What is discernment, how to do I know God is leading me, Do all believers have discernment, How do I hear from God, Discernment Article is below. For downloadable PDF click link. PDF Discernment Discernment - How to Listen to the Holy Spirit 1Corinthians 2:14 - "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. " Discernment : Noun - the act or process of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment ; to distinguish one thing from another; the power of viewing differences and their relations and tendencies; judgment; to distinguish between things; perceive differences that exist; the condition of understanding.i How to Listen to the Holy Spirit - is the Key to Discernment. The key to Godly Discernment is listening to the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who will judge the rightness or wrongness of situations from within us. How do we “hear” from Him? First we have to have a foundation of “how” we hear from God. Spending time in God’s Word is a “must have” to hear from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works with the Word. No Word, No hearing clearly from the Holy Spirit. And if you don’t know “how’ God speaks by spending time in His Word, you won’t be able to judge if what you “heard” or what impression you got was from the Holy Spirit or not. The Word is how we are to judge. God’s Word is truth and God can’t lie. Everything God has spoken in His Word is actually a covenant - it is truth and it can’t change - John 17:17; Titus 1:2; Numbers 23:19. And God is always right. Once we have made that decision in our minds that God is always right, we won’t doubt what He has said. We may not understand it but He will reveal it to us when the time is right. Therefore we take John 10:1-5, 27 as a fact. More than that, as truth: “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. 27 My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” There are very important things in this passage for us to embrace: Jesus is our Shepherd, We listen to His Voice, He calls us by name; He leads us out and goes on ahead of us; We follow Him because we know His Voice; We will never follow a stranger and will run away from a stranger because we do not recognize the stranger’s voice; We hear Jesus’ Voice, He knows us, We follow Him. That’s a home-run right there!!! Notice how much the Lord is speaking to us in that passage and leading us. That’s amazing. So now trust that. Now that we know we hear His voice, there are other elements. John 14:26 - “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Psalm 143:10 - “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” The Holy Spirit is teaching us , deep inside of us, and He reminds us of things the Lord has told us . You know how there’s something the Lord gave you a while ago and you had forgotten about it, but then suddenly it “pops” up and you remember it? That is the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:14 - “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Psalm 31:3 - “Since You are My rock and My fortress, for the sake of Your Name lead and guide me. As the Holy Spirit is bringing things to your remembrance He is leading you. Sometimes the “leading” comes as a “hunch.” How you judge it is: “is this thought/action in line with God’s Word?” If the answer is yes, then do it. If it is not, get rid of the thought by casting it down in the Name of Jesus, then replace that thought with the Word of God that is contrary to it (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). As the Holy Spirit leads you, you will have “peace” about it in your inner man and a “light” sense to it - no heaviness, and you’ll have “joy” because you now have insight to something that you hadn’t had before. John 14:16 - “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that He may abide with you for ever;” As the Holy Spirit is leading you another scripture that shows more to this is Philippians 1:9-11 prayer - pray this over yourself! “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” And then praise God for having done this! Expect to be led by the love of God throughout your day. Another way of recognizing the Holy Spirit is that He is our comforter. You will be comforted when you are being led by Him. He leads you in ways you weren’t thinking about before and it’s a help. He is also called the Helper. And He certainly helps. Ephesians 4:30 - “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” When we do something that is not God’s will for us we will have an “uneasy” sense within us. That is the grieving of the Holy Spirit. When you notice it, repent of it right away and receive your forgiveness. Then ask if there is something you should do about it. It all depends on the circumstance. Follow His leading. Follow the hunch. And when we don’t repent we will not be able to hear from God. In fact not hearing from God is for one of three reasons: sin; not spending time in the Word; or during a test. We know if we have been in the Word and most of the time we know when we’ve sinned. There can be times where it’s not on the forefront of our minds and we forget that we didn’t do what the Lord had asked, or didn’t respond to a dream/or vision He gave us in the correct manner like a warning dream or vision. Whatever the situation get into prayer. Ask the Lord for where you missed it. Ask for forgiveness. Receive it. And go into praise. Sometimes simply spending time is praise is the easiest way to “clean” ourselves up. Colossians 3:15-16 AMP - Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. 16 Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind--permeating every aspect of your being]…” When we are being led by the Holy Spirit don’t move on the leading until you have peace about it. If you have questions about it in your mind, this means you do not have peace. Luke 12:12 - ESV “for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Trust the Holy Spirit in everything. He’s our Helper. Our Comforter. He gives us Peace. He will give you the right words to say, if you let Him. It’s in: Ephesians 6:20 and 1 Corinthians 1:5-7, with 1 Corinthians 12:7-8: "19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,” "5 For in Him (the Holy Spirit) you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” "7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,” So far from the scriptures we have seen, the Holy Spirit: Teaches us Brings to our remembrance the things the Lord has told us He leads us He guides us He comforts us He helps us He seals us until the Day Jesus comes He gives us words to speak to others. Many times we will find ourselves speaking and not knowing what we are saying. We are hearing the Words as they come out of our mouth. He gives us boldness He gives us knowledge that we couldn’t have gotten any other way. We have all the Spiritual Giftings that He has. Important to note: giftings are always for other people through you. He doesn’t give them to you for yourself. He gives you wisdom and revelation knowledge He gives you peace. Something else important to note, Ephesians 3:16-19 - “16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Let’s briefly unpack two parts to this passage: Holy Spirit strengthens you and grounds you in the love of God WHICH passes His knowledge. Romans 5:5 says the Love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Since we have the Holy Spirit, we have the Love of God inside of us. As we give heed to His promptings, leadings, thoughts - which all go in line with His Word - we will have His knowledge. Godly knowledge. Not the world’s knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:6-16 - “6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God [c]ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the Mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the Mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit knows the deep things of God and He is in you leading you! That’s amazing! And we weigh out what we are “getting” deep within us, we weigh it against the Word. And whatever He tells you to do, do. This is how you operate in “discernment.” Another way the Holy Spirit leads us is by revealing things. I call these “ah-ha” moments. It’s when something “pops” up within you or a thought from within you that answers the question your pondering. It’s like the “light-bulb” turning on. Usually we say, “ah-ha! I got it!” 1 Corinthians 2:10 - “these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” He guides us through our own consciences Romans 9:1 - ESV “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—“ It’s very important to follow your “conscience.” If we violate it that can cause damage to our heart and inhibit our “hearing” from the Lord, hinder our growth, and our lives: 1 Timothy 1:19 - “holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.” 1 Peter 3:16 says to keep a clear conscience. No matter what, keep a clear conscience. Conclusion: Discernment is about weighing out right from wrong by weighing these things against the Word of God and the Holy Spirit - John 4:24 And THE most important way to hear God’s Voice is through knowing His Word. God only speaks in line with His Word. Knowledge of God’s Word can help us to discern whether or not our desires come from the Holy Spirit. We must test our inclinations against Scripture—the Holy Spirit will never lead us to do anything contrary to God’s Word. If it conflicts with the Bible, then it is not from the Holy Spirit and should be cast down as a vain imagination in the Name of Jesus, and then replaced with the Word of God that opposes it. As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says stay in prayer always. How I use this is I keep the Lord on my mind all day long. I speak with Him all day long and I let Him lead me all throughout the day. Not only does this keep our hearts and minds open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, but it also allows the Spirit to speak on our behalf: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” Romans 8:26–27 . We can tell if we are following the Spirit’s leading by looking for signs of His fruit in our lives Galatians 5:22–23 . If we walk in the Spirit, we will continue to see these qualities grow and mature in us, and they will become evident to others as well. You’ll begin to notice how people speak of you and say things like how you always are happy, and trustworthy, and they always feel good around you. This is all part of the fruit of the Spirit. It is important to note that we have the choice whether or not to accept the Holy Spirit’s guidance. When we know the will of God but do not follow it, we are resisting the Spirit’s work in our lives Acts 7:51 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:19 , and a desire to follow our own way grieves Him Ephesians 4:30 . The Spirit will never lead us into sin . Habitual sin will cause us to miss what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us through the Word. Being in tune with God’s will, turning from and confessing sin, and making a habit of prayer and the study of God’s Word will allow us to recognize—and follow—the Spirit’s leading. As you do these things and follow the Holy Spirit you will be able to discern right from wrong. And the challenges in the not-so-easy things to discern like, “Is this where my daughter should go to school? Should I take this job? Is this where I should be living?” Will go easy as you keep “leaning” in to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He will always lead you right.

Parameters for being in leasership, Ministry, What God says about it, Rules, Being in Ministry Article below. For downloadable PDF click the button. PDF Being in Ministry or Other Leadership Roles Titus 1:1-3 “1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to Godliness— 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, Who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at His appointed season He has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,…” Titus is the most important book to read if you have been “getting” that you are called into the ministry. Read it all. Several times. The Lord gives clear direction on how to be a leader and what the Lord expects. Roles Whether the Lord has called you into ministry or other leadership roles the bottom line is your relationship with the Lord has to be solid in the Word and in prayer, continual, abiding in forgiveness, and love, and doing whatever the Lord leads you to do, even when it’s uncomfortable and may result in backlash from others. As long as you are truly following the Lord, that’s all you need. It’s that simple. 2 Peter 1:10 says, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Great verse that is generally used for calling but lets look at the whole thing the Lord states from verse 5: “5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[ are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall .” These qualities Peter wrote of through the Holy Spirit are the fruit of the Spirit on Galatians 5:22-26 - “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” These qualities abound in you as you spend time with the Lord. They are the result, the fruit, of spending time with the Lord. Bottom line is you need to be willing to step out in the giftings that God has placed within you. It’s God’s calling on you, He has got it worked out. Now just trust Him and do what He tells you to do. Not based on ego - pride. If there’s pride that you’re noticing, GET IT OUT!! Cast out the spirit of pride in the Name of Jesus and cut all cords to it, and repent of any prideful actions. (Prov. 5:21-23.) And stay on top of your thought life. If you notice a prideful thing trying to come in to your thoughts, cast it out in the Name of Jesus and replace that with the Word of God. Many times Philippians 4:8-9 is a good one to replace it with, “8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Speak out loud and state: “No, in the Name of Jesus, I cast out that pride because I only think on those things that are true, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, I thank You Father God for teaching me and I put it into practice in Jesus Name.” In a leadership role you have to be willing to state when you missed it . That is what a good leader does. And when you are living in a right relationship with the Lord this is easier to do. Like Paul when he spoke of how he attacked Christians before he got saved. He was very upfront about it. He acknowledged it. When a leader is honest, most people, Godly people, respect that and naturally forgive the person. If it is something in which major error has happened, you need to get away and spend time with God. You may have to resign your position. As I said earlier, Titus is key to reading and following for how you are to live a Godly life when you are in a leadership position - if there are problems in these areas then you need to withdraw from the position. This is why the role is so “heavy.” You are leading others. And leadership roles come with a heavier judgment. James 3:1 AMP - “Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly].” I’m stating this NOT to steer you away from your calling. Not at all. If this is the calling the Lord has put on your life, you need to obey the Lord. Although we have to be very aware of the responsibility. For it is mighty with the Lord. And we need to handle it soberly. Titus 1:16-2:1 - “16 They (teachers) claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. 1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” Titus 2:7-8 - “…In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” Titus 2:15 - “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.” Titus 3:10 - 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. Like stated earlier, Titus is important to study when going into leadership, especially in ministry. The last two scriptures state when correction is to be given. So many ministers are not willing to give correction when it’s needed . Instead they don’t want to offend anyone and want to keep people in their church, specifically to keep the tithers. That is the wrong motivation. This person is compromising and will suffer the results of it if they don’t make it right. Bottom Line Whatever the Lord is leading you to do - do. He is the One Who enables you . He gives you everything you need for the calling. And He gives you the wisdom and revelation knowledge to do it. In fact, if you don’t know of the Ephesians 1:17-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21 prayers, read them and pray them everyday for yourself. It makes a huge difference. The Lord will increase the wisdom and revelation knowledge He reveals to you, and will give you continuous strength in the calling He's given you and keep you in His love which teaches you. Love and knowledge work together . You can’t have one without the other. You have all of this because the Holy Spirit is in you but you need to pull it up and out of you by your faith, praying those prayers and expecting God to do them within, and with you. He certainly will.

