts and talents He makes us useful to the body of Christ and to those around us hurting and lonely.

Faith says, God can and will use us to accomplish more that we can think or imagine. Faith says God is with us through the good and the bad.

This week continue in your meditation about what it means to walk by faith; living as a child of God.

Lord, thank you that our incompetence doesn't hinder You from using us to accomplish your will - Lord Increase our faith.

Week 17 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is knowing that nothing can separate us from the Love of God

Faith is knowing that nothing can separate us from the Love of God - Lord increase our faith

I would like to remind you that this is not just a quick read, but an exercise to be practiced throughout the week.  Daily remind yourself of this biblical truth, converse with God about it and record this in a journal.

The evangelist responsible for the Gospel of John reminds us of God's love for us in Jesus' words, "For God so loved the world that He gave is only begotten Son..."  God loves humanity.  Which means that God loves you personally.  Christ didn't die on the cross just to satisfy the Father's need for vengeance.  Christ died on the Cross for our sins regardless of the gravity of our sins.  He didn't die for just the nice people, he died for everyone.  He died for sinners.  He died for those in jail.  He died for those living in sin.  He died to save us because we cannot save ourselves.  We can never be "good enough" to meet the requirements of God's Word, but God's Grace, the manifestation of God's love saves us from ourselves.

God loves us and hates our sin.  There is always the temptation on our part to think that God's love is conditional.  That somehow we can undo or we can cancel his love by our sinful choices.  We think this because this is how we treat others and/or this is how we have been treated.  But God is not like us.  He isn't petty or unforgiving.  While we tend to never let people forget how they failed us, God in his grace and mercy never reminds us of our sin, in fact God himself chooses not to remember our sin.

The Apostle Paul was so convinced of all of this that in his letter to Romans he tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Now this doesn't mean we will be freed from the consequences of bad choices, but it does mean that we can never disappoint God so much that He will stop loving us.  God doesn't wink at our sin.  He is grieved by it.  But God loves us more than He hates sin.  So the next time you think you have failed God, confess it and run back to him.  Don't hold yourself away from him in shame, run back into his loving arms.  

Lord, thank you for your Love that never ends and transcends our shortcomings - Lord increase our Faith. 

Week 16 of 52 Prayers of faith - Faith is knowing that the Love of God transcends all things

Faith is knowing that the Love of God transcends all things - Lord, increase our faith

The love of God, God's love or Agape love is a love that is not rooted primarily in the human condition. There are many kinds of love. The love of a man for a woman, the love of a parent for a child, the love of a friend for a friend. But all these kinds of love come from the human heart. The human heart can be a very dark place. We can harbor secret lusts and hatred in our hearts. Human love is tainted; tainted by our sinful proclivities.

On the other hand God's love comes form the wellspring of God's heart. God is everything good and right. There is no darkness in Him. The Apostle John even goes so far to say that God is love, or stated another way, God's very nature is love. God may hate sin, but He loves sinners. God so loved the world that He sent is only begotten Son into the world to make a way possible for us to experience His love first hand.

Then He sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in those who believed in his Son, so that we would have the power to love others as He first loved us. That is a powerful thing. So powerful that the Apostle Paul said that this Agape love, never fails. This love gives us the power to love even our enemies. It grants us forgiveness so that we can receive God's forgiveness and so that we can forgive those who have transgressed against us.

God's Agape love in us is proof of God living in us. The Apostle John goes so far to say that if we don't love our brother or sister (referring to others of our faith) then God is not in us. That makes for quite the charge against us. Jesus says that our love is the evidence of our faith. We will be known by our love, not our piety or our theology. God's love makes it possible for us to love the unlovable. This is truly transcendent. Jesus said that anyone can love someone who loves them. But with his Love we can love anyone.

Thank you Lord, that your Love transcends: our fears, our hatred, our sin, our selfishness. Lord, your love transcends all of our shortcomings and makes us more like You. Lord, increase our faith.

Week 15 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is knowing that God knows all the dark recesses of our hearts and still loves us

Faith is knowing that God knows all the dark recesses of our hearts and still loves us - Lord increase our faith

I find it interesting that we find in the very beginning of the Bible that there is sibling rivalry and murder in the first children born to Adam and Eve and by the 6th chapter we read "and that every inclination of the thoughts of their (humanity's) hearts was only evil continually." Yet already God had Jesus in mind in "God so loved the world..." that God provided away out of moral depravity.

