Doris's Devotion this week: 2008

Revival in the Land

The Hebrew word for revive is chayah which means to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, nourish and preserve life, live prosperously, live forever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life and health. According to that definition, revival is not just a one-time shot of life, revival is a continual nourishment, preservation, quickening and restoration to life.

Revival begins when people turn to God. It breaks forth from intercessory prayer and continues when people repent and no longer tolerate sin in their lives. After Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples returned to the upper room and continued in daily prayer, in one accord, and in one place. Then, at the appointed time, the Holy Spirit burst onto the scene with the sound of a mighty rushing wind. Peter and the others received God’s long-awaited promise of the Holy Spirit’s anointing.Acts 2:17-19[17]
And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.[18]Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future events pertaining especially to God's kingdom].[19]And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and smoking vapor;repeats the prophecy of Joel, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh.… And on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out my spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.… I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath…”
As they moved out into the streets from the upper room, men from every part of the world saw and heard something different. Peter’s great sermon, preached under the anointing of God, brought understanding, conviction of sin and the life of God to those who heard and responded in faith. Prayer, the anointed preaching of the Word, and a supernatural move of God—all working together—brought revival, God’s life-giving power.
Revival happens wherever the Word of God prevails. Miracles, signs and wonders happen wherever the Word of God prevails. Hearts and lives are changed wherever the Word of God prevails. The Bible says God works with and confirms His Word with signs following Mark 16:20
And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it).Look in the Word of God and you will find the life that revival brings.
If people pray and dig into the Word of God which is life to them, revival will come and remain. Revival will become an ongoing way of life.

Praise God I set myself in agreement with God’s will for revival expecting God to move.
Father God, because You care for Your people and want all mankind to have life, You desire revival. Your revival brings life and nourishment, preservation and restoration. Thank You for sending Jesus to give us Your abundant life.Lord, start revival in me first. I am Your servant and I place myself in position to receive revival. I feed on the Scriptures as a sheep feeds in green pastures because Your words are life to me. Holy Spirit of God, You raised Jesus from the dead and You dwell in me. So, I yield to You to energize my spirit, restore my soul and rejuvenate my mortal body. I renew my mind with Your Word. In my innermost being is a well of living water and I am revived!

THERE'S POWER IN PRAYER

The power of prayer relies on the assurance that the God of the Universe is listening to you.
Since prayer is a two-way communication between you and God, you will always receive an answer to your prayers! It might be YES, NO, or NOT YET.
This may surprise you, but unanswered prayer does not exist. Sometimes, we feel like God has not answered, but the reality is that sometimes we don't like the answer we've received. How can I say powerful prayers? The Bible gives several principles regarding the power of prayer:

Bring glory to God. In the Bible, we read a simple yet sincere prayer that brought glory to God. Elijah prayed, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." Prayers don't have to be long and elaborated, they just have to come from our hearts and give glory to God.
Pray in Jesus' name. The power of prayer relies on the authority we have when we say a prayer. Adding the phrase "in Jesus' name" is not a magic tag line that will secure our prayers or make them more effective. Praying in the name of Jesus simply mean that we desire His will. We can be confident while approaching the Father because we have been cleansed from our sins. Without the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins, there is no chance in coming close to God - He is perfect and holy. Because we have been justified through Christ, we can know that our prayers reach the throne of God. Praying in Jesus' name means to come and speak through His authority and according to His will.
God is powerful. Understand that the power is not in the words of your prayer or in the way your prayer is spoken. The power comes from God! He has the power to do far more with your prayer than you can even imagine. Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
The one and only way to experience the power of prayer is to pray. We can thank God for the prayers He has answered with a YES, but also for the ones that were answered differently than we expected. Each answer has molded our lives and our fellowship with God
WE WELCOME YOU TO OUR BIBLE STUDY ON PRAYER
EACH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 7:00 PM
AT
HARVEST FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
AT
570 10TH AVE NW, RED BAY, ALABAMA
(Go to google search and put this address and it will give you direction to our church.)
One of favorite songs on Prayer is by the Hinson, There Power in Prayer.
THERE'S POWER IN PRAYER by Hinson
Somewhere somebody is prayin tonight
For a loved one who wandered away from the light
But faith reaches Heaven and God is aware
And forever it's changed in One moment of prayer
(chorus)
Oh there's power in prayer
Power to spare
All that you'd ever need
Is waiting right there
With just a few words
A child's faith Then it's good - bye despair
Oh there's power, so much power
There's power in prayer

An old man holds a body That's perilled in pain
The doctors have tried butAll hope is in vain
Oh but wait somebody's praying In the midst of the gloom
And all at once the great physician Steps into the room
(repeat chorus)

SEND YOUR PRAYER REQUEST TO: dorisjsmith@hotmail.com

I RECEIVED THIS IN ONE OF MY EMAILS THAT I RECEIVE MONTHLY AND WANTED TO SHARE IT.

