Following In Jesus Christ Footsteps

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Prayer For those in Authority



Prayer
For those in Authority
The following is an outline specifically for praying for all those who are in authority including ministers, governmental, business, and domestic leaders.


"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice:
But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn"
(Proverbs 29:2).


"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
And giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority;
That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour"
(I Timothy 2:1-3).


"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,
And will forgive their sin, and will heal their land"
(II Chronicles 7:14).


1. Pray that they may be saved if they are not.
"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4).
2. Pray that the leaders come to a knowledge of the Truth.
"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4).
3. Pray that they acknowledge, honor, and praise God who is the sovereign ruler of heaven and earth.
"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:34).
4. Pray that they, themselves, rule by example.
"Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being example to the flock" (I Peter 5:3).
5. Pray that they have and demonstrate the wisdom of God
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).
6. Pray that they grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen" (II Peter 3:18).
7. Pray that they be filled with and and walk in the Spirit of God.
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25).
8. Pray that they have the freedom to boldly share the Word.
"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel" (Ephesians 6:19).
9. Pray that they minister by the grace of God given to them.
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith" (Romans 12:6).
10. Pray that they shepherd the flock willingly and with a ready mind.
"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind" (I Peter 5:2).
11. Pray they are diligent in the Word and properly interpret and apply it.
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15).
12. Pray that they rule well their own house.
"One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) (I Timothy 3:4-5).
13. Pray that they speak the Word with power.
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (I Corinthians 2:4).
14. Pray that they will do the work of evangelists (heralding the truth).
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (II Timothy 4:5).
15. Pray that they will labor with other laborers in the Lord.
"For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon" (I Corinthians 3:9-10).
16. Pray that God will richly prosper their work.
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (II Corinthians 9:8).
17. Pray that they will have a revelation of their inheritance in Christ
"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (Acts 26:18).
18. Pray that they will fully know the love of Christ
"And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:19).
19. Pray that they will preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).
20. Pray that there will a unity of the Spirit among those in authority.
"Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:3-6).
21. Pray that the leaders humbly submit themselves to God.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
22. Pray that they will resist the devil as directed by God.
"Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world" (I Peter 5:9).
23. Pray that the trials of their faith will produce patience and maturity.
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:1-4).
24. Pray that they will affirm continually the mercy and grace of God.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men" (Titus 3:5-8).
25. Pray that they will also seek wise counsel.
"For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety" (Proverbs 24:6).
26. Pray that God's will be done in their lives and our lives.
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" (Matthew 6:9-13).


God primary goal is to make us Holy--that is, to form his character in us . Looking through the eyes of love, he already sees us as we will be done when his work is done.Then he will work out his goals for us in the arena of everyday life. The bible tells us : " God discipline is is alway's right and good for us becauseit means we will share in his holiness" ( Hebrews 12:10). Our holiness -- the removal of our shortcomings -- God's will for each of us. The Apostle John wrote: " We can be confident that he will listening whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests , we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for" I john 5:14,15)/ It's clearly God's will to have oursinful shortcomings removed. And he promised to give us anything we ask for inline with his will. Therefore, we can have full confidence that God will remove our shortcomings in his time. catcmo2006

Does God Heal Today

Does God Heal Today?

By Roderick C. Meredith

Fake "Healers"

Many people have been "turned off" to the concept of God’s healing because they have seen or heard about so many "fake healers." Sadly, there are quite a number of conniving individuals who use Christ’s name as a "cover" for all kinds of totally unbiblical ideas and concepts—including a totally wrong and sometimes almost blasphemous approach to divine healing.
Some of these false ministers hold big tent meetings or "healing services" where they yell and scream at the sick individual as though the power of their yelling was going to bring about the healing! Unlike Christ, who usually took the sick or infirm people aside from the crowd (see Matthew 9:25; Mark 7:33), these fake "healers" deliberately put on a big show—with lots of noise and singing, with people shouting "glory, glory" again and again, and other strange behavior completely contrary to that of Christ and the original Apostles.
As a young man, I personally attended several of these "healing" campaigns put on by well-known ministers. I was sincerely seeking the Truth and wanting to understand. On more than one occasion, some of my college classmates and I watched closely to see where the person sat down after he was supposedly "healed." In every single case, it was obvious that the individual had not been supernaturally healed at all!
"How could this be?" you might ask.
In one case, for instance, a man was brought on stage as the "healer" loudly told the audience that the man was "deaf"—giving the distinct impression that this man was "stone deaf"—totally unable to hear anything. Then the professed "healer" clapped his hands forcefully on the poor man’s forehead—almost knocking him over—and yelled at God to "drive out the deaf spirit"!
Then this evangelist loudly asked the man if he could now hear. When the man nodded in the affirmative, the evangelist yelled at the crowd that God had "healed" the man right in front of their eyes! The rinky-dink piano began playing and the crowd began yelling and singing: "When we all get to heaven…" The supposedly "deaf" man was then ushered off the stage to take his place in the crowd. I noticed carefully where he sat. Immediately after the meeting, I headed over there to talk with him.
I asked this man: "Were you stone deaf before you were prayed for?"
The man replied: "Oh no! I have just been hard of hearing for a number of years."
Then, speaking softly, I asked: "So you have now been healed?"
"What did you say?" he answered. "I can’t hear you."
I repeated my question loudly, and then he was able to hear. After talking with him in this way more extensively, it became obvious that he was still very hard of hearing. He was definitely not healed! However, I did not want to hurt his "hope"—as he put it—that he was a little better. So I went elsewhere.
Meanwhile my two college friends had the same experience with the "healed" people they met after the meeting. One of them, a middle-aged lady, was brought on the stage in a wheelchair. The iron-lunged evangelist told the audience that she was crippled and "unable to walk." Then he clapped his hands on her head and bellowed out to God: "Heal her now!"
Then, she was almost lifted out of the wheelchair by two strong men and pronounced totally "healed" by the "mighty power of God." But my friends and I noticed that she was practically carried off the stage by these two strong-looking men, and did not walk on her own power!
When we questioned her later, she said she had always been able to walk "a little," but that the flamboyant evangelist had said that she would be "more comfortable" if they brought her out on the stage in a wheelchair. Of course, with his powerful proclamation, the impression was given that she was totally crippled.
There are many other similar accounts I could cite from my own experience and that of others. It is truly abominable that wicked men will sometimes use the holy name of God to feather their own nest—and to deceive innocent people. This type of thing brings disgrace on the name of religion and is not genuine divine healing at all!