“I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.” (Psalm 17:6 NIV)

Keep your prayers simple, and don't babble

If you want clear answers you can't be fuzzy with your requests.

When you pray, speak plainly and clearly to God. 

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matt. 6:7 NIV)

Present your requests to God in every situation

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil. 4:6 NIV)

Watch and pray

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41 NIV)

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie ten Boom

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45 NIV)

Watch what you put into your mind

Your brain is like a computer and is programmed by what you feed into it. You program your brain by choosing what to look at and listen to, which influences your thinking. This includes the TV shows and movies you watch, the magazines and books you read, the content of your social media, and even the people you choose to socialize with. All this will affect your thinking and what you do.

You must constantly guard your heart from destructive input!

• Watch what you allow yourself to think about

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Prov. 23:7 NASB)

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Prov. 4:23 NIV)

• Watch what you say

Your mouth is the speaker for your heart. Your words can only reflect what your brain is already thinking about. If your thoughts are evil, out of your mouth will come evil words. If your thoughts are good, then good words will come out. You cannot behave inconsistently with your thoughts!

“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45 NIV)

• Make corrections

When you catch yourself saying the wrong kind of things, stop and make corrections with the Word of God as your guide and adjustment tool.

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3 ESV)

“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” (Prov. 21:23 ESV)

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17:15-19 NIV)

Saying thank you!

I heard a story about a woman who had searched for, found, and thanked the many who had responded to a horrific accident she had been in ten years before. What was amazing to see was the reaction she received from those she thanked. Many of them were moved to tears. One of them said they had never been thanked before! Can you imagine that? In all those years they must have helped a great number of people in crisis, yet not one had bothered to go back and thank them!

Only one in ten thanked Jesus

Jesus had healed ten lepers but only one came back to thank Him! Jesus noticed and said, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”  (Luke 17: 18-19 NIV)

A promise

There is a hidden promise (blessing) in the passage at the top of the page you may have missed. Notice that the one leper who went back to thank Jesus received something extra from Him; Jesus said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” Scholars have noted that while the other nine lepers received healing from their leprosy, only the tenth leper, who expressed praise, was made "whole."

God’s will is for you to thankful in all circumstances

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18 NIV)

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17 NIV)

Therefore

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalms 13:5-6)

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV)

It’s a done deal

The passage above says two times that He “has given us” everything we need. And notice that It is written in past tense. That’s because it's already done, and very importantly it says you “may participate” in what He has given and tells how: through knowledge. There’s an often quoted axiom, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” But that’s wrong! What you don’t know can and will hurt you!

How many of God’s promises do you know and apply?

Many believers are struggling because they don't know the many thousands of promises in the Word of God, there to cover every possible need or problem. But, if you don’t know them, you can’t benefit from them. One of the devil's tactics is to distract God's children from knowing them.

The millionaire who died under a bridge!

I heard a story about a man found dead under a bridge in a major city who had died of starvation and exposure. When they ran his fingerprints to see who he was, they discovered that his family had been searching for him because he had inherited an estate worth millions of dollars; unfortunately, he died without knowing he was a millionaire.

In a similar way

Many Christians suffer lack unnecessarily through their ignorance of how wealthy they actually are as God’s children, by not looking for, finding, and applying by faith the many promises He has placed in His Word to supply their every need. 

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19 NLT)

Therefore

“But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:25)

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12 NASB)

Life has its challenges – press forward through them!

Shortly after purchasing our first house, we decided to build a deck off the back porch. I had never built a deck before, so I went to a friend of mine, a home builder, to ask him for some advice. He said, “Do you know what you want your deck to look like?” And I said, “Yes, I do.” He then replied, “Great! Now just get started and build it!” I said, “But I have never built a deck before!” And he said, “The main thing is to make your plan. Get all the materials you need. Then get started and keep working at it until it is completely done. “That’s it?” I said, “What if I run into problems?” And he said, “Every job has problems! That's just the way it is. But you can't allow anything to stop you. You solve problems as you discover them. Then, you eventually get to the end with a completed project.”

So, I did exactly what he said and built my first deck. Yes, I did run into a few problems along the way and figured out a solution for each one.

It's pretty much the same with anything you need to get done

 Whether it's something at home (building a deck), at school (assignments), at work (job projects), or at play (sports or hobbies), it's the same process. You need to know what it looks like (envision it). You need a plan (steps needed to do it). You need to collect the materials to do the job. You need to get started. You need to solve problems as you discover them. And, most importantly, you need to keep working at it until it gets completely done. 

Therefore

Keep pressing forward! “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14

Some interesting epigrams about perseverance

·      There aren't any hard-and-fast rules for getting ahead in the world - just hard ones.

·      You don't have to lie awake nights to succeed. Just stay awake days.

·      There is no poverty that can overtake diligence. -Japanese proverb

·      By perseverance the snail reached the Ark. – Charles Spurgeon

·      Triumph is just "umph" added to try.

You’re already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ!

As a born-again believer, you are already greatly blessed, so praise God!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3 NIV)

Notice that the above verse says He “has blessed us” (past tense), because God has already done it! It's totally accomplished! Finished! Done!

Every one them!

Notice that the second part of the above verse says that He's provided you with “every spiritual blessing in Christ.” That means all of them have been given to you without exception. There are no blessings excluded! That’s right, you get them all! The entire group! The total amount.

Therefore

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8 NIV)

“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2 NIV)

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2  Chron. 7:14)

It's not about secular leadership!

This verse says it very clearly. It says, “if my people”. It doesn't say, “if the president of the USA” or “if the Kings or Queens of the world,” or “if the combined world leadership.” No! It says, if God’s people, who are called by His Name will do certain things, then God will do certain things.

What “God's people who are called by His Name” must do

·      Humble themselves

·      Pray

·      Seek His Face

·      Turn from their wicked ways

How God promises to respond

·      He will hear from Heaven

·      He will forgive their sin

·      He will heal their land

Therefore, the genuine answer to the wickedness in our land is not political, it is spiritual! It is up to God’s people to wake up and respond according to His Word!

Therefore

“The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Prov. 15:29) 

“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.” (Psalms 107:28-30)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Eph. 6:18)

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)

“He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.” (Psalm 102:17)

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

“And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 1:19-20)

Christians are not weak!

In the secular media, movies, television, and in most books and literature, pastors and Christians in general are portrayed as weak and powerless. But the Bible does not teach that we are weak. Yes, we are to demonstrate humility, but that does not mean weakness. For instance, Jesus demonstrated what it meant to be humble by how He humbled Himself by holding back His great power as God: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:6-11).

We are told to do the same

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:5)

Christian’s have power in the Holy Spirit

“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” (1 Thess. 1:5)

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7)

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29) 

Therefore

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Eph. 6:10) 

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”. (Eph. 3:20)

 “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 18:30)

The passage at top is a beautiful promise about God’s way and contains a number of important words to look closely at to help you understand its meaning: perfect, flawless, shield, and refuge.

• God’s way is perfect!

Perfect is defined as having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Ideal, and without fault.

• God’s Word is flawless!

Flawless is defined as without any blemishes or imperfections; perfect. unmarked, and unimpaired.

• He is your shield!

Shield is defined as something that defends or protects someone or something.

• Take refuge in Him!

Refuge is defined as condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. It's shelter, protection, safety, security, and sanctuary.

Therefore

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7)

“I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)