Jesus didn't die on the cross because we were so deserving. Jesus died on the cross because we were in need of help and because God loved us so much. God loves us so much that He doesn't want to leave us in that mess. Not only has He paid for our sins, but He has made a way for us to have victory over sin. God did this because He loves us. "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. God doesn't expect us to get it together in order for us to earn is love. He loves us even while hating our sin.

Faith in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection is foundational for us as Christians. We must believe that He died for us because of our depravity not because we deserved it. His love is what empowers us to love others. His love is what draws us to Him. He doesn't love us because we sin, He loves us in spite of our sinful inclinations.

Lord, thank you for loving us in spite of the darkness in our hearts. Lord, increase our faith.

Week 14 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is knowing that Christianity is not merely a philosophy but rather a supernatural relationship with the Creator of Eternity

Until my conversion I considered myself a man of science and reason.  I accepted the idea that there was a God and that Jesus was his Son, but I didn't see at as something supernatural.  God was merely a concept we used to explain our existence.  I might have agreed with Thomas Jefferson (who removed all supernatural events from his Bible) and been more of a deist.  I believed there was a God, but I didn't put my trust and faith in Him.

So here I am some 25 odd years beyond my conversion and I know realize that anytime we try to explain away the supernatural aspects of God and our faith in Him, we jeopardize our faith.  We reduce our God to a god, having no more relevance in our lives than the Easter bunny.

I believe that faith demands that we must acknowledge the supernatural in all aspects of our faith.  Our conversion is a supernatural act.  Our baptism is a supernatural decent into Christ's grave and then being lifted into the supernatural resurrection of Christ.  Our life in Christ must embrace a supernatural expectation for his help and his Holy Spirit to abide in us.

We need the supernatural in our lives so that we can live the life that He has prepared for us. He has prepared good works for us to do.  He has empowered us, supernaturally to live a life free from hate, greed and fear, if we will only put our trust in him supernaturally.


Lord our faith in you is not merely a philosophical nor an intellectual act.  Our faith comes supernaturally from You and your Word - Lord, increase our faith.

Week 13 of 52 Prayers Faith is knowing that God is more interested in our character than in our comfort

Faith is knowing that God is more interested in our character than in our comfort - Lord, increase our faith

At the end of the Beatitudes Jesus said that blessed (which really means happy) are we when people revile us and persecute us and say all kinds of horrible things about us for His Name's sake, He goes on to say, "Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven"

That may seem strange to us. We want to be liked and found acceptable, yet if we are to be counted as Kingdom citizens we have to accept that the world may not like us, in fact they may revile us. That is uncomfortable for anyone. But Christ is more interested in the state of our heart than in the condition of our bodies or our reputation in the world, but we are encouraged that their will be rewards for our diligence through persecution.

The Apostle James goes on to say that we should "count it all joy" when we are faced with various trials because we know that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness, which in turn leads us to perfection in our faith. This is character building; becoming more like our Savior as we experience some of what He did.

That is Christ's real goal - our complete redemption and maturity in the faith. If that requires that we have to made uncomfortable so that we can be more like Him, then that is okay. We need to embrace all that our life in Christ requires of us if we are to live up to His good plans for us. He doesn't expect us to do it all in our own strength. He has give us is Holy Spirit that we might live life to the full as He uses our trials to transform us more and more into his Image.

Lord, we know that you are more interested our becoming like You than in our personal comfort - Lord increase our faith!

Week 12 of 52 Faith is knowing that trials and temptations can only make us stronger if we trust in Him

Faith is knowing that trials and temptations can only make us stronger if we trust in Him - Lord increase our faith

The Word of God talks about this topic from two sides. In the Lord's Prayer we ask God the Father to keep us from falling into temptation. Jesus tells us that He has given us his peace, yet blessed are those who face all kinds of trials and attacks from people. The Apostle Paul tells us in one of his letters to the Corinthian church that the temptations that we face are merely common to humans, but we are to persevere and He will give us a way out of it. We are also encouraged in the Word of God that when we face all kinds of trails and temptations that this builds our patience, but we are also encourage that the trials we face will not be eternal, they are just part of life.

When we face trials and temptations, we can either complain or petition God and believe for His help. God's desire is for us to become more and more like him. He wants us to put off the old person corrupted with its evil desires and put on a new persona - one like Him in Righteousness and Truth. Further, God has give us his Holy Spirit to both help us and remind us of God's Truth.