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Do I have to forgive, What if I don't forgive, Is unforgiveness a sin, Does the Bible say to forgive, God, Jesus, Are they real, Isn't the Bible just stories How to Forgive How to Forgive - ARTICLE BELOW OR PDF LINK. PDF How to Forgive... It’s a choice. It's that simple. It’s a Choice There are over 100 scriptures about “forgiveness”. We all “know” in our heart, by the Holy Spirit, that we are to forgive. But it simply seems impossible to do. So, “why” can’t we do it? You can’t reflect what you haven’t received from the Lord . This is a sobering statement, I know. But if you haven’t received God’s forgiveness for yourself, then you can’t forgive others. Spend time with the Lord. Pray the Ephesians 1:15-23 prayer over yourself and ask the Lord to show you about this, to teach you. Then listen for where He directs you to in the Word. He may start revealing things within your head, your thinking, about the situation first. Whatever and however He does it, follow Him. When He shows you, repent, deeply. And receive your forgiveness. Receive it. You do this on purpose. Not because your feelings agree, or don’t. You receive it because of God’s Word which says, He is faithful and just to forgive you - 1 John 1:9. Say out loud: “Lord, I receive Your forgiveness and thank You for it.” 2. In John 20:23-24 in a different translation - “Then He took a deep breath and breathed on them. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit,’ He said. ‘If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?’” Here’s a revelation from the Lord: If you hold on to unforgiveness of someone, you then receive the person’s penalty for the sin. You are keeping the sin active and alive, and the penalty follows - the penalty is attached to it and attached to you. Whatever they do about the sin is between them and God. You take care of your part and forgive it. Take every thought captive about the situation and cast it down, out loud, “I forgave so-and-so about that sin. Go talk to Jesus about it.” And keep doing this with the vain imaginations of unforgiveness until it’s gone. It takes a few days but you have the power through Jesus. 3. The other major component to forgiveness, and this may not be easy for some people to read…is pride. You have to get honest with yourself and the Lord and see if this is the issue. Pride will typically look like something else, like “justified” for feeling this way because what was done to you was really bad, "you didn't deserve it". That may be the case. You may be justified in a worldly sense, but it’s about how “right” you are. That’s pride. 4. Unforgiveness holds you captive. Captive by the situation. Captive by the person(s). You are not free. You are in bondage. And you are choosing bondage rather than the freedom Jesus Christ purchased for you - Galatians 5:1 - “Stand fast in the liberty where Christ has made me free and I am not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” 5. There are times when the toughest part to forgiveness is forgiving yourself . This goes in the line with #1 - you can not reflect what you haven’t received from the Lord. Spend time in scriptures on His forgiveness of mankind, it’s what the Cross was all about. Soak in those scriptures until you know that you know, that you know that you are forgiven. Forgiveness is about “choice.” You have to choose to do it. It’s emotionally tough because our emotions feel justified or like we deserve to feel this way. Choose to forgive. Spend time with the Lord to see what your case involves from the numbered areas above. He will lead you. He loves you. He gave His life for you. He will lead you if you let Him. Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

What does it mean God is love? My identity, My identity in Christ, My identity in Christ Jesus, How do I get the love of God God is Love & So Are You Article below. Or downloadable PDF link. PDF God is Love & So Are You Love is our substance of who we are in Christ Jesus Now Abides Faith, Hope, & Love...But the Greatest is Love 1 Corinthians 13:13 Love is our substance of who we are in Christ Jesus Because we are made in the image of God and we are one Spirit with Him. Genesis 1:26-27 & 1 Corinthians 6:17. Hebrews 11:1, 3 says “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” …continue on to verse 3 - “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” The worlds were made by faith, which is THE substance. They were made by God’s substance because He spoke. His Words came from within His heart, within His Spirit, God’s Word, Who is Jesus, came from within the very heart and Spirit of God. It is “Who” He is. Add to this, the Spirit of God was hovering upon the water waiting for God’s Word to be spoken so He could activate the Word of God and bring it to pass - Genesis 1:2. Consider how the Holy Spirit also did that in the book of Acts with signs, miracles, and wonders when Paul, Peter and others preached - some scripture references: Acts 4:16, 5:12; 6:8, 8:6,14:3, 15:12; Romans 15:18-19; Hebrews 2:4. The Word comes from within God Almighty, the Creator Himself. Just as you speak and the words you speak come from within in you. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks - what we say is who we are. As a man thinks in his heart so is he - Luke 6:45 & Proverbs 23:7. Same for God. What He speaks is Who He is and there’s a substance to it…and that substance is Him, and it is faith. And Faith comes from the Word. They are not separate…but whole. You may need to read that again. Here's another way to say it: Faith is the same word as "belief". So, what God speaks is Who He is. He believes that. He knows that. It is His substance...that substance is Him, And believe comes from what He says. They are linked. Part 1: God is Love Put Hebrews 11:1 in context with 1 John 4:8: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…” & “God is Love.” You will notice the words highlighted in bold: (faith) is the substance and (God) is (love). We will compare the two bold words and their definitions from Merriam- Webster Dictionary: Substance : 1. Essence; Essential Nature; b. A fundamental; or Characteristic part or quality; 2. The ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestation and change. Is - Present tense of the verb “(to) be.” (A state of being.) “Substance ”- is essential nature, essence. “Is ” is a state of being. A constant. “Is and Substance” are constant. Never change. They ARE = I AM. God’s essence, His being is love. His elemental nature is love, His essence, and faith, or belief, is a part of His elemental nature . So is hope, like 1 Corinthians 13:13 states. These elements are a constant within the very nature of God. They are your nature too. Let’s put this another way: faith and love are the same. God is love…love is His substance and as 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, faith, hope, and love abide but the greatest is love, means they abide together. Abide : the Greek word for “abide” is #3306 menó. Means to “remain, to stay.” All three abide, they remain, they stay. These three are in God. He is in us and we are in Him, and we know we dwell in Him because He has given us of His Spirit - 1 John 4:13. When we don’t “feel” this way, it doesn’t matter. This is The Truth. Just because someone wakes up and “feels” like they’re a cat doesn’t make them a cat. When you don’t “feel” like you operate from faith, hope, and love, go to these scriptures in your Bible and declare them over yourself. Speak them out loud in your house. It will change you and your atmosphere. Faith, hope, and love - They remain. They don’t change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. They are the substance of God. It’s not only love but all three. Love, with Faith and Hope - this is His eternal nature and the root of everything in Him and in all of existence. You can’t separate them from God’s essential nature. As love is the root of everything in existence, it operates with faith and hope. They are not separate. Love speaks. Those love words are faith filled and creates a vision (which is hope) of what is “seen” in the God-given imagination, and will come to pass. “Hope” is created by words. Because of “words” we then “see” in our imagination what was spoken. We see this in Proverbs 4:20-21. All three are together but God separates them for study in His Word. Can people operate without love, of course. These three can work the exact opposite of what God intended. That’s what happened when Lucifer fell. All of what is the nature of God was twisted, perverted, and turned in the exact opposite direction within the heavenly creatures (angels) when their rebellion occurred. If it’s not love, it’s hate - or some lighter version of it like: disgust, vileness, deception, doubt, worry, trepidation, stress, fear, and all the others. All are forms of fear and fear is a compadre of hate. They are hooked up together. Just like love and faith. To be specific: faith, hope & love in the exact opposite are fear, doubt, hate. And it all comes from satan’s major temptation he uses with people: doubt. Let me phrase it another way: "to consider". In the Garden all the serpent had to do was tempt Eve to doubt or consider something other than what God said. But his initial reason as to “why” he did it - his own hate. Hate toward this new creature God had made: mankind. Take a look at Psalm 8:4-8 “What is man, that You are mindful of him? And the Son of man, that You are mindful of him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor. You have him to have dominion over the works of your hands; You have put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas.” satan was disgusted that God had made a new creature and this creature was in the image of God and given dominion over the works of His hands. *** Faith and doubt are opposites. When we doubt we cannot operate in faith which is part of our essence. This goes against our essence and goes against God’s essence. Conclusively, when we get caught up in fear, doubt and hate we are caught in sin - “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” - Romans 14:23. Faith is what pleases God - Hebrews 11:6 - we must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. His essence, His state of love, faith, hope essence or state of being will never change. It is our essence. He will never change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, the Great I AM. It’s who He is. And faith is the “substance” of His essence - all three Godly elements exist together: faith, hope, & love. But the greatest one of them is love. It is how everything operates. It is how God operates, including in His judgment and wrath. Some Christians think that because God is love that He does not have justice. But you cannot have true justice without love. Cause and effect. When people or created beings (angels) violate God’s law, there is an outcome. People innately want justice when something wrong has occurred to them. God is no different. We are made in His image. Doing things right, because it’s right, then doing them right is part of God’s nature. His essential constant characteristic is in everything He created. He is in everything: His Faith, His hope, and His love are in everything. Love is the generator of everything. It is God’s substance, the substance of faith, and it is your substance - John 14:20. It’s like saying someone has brown hair, it’s a constant. Like us being born of mankind. It is the type of living creature we are, it’s our essence. We were not born as an animal or a bird, or a fish. We are born of the creature called: mankind, and our substance is of God, it is love…faith, hope, and love. These are the essence of who we are. Even those who are not born again have a sense of justice, morality, faith, hope and love. They can’t help it. It’s because we are made in the image of God’s. Part 2: Christ’s Love Compels us Now that we know love is the base of our elemental nature we can see how it works within us. 2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV “Christ’s love compels us….” KJV - “Christ’s love constrains us…” "Constrains " is Strong’s Greek #315 anagkazó, to compel, doing so with urgency, as a pressing necessity. TPT - “Christ’s love fuels our passion and motivates us…” TMT - “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes…” God’s essential nature within us behaves in this manner. It’s His Spirit doing this within us. It - He - compels us. He does so with urgency regarding situations. He fuels our passion and motivates us. He moves us to such extremes to carry out His will. And He will only do this in combination with your own “will.” God will never overpower your will. If He could have then He would have done that with Lucifer. We have to yield to His leadings, compelling, motivations. When we do not yield to Him we then grieve the Holy Spirit. And at the start you can sense it. When someone continually ignores the promptings of the Holy Spirit, He will eventually stop moving within you and let you have your way. Ephesians 4:30. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit no matter what. You can’t change it by your actions. But He won’t be pleased, which means we are not operating by faith, but doubt, fear, and sin. It’s important to realize above all the virtues of God keep love in the forefront of your thoughts. It binds everything together because it is God, who is the essence of everything and all of His virtues or goodness is love. They come out of each other - Colossians 3:14. God let His goodness pass before Moses. His goodness is in you! *** Part 3: More Parts to His Love Love is God’s essence, His being, His breath of life, and His essence is ours. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus - 2 Cor. 5:17. Exodus 33:18-23 - Then Moses said, “Now show me Your glory.” And the Lord said, “ I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My Name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But, He said, “you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back parts: but My face must not be seen.” In this passage God says His glory is equated to: His goodness , His Name being proclaimed-spoken-in Moses’ presence, and His back parts. (It is my hunch there is so much more to God’s glory then we have learned.) And God couldn’t let Moses see His face because it would have killed Moses, as Habakuk 1:13 says, His eyes are to pure to look on sin fallen man. Sin burns up in God’s presence. Habakuk 1:13 - “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrongdoing;” God didn’t want Moses to be burned up with His goodness, His presence, His love, His Name, His essence. That’s why God had to cover Moses’ face and why Moses had to cover his own face with a veil when he went before the people. This is what the physical form of God had to do in the Spiritual realm so that He could save His created man. When sin fallen man is in the presence of God, He burns it up. This may be why God had to kick out satan and the disobedient angels. God didn’t want to destroy His creation even though they rebelled. It probably has something to do with a legal standpoint. God is the ultimate judge and He abides within His own law. Not saying this is the only reason. But it may be a part of it. Job 34:14-15 - “If it were His intention and He withdrew His Spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.” If God were to withhold His breath all creation dies. His love is what keeps things in existence everywhere. His love, His power, and His faith are one unit. You can’t separate these things from God and still have God. Yes, this is so big it’s difficult to wrap our earthly heads around it. But bless God we can, by faith. And it’s His faith within us! He will reveal it. *** Let’s take a look at the Greek word for God’s love: agape. Using Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: “Love can be known only from the actions it prompts - Like God’s love in sending the gift of His Son to save mankind. It was an exercise of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself. Love has its perfect expression among men (mankind) in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian. Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Christian love has God for its primary object,. and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments (which is to love the Lord your God and love your brother as you do yourself - 1 John 4:20-21). It expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.” This is love God’s glory, His goodness, and His love exude from within Him! They exude from within you. The more you follow His leadings, promptings, compelling, and motivation by spending time in His Word with prayer, talking with Him about the things that are on your heart and questions you have, and listening for His leadings, promptings, compelling and motivation the more of His goodness will exude out of you. 2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.” The NIV says, “…uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. There’s a “smell” to us as we yield to Him. *** Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We have a pure heart only by the Holy Spirit. Nothing to do within ourselves. As Romans 5:5 says, “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us.” None of this can be done on our own . Our purity of heart is only by the Holy Spirit. A new heart! WE have God’s hear t . Praise God, it’s all Him. He’s saved us, purified us, and has adopted us as His own, and saved us for the day of redemption, and the Holy Spirit is the downpayment of the epitome of our redemption which is our new immortal bodies and an eternity with Him (1 Corinthians 15). We are His and He is ours. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. This seal is a seal of ownership on us as NIV says, and His Spirit is put in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. And it is God Who makes us stand firm. We don’t rely on our strength but on God’s within us! What a relief that is. “‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord.” - Zechariah 4:6. *** Part 4: The Holy Spirit is in Our Hearts “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26. "Like wise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" - Romans 8:26. Being in flesh in this world is a weakness but the Holy Spirit will help us pray. Sometimes in English, sometimes in tongues. Both are important. As Jude 1:20 says, “Building up yourself on your most holy faith praying in the Holy Spirit.” Praying in tongues is the way to build up your faith on what you are standing on from the Word until it manifests. This is necessary when we feel weak. Isaiah 28:11-12 “For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people, to whom He said, ‘This is the rest wherewith You may cause the weary to rest and this is the refreshing…’” When we feel weary from standing in faith for believing a promise of God, get into praying in tongues and into praise. Both build you up and cause a breakthrough. Look at Psalm 149, praise is our greatest weapon of war! In TPT - verse 6, “God’s high and holy praises fill their mouths, for their shouted praises are their weapon of war!” Go back to verse 5, “His Godly lovers triumph in the Glory of God, and their joyful praises will rise even while others sleep.” Doing these things will change your mental outlook, will change the atmosphere, and bring about your answer to prayer. As we simply trust Him and rest in Him and His nature within us we are easily led by His Holy Spirit Who teaches us and reminds us of what He has said to us. What He has revealed to us. We don’t have to struggle to “make it happen.” We simply trust Him. And then do whatever He leads us to do. Our flesh may have a hissy-fit. But we let the Holy Spirit through our own spirit have priority and lead us. *** We have faith, hope, and love because of Jesus. And faith in Jesus can only happen because of the Father, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44. It is God the Father Who brings us to Himself. He brings all those who are His, His seed , to Himself. This entire world we live in is about the seed war - seed of the serpent; seed of the woman - Genesis 3:15. God the Father will draw all who are His to Himself. He will not loose one . No way. His will is for all flesh to be saved . 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wanting any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” And God is not a man that He should lie; all of His promises He has made to Himself…yes, they are ours as well…but He made them to Himself - Numbers 23:19 and Hebrews 6:13-20. His Word comes from within Him. It is “Who” He is, His promises are first to Himself and He will bring them to pass. * A sister in Christ told me something the Lord said to her in prayer. She had asked Him: “What is Your truth? I want to know Your truth?” God told her: “I love you and I want to be with you.” This is the Father’s heart toward us! If you’ve been sensing out of sorts, not close to God although He is in you and will never leave you or forsake you, we can approach His throne in prayer because of Jesus’ Blood of which we always have, and ask the Lord to forgive us. To help us keep on His track and reconcile us back to Him - Hebrews 4:16 & 2 Corinthians 5:18. This is the Love of God in action. This is God’s love toward us. He wants to be with us. He wants to be included in all we do. We are already reconciled to Him. We don’t ever loose that. He has reconciled us to Him through His Son Jesus. As 2 Corinthians 5:19 says God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ… He has already done this to all! All we have to do is receive His great gift. We love Him enough to come to Him and ask Him for help. But maybe we haven’t been sensing Him; or haven’t been in the Word and prayer like we usually are, these things affect our hearing from Him. Doesn’t mean He’s not there. Our spiritual ears weren’t hearing. God is always talking to us, always leading us. When there are times it may “feel” as if God is distant, there are one of three reasons why: 1.) it is during the time of a test/trial; 2.) or there is disobedience (sin) - can be a simple as not doing what He told you to do, or spending the time in His Word; 3) or getting to busy with life and not spending time with the Lord in the His Word and in prayer. If it’s a test/trial - 1.) it is like being in school and being given a test. The teacher sits at their desk quietly until the test is over. Although they are quiet the entire time, they never left. Same with God. He never leaves us! But He is quiet during times of testing. These are times of learning for us. Standing in faith because we know His promises, and all of His promises are “yes” and “amen.” If there’s disobedience - 2.) all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and receive it - 1 John 1:9. Depending on the situation, we can also ask for the Lord to guide us in how to handle it and if there is anything to do about it, then do it. 1 Timothy 2:4 TPT - “He longs for everyone to embrace His life and return to the full knowledge of the truth.” God longs, yearns for us to embrace Him. His life. His love. His truth. And return to the knowledge of the Truth when we mess up. And include Him in all we do. *** This is who you are! His love, faith, hope and His power work in unison at all times. You can’t have one without the other. His love, His power, His life. When something dies, the essence of it comes back to Him because its essence is love. When He exhibits His love He exhibits His power. You don’t have one without the other. All of His creation is the essence of His love. His power. His life. He used His love through Jesus (the Word) and the Holy Spirit to ignite all of creation. We are made in the image of God. “As He is, so are we in this world.” - 1 John 4:17 Receive this in all it’s vastness. Once you can receive it you can reflect it to others. GOD IS LOVE & SO ARE YOU

can you lose your salvation, once saved always saved, eternal salvation, life after, life after death Can You Lose Your Salvation? Let's see what the Word of God has to say about it. Article below or click link for PDF. PDF Can You Lose Your Salvation? Let’s see what God has to say about it in His Word. His Word is truth and the only thing that matters. It is HIM speaking TO you. God’s Word is for instruction and correction (2 Tim. 3:16). 1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again , not of perishable seed, but of imperishable , through the living and enduring word of God. God’s Word is imperishable and that is the Word that we believed. It never goes away. Trust Him . 2 Cor. 5:17-19 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature . Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us t he ministry of reconciliation; That God was reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. This is not only for sins of the past. This is of ALL sin. And He is Faithful to do it. Trust God . 1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation , now that you have tasted that the Lord is good . 1 Peter (all of the Epistles) is written to believers. Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust God, and not be afraid . The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. Ephesians 1:13 In Whom you also trusted , after that you heard the Word of Truth, the good news of your salvation; in Whom also after you believed were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise . 2 Cor. 1:20-22 For all the promises of God in him are “yes”, and in Him “Amen” (“so be it”), unto the glory of God by us. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us , and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the Day of Redemption. Did you know that doubting your salvation or believing you can lose your salvation grieves the Holy Spirit? Repent, for the Day of the Lord is at hand. Ephesians 6:17 is taking the helmet of salvation…for what? Like 2 Cor. 10:3-6 says to protect our thoughts from lies against the truth of God. Salvation is eternal . Anything that pops up in our heads or to our heads that says we lose our salvation is a lie. We cast down that lying thought with the Word of God just like Jesus did in the wilderness when He was tempted by the devil. Jesus spoke to those lying thoughts and visions. If you are having a hard time because you still believe that you can lose your salvation then get on your face before our great and holy God and ask Him to reveal it to you. The root of the unbelief is not trusting God and trusting His love. Get quiet before Him so you can hear what He has to say within you. Read John 3 ; Ephesians 1-3 ; Galatians ; 1 Cor. chapters 1-2 ; 5:1-5 and chapter 15 ; 2 Cor. 1 and 5 , and Romans ...even Hebrews chapters 7-9 until you know, that you know that God has said over and over again in His Word that you cannot lose your salvation.

