“Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

On this 11th day of 30/30, stay committed to prayer despite a busy schedule.
When your day is full of things to do it may seem easier to just skip the extra minutes of prayer, but I encourage you to persevere.  Do not to skip your extra time with God.  It’s the key to greater focus, effectiveness, and peace in your busy life.  From a health and wellness standpoint it’s foolish to skip meals. Similarly, from a spiritual standpoint it is foolish to skip prayer.  Through prayer God gives you with the provision to handle all the requirements of the day. Missing your prayer time could cause you to miss your recommended daily allowance of God’s best for you.

Blessings to you,
MC

“Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you.”  James 4:8

30/30 prayer isn’t just about extended prayer time, it’s about obediently responding to the call of God.  He is inviting you to come closer.  His desire is for a deeper relationship with you.   Continue to take full advantage of the opportunity to get closer to him.

Blessings to you,

MC

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Evidence is powerful.  In an investigation evidence is collected to bear witness to or support a claim. It can corroborate someone’s testimony.   Evidence can even speak in the absence of an actual eyewitness.  In a court of law, evidence stands as a powerful testimony to events of a situation. People are convicted or acquitted based on evidence.

As I think about evidence, I am reminded of the television broadcast I used to watch called, “Ever Increasing Faith.”  Their opening song was strong and compelling. It asked the question, “Does your life show enough evidence?”  It was powerful years ago and it is powerful now.  Although I don’t know if they still use the song today I do know that the question is just as relevant. Your life was designed to show evidence of the existence of God.   Your life was designed to provide evidence of the power of salvation. Your life was designed to speak to the truth of God’s righteousness.  Living by faith provides indisputable evidence of God’s power, purpose, and plan.

If you take yesterday’s scripture and couple it with today’s you will find that your faith is the evidence that God exists because faith produces action.  Simply put, your faith in God produces action which supports, proves, and testifies to the power of God.  Your faith-filled actions prove that God’s will is good, perfect, and acceptable. 

Today, determine that your life will show evidence of things not seen by increasing your commitment to walk by faith and not by sight.

 Blessings to you,

MC

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

Nothing moves God like faith. Not only is it impossible to please Him without it; it is the quintessential element of your spiritual life.  Faith should be the essence of all your thoughts, words, and actions.  God takes special notice of every action motivated by faith. It moves Him.  When God sees your faith great and miraculous things will happen.

Today be sure your thoughts, words, and actions spring forth out of the seed of faith.  Let the words of your prayers be filled with unwavering faith in the power of God.

Blessings to you!
MC

Wow! It’s been 7 days.  I hope you are settling into the extended prayer time.  It should be getting a little easier. Remember that prayer is not a struggle. It is a conversation with the Lord.  Your prayer time is an opportunity to commune with Him and come to understand His will.  If you are having a little struggle with additional time, try breaking the 30 minutes into 10 minute increments throughout the day. You could even try making a list. Most importantly, don’t make the thirty minutes an idol.  If you really are complete and it’s only been 28 minutes be grateful and say, “Amen.”

Be encouraged! Remember, God wants to bring a fresh spiritual reality to you!

Keep praying!
MC

“ And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22

Is your faith really in God? 

For most Christians, it seems a question hardly worth asking, right? Wrong.

The fact is many people unknowingly put more faith in a desired result than the ability of God to bring it pass. Misplaced faith causes you to work outside of the will of God to cause something to happen.   It’s only later that you realize your efforts did not bring the promise. Your faith must be in God alone. It can not live in the outcome or your own desires.  Your belief should rest solely on the fact of who God is and what He is able to do.

Consider Abram, on the road to becoming Abraham.  God promised him an heir.  Abram believed in God but along the way decided to help the plan along. As a result of Abram and Sarai’s plan; their servant, Hagar, gave birth to a son.  Ishmael was not the promise from God, so their efforts proved empty. After enduring the drama resulting from misplaced faith, they believed God. Their faith was completely in God- not the promise. God reminded him of the covenant, gave specifics concerning the promise and changed his name to Abraham.  How incredible is that?  When your faith is completely in God you stand to gain confirmation and clarity regarding the promise.  When your faith is just in the promise you just might experience chaos, confusion, and depleted faith.