But this isn't quite like lifting weights where we make our self stronger through repeated excising of our muscles. rather it is accomplish by our surrendering to God, embracing the circumstances and obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes that means "Stand," girded in God's armor and sometimes it means flee from temptation. The end result is that we gain strength in that we become more dependent upon God.

I know that I am human and prone to failure but God is eternal and perfect. The more I have of Him in me and the more I trust in Him, and the more I am capable of doing through Him. The Apostle Paul says, "When I am weak, He is strong". As a Christian our strength comes from God and not just personal resolve or fortitude. We are fallible, while God is infallible. When we face these difficult situations and listen to his Holy Spirit, we are made strong IN HIM.

Lord, we know that you cause all things to work to the good of those called by You and who love You. Lord, may the trials and temptations we face make us more dependent and thereby stronger in You Lord Increase our faith.

Week 11 of 52 Prayer's of Faith - Faith is Knowing God puts People and Situations in our life to help us become like Him

Faith is knowing that the circumstances and people God allows in our life help us to become more like Him - Lord increase our faith

By now this should be part of your routine. Read the prayer out load, pause, consider it and then ask "Lord, increase my Faith" Continue to repeat the prayer and ponder it as the week goes on; journaling your thoughts and impressions and as the Holy Spirit works in your heart.

Many people just want to live a peaceful life. They want to avoid confrontation, difficulties and worries. In some respects they would just like to be left alone. But God is unwilling to leave us in a sinful slothful state of being. He permits difficult situations and people into our lives to encourage us to seek Him and to give us opportunity to live out godly character.

Graham Cooke refers to those difficult people that God allows in our lives as "grace growers" Graham claims that the fruit of the spirit only grows in poor soil. It is in the daily struggles with our neighbors, fellow workers, peers and family that God gives us opportunity to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Graham goes on to say that if we try to get away from these people that He will, at great expense, fly in a whole new group of "grace growers" to ensure that we are being made more and more into His image.

My personal experience of this was when God put me between the two people that I disliked the most. In fact if you had asked me at the time how I felt about them I would have used the word "hate" to describe my feelings. It was only a few years after my conversion that God put me between these two men, but as soon as I realized my position, I recognized that hand of God at work in my life. So instead of fighting it and complaining about my situation, I embrace it. I was never more happy when that happened. I learned about the better side of these two men, and God gave me a heart for both of them, to pray for and encourage them. As a result my wife and I got to counsel and encourage one of them and to see him reunited with his estranged wife.

My prayer now when I encounter difficult people or circumstances is "Lord what do you want to teach me here?" As a result, every thing we face need not be something to be avoided or fought, but rather these people and circumstances are opportunities to see God move and to grow more and more into his Image.

Lord we thank You for the people and circumstances You put in our life because we know that You cause all things to work for the good of those called by your name and who love you. Lord increase our faith.

Week 10 of 52 - Faith is knowing that Jesus Christ is our Healer

Faith is knowing that Jesus Christ is our Healer - Lord increase our faith

Often when we think of Jesus, we think about the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. He died for our sins that we might experience eternal life with God the Father. But there is other significance to Christ's death. When He takes away our sin, He is also taking away the source of much of our pain. This is a healing work. Many people are burdened down by the consequence of either their own sin, or the sin's committed against them. When we accept Jesus' salvific work on the cross we receive healing.  

The prophet Isaiah tells us that we are healed by his stripes. Basically saying that we have been healed through his torture. On one side that seems cruel, but for us it means relief from all kinds of pain: emotional pain, spiritual pain and even physical pain. To quote the old hymn "There is wonder working power in the blood..." What Christ has done for us is not just granted us a ticket into heaven, He has made away that we might lives lives here on earth that are more heavenly in nature. "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". Jesus has made a way for us to experience the more abundant life that He came to prepare for us.

When we accept God's forgiveness through the blood and sacrifice of Christ, we are empowered to forgive others. Being able to forgive others heals our hearts in ways we could never have imagined. Yet while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In his example we can see how forgiving others frees us from emotional and relational pain and also sets those whom we have been unwilling forgive free from our unforgiveness. Consider the "Lord's prayer" - we are asking God to only forgive us as much as we are willing to forgive others.

In accepting God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ, we also accept (or are required to accept) his Lordship - His rule and reign in our lives. That grants us spiritual freedom. As long as we resist Christ's authority in our lives, we make room for other spiritual forces to create havoc in our lives; powers of wickedness in the heavenly realms. This also we must take by faith, that Jesus is Lord of all and though his Lordship we receive freedom from oppression from those dark spirits. Looking at Jesus example, He healed many people by casting out unclean or demonic spirits. His followers have been give authority to cast out spirits that are harmful to us.