Jesus, Authority, Warfare, fallen angels, nephilim, Bible, How to fight Authority in the Name of Jesus & How to Take It! Article below or click link for downloadable PDF PDF Authority in the Name of Jesus & How to Take It! To get started there are two things that will be addressed here: 1.) Knowing “who” you are in Christ Jesus; 2.) and “How” to use our Lord and Savior’s Name appropriately. * Who you are in Christ Jesus: Your identity is not “who” you think you are in this world. Your identity is in the Son of God, the Messiah Jesus! Who He says you are - you are! Not what you’ve been told your whole life or not what you think of yourself. Take a look in the Word at how the Most High Elohim, God Almighty describes His Son and what is His. Because this is who we are now! In Him, as born-again children of God in Christ. When we “see” ourselves the way He sees us THIS is how we take authority. If this is new to you I suggest reading this article a few times and doing what is suggested. You will never be the same. If you haven’t taken the time to re-train your thinking in regards to this, you need to. Look up and read all the “in Him” “in Whom” “in Christ” and “in Christ Jesus” scriptures. This is who you are now! It’s vital to everything in a Christian’s life. When we are living in line with our new identity with the Lord and hearing from Him there is a marked difference in our lives. If you have self-worth issues (we all have had this in some way) you don’t think that God will talk with you. You don’t think you deserve it. BUT Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice, I know them and they follow Me, and I call them by name. (John 10.) So expect it! He will call you by name and speak with you. God’s Word rules! What He has said about it is FINAL. Not what we think or feel. We change our thinking and refuse our feelings in order to go in line with what He has said in His Word. Period. God’s Word is the ruler to judge everything by. If this is your situation spend a week or so reading and re-reading John 3, 10, 14-17 (all 6 chapters in one day) and repeat it each day until you KNOW that God speaks with you; then read all of 1 John (5 chapters, read all 5 each day). Also repeat it each day until you know your identity. Then when that is complete spend time in the Epistles. There are chapters you can start with if it seems to daunting, like Romans 8 & 12; Ephesians 1-3; all of Galatians; 2 Corinthians 1-2 & 5; 1 Corinthians 1-2 & 15; Philippians 1 & 3. Make it personal as you read. Like when it says “you”, say out loud “me”, or when Paul is talking about himself like in Philippians 3 speak the scripture out loud and say it as “me” - that sort of thing. This is putting yourself in scripture because it is God speaking to YOU! Once you learn how He speaks then you’ll begin to notice when He is speaking with you because it’s the same language and always leaves you with joy and peace. When we are first learning this we think it’s our own thoughts because it is coming from within us - not voice to skull. KNOW where the voice is coming from!!! This is crucial. People say they hear from God but when you hear what was said to them you know it’s not God because of the subject matter and what that “word” left you with - not clear, confusion, fear, no peace, unsettled. That result isn’t God. God always speaks in line with His Word which is light and life; and when someone can’t tell “where” the voice came from - within or voice to skull - they get deceived and get into trouble. It can even cause death. The enemy is a deceiver and murderer from the beginning. KNOW who is talking. Focus on whether you were thinking anything just before that “thought” and if so, if it what you were thinking was something totally different than what you “heard” that more often than not is Him. BUT measure it against the Word that you know! God will never speak against His own Word. If it was against the Word, then out loud “I cast that thought out in Jesus Name, I think on things that are good, lovely, peaceable, these are the things I think on! God gives me peace and keeps my heart and mind, in Jesus Name!” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Philippians 4:7-8.) Speak with Him - this is the Creator of the Universe, be respectful - AND listen to what He has to say. AND always tell Him “thank You”. People like to be appreciated and so does God. Pour out your heart to Him. Hold nothing back. Yes, He knows it all but He wants you to feel free to talk with Him and ask Him what He thinks about it. Great revelation of the Lord comes with authentic opening of your heart to the Creator, Father God. You will never be the same! Now that this is accomplished, what God Almighty has said about you in His Word IS your identity. Jesus is the Word made flesh. He upholds all things by His Word of power! It will be easier to “see” yourself as this - all the characteristics of the Messiah - because He is IN you. You have His characteristics. You need to let Him flow out of you. This is why we feel “guilt” when we sin. The act of sin is going against our new nature. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus whether you “feel” like it or not and when we sin it is abrasive against our new nature. That’s why “guilt” shows up. Ask for forgiveness and ask the Holy Spirit to help you with this. He certainly will. Then spend time speaking the Word out loud over yourself of “who you are” in Christ to change your guilt feelings. They are only feelings and the Word will change them as you keep speaking the Word over yourself. All of this will be easier now that you have practiced these things from the previous paragraphs of spending time in the Word and listening for His voice within you, sharing time with Him, communing with Him, and doing what He says. Here’s an example of what people typically do in stressful situations, actually what I call “crisis”. There is a difference between “inconvenience” and “crisis”. Most situations people get stressed about are “inconvenience”. Not life threatening situations which I call “crisis”. Crisis situations have the potential to be life altering for those involved. It is in these situations when either the person(s) are not born again, or they are but do not know their identity and Authority in Christ Jesus. You see, when people are in life threatening situations most do not know what to do. They freak out. They speak what they fear. Case in point when I had the stroke in 1995, it was what doctors called a “massive stroke” because of 9 blood clots in my brain in the arteries (that bring blood to the brain, so my brain was starving - no oxygen) and they did not expect me to live. I was in a coma for 3 days. My colleagues and friends attempted to be “sympathetic” saying things like, “Oh, no, poor Rina. I can’t believe this happened. She used to be such a great ……”. My mother had come to the hospital a couple days later (because I was in another country) and would retort: “No, she will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. Great is her peace, her wholeness, in Jesus Name. And she has a long life because of what the Lord Jesus has done!” When she first got the phone call about the situation she had said this sentence and there was silence on the other end of the phone. And a quick, “Uh, ok.” It wasn’t much different when she got to the hospital. They all thought she was nuts. But who cares when you’re trying to keep your “child” alive - (I was 26). Speak the Word of God! It changes things! “Let there be light. And it was so.” That’s how you handle crisis situations. What you speak is declaring your Authority. Whether you speak life or death - what you say is vital! No matter what it looks like. No matter what you think. No matter what it feels like. Words create life or death - what kind of words will you speak? Spend time in the Word of God, ask Him where He wants you to focus on in the Word. Immerse yourself in it to form your new identity. These will be the words that come out of you mouth in a crisis. Because crisis situations “turn off” our mental abilities. We can’t think and have to rely on our spirit. You can only speak from your spirit if you have been putting spiritual food in there - the Word of God. The Word is spiritual food. Most believers are on a spiritual diet and that will be devastating in crises situations. And where we are now in 2024, the crises will build. You have got to know “who you are” in Christ Jesus and how to take Authority by speaking over terrible stuff that happens. * Below are some scriptures to immerse yourself in. All of the scriptures will be noted for each numbered item. And there are many more besides the ones listed here. Look them up as the Lord leads you. As always I add emphasis in the noted passages. Jesus gave us His Authority: Luke 10:17-20 - 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18 So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Jesus has given us His Authority over ALL the power of the enemy and NOTHING shall harm us; and demons submit to us as we declare the Name of Jesus! This doesn’t mean that attacks won’t come. Jesus said: Nothing, no thing shall harm us - He didn’t say it wouldn’t show up. While on this earth, it certainly will and Jesus gave us His weapons - the Word of God! God the Father has also given us Authority: Genesis 1:26, 28 - 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Important to notice the bold portions in this passage in Genesis: this is Father God giving this to mankind, to have dominion over all the earth, all that is in it. The Father doesn’t say we have to “see” it - He says to have dominion over ALL the earth, or earthly realm, whether we see it or not. We are to “subdue” it and we have been given dominion over all in this realm. Not the heavenly realms (I will get into that more in #2 .) To “subdue ” means: assault, brought them into subjection, forced into bondage, forcing, trample, tread under foot, underfoot. Dominion : to tread down, subjugate, to crumble off. Subdue and Dominion aren’t just for the animals and the weather - it’s for the enemies of God, satan and all his angels - all the fallen ones and their offspring the nephilim (giants), and all of their monstrosities (hybrid creatures) they’ve created, and….get this…they do have power - don’t kid yourself and think they don’t - God gave us His Authority over ALL of the enemies’ power. I don’t care what witchcraft, sorcery, curse, spell, whatever…God gave us His Authority over it all! One of the important things to realize in this passage is that God the Father had given Authority to the angels that oversee the earth - the Watchers, as Enoch calls them - BUT in Genesis our Father gave us their dominion over the earth!!! Let that sink in. I’m convinced this is one of the scriptures Jesus “stood on” to take His Authority on earth. He had to do it the same we do - He was the Word made flesh. He had to use the Word of God in this realm. That’s the only way this realm works - He upholds all things by His Word of power! Not by being the Son of God. If He was able to do it by sheer fact of being the Son of God, then we would not be able to do it. Jesus had to operate the way we do and this is how God ordained it, by His Word of power. Think on this for a while. It will help. Ephesians 1:20-23 - 20Which He wrought in the Messiah, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named; not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; 22And has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His Body the fullness of Him that fills all in all. The more revelation we get from the Lord about “being IN Him” and we “see” that we have His Authority because we are truly IN HIM, we can’t help but walk in it. Execute it. Everything is beneath our feet because we are in Him and all things are under His feet, which puts them under our feet. Again…meditate on that. It’s big! It has nothing to do with us - IT’S ALLLLL HIM!!!! 2. Jesus has Authority over all creation: 1 Peter 3:21-22 - 21 And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him. Colossians 2:14-15 - TPT - 14. He (The Messiah) canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. Messiah erased it all —our sins, our stained soul—He deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto His cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation. 15. Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His! Hebrews 1:4-9 - Berean Standard Bible 4 So He became as far superior to the angels as the Name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” 7 Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.” 8 But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-8 - 4 My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 6 Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. * 2. “How” to use our Lord and Savior’s Name appropriately. First: It is in this earthly realm that we have Authority that God gave us using “In Jesus Name” in Genesis 1 and Jesus re-stated in Luke 10. I speak from experience here because until I understood how this all worked I had serious problems from witches, sorcerers, astral projection, evil spirits, and fallen angels coming after me in my house…too much to go into. It was crazy times. Understanding what realm we are to take Authority in is major. Especially if someone has previously been involved in spiritual warfare incorrectly like I was, taking it into the heavenly realms. It leaves a person open to major attacks from the enemy and can result in serious harm and even death of you or someone you love before your/their time. It’s only by the grace of God that something devastating didn’t occur for me and my family. The Lord protected us in my stupidity. Thank You Lord for Your mercy, kindness, and correction! The reason why people have taken it like this is a misinterpretation of Ephesians 6:10-13 - “10 For the rest, my brothers, be strong in the Master and in the mightiness of His strength. 11 Put on the complete armour of Elohim, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies. 13 Because of this, take up the complete armour of Elohim, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.” Let’s break this down: 1. We are to be strong in Jesus, our Master, our Savior by knowing what is ours through Him. What is it we are strong in, or how do we get strong? The Word! Nehemiah 8 - the joy of the Lord is our strength and we get this joy from what we know from the Word of God! It’s being strong in knowing what is ours and what He has done for you through the Word, what your identity is now in Jesus!!! THAT is what we are to be strong in - knowing who we are - in Him. If someone is still struggling with thinking they can lose their salvation, then they actually do not know what He has done for them and will struggle with taking Authority. Spend time in all of the scriptures previously mentioned - in fact read all of the scripture mentioned in this article. Re-read them. Absorb them. Meditate on them. If you are thinking you could lose your salvation, if this has been an issue for you then what your are thinking is that what Jesus did wasn’t enough! Ohhhhhh no…what Jesus did was more than enough! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil…the devil was hell-bent on keeping God’s creation, mankind, away from God because God loved us so much!!!!! Psalms 8:4-5 “What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that You visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels and have crowned him with glory and honor” - that was the devil making that statement and he was upset that another creation was now held in higher regard to God than him. God the Father ain’t having the devil steal His children from Him!! Jesus did all that was needed to get His Father’s children back - permanently!! He came to be a ransom for ALL so that ALL would be saved (1 Timothy 1:4, 6 ). This is why we are SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise when we receive Jesus into our hearts! (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30 and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; John 3- we get eternal life. ) To be sealed means: Greek - sphragizo - security and permanency . The definiteness and completeness of the act of faith. Settle that for yourself once and for all. 2. Note: Job 38:31 shows us that we cannot bind evil spirits in the heavenly realm - it is God alone who can do this in the heavenly realm. THIS earthly realm is where God the Father told us to take Dominion and Authority, not the heavenly realm; and He gave it to us to have His Authority over all of the fallen angels with all of their means of weapons, creations, deception, lies, murderous ways, dark powers, etc. God took their Authority away in this realm from them and gave it to us! And when they deceive people into allowing them into this realm they start manifesting in various ways…and you can sense it, sometimes it’s major depending on the spiritual doorway(s) that were opened to them by people. Some of the means are by music, movies, books, demonized objects, rituals, magic/majic, spells, etc. God wants us to use His Word to defeat the enemy just like Jesus did in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 when He was tempted by the devil. Jesus spoke the Word to him when the devil launched an attack. Notice the devil kept coming back more than once. Expect it for yourself. It will be more than once. WE are to speak the Word to him when he launches attacks against us, just like Jesus did. The Word is a Sword!!! Read Hebrews 4 ! It’s a double-edged sword that cuts! And Jesus in Revelation 1:16,18; 2:12, & 19:11-16 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:8 has a Sword of Fire coming out from His mouth! And He has the key to death and hell - not the devil! The devil doesn’t even have his own keys to his kingdom, God does! When the Word comes out of your mouth it is like a flaming sword against the enemy when you speak - it is the Sword of the Spirit!! The Armor is not something you put on. It’s knowing God’s Word of who you are IN Him. God’s Word that you know is your shield, His Word that you know is your helmet, His Word that you know is protecting your thoughts from lies from the enemy and from lies you tell yourself, it’s His Word that you know that protects you!! Jesus is the Word made flesh, His is the Word protecting you! You are in Him and He is in you (John 17 ). Our example is Jesus! He did this with the storm on the sea (Matthew 8); when satan launched an attack against Jesus through one of His closest friends Peter (Mark 8 and Matthew 16 ); He did this in the wilderness; and with the multitudes that He cast devils out of. Notice as Jesus did all of these things He NEVER once took Authority in the heavenly realm!! He took Authority in THIS realm. This is where God gave us Authority - in this realm. When those fallen angels etc. launch attacks against us in this realm, we then have God’s Authority! USE IT! 3. If we have an incorrect view of taking Authority in the heavenlies what that does is create an opening for fallen angels and their evil ones to launch an attack. We have then created an opening for them! It’s not our place to “pull down principalities”. That is where they were placed by God when He kicked them out of heaven after their initial rebellion (Luke 10:18 ). He is the one who will remove them from there and cast them to the earth (Revelation 12:7-9 ). We can take Authority over actions of these principalities etc. as they are moving and doing upon the earth. We do this through prayer and speaking the Word to the situation. The Lord will lead you if there is a strongman to bind that is active in an area, like your neighborhood or city. Don’t just run off half-cocked and do it unless the Lord tells you. Often He does so by an “unsettled” deep sense in your inner man. You will be so edgy, uptight. (Like Acts 16 .) THIS is the Holy Spirit letting you know there is a demonic spirit. Ask the Lord how He wants you to handle it. He will tell you. 4. We are strong to stand in the evil day because we know who we are in Christ Jesus. We know what He has said about us in His Word. And we speak it over ourselves and our families. This is how warfare occurs most of the time. In your proverbial prayer closet. Yes there are times where you may have to do something in prayer with someone else or in public but until you are comfortable with it in your own prayer time God won’t allow something to show up. God will never give you more than you can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13 ). Second: Don’t go looking for a fight. When you are living right with God the fight will always come to you. That is when you take Authority. How do we judge what is happening? We look at the results: John 10:10 - satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy; Colossians 3:15 - God leaves only peace; 1 Corinthians 14:33 - the enemy leaves no peace but confusion/worry/anxiety; 2 Timothy 1:7 - fear and 1 John 4:18 fear has torment. All of these things are results of the enemy being active/attacking your life, with all other similitudes thereof like: depression, anxiety, timidity, pride, forceful drive upon you…there are so many others along this line. Don’t forget “temptation”. A means of enticing your flesh. Realize Jesus in the wilderness WAS a TEMPTATION. His flesh was TEMPTED!!! How did satan attack? Continual bombardment of “Who He was”. Go read that again - Matthew 4 and Luke 4, he was trying to make Jesus doubt who He was; then he attacked Jesus to try Him with enticing Him with pride - “I’ll give You all of these kingdoms if You will bow down and worship me.” (What do you think he does to you?? The same thing! Attacks “who you are in Christ Jesus” and then tries to lure you with pride-just like he did Jesus and just like he did with Eve.) But Jesus fought back in the Authority God spoke in Genesis 1 to overcome the temptation. Think about what satan did in the Garden of Eden with Eve - not only did he tempt her flesh, by making her think she could be like God, (exactly how he thinks of himself, Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14); but he got her to consider SOMETHING ELSE other than what God told her. It was a wee-little-bit of doubt, doubting what God said, doubting what God meant. THAT is temptation. AND we have Authority over it and can do what Jesus did in the wilderness. This is what 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 is all about. Casting down those vain imaginations that lift themselves up against the Word of God. It’s when these things show up that you need to grab your Bible and see where the Lord leads you in scripture or the Holy Spirit may simply bring scriptures to your remembrance (John 14, & 16 ) - and then you speak the scriptures out over your life and your family and the devil will flee (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:6-10 ). and take God’s Authority that He gave you over the devil! That is how you take Authority. It’s the Sword, a Flaming Sword coming out of your mouth and striking a HEAVY blow to the enemy!!! (There will be examples of prayers at the end. ) Third: There are times when we have to use the Authority given to us over our bodies. Our bodies are not renewed. This is why we get new bodies at the rapture/resurrection. Look at Romans 7:14-25 where Paul talks about the struggle within his body. He then goes on to the next profound and great chapter 8 because of that struggle and how he overcomes it through revelation of what Jesus has done for him!! We are to do the same thing. Our bodies misbehave. If you have never done this it will be a challenge at the start. But it’s do-able! Otherwise God wouldn’t have stated Romans 12:1-2 and many verses in the Epistles that say the same sort of thing. We have lived life in this world driven by our bodies. The body “drives” by the 5 senses: what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch. In fact the phrase: “body, soul, and spirit” is the reverse of how God sees it: “spirit, soul, and body” - 1 Thessalonians 5:23 . Which one is “first” for you? There are 5 reasons why our bodies act up with either sickness or drives to do something: 1. the body not being trained with the Word of God; 2. unrepented sin and/or a curse; 3. Unforgiveness; 4. or an evil spirit driving it; 5. or not seeing ourselves properly - our identity - in the Word of God with who we are now that Jesus has redeemed us. Ask the Lord which it is and do what He tells you to. Fourth: Bind, Loose, Bind the strongman, Cast out. (Matthew 18:18; 16:19; Mark 3:15-27; Matthew 12; Luke 11; Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 13:32; Mark 7:26; Luke 9:40-49; Mark 6:13; Mark 1:39; Mark 9:18-38 ) Remind yourself of Colossians chapters 1 and 2 - I will only mentions a brief part here: 1:13 - “Who has delivered us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the reign of the Son of His love,” And 2:15 - TPT - “The Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping aways from the m every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His.” - I say this because the enemy comes at us with an immense amount of anger, veracity, and fierceness to attempt to get us in fear and off the Word. BUT GOD!! He has already won and Jesus has already defeated HIm. Remind yourself of these scriptures and 1 Corinthians 2 with Luke 10:17-19 . Jesus has already given us the victory because we ARE IN Him. So bind, loosen, and cast out as the Holy Spirit leads. It’s not you doing the work, It’s the Lord doing it as you speak the Word. Binding, loosing, binding the strongman, and casting out : this is what our Lord and Savior did on the earth. He didn’t go into the heavenlies to take out principalities or bind them. He executed this in this realm. He stopped the storm; He cast out demons; He loosed demons when they had someone trapped (think of the “fowler’s snare” of Psalm 91:3 ) - the enemy uses this and the snare can only “stick” if there’s sin or a curse (a curse can only stick if there’s sin - Proverbs 5:21-23; 26:2; Isaiah 5:18; Psalm 107:13-16 ; look up “cords”). The strongman is a “chief”, for lack of a better term. Kinda like a “General”. They are in charge of their unit. They have charge over a bunch of demons that work under them. When you bind the “General” or Strongman, then all of its subordinates are bound. Typically strongmen are over geographic regions and then their minions/subordinates are at work in the area. When you bind the strongman it stops the work of the minions. Again, this has to do with what is going on in this realm. People have allowed them access into the region/area and lives, and if the Lord tells you to bind the strongman, then do it. In my experience the Lord has only led me to do this a few times. And it was when I was traveling, away from home. As with everything see how the Lord leads you with this. One more thing about “binding”: sometimes this is the action that needs to be done with someone who is demonized that you have to deal with, like at work or in your family. I say this because you can’t get rid of someone’s demons that they like. Just like Matthew 12:43-45 , if you cast it out and the person doesn’t get saved and doesn’t renew themselves with the Word of God, that demon will return with 7 more and their last condition will be worse than their were at the start. If you cast something out, be sure the person is born again and studies their identity in Christ Jesus. And this may put some of our brethren on tilt but you need to know…you can be born again AND have a demon. I know. I had to cast devils out of myself. I always thought that someone couldn’t have them if they are born again. But that was one of the demons. It was the actual demon of “pride”. There were others. It was an eye-opening experience. And you can do self-deliverance. Praise God for His help in this. Especially if anyone has been through childhood trauma, there will always be demons attached. Realize they are not attached to your spirit when you are born again. That is where the Holy Spirit is. But they can be attached to your flesh and/or in your flesh. You can tell when you “can’t control” behaviors. They are “drives”. Can’t control thoughts or constantly hear voices. The devil always drives, forces, and floods your thoughts especially if one or many are attached to you and within your body. Ask the Lord if this is something you need to do. Some of what I see as a whole in today’s society - the spirits that are heavy on and in people are: spirit of infirmity; spirit of anger; spirit of unforgiveness; spirit of rebellion; spirit of self-pity; spirit of doubt; spirit of consternation; spirit of lust; spirit of lasciviousness (no restraint); spirit of homosexuality; spirit of pornography; spirit of lying; spirit of depression; spirit of low self-esteem (self-worth); spirit of fantasy (especially if you used to be addicted to movies and fantasy books and games); and the spirit of python and leviathan (divination/witchcraft-involved in all new age practices). These are the main ones I “see” and some I personally had to cast out in Jesus Name and repent of all sin and cut all cords to sin and cast them out. If you’ve never dealt with this know that once you do this you may feel nauseous and have to throw up. Go ahead and do it. It will typically be dry heaves. Some spittle may come up. Get it out. Sometimes there are physical things in our body that are related to the spirit. This is why wretching is important if you feel it. Don’t let it sit within you. Get it out. Fifth: Matthew 13 - wheat and tares: if you’re not familiar with this parable and what it means this will be very sobering and will explain much, along with Matthew 10:34-36 and even Matthew 25:1-13 . We are now in the times when foes will be amongst believers. Either within their own family or within their own church. It is the Word that will distinguish who’s side each one is on. These ones may look right, talk right, but at the root they do not belong to Jesus. No matter what stick with Jesus. He will always lead you right. He is your best friend. He is your greatest hero. He is your defender. He is your deliverer. He is your all in all. He is your everything. He will never leave you nor forsake you. PRAYER 1 - morning : “Heavenly Father, in Jesus Name, I love you Lord and am in awe of You. You are THE Creator of ALL. You are the God over all. And I take Authority in this realm as you have told me to in Genesis 1 and Luke 10, You gave me Authority over ALL the power of the enemy and NOTHING shall by any means harm me and I thank You for it. So I declare that today, this day, for me and my family nothing shall by any means harm us. No evil shall befall us and no plague shall come near our dwelling place. I declare it over our home and the grounds about our home, and the surrounding area in Jesus’ Name. I ask for the forgiveness of sins in this area and ask that You make Yourself known in this area and I bind the power of the enemy working through people to try to harm us. Father forgive them. Deliver them. Heal them. And if they refuse You, then stop them from doing harm to someone else. I take Authority over all that the enemy attempts against mankind that comes in through the air, food, and water. Through electrical waves, electronic devices, computers, electrical lines, phones, & satellites. I bind all evil spirits sent on assignments against us in this realm and I bind them from coming into this realm from above, below, and all around in Jesus Name, and I ask Father God to keep angels posted to defend us from above, below, and all around. I ask Father God, when needed, that you would send extra angels to surround us, our home and our property, and our transportation, for Your safety and protection to sheath us in Jesus Name and place a hedge of protection around us. You are our Shield and our Fortress, You are our God and IN You we trust! Your angel surrounds us and delivers us from every evil thing. No weapon formed against us shall prosper and every tongue that rises against us WE shall condemn in the Name of Jesus! We over came the enemy by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony! We declare the Blood of Jesus on us and our homes and upon all transportation in Jesus Name. We commit our works unto You this day and we thank You that our thoughts are established (Prov. 16:3). I ask for Your wisdom and revelation knowledge to live this day, I want to know You more (Ephesians 1:17-19), open my eyes and ears to You, in Jesus’ Name. I listen to You, I am Your sheep and I hear Your voice (John 10:1-5, 27; Prov. 1:33) and thus I dwell in safety because I do what You tell me to do, and I am at ease from the dread of evil. I thank You that You are with me wherever I go (Josh. 1:9), I refuse to fear for fear is not of You, I have the Spirit of Life within me that expels all darkness (2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:2). Thank You for showing me Your magnificence. I thank You that I experience the communion with You and Your Son Jesus Christ (1John 1:3) and I thank You for loving me and giving Yourself and Your Son for me. Show me more of You! And I thank You for it. I give You all of the praise and glory for the victory that You have given me and my family through Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Psalm 91; Isaiah 54:17; Revelation 12:11) PRAYER 2 - evening : “Father God, You are my everything! I love You Lord and praise You for giving me the victory through Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have subtleties and sway over men’s hearts and let them not lead me astray from You and I take Authority over all attacks of the enemy against me and my family this night and bind them from coming against us in way, shape, or form while we sleep. I close all portals or doorways that may have been opened to the enemy. I repent of all sin that opened them and ask for You to reveal to me what was it that caused this happen. Holy Spirit help me with this to keep me from doing this in Jesus Name. Father God, keep me from following deceitfulness of my own heart and cleanse me from it and reveal if there is an issue there and deliver me from it. I thank You that Your angels surround us and our home and deliver us from every evil thing. You are our secret place. We are in Your hands and in You alone we trust. You are our Shield and You are our Refuge. You are our God - the One True Elohim! The Everliving and Everlasting One! You give us sweet and restful sleep and we are so grateful for Your love for us in Jesus Name.”

