Open Up the Heavens

I used to pray because it was a religious thing for me, I felt like something bad would happen to me if I didn't pray to Jesus. Thankfully, I serve a merciful God and He still heard my prayers because they were sincere. My attitude on prayer has changed and now I pray because I want to be with the Lord and I know that I need Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to keep my soul fed and to keep my eyes focused on Jesus daily. Prayer is an eternal gift from God. So how do we pray? The key thing in prayer is sincerity and having faith. You can pray while in your car, sitting at home, hanging out with friends, while you're sad, while you're in a meeting and you're worried. You can fall on your knees in your prayer closet - whether it be your home, your office, your conference room, or anywhere you can pray out loud. At work, I close myself in a small 'drop-in' office and I pray to God. I have a conversation with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I can go directly to the Father in the name of Jesus. Prayer is asking for help, or thanking God for what He's done or for what He's going to do, prayer is asking for help on behalf of another person, prayer is praising God, prayer is asking for forgiveness for our sins. Sometimes I pray out loud and sometimes in my mind, sometimes lying on my bed, sometimes sitting on my couch. Though there is something about praying on my knees that reminds me who I am and Who God is. Sometimes I pray in the Spirit and sometimes I pray in English. Some prayers are just three words 'Help me, Lord!' or 'Thank You, Lord!' and sometimes they are 20 minutes or an hour long. And if you feel like God won't hear you because you messed up, then you're wrong. We've all messed up and that's why Jesus died on the cross so that His blood can cover our sins, that's why we have grace. I'm not saying to keep on sinning, I'm saying to ask God for forgiveness and in His power live a holy life because you love Jesus, God convicts but he does not condemn His children. God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good. If you want to learn more about prayer, listen to pastors Cymbala and Dilena from Brooklyn Tabernacle online. My pastor likes to say that the only kind of problem we have is a prayer problem. Did you know that I pray about this blog? How can I expect for it to be effective without the Holy Spirit working through it? I must decrease so that Jesus can increase. 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

God Answers Prayers!

I have a personal testimony about a recent prayer I made. I petitioned God and asked Him to help a friend of mine get a new job, because she was just not getting hits from any of the employers where she submitted her applications, and she was looking for a job in a different state. So one night I was praying and asking God to help me when I felt like I needed to pray for my friend. I asked God to open doors for her and to wow us!  The next day she received calls from two employers and both offered to fly her in and pay for her lodging for the second interviews and then after all the interviews were completed she got the job offer from the company she truly wanted to work for (though the other employer was interested in her, too). Boy, we were wowed!! Jesus is good to us and hears our prayers because He specializes in miracles. Not only that but the employer who hired her is going to get an extremely talented professional so it's a win win. I wanted to thank God for His kindness and for wowing us! Thank you, Jesus! 

Share the Love of Jesus

The love of Jesus is very powerful. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ then you know how good He is and how merciful He is towards each and every one of us. My dear friends, share the good news with your girlfriends, with your neighbors, with those you sit next to on the plane, or in a car, or on the subway or on the bus or at work. Don't worry about what you'll say, let the Holy Spirit lead you but always be ready. May the Holy Spirit give you boldness. I was asked on the plane the other day why I thought Christianity is dying in Europe and the only thing I could say was that many people lost the personal relationship with Jesus Christ and only viewed Christianity as a religion. I didn't know that I was going to give that answer. So how does one keep a strong relationship with Jesus? We take the time to read the Bible, I recommend focusing on the New Testament scriptures, acknowledging that we need to be fed daily and so we take the time to pray each day - not some memorized, scripted prayer, but a sincere prayer from the heart, and getting plugged in a local, Bible-based church.  If we do this the Lord will show us how to come closer and closer to Him each day. It is Jesus who gives us the strength to do this, that is why you found yourself on this blog reading this message :).