Jesus has also made a way for us to receive physical healing. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit gives gifts to men and women so that we might help one another. One of those gifts in the gift of healing. We are promised that one of the signs of those who are his true followers will be that they will lay hands on the sick and the sick will recover. Jesus doesn't want us to live a broken defeated life. He came that we might have abundant lives. I personally have experienced miraculous healing and have felt things leave my body while being prayed for.

Lord Jesus, you are our healer you are the one who heals his children and who gives authority to heal to his followers - Lord, increase our faith.

Week 9 of 52 - Faith is knowing that Jesus Christ is the one who baptizes us with fire and the Holy Spirit

Faith is knowing that Jesus Christ is the one who baptizes us with fire and the Holy Spirit -Lord increase our faith

Again I encourage you as you embrace this prayer of faith that you weigh it in your heart, meditate upon it and even journal it. Say it out load as our brains are stubborn, they only believe what they hear. Remember your expectation is that through this meditation that God will hear and answer your prayer.

This weeks prayer is important because it embraces the supernatural side of our faith. Some times we are temped to think of Christianity as merely a philosophy. On one side it is a philosophy in that it dictates how we view the world, but on the other side it is a supernatural, life altering encounter with The God of All Creation and He doesn't want to leave us unarmed, unaware or unprepared.

The Holy Spirit is important in that He resides in every believer. He empowers the believer to do more that is humanly possible. First the Holy Spirit is a seal that says we belong to God, second, it is the Holy Spirit that grants us gifts so that we can be a blessing the family of faith. All spiritual gifts serve to help others. They are not for our personal benefit outside tongues which in one manner edifies our own spirits. Another reason we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is so that are minds can be opened to the deep spiritual things of God that are revealed in the Bible and only available to those who are reborn. He reminds us off all that the Lord Jesus has taught us when we need it and the Holy Spirit works in both believers and pre-Christians by convicting us/them of sin and righteousness.

Lord, we thank you that You baptize us with your Holy Spirit and empower us to live the life You did. Lord, increase our faith.

Week 8 of 52 Prayers of Faith faith is know knowing that Jesus Christ is our soon and coming King

Faith is knowing that Jesus Christ is our soon and coming King - Lord increase our faith

Our faith in Jesus Christ encompasses the past the present and the future. What He has done in the past affects our present and He has promised his return. There is a day that all Christians can look forward to when the King returns.  

When Jesus was on the earth the Jewish nation was waiting for a king who would restore Israel to it's rightful position among the nations - no longer a occupied land ruled by a foreign and pagan people. Jesus was not what they were expecting, but He is who God had planned for all people. God's heart is that all people would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, repent and enter into his rule and reign.  

Until He returns we are called to be ambassadors of that Kingdom, ministers of reconciliation until in the fullness of time He returns. Jesus is our soon and coming King. We must take this by faith - faith in the Word of God, and faith that Jesus is who He says He is and that He will keep his word and return for us.

As usually I encourage you to journal this prayer and meditate on this in the coming days and consider what it means to you to believe by faith the Jesus is coming again.

Lord Jesus we believe that You are our soon and coming King - Lord, increase our faith.

Week 7 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Jesus our Shepherd whose voice leads us to good places

Faith is: knowing Jesus is the Good Shepherd and following his voice - Lord increase our faith

As usual recite the prayer, meditate on the significance of it and journal what God is revealing to you by his Holy Spirit.

Jesus IS the good shepherd and He says that his sheep will not follow another shepherd because they do not recognize any other shepherd's voice. Yet in this day we are surrounded by voices all claiming that we should follow them. Some say that money is the answer, others education and still others say you should please yourself. But Jesus is the one who saved us, knowing all of our sinful inclinations and all the sins that we have committed. He also died for all the sins committed against against us, so that we don't have to live in the full consequence of our hurt and pain.

But the benefit of Christ's gift requires that we follow him. We cannot say that we believe in him and not obey him. Our obedience is the key to unlocking all that Christ has for us. When we listen to his voice and follow his ways, we live out the life He has always wanted for us. We may think that we know what's best for us, but Jesus IS the way. He is the source of everything good and right and true. Only by following his lead, going where he calls us can we really experience the new and abundant life that He promised us.

Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, help us to hear and follow your voice - Lord, increase our faith.