Who is the Holy Spirit, How to follow the Holy Spirit, How does He lead, Is tongues really from the Holy Spirit, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God, Jesus, Are they real, Isn't the Bible just stories Holy Spirit He is in you and He is a person, He is the Spirit of God. Article below is long. Take your time. For downloadable PDF use link. PDF Holy Spirit He is in you and He is a person, He is the Spirit of God. Areas of discussion: 1. Who is the Holy Spirit 2. When do we receive the Holy Spirit? 3. How do we recognize Him? 4. Leading and Revealing by the Holy Spirit 5. Specifics: Let’s look at specifics of “Who” He is 6. The Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of God Almighty 7. He Counsels Us at Night While We Sleep 8. He Is The Spirit of Power and Spirit of Love 9. The Holy Spirit Guides Into All of the Truth, and He Speaks 10. The Holy Spirit Is Also Called “Water” 11. The Holy Spirit is your Comforter, Helper, Teacher 12. The Holy Spirit can be grieved: 13. Praying in Tongues 14. Spiritual Gifts 15. Spiritual Fruit: 16. Having “Utterance” and “Revelation Knowledge” Go Together 17. Spend time in reading Romans 8. 18. Test the spirits 19. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing 20. How to “Hear” 21. He Gives You Strength Other Scriptures to Note: 1 Corinthians 2 Romans 8 - ESV ...and so much more. 1. Who is the Holy Spirit Teaching on the Holy Spirit is sparse unfortunately and the Church as a whole doesn’t exactly know “Who” He is, how He operates, and how we are to work with the Holy Spirit. And yet there are over 800 scriptures that speak of Him. If we look to see how Jesus operated with Him we get a clear idea: He was always in prayer and obeyed what was given Him. It’s that simple. Here are some details that will help answer questions and build your relationship with the Holy Spirit. We need to know Him because as born again believers He now lives in us and He gives us rights and privileges we did not have before. Since there are over 800 verses in the Bible about the Holy Spirit we will only go into small portion of course. God wants us to know about Him, we need to know about Him. He is a Spirit. He is the Spirit of God. He is a “person” - if that is the correct term…maybe not…but you get my point. The Holy Spirit is God and He lives within you, the born again believer. Now how do we operate accordingly? He is Wisdom. He is Understanding. He is Might. He is Council. We will get into more of this later in “How do we recognize Him?”. 2. When do we receive the Holy Spirit? Ezekiel 36:26-27 - “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.” When we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and as the sacrifice for our sins, God put in us a NEW heart and He put His Holy Spirit in our new heart. This is how we are born again. Our mind (soul) needs to be renewed and our flesh is corrupted. It will not change until the Lord resurrects our bodies and changes those who go in the rapture. Don’t we receive the Holy Spirit when hands are laid on us? I know many believe that you have to have hands laid on you and have a second prayer for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I used to think so too, but what I see is this is not clearly stated in scripture consistently. When you look at what happened in Acts you see that Peter took the one time God told him to lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit and he interpreted that as “do it every time.” Even Peter was shocked in Acts 11:15-17 - “15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the Word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” and Acts 10:44-46 - “44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the Word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.” No hands laid on them. And particularly in the Epistles laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit is not mentioned. When there are scriptures that appear to “contradict” that means there is not enough understanding. Missing something. Because all of God’s Word is “yes” and “amen” and there are no contradictions. There are not two or three scriptures that say you have to have hands laid upon you to receive the Holy Spirit. It’s actually a “doctrine” of men that was taught from a misunderstanding. Peter and John, and the other apostles believed hands had to be laid upon people to receive the Holy Spirit as it says in Acts 8. In verses 14-17 - “14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” There “seems” to be a contradiction. But it is not. It was the apostles understanding. So many other scriptures talk of believing in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit falls upon them. In the book of Acts it is clearly telling what the early church did. Like a journal. It’s not carried on into the Epistles, there’s not even one scripture there that says that is necessary. It is the book of Acts where doctrines have been built around this. But Acts simply states “what” occurred. Like I’ve said before in another article, all of God’s Word is truth. It is truly stated. Not all that is in the Bible is God’s Truth…meaning, some things are explaining what transpired. Just because something transpired doesn’t mean it was God’s will. Case in point, Adam and Eve. It was not God’s will for them to fall. Another is Samson and Delilah; David and Bathsheba; Peter denying Jesus, and many more. None of those were God’s will. But they are in the Bible. They are lessons for us to learn by. There’s one scripture where Jesus stated to ask for the Holy Spirit, in Luke 11:13 - “ 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Yes, we can absolutely do this. Jesus said so. But this should not be a doctrine in the Church because it is the only time in the Gospels where Jesus said this. And out of two or three witnesses let every word be established. (2 Corinthians 13:1; Deuteronomy 18:15; Matthew 18:16.) Meaning, we can’t make it a “doctrine” of the Lord unless it is stated more than 2 or 3 times. So what does scripture say? Above Ezekiel 36:26-27 - when we get born again we get the Holy Spirit. AND a second scripture: Ephesians 1:13 - “In Him you also, when you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” If you don’t give credence to the Old Testament, then look at John 3! In verses 1-21 shows Jesus speaking with Nicodemus and telling him that we must all be “born again” - and that this happens only by the Holy Spirit coming in and changing the “flesh heart” to a “God-heart”: verses 5-8 - “5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. (Word and Spirit.) 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 1 John 4:15-18 - “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you” and we have Him because we believe. We have accepted Jesus and made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of God Almighty. God is omnipresent - everywhere at the same time. This is far-out trippy stuff to think about because yes, God the Father is in heaven, Jesus is in heaven, and Jesus said He would not leave us alone and would send the Holy Spirit to us once He (Jesus) was resurrected, that the Holy Spirit is our down payment of what is to come: Jesus Christ in the rapture and our new immortal bodies. And He’s everywhere at once. Hard to wrap our minds around but it’s pretty cool. 1 John 4:15-18 - “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.” When we are born again we are Born of the Spirit. Can’t have one without the other. God is the Author of the entire Bible. Not just the New Testament. It all matters. Just ask Him. 3. How do we recognize Him? Isaiah 11:2-3 - “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of Wisdom and of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and of Might, the Spirit of the Knowledge and Fear of the LORD—3 and He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears;” The Holy Spirit is: Wisdom The Holy Spirit is: Understanding The Holy Spirit is: Counsel The Holy Spirit is: Might The Holy Spirit is: Knowledge The Holy Spirit is: Fear of the Lord WE have this within us because the Holy Spirit is within us!! This is “Who” He is. He is in Jesus and He is in us. He is love. God is love. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Always check your motivations. Should always be love. Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” With Proverbs in mind, always acknowledge the Holy Spirit. Talk with Him. He is in you!! It’s like being an adult and living with your parents. You are in the same house with them. But never talk with them. You ignore them. How does that make them feel? It’s the same thing. You and the Holy Spirit are living in the same place, within you. Don’t ignore Him. Talk with Him. All throughout your day. Acknowledge Him. Tell Him “thank You” when He leads you throughout the day. Those great ideas you get during the day, that help…that’s Him. Let Him know you appreciate it. As you acknowledge Him, He will lead you more, and more. And of course, let Him know you love Him. For He certainly loves you! God leads God reveals God stirs He gives light He gives life He is love These are part of how we judge what we are “getting.” As Isaiah said (scripture above) Jesus did not judge by His body - by what He saw or what He heard. He judged by the Holy Spirit deep within Him. We are to do the same. “Where” are you hearing from? By judging by what you see? By what you hear someone say? None of this is necessarily accurate. What is the Lord saying on the “inside” of you. These things are crucial to know when you want precision in following the Holy Spirit. He gives wisdom. He gives understanding. He gives counsel. He gives might. He gives knowledge. He gives fear of the Lord. All from deep within you. If you’re not seeing one or more of these then spend time in looking up scripture about the subject matter and take them personally. Because they are in you. This is ‘Who” the Holy Spirit is; how He operates; and these are things we can expect from the Holy Spirit within us. When we need God’s knowledge on a matter in our lives, ask the Holy Spirit. He will reveal it to you. When you need Godly counsel - ask Holy Spirit. He will reveal what needs to be done. When you need might, ask Him. He will do it. And if we want to continue hearing from Him we must act on whatever He reveals to us. What He reveals will leave us with light, insight, love, & joy. A good tree produces good fruit…fruit of the Holy Spirit. These things will be the result. This is how you can tell what is happening in your life by what is showing up. If there’s a sudden “thought” and it’s accompanied by “light” and “joy” That’s the Holy Spirit. God is light and in Him there is no darkness - 1 John 1:5. In God’s presence is fullness of joy - Psalm 16:11. God’s Words are life - John 6:63. This is how you judge the revelation you are getting. Does it bring light? Does it bring joy? Does it show you something you couldn’t have known any other way? Does it bring life? If it’s yes to all of these questions, it’s from the Holy Spirit. If only one of these questions has a “yes” throw it out. 4. Leading and Revealing by the Holy Spirit Definition of Reveal: to make known through divine inspiration; to make something secret or hidden known. Definition of Lead: to guide on a way especially by going in advance; to direct on a course or in a direction; to go through; to direct the operations, activity, or performance of; to have charge of; to go at the head of. Ask yourself this: “Do I allow the Holy Spirit to reveal and lead me? To direct me? Do I follow what He says?” Being brutally honest with yourself will help you tremendously and lead you to your next step. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ — the things God has prepared for those who love Him, 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” Isaiah 11:2-3 (listed above) is how Jesus operated here on earth, by being led by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 4:1 - Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to go into the desert to fast and pray. This particular “leading” by the Holy Spirit involved a test for Jesus. Read Matthew 4 and Luke 4. The devil was allowed to tempt Jesus. It was a test. It was a temptation for Him. Otherwise it wouldn’t be called the “temptation in the wilderness.” Even Jesus got tested by the Father. The trying of your faith produces patience - James 1:3 - written by Jesus’ brother James. Jesus’ faith was refined by fire. God has to allow this because Jesus had to go through every trial and temptation that man has to go through in order to pay the price completely for us. The Holy Spirit leads us too if we follow His leadings from deep within our inner man. Not from the outside. And Not from our emotions. (See article on “Spirit, Soul, & Body”) He is wisdom. He is understanding. He is counsel. He is might. He is knowledge. He is the fear of the Lord. And He is in us. If you’ve read many of my articles the Lord has had me write, you see often I talk about the emotions. This is a big subject matter that causes the most trouble for people. Everywhere and in everything. We think we are our emotions. No, we are not. Emotions are something we have . Not something we are. We are so easily swayed by our emotions, and if they can sway you, they can stop you. Case in point, if you “feel” depressed, you then think you’re depressed. No. Depression is darkness. You are light. You are in God and He is in you. Cast off that depression in the Name of Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit what are the “doorways” you opened to let that thing in. Yes, it can be biological, chemical imbalance. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it and to help you with it. It is not who you are. If there is a chemical imbalance, pray over your med’s. Just like you do your food. Expect God’s blessing upon it to help you. (See article on “Healing.”) Pray about how He wants you to handle the situation. Don’t go on automatic pilot. Follow His leading. Same deal with all other negative emotions. Guilt. Bitterness. Lying/Deception. You name it. It’s not you. Ask the Lord what the deal is. Most of the time it is a spirit that has attached itself to you and is making you “feel” a certain way. Because if you are swayed by your feelings, it is likely you won’t fight it because you think it is “who you are” and the spirit can burrow in and make your life miserable. Take your Authority in Jesus Name and loose that thing and cast it off permanently in Jesus Name. (See article on “Taking Authority.”) There is likely a stronghold, an embedded way of thinking that needs to be changed by the Word of God. Ask the Lord how to handle it. Usually there is some unrepented sin, so repent of it, truly. Close the doorway in the Name of Jesus. Cut all cords to the sin in Jesus Name. And praise God for your deliverance. Then ask Him what scriptures to renew your mind with. This means every time an “old” thought shows up, cast it down in the Name of Jesus, and speak the scripture out loud to yourself to replace the old thought with the Word of God. Do this each time the old thought comes up. The first day is the roughest. The second day is easier. The third day it will only happen a couple of times. By day 4 it’s gone. This is how you renew your mind. When we need wisdom on a situation, ask Him. When He reveals it, I call these moments “ah-ha” moments. That’s because it’s like the “light” was turned on. Perfect phrase we have in our language. God is light. And when you get a “bright” idea…and it makes you smile…it’s revelation…that’s Him. The Holy Spirit. Haggai 1:14 - “So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,” I know this is Old Testament but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6, John 8:58, & Hebrews 1:12) - The Lord stirs our spirit’s within us!! A “stirring” to do something. This comes deep down within our being. Not outside. You have to discern where the “stirring” is coming from: outside of your physical body; or within, deep within your physical body, within something you can’t quite figure it out where because it’s deep within you. This is your spirit. It’s imperative to recognize. Many fellow brethren I have encountered are “moved” from the outside and they interpret it as the Holy Spirit. It is not. And if you don’t know what the Lord has said in scripture well enough you will be deceived. Deep within your inner man is where the Holy Spirit is. It is where leadings will come from. A hunch. A deep-down knowing. Sometimes they percolate from deep within your inner man to your mind and a thought will come up that way. Pay attention to those. That is the Holy Spirit. Psalm 16:7 says, “I will praise the LORD, Who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.” God counsels us, the Holy Spirit Who is our Counselor, teaches us as night if we allow Him to. Deep within our inner being. Not outside of our body. When you feel as if you are “forced” or “can’t help” but do a certain thing…that is never the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Gentleman. He never forces. Only the devil forces. Ask the Lord how to handle it. An evil spirit most likely needs to be loosed, sin repented of, cords burned, and ask the Holy Spirit for direction in the matter. (See article on Spiritual Warfare.) 5 . Specifics: Let’s look at specifics of “Who” He is: The Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of God Almighty 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 - “16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” 2 Chronicles 24:20 - “20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’ ” 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 - “12 We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” Genesis 1:2 - “2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” 6. He counsels us at night when we sleep. Psalms 16:7 - “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.” 7. He Is The Spirit of Power and Spirit of Love Acts 1:8 - “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” 2 Timothy 1:7 - He is the Spirit of Love. He is the Spirit of Power, and a Sound Mind: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” As we pursue walking with the Holy Spirit, we pursue Him moving in us in these ways. Because these things are in us. They are Him. Romans 5:5 - The Holy Spirit has shed the love of God within our hearts; and God is love - 1 John 4:16. 1 John 4:15-18 - “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 8. The Holy Spirit Guides Into All of the Truth, and He Speaks John 16:13 -“When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” And John 17:17 says “Your Word is Truth.” - The Holy Spirit will guide you in the Word if you let Him. And John 16:13- God’s Spirit is the Spirit of Truth: “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit will guide you in the Word if you ask Him and let Him. The Holy Spirit “leads”: Luke 4:1 - ““Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,” Romans 8:14 - ““For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Galatians 5:14 - ““But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The definition of “lead” or “leading” - to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort; to conduct by holding and guiding; to influence or induce; cause; to guide in direction, course, action, opinion; to bring; to take; to command or direct; to go at the head of or in advance of. All of these are ways to expect the Holy Spirit to “lead” you! The Holy Spirit will give leadings that are in line with the Word of God always. That is how you can check the leading or prompting within you. Sometimes it comes as a “hunch”. Sometimes it comes as a “thought” from deep within. Always test it by scripture. If you don’t know the scripture then ask the Lord. If you don’t get a scripture than let it go. Recall Paul in Acts 16 with the servant girl who was demonized with a spirit of divination. Paul didn’t do anything about it for weeks. Not until he was so bothered in his spirit by the Holy Spirit that he acted on how the Holy Spirit led him which was to cast the thing out of her. See also Ephesians 1:17-19 & 1 John 2:20,27. The Spirit and the Word, they go together ALWAYS! - John 4:23-24. Never one or the other by itself. And as the Holy Spirit leads you there are results: Peace - 1 Corinthians 14:33, Colossians 3:15; Light - 1 John 1:5; Joy - Psalm 16:11. When the Holy Spirit is leading you always look at what you are left with? If it’s heaviness, questioning, confusion = FORGET IT! It’s not the Holy Spirit. God is peace, light, love, joy. This is what you are left with when the Holy Spirit is leading you. 9. The Holy Spirit Is Also Called “Water” John 7:37-39 - “37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” And John 4:13, - “13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The Holy Spirit and the Word are equated to “water”. Ephesians 5:26 - “(That He would) make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word.” Need a bath? Get into the Word! The world is dirty. Too much time in it you can tell you need to go for a “swim”. 