How Do I Pray For A Miracle?

.....When we are faced with a great need, either for ourselves or for others, we should begin by humbly seeking to know God's will in the matter; "Father, what do You want to do in this situation?" Jesus said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working," (John 5:17). He listened to the voice of the Father, and He watched Him. Be careful not to start or end a prayer by saying blindly, "If it be Your will." Rather, you should seek to know God's will in the situation and then base your prayer upon it. Praying for a miracle is welcoming a gift of the Holy Spirit to manifest. When His will is to work one, He will witness that to your heart. Then you can ask Him to perform the miracle that you know He wants to bring about.

.....It is often important to exercise a key to the miraculous - the spoken word. God has given us authority over disease, demons, sickness, storms, and finances, (Mathew 10:1; Luke 10:19). Often, we may keep asking God to act, when, in fact, He calls us to employ His authority in Jesus' name: we may command needed funds to come to us, command a storm to be stilled, command a demon to come out, command affliction to leave, even command a sickness to depart.

.....Jesus said, "Whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says," (Mark 11:23). Believe in your heart that it has already happened! With the anointing of faith that God gives you, speak it forth. But remember, miracles come by faith in God's present power, not by ritual or formula of human works or willpower.
..

SANCTIFICATION

.....Spiritual development comes through 8 specific callings, a sanctification process. Our "WITNESS" increases as we fully obey each calling, producing a character transformation. My purpose today is to help you become the most effective "Translator" of Spiritual Truth, establishing 8 Christian Virtues. To make you a star witness for God through Christ, an Ambassador, representing Him and His Kingdom with a vital message, able, and available at all times to share it.

Faith - Romans 10:9
.....Repentance of SALVATION: Give the Lord Jesus Christ His rightful place at the center of your life.

Virtue - 1 Peter 2:9
.....Separation from Darkness: Discern and turn from evil in all its forms.

Knowledge - Romans 12:2
.....Dedication to the Light: Commit yourself to the light of Scripture.

Self-control - Matthew 6:19
.....Investment in Service: Become involved in lasting achievement.

Endurance - 1 Peter 4:12
.....Endurance in Suffering: Expect to be misunderstood.

Godliness - Romans 8:29
.....Humility in Responses: Respond as God would to those who wrong you.

Brotherly Kindness - 2 Corinthians 1:4
.....Alertness in Sharing: Be alert to others who have been hurt.

Love - Colossians 1:29
.....Reproduction of Maturity: Guide others through the same steps God has taken you.

.....To the degree we respond to each of the 8 callings, we increase the scope of our "Life Message" and thereby experience the Will of God for our lives. The first step is to receive Eternal Life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, (John 3:3).

.....One of the greatest causes of diminishing the potential of our "Life Message" is the failure to turn from all the thoughts, words, and actions, which we know greive the Spirit of God. Either we separate ourselves from our sins, or sins of separate us from fellowship of God. We're not only to separate ourselves from those things which cause us to stumble, but also from practices which cause our "Weaker Brothers" to be offended.

.....Dedication is the maturing action of giving to God what really belongs to Him already. We are then free to set our affections on things above rather than on things of this earth. You see, it's not enough just to turn from that which is evil, we must also turn to that which is good.

.....We must also add to our knowledge, temperance and self-control, which keeps a hold of selfish passions and desires in check. Self-control is the basis of fruitful Christian service. With self-control we do not serve ourselves, but are morally free to serve one another in love. Service involves laying up treasures in heaven, and building spiritual maturity in the lives of those around us. Men keep looking for better methods, and God keeps looking for better men.

.....Suffering is essential in order to experience the final 3 callings, (1 Peter 4:12). Suffering will usually come from people you would least expect. It is designed to open new sections of Scripture to us, and is God's way of freeing us from that which hinders us from, "Setting Our Affections on the Things Above." Suffering is most painful when we are partly at fault.

.....When we humble ourselves through the suffering that God allows, He gives us more grace, both to respond to our offenders and to see new and rich insights in His Word. Humility is the basis of Godliness, always bringing about deeper understanding. Godliness involves worth-ship or reverence paid to worth, whether in God or man. Also, a Godly response to those who offend us helps us recognize that God has used them to put us through the "Fire of Purification, Removing the Dross", that will be for our ultimate benefit if we respond to it, and to them, in the right way.