Week 6 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Jesus is the way, the truth and the life

Faith is knowing that Jesus Christ is the only true way, truth and life; there is no other way to God the Father - Lord increase our faith

I was born in Canada, but pretty much raised in America. Here we have an independent, self-determinate kind of mentality. We think that we can do it. That is part of why America is so prosperous but there is a down side. Because of our independent nature, we all think that we know what is best for us. We think that no one else can show us what is good for us. Now I admit that I have over stated things a bit, but I think if you talk to people in other countries (as I have) you will find that there is a love-hate feeling about us. They love how prosperous we are and would like to be like us, but they hate how superior we can be when talking to others - as if our way is the only way.

When Jesus said the He is the way the truth and the life, He was saying that God has a better way. It's not the American way, its not the British way and it is most definitely not the Russian way. His way is a way that depends upon spiritual principles. And we can trust his way because He is our Creator and Savior. His ways are not the ways of capitalism or communism or even democracy. His ways are about living every day for God and with God, so that our circumstances matter less and our character matters more.

His ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. We cannot confuse our expectations and reasoning for God's. In fact some of his ways seem counter intuitive. In God's economy, it is more blessed to give than to receive. In God's relationships, we always forgive and we are even empowered to love our enemies. In God's order the servant of all is the greatest not the most popular or the most powerful.

Lord, you are the way the truth and the life. Lord increase our faith


As always I encourage you to meditate on this thought and to journal it, praying/requesting that God would increase your faith.

Week 5 of 52 Prayers of Faith - The Holy Spirit

Faith is knowing Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit so that we might live for Him and by Him
Lord increase our faith

Before Christ left the earth, he promised that he would send us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes our faith super natural. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin and righteousness. He gives us supernatural gifts so that we can help one another. The Holy Spirit renews our spirit, helping us to become new creations empowered to live out the intent of The Law - Living in and walking in God's love. The Holy Spirit is also our counselor (The Paraclete). He advises us in moral choices and gives us the words to defend ourselves when accused for our faith. Christ has not left us alone, He is with us in the person of the Holy Spirit and we must take that on faith in order to receive the full benefit of that relationship.

Lord, we accept and believe that you sent us the Holy Spirit so that we can live for you and by you.
Lord Increase our Faith

52 Prayers of Faith week 4 Faith is knowing Jesus Christ is risen from the Dead

Faith is knowing Jesus Christ is risen from the dead - Lord increase our faith

As we consider our life in Christ, we must BELIEVE that Christ is risen from the dead. If he isn't risen from the grave, we have no hope. We must have faith that Christ is in fact sitting at the right hand of the Father other wise He is just another religious leader killed by the powers that be. His resurrection is our promise that we too, who are his disciples, will rise from the dead and be seated in the heavenly realms with him.

The hope of our Resurrection gives power to our faith. "Oh death where is you sting" We need no longer fear death and as a consequence can live lives free from fear. Productive lives, filled with hope and joy in the face of persecution and our soon and coming death.


As always, I encourage you to say this week's prayer out loud, to contemplate it and to journal what the Holy Spirit is revealing to you, Take this to heart and never let anyone rob you of this hope.

Christ is risen from the dead - Lord, increase our faith!

52 Prayers of faith - Week 3 Faith is knowing Jesus was crucified for our sin

Faith is knowing Jesus was crucified for our sin - Lord increase our faith

I know that this may seem redundant or even unnecessary, but when building a house you have to make sure the foundation is secure and strong. Knowing Jesus died for our sins is foundational to a Christian's faith. If Christ didn't die on the cross, then our sins can never truly be paid for. Oh we can say, "I'm sorry, please forgive me" but without Christ's blood, the full consequence of our sins cannot be expunged.

We have all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all need our sins forgiven and we need the ultimate consequence of our sins set aside. Christ's atoning sacrifice is necessary so that we can become new creations otherwise we will be sinners who are forever separated from the Love of God, without hope of restoration. We need Christ's redemptive act to bring us close to God, to once again make us children of God.

So again this week I ask that you take some time (more than once is better) and consider what it means for Christ to have died for your sins. What does it tell you about the love of God? What does this say about who you are now, in the sight of God? Consider what freedom this has given you and consider how you might live differently in the sight of God and men.

As always after you have stated the fact, "Jesus was crucified for my sins" ask that the Lord to increase your faith.