1 Corinthians 12:13 - “For we were all baptized by One Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the One Spirit to drink.” Holy Spirit = Word = Water = Truth. You can also put “love” in this mix. God is love. His Spirit is love. Want to knock your socks off sometime with revelation from the Holy Spirit: substitute one of those words for the one of the others in your study time. Like every time you see “Word” - substitute Holy Spirit. Or every time you see Holy Spirit - put in “love.” And so on. Major revelation!!!! The Word = Spirit. The Spirit is the Word. The Word is Spirit. Like John 4:23-24 that we are to worship God in Spirit and Truth. They always go together. If you try to do one more than the other, things will go off kilter. Too much “spirit” can get one off into “spiritualism” which will be effected by the devil and his angels - you have to balance “spirit” with the Word. Always. And rightly dividing the Word. I say that because I have seen fellow believers who get off track because of wrong doctrine and then when they “hear” a voice, or a so-called “prompting”, this false voice and false “prompting” uses scripture incorrectly the way the person believes it and it throws them way off base. (Think of Jesus when He was tempted. The devil used the 91st Psalm incorrectly. Jesus responded with how to correctly use the Word in that situation. Luke 4.) The Word, rightly seeing through revelation knowledge by the Holy Spirit what God has said, is your guard rail. Out of two or three witnesses - complete witnesses, complete understanding of the scripture (2 Corinthians 13:1) let every Word be established. Meaning, when you have a prompting or leading, or “hear” a voice - Check all of Scripture and what God has said about it on that subject matter and see if it goes with it or against it. Nothing contradicting. Pay attention to the contradictions if they are there. That means something is off. The Holy Spirit will NEVER lead you contrary to the Word. Never. That’s how you judge what you “heard” or “saw”. Not every vision, dream, or word is from God. What does it leave you with? There is also the pendulum going the other way and you can get too heavy in the Word and it will be “dry” and intellectual. No Spirit. Word without the Holy Spirit is simply written intellectualism. The Spirit isn’t in it. Just Rules. No Spirit. Just like the Pharisees. The two go together - Spirit and Word; Word and Spirit. Always. And where the Spirit is there is wisdom and revelation knowledge so that your eyes are enlightened to what He wants you to do. (Ephesians 1:17-18.) God IS wisdom! He IS revelation! He will enlighten your eyes as to what needs to be done. If there’s no “light” happening for you, ask the Lord what’s the deal. Have Him show you where you missed it. We all miss it. The important thing is to have a willing heart to be corrected. We can’t do life successfully without Him. If you’re around “Christians” or a church where there is no revelation and Godly wisdom, get out! Quick. Because He’s not there. And there won’t be any “joy,” “light” or “peace” - in God’s presence is fullness of joy , Psalm 16:11; God is light - 1 John 1:5; and God is the God of Peace , He keeps us separated unto Him wholly - spirit, soul, and body, and His peace settles our minds - guarding them . (1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Philippians 4:7.). Jesus is the God of Peace . These are the markers. These are what you “look” for. These are what you are left with when He is present! Not bondage. Galatians 5:1 - “1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” 10. The Holy Spirit is your Comforter, Helper, Teacher John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” One translation says: Helper, Comforter, Advocate, and Standby. He is all of these things for you. He is there, within you, to help you. He is there, within you, to comfort you. He is there, within you, to be your advocate…most often to yourself. Because we always tear ourselves down. Once you are saved, the Blood of Jesus covers you. If you get off into sin, then He will let you know you shouldn’t be doing that particular thing. If you keep on doing it and ignoring Him, He will just stay quiet and let you deal with whatever outcome will come upon you because of your actions. He will never leave you or forsake you even to the end of the world. (Hebrews 13:5) If someone is led to intercede for you, then you will be given grace. The ultimate of it, sin, will be the death of your physical body so that your Spirit may live with the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). God never turns His back on a prodigal son or daughter. Ever. 11. The Holy Spirit can be grieved: Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” You are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Sealed means sealed. The seal cannot be broken. But you can grieve the Holy Spirit by not obeying Him. That scratchy, uncomfortable feeling you have on the inside of you when you are about to do that “thing” that you want to do. That is grieving the Holy Spirit. Sometimes there can be a “heaviness”. Heaviness can also be demonic oppression. Whatever the situation, get on your knees and repent of it and ask the Holy Spirit how to clean this up. He will lead you. If you have repeatedly disobeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading your heart gets hardened. You won’t be able to “hear” Him. There needs to be repentance if your heart has gotten hard. Talk with the Lord about it and follow His lead. 12. Praying in Tongues: Let’s clear up some questions about this subject because there are many. All believers can pray in tongues, whether they do or not is up to them. It is part of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we received when we got born again. And for those who do not they will only have a certain depth in their relationship with the Lord because they are relating to the Lord in physical terms and not by means of the Spirit. God is Spirit. Those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:23-24.) Let’s look at a few Scriptures: Mark 16:17 - “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My Name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;” We see signs accompany ALL those who believe - speaking in tongues is one of the signs. It’s the Holy Spirit that gives us utterance to speak: Acts 2:4 -“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” You have to enable the Holy Spirit to speak through you, you are using your voice with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It may be done in your known language, or in wordless groans, or most often it is in another language. Sometimes in God’s heavenly language, sometimes in another known language that will minister to someone who hears you, just like Acts 2. But you have to allow it. You have to release it. You are the one speaking, the Holy Spirit is giving you the utterance. He is enabling you. Ephesians 6:19-20 - (Paul asking for the Ephesians church to pray for him) “And for me that utterance may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known (in boldness) the mystery of the Gospel….Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” We can pray to access utterance and boldness through the Holy Spirit. But if you want to go a step further…simply expect it. He’s already in you. You have all of the Holy Spirit within and all His giftings. Your expectation creates God’s manifestation in your life!! And we see this in Mark 13:11 - “11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit inspires the words we speak! How can you tell? What is your “joy” level and “peace” level? He will always leave you with joy and peace. And you’ll tend not to know what you are saying until you say it. Always check your joy and peace level. 1 Corinthians 1:5, 7 - “5 For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” You don’t lack any spiritual gift. He’s given you everything. Now what are you doing with it? Are you using what He has given you? Isaiah 56:6-7 - “And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minster to Him, to love the Name of the Lord, and to be His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My Covenant—7. These I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Romans 8:26-27 - “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And He Who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Notice the Holy Spirit has a “mind”. He is a person. Not an enigma. And He is a Spirit. We are physical. We have to learn how He operates and work with Him. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray regarding a situation. Let’s face it, we don’t know everything. We don’t have all the facts. But God does! That’s the perfect time to pray in tongues!! Talk with Him about the situation in your natural language just like you would with a friend. Then begin speaking in tongues and by faith trusting the Holy Spirit will give you what needs to be prayed in tongues according to God’s will, as He has said in Romans. Sometimes we wind up praying for something completely different than what we started out. Case in point: One time I was concerned regarding a personal matter, so I spoke to the Lord about all my concerns - I know He knows my concerns but when I speak them out loud often He gives me revelation about the situation. Sometimes I don’t even need to pray in tongues over it when that occurs. Sometimes He reveals scriptures to stand on for the situation. So that is what I will pray, using those scriptures and by faith receive it. But there are other times I don’t get anything as I’m talking with Him. So I kick it over into tongues. In this situation I was praying along and suddenly the word “Puerto Rico” comes out. (Often the Lord has me pray over nations/geographical regions, so this isn’t unusual for me.) This wasn’t what I was intending to pray over. Never crossed my mind to pray for that island. But I don’t know what is important and what should be prayed as Romans 8:26-27 says. I know the Holy Spirit does. I trust Him and keep praying. The Holy Spirit often reveals something of importance and gives me direction regarding something entirely different than the thing I had started praying. And the entire notion of the original request simply goes away and I know He’s got it handled. The situation resolves as the Lord simply takes care of it without me messing with it. I love that. I simply trust He has “got my back” so to speak. And so, the Lord had me pray for Puerto Rico instead. In this prayer the Holy Spirit showed me a vision. He does that often with me while praying in tongues. The vision comes from deep inside me. I saw the area, looked like rural areas, covered in water. Things floating in it. I saw bodies floating in it. And I saw heavy rain falling. I was led to pray for the island for people’s protection. Within a few months the island had the most sever hurricane it has ever encountered in recorded history. Not blowing smoke up my skirt. It was all the Holy Spirit. He knows what’s what. We just simply follow Him. I shared this as an example of how to trust Him and what He gives you. Just do what He gives you to do. We trust whatever He gives because we know it is according to God’s will that the Holy Spirit leads us to pray. It is what He sees as important, not necessarily what we “think” is important. You can trust the Holy Spirit will give you capability to pray in another language and it is always in line with the will of God according to Romans 8:27, Mark 16:17, Acts 2:1-14. He’s got the facts and He knows how to lead you in praying what is needed and bring scriptures to your remembrance to use for praying over them in English, (or whatever is your natural tongue) using your faith that He has given you. It’s nothing you have to muster from within yourself. Simply trust He will do what He has said He will do. He is not a man that He should lie - Numbers 23:19. This is a “dimensional” thing and Authority thing. Meaning God gave us Authority on this planet. What we say, goes. In this dimension God gave us this Authority. He will not interfere or intervene in this dimension unless asked by a person. He can’t. Legally. That’s how He set it up, that man has dominion on the earth. That is why God is looking for people who will pray in tongues, to intercede for people, nations, people groups, families because we have Authority to ask Him. God is looking for prayers to intercede, stand in the gap for those who can’t or don’t know how to pray. Ezekiel 22:30-31 - “30 “‘I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall (in prayer) and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31 So I will pour out My wrath on them and consume them with My fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done’, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Very important: when the Lord gives you something in prayer, whether it comes out in the words you speak (prophecy), or a vision - He gives it to you to pray about! There are one of three possible reasons why: 1. Through prayer you can stop it from happening; 2. Through prayer you can’t stop it but you can decrease how bad the event will be and how many it will effect; 3. Through prayer you cannot stop the event or decrease it but you can prepare people for what’s coming. As you are praying over the event the Holy Spirit will give you the impression of which one of the three it is. And if you are to prepare for what’s coming, He will tell you. He will give you details of what needs to be done, just like He did with Noah, and Joseph in Egypt with the famine. One more part. Sometimes you will be so excited as you pray you’ll sense the “excitement” and you want to move. Like jump, run, or dance. DO IT!! Sometimes the Holy Spirit expresses Himself that way through people, through you. You know it’s correct when your joy goes even higher. And you feel like a huge weight got lifted. That is all a result of the Holy Spirit breaking stuff off of you. And yes…even this in scripture: 2 Samuel 6:16-23 - “16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul (David’s wife) watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, ‘How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!’ 21 David said to Michal, ‘It was before the Lord, Who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when He appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” 23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.” * So many times I have experienced people going off the rails and getting WAY WEIRD!!! The Holy Spirit is not weird! Inspired - yes! Doing things that are not normal - yes. But you won’t have this weird feeling, like you just feel like you jumped into dirt and need a bath. You can sense something is “off.” Trust that! That’s Holy Spirit letting you know you got off track. It happens to all of us. But we have to learn how all of this works. Praying in the Spirit is …well, Spiritual. We are not. Not yet. We are physical. We cannot naturally see into the Spirit realm. We do not know how it operates. This is why we have to rely on the Holy Spirit. He will lead and guide us in the way that we should go. Psalm 32:8 - “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.” When things start to go off the rails, prayer will get hard. Tough. Like you gotta push through something heavy. Can even seem like there’s “nothing” there. Dry. This shows the Holy Spirit has lifted! If there’s dryness, that’s a sign, a warning. That’s not being led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the Word are water!! You need to “take a bath” in the Word. How you get back on track is get to scripture once again. Use the ones you started your prayer with, or whatever the Holy Spirit is leading you to. Speak it out. Repeat it. Knuckle down into your spirit and pull out words out of your heart by using the Scripture itself. Go as far as you can in your native language, then roll it over again into tongues. Order of praying in tongues: — Use a scripture to start with , can be any that you will go back to during your prayer time if and/or when you need it. Personally I tend to go to: Jude 20-21 (part) - “20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God,”; and Isaiah 28:11-12 - “'11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people’, 12 To whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,’ And, ‘This is the refreshing’;” Ephesians 1:17-19 - “17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power” As I pray I go into prayer praying one or all of these, and any others the Holy Spirit is reminding me of, and praying them back to God and then I add something like this: “Father God, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for Who You are and Who You are within me. I trust YOU with every ounce of my being. And I thank You that as I pray in tongues in the Holy Spirit, that I am edified. I am built up on my most holy faith on things I am standing for from Your Word in my life, my family, my situations, as I pray in tongues. I thank You Father God that You will reveal answers to me as I pray in tongues and I keep myself focused on Your love. For that is Who You are and Your love strengthens me and gives me insight. I am standing on what these scriptures say that praying in tongues is a “rest” - means I don’t have to work hard at it and you cause me to rest and not to stress; and I have wisdom and revelation from the Holy Spirit regarding stuff that I’m praying and regarding situations in my life, or anything else the Holy Spirit wants to show me, and I thank You for it.” Then I open my mouth and utter the strange sounds that come out of my mouth. — Slow down your words so you can hear them . Pronounce them. Speak clearly. Write down any that catch your attention. Sometimes a word or phrase will repeat. Write it down as best you can - because it’s in tongues you won’t know exactly how to spell words but the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you. Words in your own language may start coming out. Write them down. Sometimes a scripture comes up. Write it down. You can look it up when the time is right. If a word or phrase “bugs” you, ask the Lord right then and there, out loud, about that phrase or word and then roll it back over into tongues. Sometimes the Lord will reveal it to you right then. Write it down. (Sometimes He reveals it later.) You can look up some of the words with an internet search later. This is showing your faith. Acting on the Words He is giving you. He will then give you more when you pray. Be watchful of pride. It likes to seep in. The only reason you can pray in tongues is the Holy Spirit, it has nothing to do with you. You are simply being obedient to His leading. — Keep your focus on your words as you continue to pray. And when you don’t, no worries. Sometimes our minds drift off into random stuff like, what you need to do that day; what you need to pick up at the grocery store…you get my point. This is why we used scripture to start with. Go back to that scripture, speak it out loud again. You will now, on purpose, be focused once again on the Holy Spirit and see what Holy Spirit gives you to say in addition to it. Maybe repeating that scripture. Maybe adding other scriptures that come up out of your heart. There may be other things He gives you directly out of your heart. Phrases. Words. Keep hitting them. Repeating them. You’ll find a flow of the Holy Spirit. This is typically when prophecy comes out. You go as far as you can in English, then kick it over into tongues again. Often this gets “deeper” in Him. Trust the Holy Spirit is speaking into the atmosphere whatever He needs spoken into this reality. It’s that “dimensional” thing I spoke of earlier. — Groanings: As Romans 8:26 says. Sometimes groanings come out. Deep. Guttural. Follow it out BUT don’t be moved by your emotions! You may even wind up sobbing, uncontrollably. DON’T GET WRAPPED IN THE EMOTION!!! EVER!!! I REPEAT - DON’T GET WRAPPED UP IN THE EMOTION! E V E R!! PRESS THROUGH IT UNTIL you wind up laughing!!! THIS is vital! In His presence is fullness of Joy! There’s joy in the house of prayer!!! DON’T stay stuck in sadness, or heaviness, or grief, or sorrow. PUSH THROUGH until you hit the flow of the Holy Spirit in laughter and Joy!! I say this because I’ve seen so many prayers get off track because they “like” the emotion. The heaviness. The sadness. They “feel” like they are really doing something. No. They are not. They are getting pulled off by their emotions and ultimately getting hoodwinked by the devil. If they continue in this ultimately their life will be in torment. It never has a good outcome. Push through until you hit joy in the Spirit. Tears will turn to smiles. Then chuckles. You will start laughing. As you keep “following” it, you will wind up laughing in hysterics. No burden. And lightness of heart will come and you will absolutely know the presence of the Lord is with you. — Always date your prayer journal each time you pray . Sometimes when we pray we are able to stop things. Sometimes we can’t stop them but we can decrease how bad they will be - like that Puerto Rico prayer. I knew it was going to happen but I