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No Half-Hearted Prayer


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#1 Candice

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 09:10 AM

This devotional is geared to marriage, but applies to anything.

NO HALF-HEARTED PRAYING
by David Wilkerson | March 26, 2014

As servants of the Lord, we are constantly in danger from the enemy. Our love for Jesus is a threat to all of hell and we cannot undertake any holy work without encountering all kinds of snares set for us by Satan.

A marriage counselor recently called me. “Everywhere I turn in our church, couples are breaking up,” she said. “It’s a literal plague in the Body of Christ right now.”

I hear every kind of reason given for the turmoil in Christian homes: incompatibility, lack of communication, loss of affection, infidelity. But in truth, it is much more than that. Behind it all is an attack from hell against God’s saints.

The cause of broken homes among non-Christians is no mystery. But among the righteous, all such turmoil has a cause. Think about it. How can dedicated Christians who have sat under godly preaching for years suddenly have no authority in their homes? They know full well God’s covenant oath to be their strength. They know He promises to destroy every satanic power that comes against them. So, why is the devil prevailing? Why is their marriage under constant threat?

I believe it is because at least one partner has opened the door to a satanic delusion. Perhaps they both have allowed some compromise in their lives, or they have become spiritually lazy. And now an enraged devil has gained a stronghold in their hearts and home.

If you are under such an attack, you should be asking what the disciples asked: “Master, why could we not cast out those demons?” Jesus answered that certain demonic bondages will not respond to the laying on of hands or a halfhearted, one-time prayer. Such strongholds are so deeply entrenched that the only way to cast them out is by sustained prayer and fasting.

Yet the Church today is in a stupor regarding the power of prayer. A veil has fallen over the eyes of millions. And now, whenever they face trouble, the last place they turn is to Jesus. They abandon the secret closet and, instead, turn to psychology, counselors, books, friends—everywhere but to the Lord.

If you say your marriage is a wreck and you want it healed, I wonder how much time you spend shut in with God. How many times have you turned off your television for an hour just to sit before Jesus and unburden your soul? How many meals have you missed so you could fast for your marriage?

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).
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#2 Charles Miles

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 09:24 AM

In a small town in North Texas, an enterprising madam was operating a house of ill repute and was doing so well that she was letting a contract to add an additional wing onto the building. Down the street there was a church that was absolutely outraged by this action, and began a prayer vigil to ask God to halt the addition to the sinful business.  On the day of the grand opening, lightning struck the house and the lady lost the whole business establishment.  She then sued the church for causing the fire and the church said they had nothing to do with the fire. The judge in the case was discussing the upcoming trial with the lawyers and made this statement...."I have a problem with this case because I have a madam of a house of ill repute who believes in prayer and a church that does not!" 

 

Although this is a humerous twist on the problem, I think it is more true than most of us would like to think.

 

Charlie


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#3 Meema

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 11:54 AM

I have noticed something gone terribly wrong in the modern interpretation of ‘love’ and I’ll say flat out I blame rabid feminism. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe women are supposed to be chattel but there is a happy balance in men and women accepting the natural differences between the sexes, the strengths and weaknesses that each can bring to a union that creates a synergy.

 

But regardless the cause, and I’m sure it is a collection of things, there appears to be an overriding need of self to be served and satisfied, to have its way, to be validated, to have control with no interest in compromise. These are factors that loom large into the rules of new love nowadays. There is an old saying that youth is wasted on the young but I could add that true love is almost always overlooked by the young while they are questing after a glittery imitation that is rarely able to survive the rigors of real life.

 

Dating and mating today, in this selfie-absorbed world is like playing the lottery. You might get lucky but the odds are not in your favor. The subtle shift and ultimate road blocks thrown up to interfere with mature, abiding love finding its way didn’t happen overnight. It’s been a slow descent to a state of unresolvable conflict of the sexes, starting with competition for the fierce maintaining of ground that leads to alienation, enmity, resentment and haughtiness usurping any hope of meeting in the middle. 

 

It appears that modern love has become a war game that no one can win. 

 

Left in the ruins of all the head game battles, false faces, jockeying for first position, and determination to reshape one another into something acceptably artificial, is a floundering generation of lonely souls believing they must look for something, someone that lives up to their skewed and preconceived notions of a perfect mate/companion. Each first requiring their needs to be met by the other rather than considering what they might bring to a union. It’s a tale of woe that promises to become even sadder as the family unit becomes a footnote in history and society finally at last forgets that love between two people is an agreement not a ceasefire.

 

For Him,

Meema


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