.....The bottom line is that when these Christian virtues, or callings are established in our lives, it will cause us to be fruitful in the very Knowledge of God. The life that comes from the Knowledge of God can produce only good in our response to others. To fail to grow in Christ results in stunting our spiritual development and inability to perceive the blessings received upon our initial salvation, and in doing so, our identification with Christ Jesus is forgotten or ignored. This results in a lapse of our old sins. God's Will is for each of us to know who we really are in Christ, and to share that understanding with others, thus making disciples, reproducing Christ in others, bringing Glory to Him.

ARE YOU A DISCIPLE?

.....The first commitment of a disciple is to " Deny" himself. He must renounce his self-centered life, clearing out all of self for Christ. Nothing can be more important to us than Christ. ( A Christ centered life.) The circle above represents your life. Christ should fill up the entire circle. To abide in Christ means that He is to have priority in everything in your life. Christian life is simply Christ living in you, (John 15: 5, John 15: 10) and through you. God has provided a way for Christ to be at the center of your life. This is the second commitment. "Take up your cross daily." Bearing your cross and serving others requires discipline. The above diagram reveals what disciplines a disciple must have.

1. The Word

.....The first discipline that we must have in our lives is "Living in the Word of God." The way to have Christ living in us is to have His Word in us. John 8: 31 - 32 says - "If you continue in My Word, then ye our My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free." The Word of God is food for us. We cannot grow unless we have a regular intake of it. This is done by listening to someone preach it, and by reading it, studying it, memorizing it, meditating it, and then applying it. The result is a continuous process of renewing the mind, thus causing a behavioral change. John 15: 10 says- "That to abide in Christ is to obey Him." This is a crucial step in establishing a close relationship with God.

2. Prayer

.....The second discipline that we must have in our lives is "Praying," ( In Faith.) Faith that is drawn from the first discipline, ( His Word.) A part of living in Christ is living in prayer. John 15: 7 says -"If ye abide in Me, and My Word abides in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." So when we abide in Christ and His Word abides in us, we can ask what we will and God will do it. And open line of communication established between us and God through the Finished Work of the Cross ( Christ.) Refer to the above diagram and notice that God reveals himself and communicates to us through His Word (Christ.) and we communicate to God through prayer. Note the direction (Up to God and Down to us).

3. Fellowship

.....The third discipline that we must have in our lives is "Fellowship with Believers", our brothers and sisters in Christ. John 13:34 - 35 says - "A new commandment I give unto you, that you help one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know the ye our My disciples, if ye have love one to another." God has provided the ideal place for us to grow and mature, - The Church. A body of believers that have made a covenant to carry out Christ's ministry in and throughout the world. The Church is the body of Christ. So we come together to form the body here on the earth. Equipping those to fulfill the callings on their life. Praising and Worshiping God corporately, and equipping the Saints to go and preach the gospel - "The Good News."

4. Witnessing

.....The fourth discipline that we must have in our lives is "Witnessing to the World". Sharing Christ with others. John 15: 8 says - "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." A disciple will bear much fruit and that fruit is to be a witness to the world; our testimony, a living epistle to glorify God. The outward expression of an inward change from renewing the mind to what is true of it. The "Salvation of the Soul", or victory of the mind, will, and emotions, through Christ in the Finished Work of the Cross. Through applying these disciplines of living daily in the Word of God, praying in faith and fellowship with God's people, it will become natural and normal to share with others the Christ who is living in our hearts. This is what will make us fishers of men. Hence a true behavioral change.

.....The third commitment mentioned in Luke 9: 23 says - "That if we "Follow" and live in Christ, we will eventually bear fruit." Fruit does not necessarily grow quickly, but it grows continually and bears in season. Fruit bearing is the normal, natural result of the life that has Christ at the center of it. This is produced by the Holy Spirit and is what is called our sphere of influence. This growth is a continuous expansion across the earth equally proportional to the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. Fruit-bearing not only consists of good deeds and helping others, it also relates to the fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, and Temperance, leading to ministry and service of all kinds. As noted from the diagram, only you limit yourself with God.

.....Our goal in discipleship is expressed in 2 Timothy 2: 21 and says - "If a man therefore purge himself from these (his old ways), ye shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and able for the Master's use, and prepared onto every good work." These disciplines will develop lives that will produce good fruit, as well as balance, according to the Word of God, making true disciples.

.