also “knew” that I could decrease how bad it would be for some people. That is what is called “standing in the gap.” (Ez. 22:30.) In your prayer journal you can always go back to see what the Lord has given you. Be sure to write down any “impressions” you get from the Holy Spirit. — Burdens of prayer. When the Holy Spirit knows He can trust you to pray, there will be times when you get a “burden” to pray. Sometimes it may start where you just “know” something is up, and you gotta pray. Do it! Sometimes it shows by you being “restless.” An uneasiness that you can’t shake off. All of this means something big is about to happen to you or someone you love; perhaps to your town, city, or state. And as you pray about it, you may not be able to get a “release” from the Holy Spirit about it. Means it’s not prayed through until you hit “joy” and you get the release. Keep staying with it until you do get the release. You know that you know in your spirit by the Holy Spirit that it’s done. For example: At one point in my life I had told the Lord that if He wanted me to get up in the middle of night to pray, that I would. So as I was sleeping one night He woke me up! He said, “Get up and pray. Now.” So I got out of bed. Went to the living room. I was about to sit on the couch but the Lord said, “Get on your face on the floor.” “Yes, Sir.” I replied. I could sense the urgency with this. As I began praying in tongues deep groans came out. I was quiet about it. I didn’t want to wake up my husband. It was like a silent movie. My mouth was moving but no sound. Spiritually it was intense. Deep weeping came out. And at the same time I was thinking, “Wow, this is strange. I wonder what’s up.” I stayed with it. And then the Lord showed me a vision. I knew it was the person I was praying for. I didn’t know who they were. I saw the face. They were engulfed in flames and screaming a blood curdling scream. As I was watching this I too was as if I was screaming her scream. Then it all STOPPED. Suddenly. Nothing after it. The burden was gone. The vision gone. The tears gone. I got up to my knees and asked the Lord “Was that it? Is that all. Am I done now?” He said, “Yes. Go to bed now.” So I did. The next day on the news I saw a report of someone who had died horribly from something that had burned. (I won’t disclose the detail of it.) I was shocked. I was very upset because I didn’t think I had done enough. (Notice “my thoughts” verses what the Lord had said. This is why you can’t trust in only your thinking.) The Lord said that prayer was enough. I trust Him. I knew by the Holy Spirit that the Lord wanted her to receive Him before she died. I knew that in the prayer. I didn’t have to figure it out. And I knew at the time of praying that the event was going to happen. I didn’t think it was anything I would ever know about. I didn’t need to. I simply trust Him. He got done what He needed. I’m sure He had others besides me praying for her and the others involved. It is only an example of how the Lord will use you, if you allow Him. He will do this with you too. 13. Spiritual Gifts Yes, they are for today, they did not “die away.” The teaching about spiritual gifts no longer a part of the Church is no where in scripture . Try to find two or three scriptures that say so. Spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit. You cannot have the Holy Spirit and not have His giftings. It’s not possible. They are the result of Him within you. The more you spend time with the Holy Spirit and being obedient to His leadings, the more the giftings will manifest. Spiritual gifts are in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. And as you read the New Testament you can see the giftings of the Holy Spirit in operation through people. God puts these things in His Word to teach us how they operate so we know when they are operating in us. Giftings are for other people. They are not for yourself. And they should operate by love . All the spiritual gifts when in operation correctly will be operating by love. If you don’t, then the gifting(s) that the Lord has created you with can be used incorrectly out of ego and deception. Ultimately be twisted by the devil. All people have at least one gifting. It’s how the Lord created us. And when someone is not born again and has Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge operating in their life and they never turn to the Lord, the devil will use that gifting his way. The person will be deceived by deceptive spirits and be a “clairvoyant” or “fortune teller” and such like. It’s simply the gift the God gave that person being used in the wrong way. How you reflect on what your gifting is, ask the Lord. And reflect on your life. Especially as a child. The things you liked and wanted to do, what you're good at and are usually related to that gifting. Go to 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and see how that “job” fits into the gifting(s). Every job does. 14. Spiritual Fruit: Comes from spending time with Him. Not simply a “Sunday Christian.” You have to put what you know to work. The result of the fruit is from spending time with Him, giving heed to Him and doing what He says to do. Galatians 5:16-26 - “16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Notice in verse 16 we have a choice. We can walk by the Spirit or not. When someone does not walk by the Spirit they are automatically walking by the flesh. And there are the outcomes listed of each. Again…look what is showing up in your life. When we see something we don’t like we have to ask the Lord where are we off track and make any corrections He gives us. 15. Having “Utterance” and “Revelation Knowledge” Go Together Acts 4:23-25 - "23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 Who through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,” then the Holy Spirit gave them a scripture that Peter and spoke….continue on to verse 31 - “31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness.” The Holy Spirit gives you words to speak from the Word of God, whether it be in your known language or in tongues; and He gives you boldness and revelation about what the Holy Spirit is talking about! This is what He does. It is light. He is light. He is the light of the world. This is a result of having Him within your spirit. Utterance, revelation knowledge, light! - this is what you look for to see if the Holy Spirit is present. 1 Timothy 4:1 - “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” In 1 Timothy we can see that Paul was given utterance and revelation knowledge by the Holy Spirit. I say that because there’s no clear Old Testament scripture that states what Paul says. This was direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. And this most likely happened through prayer. Revelation from the Holy Spirit most often comes through prayer and studying Scripture as He leads. It is not the only way but it is the most frequent. It can come through teaching of the Word, or dreams, or visions, but the biggest way the Holy Spirit gives you revelation knowledge is through prayer and the Word. And as you are praying in tongues, He will at some point give you utterance in a known language. Write down whatever He gives you if you can. He will also give Scriptures along with it. If you didn’t get Scripture with it, ask Him. Sometimes He may want you to look up a subject matter in the Word. Another place where we see the Holy Spirit revealed something to someone is Luke 2:26 - “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” The revelation corresponded to action and to speaking. This was Simeon, the priest in the Temple that year. The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon and revealed this to him. Most likely this was done while Simeon was in prayer. He had “gotten” that he was waiting for the “consolation of Israel.” He knew…by the Holy Spirit. There are so many places in the Word about when God revealed things to people, including Jesus. Recall how Jesus would suddenly “know” what people were thinking. Jesus would then respond with speaking. Speaking the revelation from the Holy Spirit sometimes. Everything the Holy Spirit reveals is not necessarily to be shared. Many times it is to pray about for someone else. It’s part of Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12.) 16. Spend time in reading Romans 8. (Printed at the end of the article.) And then re-read it. Read it in different translations. You’ll get more insight. And then do the same with John 10, 14-17. And then re-read it again. There is a wealth of Spiritual knowledge about the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit within you and how to follow Him. Another really interesting thing Paul says so many times is to “follow your conscience.” Don’t violate it. When you do, you step out of faith. Romans 14:22-23 - “22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” See about the conscience: 1 Corinthians 10:25, 27-29; 1 Timothy 1:19; 1 Peter 3:16; Hebrews 13:8; 1 Corinthians 8: 7, 10, 12; Acts 24:16; 2 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Timothy 4:2; Romans 9:1; 1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3; Titus 1:15; Hebrews 9:9, 14; Romans 2:15; 1 Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 10:22; 1 Peter 3:21; 2 Corinthians 4:2. 17. Test the spirits Not all spirits are of God and they always have a con game going to “seem” like they are from God, looking like an angel of light 2 Corinthians 11:14. 1 John 4:1-6 Any spirit that does not say Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not a spirit of God. 18. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has Anointed Me… This was after Jesus’ baptism with John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit came upon Him and within Him. The Holy Spirit IS the Anointing! Isaiah 10:27 The Anointing removes burdens and destroys yokes. The Anointing is a person. The Anointing is the Holy Spirit. “Christ” is the Greek word for the Hebrew word “Messiah”. “Messiah” means “The Anointed One”. So the term “Christ Jesus” or “Jesus Christ” refers to different aspects of the Holy Spirit Anointing on Jesus and how He is working in a particular manner. For example: “Christ Jesus” means The Anointed Jesus - scriptures with this term are specifically showing how the Anointing works. “Christ Jesus” is usually about the Anointing of Jesus in operation while He was in His earthly ministry, of which we have access to because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is how the Holy Spirit works on Jesus - thus how He can work on you if you stay in repentance (because not doing so hardens one’s heart and clogs up the “hearing.”); and stay in prayer and the Word and follow Him. It’s simple. The second usage: “Jesus Christ” - has to do with the Resurrection. The epitome of the Anointing is the Resurrection with the changed mortal body. We see this in Romans 8:11 -“But if the Spirit of Him that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit Who lives in you.” And Ephesians 1:19-20 - “19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,” “Jesus Christ” is talking about something that has been given to us in the Anointing by Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. “Christ” means the Anointing which is the Holy Spirit. So if we word that passage like this: “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power, because His power is the Holy Spirit, toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power through the Holy Spirit which He worked in the Anointing when He raised Jesus from the dead by His power through the Holy Spirit in the Anointing and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” We see more to that passage than we did before. Every time you see the word “Christ” by itself it means all of what it can mean: The Anointed Jesus; the Anointing—the Holy Spirit; and it can mean the ultimate of Resurrection Power. You have to pay attention to the inward leading of the Holy Spirit about a passage to see what He specifically wants to show you. I have found that “Christ” when it’s by itself usually means the Anointing (through the Holy Spirit) and how it works. Ephesians 3:16-19 AMP - “16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself]. Notice the words “Christ” - The Anointing, and “His Spirit” are grammatically used interchangeably. They are the same. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing, and they are love within you. And God wants you to know about this, His Power…WITHIN you! Now look at these scriptures with the word “Christ” interchanged with “Holy Spirit”: 1 Corinthians 15:22 - In the Holy Spirit I am made alive. Colossians 1:27 - the Holy Spirit is in me and is the hope of glory. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - Now it is God Who makes both us and you stand firm in the Holy Spirit. He Anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 2:14 - Now thanks be unto God Who always causes me to triumph in the Holy Spirit, and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. Galatians 5:1 - I stand fast in the liberty where the Holy Spirit has made me free and I am not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through the Holy Spirit Who strengthens me. Romans 6:7-8 - For he that is dead is freed from sin. I am dead to sin and alive with the Holy Spirit. *There is a difference in these two passages: Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with the Anointed One; and I no longer live, but the Holy Spirit lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. Ephesians 2:5-6 - Even though I was dead in sins, God has quickened me together with the Anointed One through the Holy Spirit. By grace am I saved; and made me sit with Him in heavenly places. Now the next time your in the Epistles keep this in mind and see what deeper revelations you get from the Holy Spirit by reading them like this! 19. How to “Hear” Like previously stated you are to judge what you heard or the prompting you got by several factors: “Where” did the voice come from? Outside of your head. Inside of your head: if it’s inside, did it come up from deep within your inner being; or did it just “pop” in. From outside of your head is NOT the Holy Spirit but another spirit. Sometimes it may seem like someone is speaking into your ear. If it’s inside your head it is either from a spirit or your own thinking. When it comes from deep down within you, like it’s bubbling up from the depth of you into your head, it’s the Holy Spirit. Does it go in line with all of scripture; or does it contradict some? The more you know of the Word the greater the tests. And the devil is sneaky. There are times he will use scripture to attempt to deceive you. Don’t go against any inner warning. It’s like this gut feeling like you got punched. Sometimes it shows up as a subtle warning. Quieter. Like this uneasiness about what you heard and it ALWAYS brings questions up to your mind. “Questions” always show that you DO NOT have peace in your conscience. So let go of what you heard cause it’s not God. What does that “word” leave you with: joy, peace, knowing what to do - insight, light, does it strengthen you. Or does it leave you with questions, confusion, not understanding, fear, uneasiness, consternation: Psalm 16:11 ESV - “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 1 Corinthians 14:33 AMP- “33 for God is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order.” Colossians 3:15 AMP - “15 Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds]. To this peaceful state indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].” Romans 15:13 - “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 1 Timothy 4:1 - “Now the Spirit expressly says …” - in this passage when you look for any other passages like this about what people will be like in the last days, there are none. This one speaks of “how” the Holy Spirit can communicate something: “The Spirit expressly says”. Restating: He speaks from deep within you. Not outside of you, your body. Visitations can happen but they are not common. If a visitation from the Lord occurs, always test the spirits as 1 John 4:1-4 says, ask the Spirit/spirit: “Did Jesus Christ come in the flesh?” The reason why you want to ask this question is evil spirits do not acknowledge that they have lost the eternal battle. They still think they can win. Seriously delusional. As 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 - “7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” God had us on His mind before we were born! Before God created “time” - this was when we were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life - Revelation 17:8 - “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.” And a second passage, out of 2 or 3 witnesses - Revelation 13:8 Berean Standard - “And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.” And Psalm 139:16 - “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 20. He Gives You Strength Ephesians 3:16-17 - “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by HIs Spirit in the inner man; that Christ…” John 14:16-17 AMP - “16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor--Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.” Here’s another verse of scripture that shows the Holy Spirit is not taken away. He remains within us — forever!! He is the Spirit of Truth. He is our strength. The Joy of the Lord is our strength…Nehemiah 8:10. How to judge what you have happening in your life: questions, confusion, unhappy, killing, stealing, destroying; or is it joy, peace, strength, life, love…these are markers of “Who” or “who” is active in your life - John 10:10. Other Scriptures to Note 2 Corinthians 5:14 (TPT, TMT, KJV, NIV)- “14 For Christ’s love compels us…” He compels us; He constrains us - doing so with urgency, a pressing necessity; He fuels our passion and motivates us; He moves us to extremes. 1 Corinthians 14:15 - “So what shall I do? l’ll pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.” - As a statement of faith. Focus on scripture as you are praying in tongues. That is praying with your understanding. Then the Holy Spirit will give you tidbits of insight. And then you simply trust Him by faith that He has it handled. 1 Corinthians 14:4 - He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself …. 1 Corinthians 14 - verse 19, Pauls said he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthian church. And they were prolific in it and got off track because there was no order to it. They were undisciplined and only leaned in to that part of the Spiritual gifts. That’s why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. Back to 1 Corinthians 14:14 - “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays but by understanding is unfruitful.” We make our understanding fruitful by using scripture to start the prayer with and go back to it if things go off , you get distracted, or if there is a lull. Speak the Scriptures out loud to the Lord and keep going as far as you can until you can’t go any further in your language, then go into tongues. Numbers 11:24-27 - So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and He took some of the power of the Spirit that was on Him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied —but did not do so again. 26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” I love this scripture in Numbers!! The Lord came down and took some of His power of the Spirit that He had put on Moses and put it on the 70 elders, including the dudes who were back in camp! And they all prophesied. It sure is interesting that when the Spirit is on people, He talks. And He’s got a lot to say. He is a person! Nowadays it’s tough because there are so many false prophets BUT the Lord told us there would be in the end times chapters of the Gospels; and in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 He told us to weigh prophecies and throw out what is not right and hold on to what is good: “19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. ” And we test them by what the Word says: are we left with joy? - Psalm 16:11; are we left with peace? - John 14:28; are we left with light, revelation? - 1 John 1:5 and Isaiah 11:2. Ephesians 3:19 - God the Father wants us to know the love of Christ, the love of the Anointing, the love of the Holy Spirit which passes knowledge so that we will be filled with all of God’s fullness. The Love of God gives knowledge. We can’t have Godly knowledge unless we allow the love of God to flow and glow in our lives!!! Love and knowledge go together! ! Philippians 1:9 that our love would abound (because we choose to) more and more in knowledge and in all judgement. We can’t judge things correctly unless we are operating in the Love of God. Verses 10-12 we will then be able to approve things that are excellent, Godly, and sincere without offense and filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ and all of it is to the paise and glory of God!! 1 John 2:20, 27 - AMP “20 But you have an Anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the Truth. 