It should not come as a surprise to us today, that who Jesus Christ is, has come under attack again. Throughout history His Name and teachings have brought either praise or criticism from mankind. However one thing remains the same, it is only through His Name that salvation comes to mankind (Acts 4:12). As believers we should not be confused about who Jesus Christ is. Therefore, in this short blog I want to look at a few things concerning the deity of Jesus Christ (Deity meaning God and identifying who God is). Read more…
Today I want to go over a few important things we must know about prayer if we are going to have an effective prayer life. These are all things found in God’s Word about prayer. So many in the world today pray because they know it is the right thing to do but they are only hoping God will hear and answer them because, in reality, they don’t know if He will. Prayer isn’t to be a “hope so thing” but it is to be a “know so thing”. In other words, you have confidence or assurance in knowing God hears and answers your prayers because you have learned to pray prayers that are based upon His Word and His promises to you.
Here are five things you need to know in order to have an effective prayer life. You could call them fundamentals or foundations of effective prayer.
1) All effective prayer is based upon a relationship with God.
2) Effective prayer prays to the Father in Jesus’ Name.
3) Effective prayer is based upon a relationship with God and His Word in our lives.
4) Effective prayer is based upon praying or asking according to God’s will.
5) Effective prayer believes it receives what it asks for in prayer.
These five steps will help you have an effective prayer life and get your prayers answered. So, learn these and start praying in faith today.
– Pastor Chris Morgan
Praying effectively or getting answers to our prayers is something every believer must learn to do. Our confidence in prayer comes from knowing God’s will, which is His Word, and then trusting God to do for us what He has promised in His Word. 1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if you know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions (prayers) that we asked of Him.” So our confidence in prayer must come from the Word of God and what God said to us about prayer.
Even though most believers know prayer should be a part of their lives, there are still misconceptions that keep them from praying. I want to share a few of them in this blog. Many times unanswered prayer stands between the believer and a vibrant prayer life. Then Satan comes and lies to them about prayer and says things like this to our minds:
You don’t have to feel alone in this! Probably every believer has experienced some, if not all, of these same lies from Satan designed to keep us from having an effective prayer life. You don’t have to let the unanswered prayers of your past, or not knowing how to pray, keep you from having the prayer life you desire. You can learn to pray and have an effective prayer life and you can start learning today!
– Pastor Chris Morgan
Did you know you can learn how to pray and have an effective prayer life and you can start learning today? Effective prayer, or prayers that are answered, start with us praying God’s Word. Jeremiah 1:12 (NKJV) says God is ready to perform His Word. That means He is waiting for us to know what He said He wants to do and then ask Him. You could say it like this: we are to find what God’s will is and ask Him for it. For whatever is God’s will, you can have. We must learn that God’s will is not mysterious nor is it hidden from us. God’s will is His Word. Knowing this makes prayer clear and simple, and enables us to pray effectively. 1 John 5:14-15 is a powerful verse which illustrates this for us. It says, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions (prayers) that we asked of Him.” Notice how God’s Word tells us we can have confidence in knowing He hears and answers our prayers. All we have to do is find scriptures that cover our need and then ask Him to meet it.
Mark 11:24 also gives us helpful insight into effective prayer. It says, “Whatsoever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Jesus tells us we must pray in faith, which means we must believe God hears and answers our prayers before we see them come to pass. This is not hard to do when you understand that your confidence in prayer must come from the Word of God. In other words, if God said He would do it (something He said in His Word) then faith fills your heart from His promise and you believe that you receive it. You believe it is yours; you believe God has heard and answered your prayer.
So, remember your confidence in prayer will come from knowing God’s will or His Word. Now you can learn to pray effectively and receive answers to all your prayers.
– Pastor Chris Morgan
Earlier in this series we found in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (AMP) that putting and keeping God first in our lives is key for us to overcome temptation. In part 3 of this blog I began covering the four fundamentals that will help us do this. The first being: we must take time to read and study God’s Word. The second fundamental was prayer. Prayer will have to be a part of any growing relationship with God. Today I want to cover the last two in this series.
In my last blog I began by sharing a vital truth every Believer must learn in order to overcome temptation. That truth is: we must learn to put and keep God first in our lives. So then, the real question is, how do we keep God first in our lives? We found there are basics or fundamentals that we can’t afford to neglect. They will not only help us keep God first in our lives, but they will also help us to win over the temptations that come our way. There are four fundamentals that will help us do this. In this blog I will share two of them.
God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT, “If you think you are standing, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure”. We also found in part 1 that temptation is any trial regarded as enticing one to sin. Sin not only hurts us spiritually, it deceives, desensitizes, and it hardens us to God and the things of God. It is designed to destroy our relationship with God and our confidence in God.
Today I want to share with you the first step or key to overcoming temptation, it is found in 1 Corinthians 10:14. The Amplified Bible translates this verse, “Therefore, my beloved, shun (keep clear away from, avoid by flight if need be) any sort of idolatry (of loving or venerating anything more than God)”. Wow! There is a ton of insight to overcoming temptation in this verse. Most people would never imagine idolatry being a problem in their lives until they really understand what it is. Idolatry is anything that takes the place of God or the place God should have in your life. So what place is God supposed to hold? You know the answer – first place. So we find the first step or key to overcoming any temptation is to keep God first in our life. We simply cannot win over temptation without God being and staying our first priority or number one in our lives. Read more…