Personal Word of Challenge
Join with me in this prayer. "Dear Father in Heaven, anoint this time of sharing with Your presence. Enlighten our hearts to Your Word. Empower and enable us to more effectively and powerfully share together and experience the abundant truth revealed to us through Your written and spoken Word."
Let’s spend a few moments cultivating some scripture together. If you like, I’ll wait so you can grab a cup of coffee, your notepad and pen. (pause) Amazing, that didn’t take you long at all!
I find that some of the most memorable moments in ministry have unexpectedly come along while I was just spending a few moments visiting and sharing with a fellow minister. It is the everyday realization of what scripture describes as ‘iron sharpening iron’ manifesting in my life and ministry.
This Word of Challenge comes from several weeks of experiencing one particular truth on a recurring basis. Now I feel a certain inward impression to share it with you.
Open your Bible to Mark 4:19. I will use the Amplified Bible to better help us communicate the fuller expression of the truth contained in this verse.
“Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.” – Amplified Bible
There are four specific categories focused upon in this verse: anxieties of the world, the age, riches, and desire for other things. At first appearance, all four of these apparently choke the Word of God to become fruitless. However, there is one particular word in this verse that perfectly sums up the entire concept. That word is ‘Distractions.’
To be sure we stay ‘on track’ and maintain ‘balance,’ let us pause to look more closely at the verse, category by category.
One - “the cares and anxieties of the world”Two - "the distractions of the age"Three - "the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches"Four - "the craving and passionate desire for other things"
You will notice that scripture does not say that the world, the age, the riches, or other things cause unfruitfulness. God specifically clarifies that it is our response to these that cause unfruitfulness. This is the fundamental building block of what is being taught in this scripture.
To aid us in more clearly and thoroughly understanding this let us ponder for a moment the beginning of and creation of man. God created the Garden of Eden. God created all that is in this earth. God created the earth. God created the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was all good! It was not the Tree that caused the fall of man. God would not, has not, will not, does not create or provide anything in your life that will cause you to stumble or become unfruitful. It is the deceiver who looked for and found a way to cause the fall of man into sin. The deceiver has not changed his approach. As verse 19 shows, he causes cares, anxieties, distractions, pleasures, false glamour, deceitfulness, and cravings to distort the good things of God's creation.
So, this brings us back to the word, 'distractions.' All of these, [cares, anxieties, pleasures, false glamour, deceitfulness, and cravings], can be called distractions. And, distractions will come more frequently from the enemy if they prove to be effective in causing your unfruitfulness.
Have you ever found yourself not having enough time to properly prepare for your services? To what did you attribute the lack of time? Have you found yourself working such long hours just to maintain your workload that there was no energy to move in the anointing?
When satan finds someone like yourself who is earnestly and wholeheartedly serving the Lord Almighty, he realizes that you will not succumb to mere temptation over simple things because your faith has grown and you easily overcome those temptations. Therefore, he uses 'distractions' to cause unfruitfulness in your efforts. Distractions cause unfruitfulness in the seed of the Word which you sow because the distractions keep you from properly planting (the depth) and cultivating that Word seed.
I desire that you are fruitful in ministry and in your personal life as well. I pray that you become more fruitful in all that your hands find to do. I'm asking you to identify and remove the distractions from your life and ministry.
Here are some thoughts of types of distractions which appear to be common throughout the world among those ministering to children.
One - “the cares and anxieties of the world”- illness of a family member- repairs around the home- unfair business dealings- disasters and accidents
Two - "the distractions of the age"- bigger and latest technology devices being used in services that overshadows the preaching of the Word- watering down the power of the Word so it is palatable to society
Three - "the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches"- debt- believing that more money brings happiness
Four - "the craving and passionate desire for other things"- focusing on numerical growth in the church more than spiritual growth- having a better Harvest Festival than the church down the street- harmful relationships and friendships
Gloria Copeland once wrote, "Did you know that the seemingly innocent things in your everyday life can suffocate your spiritual life if you allow it?" in reference to the Mark 4:19 passage.
I earnestly urge you to be on guard against subtle 'distractions'. Remember, your enemy is a deceiver. It is more likely that he will use a sneaky, subtle approach to cause your unfruitfulness than a direct face-to-face confrontation.
I sincerely pray for the anointing of God to rest upon and move through these few words we have shared together today. You are loved by God. His desire is to prosper you. Psalm 35:27 says, "Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." What exactly does that mean? God wants you to be fruitful! As you follow God with all of your heart, I pray this scripture over you "the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands"! (Deut. 30:9) Let God be praised! Remove and conquer your distractions and you shall experience even greater fruitfulness!
Thank you for allowing us to share in your ministry!Rev. Gary R. Linn