“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” (Rom. 8:26 NLT)

We don’t always know how to pray as we should!

Throughout life, we experience many needs to pray about. And usually, they are common and easy to pray specifically for. But there are occasions when we don’t have all the information and we’re not sure how to pray. But the good news is that God, who knows everything, will take care of it perfectly for you. He will amend your prayers in perfect harmony with the situation.

“And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” (Rom. 8:27)

Therefore

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Rom. 8:28)

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.’” (Matt. 25:21 ESV)

The promise above is an amazing success principle with great potential for anyone who wants to be in charge of big things. They must first excel at being faithful to the little things! My dad taught me to do this. He said it works well in any type of business, even if you start at the very bottom. You show up early. You diligently strive to perform to the best of your abilities, helping the business generate revenue or produce high-quality products or services. Apply yourself faithfully to each task with a positive attitude, taking the next step without prompting, and you will quickly gain recognition and advancement! This is precisely what employers, including company owners, are looking for. Basically, it boils down to what the promise at the top of the page says to do: “Be faithful in little things.” And the results: “You will be set over much.” My dad started at entry level at an Alaskan pulp mill and 30 years later, he was the top man at the mill. He did it through his faithful attention to all the little things at every level he got promoted to.

Therefore 

“A faithful man will abound with blessings,” (Prov. 2820a)

 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’” (Luke 19:17 ESV)

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” (Matt. 9:37-38)

Jesus declared that the harvest is plentiful. But He followed that statement with, “but the laborers are few.” So, even though there is lots of ripe low-hanging fruit ready to be picked, there aren’t enough pickers available to harvest it!

Where are the laborers?

The hardest part of producing a harvest is at the beginning, with all the preparation work: plowing, planting, fertilizing, pruning, and weeding. The easiest part of the process is gathering up the ripe fruit. So, you’d think it would be easy to find enough workers to get that part done. But apparently not when it’s harvesting for God’s Kingdom. But the truth is, all of God’s kids are supposed to be active workers in God's kingdom harvest.

A command, not a suggestion!

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark. 16:15)

The following verse, known as the Great Commission, is a call for all believers to share the gospel with others.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)

Therefore

“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you...” (Jer. 1:5 ESV)

You were planned!

Before you were born, God knew you! In fact, He created you to be unique with purpose. Look at the following Bible passages which explain that He creates each person that He makes with purpose, including you!

“And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength” (Isa. 49:5 ESV)

“Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” (Isa. 49:1 ESV)

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” (Psalms 139:1-5)

“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,” (Gal. 1:15 ESV) 

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Rom. 8:29 ESV)

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16 ESV)

“Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.” (Isa. 44:2 ESV)

Therefore

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love.” (Eph. 1:4 ESV)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10 ESV)

If you listen to so-called “experts” who specialize in social issues, you will soon hear them talk about programs designed to help people develop a “positive self-image.” They say it is vital to a person’s good mental health and personal well-being. They teach their patients to love themselves and how to put themselves first in life. It's all about self-interest and self-fulfillment. Rather than being helpful, however, this self-fulfillment way of thinking leads to failure. According to the Bible, being “lovers of self” is just plain selfishness (sin directed) and will cause serious problems.

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” (2 Tim. 3:2-4)

You are God’s workmanship, with purpose!

The passage at the top of the page says that God created us for a purpose other than for ourselves! “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do the good works which He prepared in advance for us to walk in.” Notice that it doesn’t say that He created us for ourselves or for any other selfish reason; He created us to walk in His purpose!

How to be successful and fulfilled

True success and fulfillment can only be found in a deep and intimate relationship with God. As you seek Him, prioritize His kingdom, and align yourself with His will, you will discover a sense of purpose, joy, and contentment that surpasses any temporary satisfaction the world and living for yourself has to offer.

Therefore 

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” (Psalm 138:8)

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Her. 29:11)

“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6 NIV)

When I was a little boy, I shared a bedroom with my older brother. At night, just before we went to sleep, I’d say, "Good night, David." And he usually responded with, “Good night, Mikey; I will see you tomorrow if I don’t die!” That was a horrible thing to say to a little boy! For many years, I went to sleep afraid that I might die sometime during the night! And to make it worse, I had been taught to pray the following prayer just before going to sleep: “As I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” This only amplified my fears! I struggled with the fear of dying for many years until I received Christ and understood what I had to look forward to. 

Death is not the end!

You have a lot to look forward to once you leave this earth! Heaven is a wonderful place, with God’s glory waiting there for you. And even if you have had a tough life here on earth, if you have asked Jesus Christ to save you, you will dwell forever in the house of the Lord, where there’s no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more sin, no more sickness, no more sadness, no more problems, no more pain, and no more pressure.

Therefore

“It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” Eph. 2:5-7).

“A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might.” (Prov. 24:5)

Exercising is a wise thing!

The passage at the top of the page says it’s wise to enhance your might, that means exercising is a good thing. It helps you improve your health, control your weight, reduce stress, boosts energy, and helps you sleep better. Of course, you want to be strong and healthy to get things done and be able to serve God well in whatever assignment He has for you.  

Therefore

“I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.” (Zech. 10:12)

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm 59:16)

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.” (Isa. 48:17)

Profit is a good thing

To profit is to grow and be healthy. No business or enterprise will survive without it. And the good news is that God will teach you how to profit, especially when you seek Him first in the things you do (Matt 6:33).

To bear fruit in every good work

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Col. 1:9-10)

Therefore

“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” (1 Tim. 4:15) 

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Cor. 9:10)

“And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.” (Job 8:7)

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:8 NIV)

 Where are you meant to go?

If you’ve been a Christian for a while and attend church regularly, you’ve probably been exposed to Bible passages that tell you to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). Or maybe you’ve heard amazing stories from missionaries who tell about their calling to go and share Christ in far away countries like Africa. But even though you appreciate what they do, you don’t feel “called” to do the same as them or to leave where you are now living and go to some remote location to proclaim Christ. You feel like you’re an average person who just lives and works day-to-day within your own community, and you’re going about trying to make a living. So, how do you handle those “go and proclaim the gospel” verses? First, let’s start by considering what Isaiah did.

Isaiah responded to God 

The Bible says plainly in the passage at the top of the page that Isaiah was responding to what he specifically heard God say and he answered accordingly and did exactly the right thing! And we should of course do the same when we know for sure that God is speaking to us (James 1:22).

God speaks clearly to us this way

God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16–17). And as we read it, the Holy Spirit teaches, instructs, and leads us (John 14:26; 1 John 2:27). When we find a passage that’s a general command directed to all, we don’t have to do any guesswork, we just do it. Just before He left, He said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation.” It’s a commandment given to all Jesus’ followers, and that’s you, too!

One more time!

Let’s look a little closer at that verse again. “Jesus said, go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation.” Understand that “all the world” and “all creation” include your present community right where you now live and work along with everyone who’s in it—that’s the place and the people He placed you among to reach! Yes, you! It’s no accident you’re there, it’s by God’s design!

Therefore

So, your response to Jesus’ great commission should be the same as Isaiah’s, “Here am I, send me!”

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15)