Prayer for today

Thank you, God that you have created me and anointed me. You tell me that you have established me and given me free access to stand in your Holy of Holies, that you have known me to wash your feet with my tears and that you have washed my feet so they would be clean to enter that holy place. Thank you Jesus that by the power of your shed blood, I am free to walk in righteousness and truth, that grace and mercy abounds for me and that You are The Rock on which I stand.

I praise You, God, as Lord, Master, Creator, King of Kings, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, the Ultimate Authority and Ruler over all things. Yet I am in such awe that even though you are all those things, you still reach down and pick me up as Abba – my Daddy! You know my every move and thought. You gather my tears in a bottle and when I am humbled before you, I am pouring them out on your feet. The blessing that comes from those times is so amazingly sweet that I sometimes never want to stand up and leave your sweet comforting presence.

Yet you have called me to other things after those times of comfort and refreshing. So as I go about this day of work, play and rest, I know that you will guide me with your Spirit, usher in divine appointments and use me in a way that will be utterly amazing!

Thank you, God for taking charge of this day in my life and letting me see you work!

Rain

I love how God walks with us and comforts us in the storms of life!! Watch this video that shows how good God is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koutUz0Im48&feature

Patti

The Shelter of the Most High

Yesterday afternoon, two eagles spent a long time in our field. I could see them pretty well just looking out the window, but when I looked through the field glasses, it was like they were right there next to me. God uses eagles to express attributes of our relationship with Him, so they have such significance to me when I see them in person. I feel like God put them there at that particular time as a blessing for me to see.

I have been so drawn to Psalm 91 lately. And as I watched the eagles, I was reminded of that chapter again. It seems that if I am involved in a conversation with someone for any length of time lately or if I am praying for someone or counseling someone, Psalm 91 comes up! It is such a wonderful wonderful picture of so many facets of our relationship with God and has such incredible power to dispel fear and anxiety - especially when spoken aloud. I am focusing on just the first four verses today. They go like this:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

Psalm 91 talks about dealing with fear and the power and authority we have as His followers. These first 4 verses make us aware that the key to walking in God-given authority is being in close fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The authority God has given us is delegated and not something we can operate with independent of him. We, as members of the body of Christ, must be connected to the Head of the body, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit in order to function as we were intended to. If we try to separate from the source of power in our lives and still operate as the were connected it will be just a matter of time until we fall flat. In the New testament, this thought is constantly reinforced. One example is in John 15, where Jesus talks about abiding in Him. Then in chapter 17, verse 24, Jesus prays for all believers as He says:

 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." 

If we make a habit of spending more time with him, He will turn that habit into a desire. We will truly hunger and thirst for Him as our daily sustenance. We will learn to hear more clearly to discern what is behind the fears we face and the hard times that come.  Then we can take bold action against our enemy using the authority he has freely given every believer in Christ.

In my next post I will move on to the next few verses in Psalm 91 to talk about that authority. In the meantime, "draw near to Him and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8)