Changing our world through Prayer
In the first article on this topic we looked at some signs which can indicate that we are under demonic attack. Now we will focus on Scriptures that we can pray when we know that we are under demonic attack.
Not all negative things in your life are due to demonic attacks. There are, however, some signs we can look out for which may indicate that we are indeed under demonic attack.
The Lord’s Prayer starts with: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name . . . ” Let us teach our children to hallow God’s name. He loves to hear children praise Him!
Laat ons dan ons oë vestig op ons Here Jesus Christus wanneer ons die simbole van die brood en die wyn neem tydens nagmaal. En laat ons onthou wat dit beteken dat sy liggaam vir ons gebreek is en sy bloed vir ons gestort is vir die vergifnis van sondes.
Let us fix our eyes on our Lord Jesus Christ when we take the symbols of bread and wine during communion, and remember what it means that His body was broken for us and His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
Learning to pray to God as a perfect loving Father, might just become one of the most healing experiences in your life, if you are willing to take a step in faith.
After the elders and ministers had prayed and laid their hands on AW Towzer on the day of his ordination, he withdrew to meet his Saviour in the secret place. And in the silence, he went farther than his well-meaning brethren could take him.
How do we pray for the Church in the midst of difficult challenges? We provide some Scripture references you can use to pray for your church.
Our ability to keep our tongue in check equals our level of maturity as well as self-control, whether you are a believer or not! What comes from your mouth?
Hannah could be called “the First Lady of Prayer”, because she’s the first woman whose petition is recorded in Scripture. Her story shows us how God uses deep human need as a springboard to accomplish his purposes. When he does this, believers receive answers they can hardly believe.
You can’t change merely by changing your thinking, or through great acts of will, but rather by changing what you love most.
Jesus was so clear about believers ministering to the poor and those in prison. It is not possible for everyone to be personally involved in prison ministry, but we can pray!
Praise God that through technology it is possible to build a virtual prayer wall – praying for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, so that He may be glorified!
Reading God’s Word is one of the sure ways to draw closer to Him and to hear Him speak to you, personally.
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, believers cannot live in victory and do the work God has given to us. We receive the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit by praying and asking God for it.
The individuals in essential law enforcement services need our ongoing prayers and support to enable them to execute their duties effectively and safely.
Before the storms of suffering blow against a person’s soul, we should try to put five foundation stones under their faith.
At least 1.3 billion people do not have the full Bible available in their first language. Much prayer is needed for the work of Bible translation so that all people can have access to God’s Word in their heart language.
The Bible gives many promises to all believers. Here are 20 of those promises that you can pray.
An unmarried woman who receives the news that she is pregnant might feel completely overwhelmed by the choices she needs to make that will ultimately alter her own life, as well as that of her baby. This is often accompanied by shame, fear and a sense of failure.
We may know failure and lack of fruit; but the Lord is never defeated. There is no limit to His power. How can His power be shown in our hearts and lives? How can we serve the Lord in His power?
I didn’t grow up in a family where we had family devotions together? What do I do? We provide some guidelines on how to establish family devotions in the home.
It is not only permissible to enjoy God in worship, it is absolutely essential if we are to truly honour Him.
This is the second article in our series, Hear our Prayer, and features a prayer for holiness by Susanna Wesley.
A persevering personal intercessor can lift the pressure and burden from a spiritual worker. However, it is imperative to choose such a person wisely with God’s guidance. An unwise choice may do the spiritual worker more damage than good.
This new series, Hear our Prayer, gives us a glimpse into the prayer lives of saints who have gone before us. In this first article, we feature Andrew Murray’s prayer for the church.
A personal intercessor is simply someone who undertakes to intercede for someone else’s personal needs. It need not be someone with a so-called ‘gift of intercession’.
The early church surely looked like it was on the “wrong side of history,” but instead it changed history with a dogged adherence to the biblical gospel. That should be our aspiration as well.
When you set up an interactive prayer room, provide clear instructions at each prayer station to guide visitors on how to pray. This article provides some guidelines to set up a prayer room that focuses on prayer against crime, corruption and violence.