Like Abraham, you must be fully persuaded that God is able and willing to do all that He says.  Be careful not to become so enamored by the promise that you create your own plan for making it happen.  Trust God and His timing. You can probably save yourself some difficulties.

As you continue the 30/30 journey, learn from Abraham and allow your faith to be anchored in the power of the Truth more than the pleasure of the promise.

“And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

If you want to truly live the life God designed for you, you must become well acquainted with the truth of God’s Word.  I’m not referring to more scripture memorization but a more intimate experience of the Word in your daily living. This intimate experience is gained when you put the word into practice. When you consistently put the word into practice its power is undeniable. How is your experience?

Blessings to you,

MC   

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

On this Independence Day, consider this fact: the concept of independence is really counterintuitive to successful life in Christ.  Today, as you celebrate, I encourage you to acknowledge your liberty in Christ but embrace your dependence on Him for all things that bring life and godliness.

Blessings to you,

MC

“If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I  hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

A little more from this text:

God promises to provide forgiveness, healing, and deliverance to those who have recognized that there is a better way and repent. Simply defined, repentance is an inward change of mind that produces an outward change of action.  Most of the time, people are not repenting but merely apologizing. Repentance goes far beyond the customary, “I’m sorry,” it causes genuine, lasting change.  Repentance gives you a new view, a new vision, a new way of doing things.

God is calling you to repentance. You’re probably thinking what do I need to repent of?  Well, repentance is not limited to those things that we consider to be bad or wrong. It deals with sin and sin is missing the mark or the standard that God has established.  Sometimes we miss the mark by thinking less of ourselves, our abilities, and our dreams, than God does. It is important to remember that God speaks well of you. He has vision of what He can accomplish through you.  He needs you to trust Him and not worry about challenging circumstances. Do you trust Him? If God has placed thoughts, ideas, plans, and dreams in your heart but for a multitude of reasons you have not accomplished them, consider gaining inspiration through repentance. Don’t downplay the idea or even doubt that it is possible, just embrace God’s vision. Remember that with God nothing is impossible.  Today, I hear the Lord urging you to embrace His perspective in every area of your life.  Agree with Him and be inspired! 

Blessings to you,

MC

“If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I  hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Whenever I read this scripture it reminds me that God has made a promise to pay attention to the prayers of His people.  Sometimes, we wonder whether or not God is paying attention to what we are saying to Him, especially when we feel that we have not been as “good” as we think we should have been. Yet, God’s promise to Solomon illustrates the certainty of God’s attentiveness to your prayers when the conditions of true repentance are met. 

You see Solomon, the wise king, realized that sometimes the children would fall short in faith, experience, and discipline.  He also knew that they would eventually come to their senses and turn toward God.  As he dedicated the temple, Solomon asked God to pay attention to them and forgive them when they had a change of mind.  God agreed.  How awesome is that! 

Yet beyond that, God gives us the same promise.  We, His children may sometimes miss the mark in faith, experience, and discipline but when we have a change of mind and take action to seek God, He will forgive and heal.

How do you connect Solomon’s temple prayer, God’s response, and your today?

Well, 1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds that you are the temple of the living God and the Spirit of God dwells in you and in 1 Chronicles 7:14, God declared that whenever prayer is made in His temple with a spirit of humility, honest communication, diligent seeking of His will, and real turn towards righteousness, He will pay attention to that prayer and release forgiveness and healing.

On day two of our 30/30 journey, I encourage you to pray in God’s holy temple with the knowledge that God is paying attention to you. Know that there is more for you to experience in Him.  Trust God and believe that His plan for you is bigger than anything you could imagine.

Blessings,

MC