DON'T FRET, BE STILL AND REST IN THE LORD

Prayer Summary for August 22

Notice: The following information was taught and prayed about during Lynne Hammond's and Ray Kelly's early morning prayer session this morning. Scripture Focus… FRET NOT yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God). (2) For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. (3) Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. (4) Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. (5) Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. (6) And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday. (7) Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. (8) Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself--it tends only to evildoing. (9) For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth. (10) For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found. (11) But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (12) The wicked plot against the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright in right standing with God); they gnash at them with their teeth. (13) The Lord laughs at [the wicked], for He sees that their own day [of defeat] is coming. (Ps. 37:1-13 AMP) Shared… We have found that many churches across America are praying for revival. Some churches even have prayer all night long! These truly are different days. We must know who we are in Christ but also who the adversary of the brethren is. The enemy comes every day with thoughts of doubt and discouragement. We are to discern those thoughts because we also hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. We continually feed our spirits on who we are, what we have been granted and the authority that we walk in. Belief Few comprehend the primary thought "belief." It has a twofold meaning, fraught with deep significance. In it are combined two old Anglo-Saxon words: "be," to live or exist, and "lifan," which conveys the thought of accordance. Thus to believe means literally "to live in accordance with" anything. We are accustomed to consider "belief" as simply mental acquiescence with some particular truth. But its root leads us to action; that which the mind accepts, the will must obey. We do not truly believe, therefore, unless our conviction is manifested in our life. Thus understood, "belief" stands on a par with its great synonym "faith," which in its deeper sense means not only to have trust in a person but to manifest that trust by practical committal. Do we believe that God "hath quickened us together with Christ and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:5-6)? If we do, our reaction to it will be a fervent, "Lord, I accept Thy gracious word. I believe that Thou hast wrought for me. In humble faith I do now take my seat in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus at Thy right hand. Teach me how to fulfill this sacred ministry, how to exercise the authority which Thou hast entrusted to me. Train me day by day that I may attain to the full stature of the perfect man in Christ, so that in me Thy purpose of the ages may be fulfilled. Amen." If we are walking in the Spirit, our normal life is in the heavenlies. To secure the consciousness of this, there must be the daily acceptance of the fact. Let us, morning by morning, as one of our first acts if worship, take out seat with Christ (as suggested in the previous paragraph) and return thanks to God for all that it implies. Let us often remind ourselves that we are seated far above all the powers of the air, and that they are in subjection to us. As our faith learns to use the Name and the Authority of Jesus, we shall find the spiritual forces yielding obedience in ways that will surprise us. As we continue to abide closely in Him, our prayers for the advancement of the kingdom will become less and less the uttering of petitions and will increasingly manifest the exercise of a spiritual authority that recognizes no national boundaries, but fearlessly binds the forces of darkness in any part of the world. Day by day we take our authority. It is an act of worship unto the Father. Where there is advancement of the kingdom, the devil will contest it. So each day we strengthen ourselves. We believe the Word. We believe that God has seated us at His right hand. By faith. We will not be pulled off or distracted because the Blood has been applied and we will not be denied! We exercise our authority in our lives, in our churches and in our cities.