It is important for parents to pray for the schools their children attend, and for pupils also to pray for their schools. However, it is just as vital for churches and prayer groups to add schools to their prayer responsibility.
The 24-7 Prayer Movement initiated the spread of interactive prayer rooms. Prayer rooms are decorated and ‘prayer stations’ are created by utilising the walls and floor space.
When we read the Bible we tend to focus on the promises of Jesus, but not always that much on His commandments. Here are 25 of Jesus’ commandments to make part of your everyday life.
Growing in the fruit of the Holy Spirit is how the character of Christ is formed in, and shown through, us! This is an invitation to pray through Galatians 5:22-26. Consider seriously praying this Scripture every morning over your life and the lives of your family members.
Poverty is a growing problem. It has been part of mankind for thousands of years and will be with us until the end of time. The point is we must do something about it! The most effective thing to do is to pray, but praying alone is not enough.
Christ’s messages to the churches of Asia Minor in the first century can be found in Revelation 2-3. These messages speak to churches throughout the ages. By praying through these chapters, you can plead with God to bring revival and change to your church.
Loss and grief are an inevitable part of every person’s journey through life. In the Bible we read that Job’s peaceful and prosperous life was changed from one day to the next. Although Job wrestled with God, he eventually saw that God was still sovereign, still in control and still knew what He was doing.
Christians are in danger of allowing things and people to become more important, to receive a greater priority in their lives, than God. In 1 John 5:21, the apostle John warns believers to keep themselves from idols. We need to deal with these in order to experience revival in our lives.
Revival comes through Divine intervention from God. To be granted revival calls for believers to seek God in faith and with prayers that are saturated with the Word of God.
In Nehemiah 1, Jerusalem was in ruins, and God’s name and glory were at stake. In calling on God to restore Jerusalem, Nehemiah quotes from Deuteronomy. In the same way there are Scriptural reasons why God should grant genuine revival to His church.
In the Bible we find many instances that clearly show us the will of God. We do not have to pray about these constants. We simply need to obey and apply them.
If you wonder whether it is God or the devil at work in your life, it is useful to look at the principles of God’s kingdom versus those of satan in order to discern who is at work.
Mormons believe that God, the Father, was once a man, but that he ‘progressed’ to godhood. They believe that worthy men may progress to become gods themselves. These beliefs are quite different from the Christian faith. We look at the central beliefs of Mormonism and how we can pray for them.
There are usually four sources of prayer burdens or prayer assignments. Not all prayer burdens are from the Holy Spirit and it is important not to commit to a prayer assignment without His consent.
What are the things that may hinder your prayers and influence your relationship with God?
Waiting on God is not a passive act. It is an active waiting filled with prayer, reading the Word, listening, discerning, evaluating, deep inner cleansing from sin and deep surrender to the King of kings.
George Müller said that he wanted to prove to Christians that God answers prayer. He used six guidelines to determine the will of God.
God poured out the Holy Spirit on the first believers and that sparked a revival in Jerusalem which spread to many countries in the Roman Empire. Reading the Book of Acts gives us a biblical picture of what normally happens during a revival.
In 1861 in Paarl, South Africa, a small group prayed together every evening during the ten days between Ascension Day and Pentecost, like the first Christians who waited to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. There was great expectancy and they were not disappointed.
Every believer should examine themselves regularly for issues in their life that present obstacles to prayer.
The Boers asked why it had to happen, but God had a bigger plan in the midst of their suffering. Boers who went to the camps as prisoners of war unsaved returned as true born-again Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit. God worked powerfully in these camps.
Jehovah’s Witnesses worship one-person whom they call ‘Jehovah’, but they do not believe there is a Trinity. They believe that Jesus is the first thing created by Jehovah and that they must earn everlasting life on earth by good works, such as door-to-door evangelism. Learn more to pray effectively for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Nicholas Benghu had a dream in which he heard the words, “Africa must turn back to God.” Out of this was born his ‘Back to God Crusade.’ For forty years, his crusades toured systematically through South Africa.