You brother in Faith,

Rev. Alan J Beckett

Faith Prayers Week Two - Faith is knowing Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God born of the Virgin Mary

Faith is knowing Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God born of the Virgin Mary  - Lord increase our faith

As we did last week. Speak the truth out loud, contemplate it, even journal it and ask God The Father, "Increase my Faith" just as the father of the epileptic child did when Jesus asked him if he believed that He could heal his child.

At first this may seem redundant in the light of last week's post but one of the things that sets Christianity apart from other religions is that our God chose to come to us in the from of a human by way of the Virgin Mary. The Gospels according to Matthew and Luke agree on this as does the Koran. His birth was a bona fide miracle. He wasn't like one of the Greek heroes who were birthed by Zeus or some other deity. God didn't create a human/god hybrid, but rather He took the form of a human zygote in womb of Mary, was born as all other humans are, but from the very beginning He was unique so much so that when Mary went to visit a close relative (Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist) the baby John still in his mother's womb responded to the present of the growing baby Jesus in Mary's womb. His birth was foretold by the prophets of old and even astrologers of the time could tell by the movement of the stars above that something remarkable was happening.

Sometimes people are tempted to downplay all of this and make Jesus just a kind man or a wise teacher. He is those things but He is not JUST those things. He is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life who suffered and was crucified on the cross and who was raised from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.

Jesus is either God in the flesh or He is not. If He's not then we are the people to be pitied most but if He is the one and only Son of God, Emanuel, God with us, then we must respond to that. This is where faith must take root and grow. Not other assumptions or philosophies will suffice; He is God Eternal who came to save us from our sin that we might live lives free from the penalty and the influence of sin. He died once for all, that we may too be called to sons and daughters of God.

Jesus, you are the only begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary - Lord, increase my faith.
Introductory Article

Prayers of Faith Week One -Faith is Knowing [that] God knows what’s best for us

Knowing [that] God knows what’s best for us

In order for us to say that we have faith, we have to acknowledge not only that our Creator exists but that He knows better than we do about what is best for us.  So for this year’s first prayer I am encouraging you to meditate upon this idea.  Say out loud that God knows better than you do, then sit and consider this concept and all the areas where you may think otherwise.  Ask the Lord to increase your faith, and then write down what is being revealed to you.

My thoughts on this:

(Although I must give credit to my friend Denis Goode for his sermon on this) 

Jesus asked Peter two questions when He came down from the Mountain of Transfiguration.

The First question that Peter was asked was, "Who do others say I am?"  I think this question is relevant today because it seems atheists are making a lot of stink lately trying to silence people of faith, especially followers of Jesus.  In Jesus’ time there were lots of people debating who He was.  Was he Elijah  returned?  Was He some new prophet of God or was He the Messiah - God's anointed one.

But the more important question was what Jesus asked Peter next and I believe it is still relevant to us today was,  “Who do you say I am?”  Peter responded that Jesus was the Son of God.  In other words Jesus was the Messiah sent from God for his people.  Now that was an entirely Jewish response loaded with all kinds of preconceived notions and some very specific expectations; Messiah/Conquering King who was going to kick the Romans out and make Israel a nation to be reckoned with.  Which is why shortly after this revelation from God, Jesus is rebuking Peter and saying, “Satan get behind me!” (Matt. 16:23) Peter had no room for a Messiah who was going to die.  He was sure of this and rebuked Jesus for suggesting otherwise.

We too have expectations which limit what it means for Jesus to be the only begotten Son of God.  We each have to deal with those preconceived notions.  Jesus is described as the God-Man; He is entirely God and entirely man. Many have struggled with this.  Some say He cannot be 100% both.  Either is half man half God or he is one or the other.  Many arguments have sprung from these concerns.  But for us modern Christians, we can accept this as one of the premises that define who Jesus Christ is to us.  Unless He is entirely human he cannot fully understand our struggles and if He isn't entirely God, He could not be the perfect and sinless sacrifice needed to pay for all the sins of humanity past present and future.

This is the tension that we need to hold Christ in, in our understanding of him.  We don’t want him so human as to see him wallowing in and approving of our sins and yet we do not want him so Holy as to be unapproachable.  It is a paradox of sorts.  He is holy and perfect, yet He lived among us a human being - as one of us.  He is both our Savior who lives in unapproachable light and He is the one who lives in our hearts and whom we strive to live like so that we too can be called Christians (little Christs).  

So as you ponder this point this week,remember that his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts, but He has made a way that we can become more and more like him as we seek his ways though the Word of God and in the power of The Holy Spirit.

Lord, you know better than we do - Lord increase our faith.