Christians need to know what the basic differences are between beliefs central to Christianity and to the New Age Movement, so that we can share our belief in the Lord Jesus clearly with New Agers.
Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage held in India every few years. Use the prayer guidelines provided to intercede for Hindus taking part in this gathering.
Many people struggle to focus in prayer, and they are too embarrassed to admit it. After reading a few verses in the Bible, you might doze off without having really engaged in prayer in any meaningful way. We provide 10 ideas you can try to help you focus in prayer.
As head of the house, God appointed men as priests to pray for their families. Men represent their families to God in prayer.
We all face criticism at some time or other. It is unavoidable. We, ourselves, are also guilty of criticising others, and we need to know how to deal with our own critical spirit too.
The world economy has experienced much uncertainty recently and it is difficult to predict what the future will entail. How do we pray in these difficult economic times?
Sometimes we don’t ask the Lord for something because we think the matter is too trivial or we think it is too audacious. But one prayer can change your life entirely.
Let us pray the Word for the fulfilment of God’s purposes with creation.
If we understand the differences between the central beliefs of Christianity and those of Hinduism, believers will be able to clearly share their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ with Hindus and pray for their salvation.
The drinking of blood is the highest or most dangerous involvement in the occult. Vampire movies desensitise the mind and damage the conscience of those watching them. Seeds of occultism are planted and forbidden spiritual desires that lead to death are stirred. Beskikbaar in Afrikaans.
Consider the things you are currently praying about. Why do you pray about them? Often we pray about the right things, but with the wrong motive.
It is important that we intercede purposefully for new converts. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to spiritual maturity and to change them to be conformed to the image of Christ.
God speaks to us through His Word and through prayer we respond. George Müller wrote: “..my heart being nourished by the Truth, being brought into true fellowship with God, I speak to my Father and to my Friend about the things that He has brought before me in his precious Word.”
Every believer can experience personal revival daily and in fact, should experience it.
Why is the church so powerless? Why does it have so little effect in the world? Why can’t the church succeed in taking the gospel to all the unreached nations? Why do people become converted but fail to grow to spiritual maturity?
The accounts of prayer in the Bible are the stories of individuals who laid hold of God and He performed miracles in answer to their prayers.
All people struggle with feelings of guilt at some point. Some suppress these feelings and others are oppressed by their guilt feelings. What you do with your feelings of guilt, is your choice.
There is a difference between a career and a calling. Your calling has priority over your career. As a Christian, you are called to proclaim the gospel of the salvation and Lordship of Christ to people. God gives us a career through which we can live out our calling.
Determine your actual standing as far as your prayer life is concerned. Go through the questions one by one and check your own prayer life.
Holiness is the opposite of worldliness. It is to say “no” to the world, the flesh and the devil. Holiness, however, is more than just a list of don’ts.
God’s presence is based on the Word, where God clearly states that He lives in us through the Holy Spirit. To live in the presence of God and to live in the reality of this presence is an act of faith.
Simple and meditative prayer takes you to deeper intimacy with God. This is how the church fathers, monks in monasteries, many of the early Christians, and Christians through the centuries learned to pray and to enter into a deeper relationship with God.
Marriages and family life are under much strain. Purposeful, systematic, focussed and persevering prayer is critical and necessary for Christian families.
Met die kosbare bloed van Christus is ons losgekoop en ons sondes vergewe. Ons is nou versoen met ons hemelse Vader en kan met vrymoedigheid na Sy genadetroon gaan. Laat ons danksegging betuig teenoor die Here, ons Verlosser!
Most Christians will testify to having a thorn in the flesh. It may be present for a while, but also something you may have to deal with for the rest of your life. [Ook beskikbaar in Afrikaans.]
Don’t hide your sin. “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. [Ook beskikbaar in Afrikaans.]
Hospitals need to be equipped and able to treat sick and hurting patients. Let us regularly pray for our local, provincial and academic hospitals, their staff and for patients.
Moenie jou sonde wegsteek nie. “Wie sy sonde wegsteek, moet niks goeds te wagte wees nie; wie sy sonde bely en daarvan afsien, sal genade ontvang.” Spreuke 28:13. Also available in English.
Min of meer alle Christene kan getuig van ‘n doring in die vlees. ‘n Doring in die vlees kan iets wees wat vir ‘n leeftyd deel van jou lewe gaan wees – soms net vir ‘n bepaalde tyd. [Also available in English.]
The Cross of Jesus is at the centre of the whole struggle against the evil one, because Satan was conquered at the Cross.
Whenever you get away from the noise and busyness of life to encounter God through silence and solitude, He’ll change your soul in ways that go beyond words.
Almost 90% of all believers struggle to read their Bibles on a regular basis. Some start well, then fall behind on a reading plan, and just give up. Get started with fresh zeal this year!
To pray in Jesus’ Name is to acknowledge His full role as God’s anointed – your Prophet, Priest and King.
If you keep a prayer journal, in time you will notice how God worked in your own and in other people’s lives and it will be a great testimony!
The purpose of prayer missionaries is to fulfil the Great Commission through prayer. (Matt.28:18-20). A prayer missionary is someone who adopts a country or geographic area and prays for that country. It is someone who does not physically go to the mission...
Halloween is on 31 October every year. The uninformed Christian has no idea that demonic spirits are actually contacted and activated as people call out to them in jest or in seriousness.
There may be problems in the police service, but it is the responsibility of believers to intercede for them.
Increased destruction is being sown amongst people on the Continent of Africa (especially those who are unsuspecting, impoverished, and needy) as a result of the preaching of the ‘Prosperity Gospel’.
Let us fervently pray for the church of our Lord Jesus Christ with the same passion He has for His church.
Dit is belangrik dat ons daagliks sal bid vir die vervulling en salwing met die Heilige Gees. Sy daaglikse en voordurende werking en leiding in ons is onontbeerlik.
Wat kan vir ’n kind ’n groter seën wees as om ’n ouer te hê wat vir hom of haar bid? Gebruik hierdie praktiese riglyne en Skrif om vir jou kinders te bid, met ’n verwagting dat God in hulle lewens gaan werk.
What can be a greater blessing for a child than having a parent that prays for him or her? Use these practical guidelines and Scriptures to pray for your children, expecting God to work in their lives.
Dick Eastman, in sy boek “The hour that changes the world”, doen aan die hand dat ‘n mens ‘n uur in 12 periodes van 5 minute elk indeel. Hier is ‘n opsomming van die 12 vorme van gebed. (Also available in English)
This is a practical guide on how to watch and pray for one hour, seeking God’s face. (Ps.27:8)
Riglyne vir individue en groepe In hierdie klein gids is daar 'n aantal afdelings waardeur jy daagliks kan bid. In elkeen van hulle is daar 'n groot rykdom van inligting. Laat die Heilige Gees toe om die dieptes van hierdie gedeeltes vir jou oop te sluit wanneer jy...
1 Timoteus 2:1-2 het ‘n baie duidelike opdrag dat ons moet bid “vir die wat regeer en almal wat gesag uitoefen.” Dit is in direkte opdrag vanuit die Skrif en ons moet dit met groot erns hanteer. Daar is in stryd in die lug aan die gang vir politieke heerskappy oor...
Hudson Taylor het gesê: "Ons (Christene) is bonatuurlike mense, weergebore deur 'n bonatuurlike geboorte, aangedryf deur 'n bonatuurlike krag en gevoed deur bonatuurlike voedsel, geleer deur 'n bonatuurlike leermeester uit 'n bonatuurlike Boek." E.W.Kenyon het gesê:...
Fasting is a laudable practice, and we have reason to lament it, that it is generally neglected among Christians. ~ Matthew Henry I wonder whether we have ever fasted? I wonder whether it has ever occurred to us that we ought to be considering the question of fasting?...