27 As for you, the Anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His Anointing teaches you about all things and as that Anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it (He) has taught you, remain in Him.” “Remain” - #3306 meno - abide, wait, remain. It’s the same word as abide and wait. Wait on the Holy Spirit’s leading, on His teaching you; abide - live with Him by obeying what He leads you to do. When we don’t we grieve Him. When we do grieve Him we won't have any peace. Just repent. Clean it up. Do whatever He is leading you to do. He never leaves us even if we don’t repent but He’s not happy. So make it right with Him. God said He would be with us even to the end of the earth! He would never leave us nor forsake us. So…yeah…once you have received Him, you are His! Now that we understand more of “Who” the Holy Spirit is, how He operates, and that He is in us, we can understand more depth in scripture - the Holy Spirit IS love, He has poured it out in our hearts, love is what teaches us, and He is this power within us, the power to raise mortal bodies and create universes!!! Let’s look at the Ephesians 3 prayer: Ephesians 3:16-20 - “16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 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,” The part of the sentence in bold - Paul is praying that we would grasp ALL the dimensions (length, height, depth) of the love of the Holy Spirit-His Anointing that is WITHIN us!!! And the more we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us, the more that is activated within us!!! What we don’t know, we won’t have. What we have revelation about is what we will have! 2 Timothy 1:7 - “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” John 14:26-27 - “But the Advocate, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 1 Corinthians. 2:3-16 - “3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of the Anointing. We have the mind of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:11 - “…But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” John 14:16 - “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—” This is another very important verse to those who have thought you can loose your salvation. If you have thought that, read John 14:16 again. And put it with other scriptures like: John 10:28-30; Ephesians 1:13; & 2 Corinthians 1:20-22, listed below. Out of 2 or 3 witnesses let every Word be established: “28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are One.” “When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” “20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He Anointed us, 22 set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” If you still don’t believe that salvation is eternal, you need to allow the Holy Spirit to show you in way you can receive it. God’s promises are “yes” and “amen”. You will either believe what He has said, or you won’t. Not believing something God has clearly stated will make your life miserable. “Choose you this day Life or death; blessing or cursing.” What will you choose? John 6:63 - “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - “17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 - “For we were all baptized by One Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the One Spirit to drink.” John 4:14 - “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Philippians 1:19 - Supply of the Spirit - "19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,” We serve God by His Spirit, Philippians 3:3 - “3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—“ 2 Timothy 1:13-14 Keep the Word which is in you by the Holy Spirit - “13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 - “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” John 10:30 - “30 I and the Father are one.” 1 John 4:6 - “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood.” Titus 3:5-7 - “5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope (absolute expectancy) of eternal life.” Galatians 5:4-6 - ‘4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:17 - “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 - “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” John 6:63 - “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are Life.” Matthew 12:28 - “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Ephesians 1:13 - “In Him you also, when you heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” Acts 4:31 - “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness.” Matthew 28:19 - “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Mark 12:36 - “David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’ Mark 13:11 - “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.” John 15:26 - ““When the Helper comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,” The word: "proceed" - means to come from the source. Romans 8:9 - “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” 1 John 4:1-2 - “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,” 1 Corinthians 2 “1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit 6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love Him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. Romans 8 - ESV 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Heirs with Christ 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Future Glory 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified. *(If this gives rise to questions for you read the article on “God’s Calling.” God’s seed He foreknew and wrote our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, we are who He has called, justified by the Blood of Jesus, and will glorify upon death and resurrection.) God’s Everlasting Love 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God Who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the One Who died—more than that, Who was raised—Who is at the right hand of God, Who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For Your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What are spiritual cords, all relationships have cords, decisions have cords, decisions have reactions, repeating cycles, why do cycles repeat Cords - (yeah, it's a thing) Article below. For downloadable PDF click link below. PDF Cords Yeah, this is a thing. I know…who knew? Let’s take a look at what scripture has to say about it then how to tell if you are dealing with this and how to pray about these things. Proverbs 5:21-23 - “21 For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all your paths. 22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. 23 For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly” Hosea 11:4 - “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.” Isaiah 5:18 - “Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,” Psalm 107:13-14 - “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.” Psalm 140:5 - “The arrogant have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path.” Job 30:11 - ESV “Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.” Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 - “6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Hebrews 12:29 - “or our God is a consuming fire.” As you can see from the scriptures there are different types of cords. Some are good and some are bad. The two main types are cords of sin and traps or snares that have cords. Sin has cords. This is the most common one we have to deal with. Case in point, when there is recurring sin that you can’t seem to stop - a cycle that keeps repeating - it usually has a cord. It can also have a demon that is attached to you with that very same cord. Even if you’re repented of the sin, been studying scripture to change your thinking, but you still find the sin recurs. That is a cord. And cords can attach demons to a particular behavior. You know there’s a demon when you “can’t stop.” The other is a trap or snare. These are put in place by the devil. But he can’t place a trap unless we have created an opening or it is time for a test. Many times the openings come from our thought life. If we haven’t been taking our thoughts captive as 2 Corinthians 5:3-6 says, and mulling something over repeatedly the Lord may allow a test, or if we have started to speak what has been going on in our thoughts, then that creates an opening for the devil to throw something at us. There are also cords with relationships, whether it is a friendship, partnership in business, or romantic - all have cords. If the relationship was toxic, there were cords. If the relationship was romantic and is someone you just can’t “seem” to get over and you think of them a lot, may even have depression from it - there’s cords. All these things hang on with cords. Anything that is “plaguing” you is a cord. How to get rid of them: Ask for forgiveness of the sin and receive it. As Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 says, sever the cord(s) in Jesus Name, and loose all demons attached. Hebrews 12:29 - With the mighty fire of God Almighty, or sometimes I say the Fire of the Holy Spirit, I call the fire of God to burn up the cords and all residue of them. Like 1 Kings 18:30-39 says, His fire consumed the sacrifice with not only the animal but the wood, water, stones, and earth it was upon. There was nothing left! Ask the Lord to show you when your thoughts are going off track and take them captive in Jesus Name, cast them down, & replace with the Word of God regarding that matter.

What am I supposed to do, What am I meant to do, What is my calling, How do I know my calling, God, Jesus, God's Calling Article below. Or downloadable PDF link . PDF God's Calling God the Father has a calling and He has put it upon Himself God has His very own calling and we see this in Ephesians 1:18 “…what is the hope of His calling” What is the “hope of His calling?” Let’s look at the word “calling” in Strong’s - Greek #2821: Klésis -“invitation; always of a divine call. (from 2564 /kaléō, "to call, summon") – used of God inviting all people to receive His gift of salvation – with all His blessings that go with it (Ro 11:29; Eph 4:4; 2 Pet 1:10). The divine invitation to embrace salvation in the kingdom of God” God’s Own Personal Calling is for All Men to Embrace Salvation! That’s far bigger than what we have thought before! When you put Ephesians 1:18 with 1 Timothy 2:4-6; 2 Tim 1:9-10; and 2 Peter 3:9 it makes a fuller picture: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you… who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth . For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time…He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time , but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, Who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel …The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance .” That’s powerful! God’s own calling on Himself is for all men to be saved and know what He has done for us through Christ Jesus! His grace with this calling was done before time began (2 Tim. 1). That means before Genesis 1:4-5 when God created “time.” (*See articles on Crucifixion and Second Death.) This was when God wrote our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life - it was before the foundation of the world - Ephesians 1:3-6 and Revelation 13:8 NIV. THIS is God’s calling - to save mankind! And when He says something, it’s a promise, and all of God’s promises are “yes” and “so be it.” God will be sure His promise made to HIMSELF will come to pass. You don’t have to worry about it. You can count on it.

Identity, Believer, Who am I in Jesus, who does Jesus say I am, God, Jesus, Bible, You are who God says you are, You Are A Believer! No Matter What Article below or click link for downloadable PDF PDF You Are a Believer! Everyone believes something. Whether it’s for our best interest or worst. You can’t help but be a believer. It is how we are made. Just as we have two eyes, two ears, a mouth, and walk upright, we also believe. It’s in our very make up. We are made in God’s image. God is a believer. That is what “faith” means in Greek: to believe. This is why faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:6 ). He wants His children to believe that He is and does what He says He will do. No different than any parent. The issue we have in thinking we “don’t have faith” comes from our “feelings.” Feelings lie most of the time. They cannot be trusted. (See study on: Spirit, Soul, & Body.) And when we “feel” that way it only means we need to build up our “believer” muscles. We already have them they just need some exercise. Believing=Faith The way to build up your “believing" or faith muscle is to spend time with the Lord in His Word. The process is simple. It only requires time. And you get to spend time with the Creator of the universe!!! He wants to share His heart with you. How amazing is that! You get to share in God’s sweetness. Share in His expounding love. And as you spend time with Him and go to where He leads you in the Word, and He can trust that your relationship with Him is the most important thing to you, He will share more of His heart with you. Including when He’s unhappy at what people are doing and He may have you pray about the issues. Your closeness will be more and more enriched. There is no limit. How To Start: There are many scriptures that can be used for this but I tend to use one of these three: Ephesians 1:17-19 - That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power Psalm 119:18 - Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law. Psalm 119:103-104 - How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. We have these scriptures within us whether we know it or not. God is in us. Jesus is in us. The Holy Spirit is in us. Therefore the Word is in us. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God - Romans 10:17 . So as we speak these Words it stirs up our faith and then the Holy Spirit can bring them to pass. Just like He did with God Almighty in Genesis 1:2 - God spoke and Holy Spirit was there to move on the Word that He spoke. God didn’t just “think” it. He had to speak it so the Holy Spirit could move. Same in the book of Acts with Paul ministering. The power of the Holy Spirit would fall on people and miracles, signs and wonders happened because of the Word spoken! So this is what we will do. Speak His Word so the Holy Spirit can bring it to pass in our prayer time. And this is true for every area of our lives - not only our prayer time. 2. When I’m in my quiet time with the Lord, I typically plan for at least 30 minutes. I do an hour or longer if I can. I begin by telling Him “good morning” and how much I love and appreciate Him, praise Him, and whatever else comes to mind. (This is building your relationship with Him, just like your spouse. You had to spend time together.) Then I take one of the afore mentioned scriptures and I pray it back to Him, out loud. This is how we use our faith. We believe what He has said in His word about us. We take the scripture personally expecting it to come to pass. Because it will. He upholds all things by the power of His Word (Hebrews 1:3 ). An example of praying these back to the Lord and taking them personally by faith: “Father God, in the Name of Jesus, I want to give You praise for Your Word is truth and You uphold all things by the Power of Your Word. And as You said in Ephesians 1:17-19 I am asking for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge to come up out of me, that my eyes would be enlightened to know more about You and what is Your inheritance that’s in me. And I receive it. I thank You for it. And I thank You that I know what is the exceeding greatness of Your Power to me because I believe You, just as You used that Power to raise Jesus from the dead. It’s the same Power in me! And I thank You for this! Now what wonderful things would You like to share with me today, Father?” I close my eyes and stay quiet. (Be still and know that I am God - Psalm 46:10 .) Expecting Him to speak. He will tell you where to go by one of the many ways He works: still, small, quiet voice from deep down within your belly; and comes up (sometimes) on the inside of you. Hard to explain. You’ll know it when it happens. He can also bring an image up to you from deep within you, perhaps of a story in the Bible that you know where it is, like maybe you “see” the tower of Babel; or Jesus on the Mount giving the sermon of the Beatitudes…whatever He shows you; or you may see the title of a book like John, or James, or Genesis in front of your eyes. Then He will show you an image of the chapter number. Or sometimes it’s a deep “knowing” from deep-down within your belly, you just “know”. Like a knowing to read Romans 8. Whatever “knowing” from deep within you. Not outside your body. Inside. Wherever He tells you to go, do it. 3. Always have a notebook and pen available. Dedicate them to the Lord for your study time, this is all you use them for. As you are reading the scripture He has led you to there are several things to keep in mind: Date each entry with the day, month, and year. Any questions over verses or chapters, write them down in your notebook with the scripture reference. And talk them over with the Lord. Tell Him your questions/thoughts on it. He may reveal something as you are talking. He may not and instead will reveal it later in the day or two, or few. He may have you study something from that verse, a word, or subject matter. He will lead you. Follow ideas out. Hunches. Typically in this time of study He will also lead that way. You know it’s a “God-idea” when you weren’t thinking anything like it. It just comes up from within you. Any “a-ha’s” you get over a verse. This is revelation knowledge! He is showing you insights to His Word. He is showing you His heart. And give Him praise and thank Him for showing you the wonderful things out of His Word. 4. As you continue doing this in your daily prayer time your faith/belief will be built up. You can “sense” it. You sense power there, not a void. You can tell because you feel light, joyful, excited, strong - all of it is in Him. Those are all “fruit” from hanging out with Him. You are believing His word and it is always good, as you do what He tells you to do.

How to pray, How do I talk to God, How do I hear God, Can I hear God, What if I hear other voices Prayer Basics How to build your prayer life or add on to what you have. Article below or click link for downloadable PDF. PDF Prayer Basics How to build your prayer life or add on to what you have. TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One: How It Works Part Two: Types of Prayer Part One: How It Works I. Although I had been saved for many years I didn’t have a clue “how” to pray. No one taught it. I knew the Lord’s prayer and to pray in tongues but that was it. Truthfully, I didn’t even “get” the Lord’s prayer until recently. (I’ve been saved since I was 5 and 5 decades have since passed since the time of this writing.) I desired to be closer to God but had no clue how to do it. I didn’t know it was done through prayer. I also didn’t know there were different types and depths to each prayer. It is vast, deep, and wonderful! The basic daily prayer is simply spending time with the Lord in the Word and following His leading. (*See article on “Intimacy with the Lord”.) The base of all prayer is to pray to the Father in Jesus Name: John 16:23, 26; 14:13, 26; 15:16. I’m grateful to the Lord for bringing people across my path to teach me how to pray and spend time with God. I praise God for it! God wants closeness with you and it’s done in prayer. You are trusting Him and He is speaking with you and leading you for that day, and then you do what He gives you. Somedays He gives you the gentle nudge of what to do for that day, or even that week, or the situation you are concerned with; somedays He gives you His gentle peace in your heart, and even at times when everything is crazy around you He definitely instills peace. You know He has got you. Other times He moves BIG. He may show you a vision, or talk to you from within your inner man about a circumstance. God never speaks to you outside of your head! Just because you hear a distinct voice doesn’t mean it’s God. Test the spirits - all those that deny Jesus Christ is the Son of God and deny He came in the flesh are not of God. These voices come “outside” of your head. NOT from within your inner man. 1 John 4:1-6. The Holy Spirit is within you! In your heart. And when He speaks it always gives you “peace”. Peace is how you judge things - Colossians 3:15 Amplified, “And let the peace, soul harmony, which comes from Christ rule, act as umpire continually, in your hearts deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in the peaceful state to which as members of Christ’s one body you were also called to live. And be thankful, appreciative, giving praise to God always.” We are to judge what we are “getting” by whether or not we have peace about it in our inner man (John 14:26-27). If there’s “uncertainty” or something seems “off” like it doesn’t settle within you - stay away from it. Ask the Lord if you are to stay away from it entirely or do you have to shift how you handle it. He will reveal it. In my experience, most of the time it was to stay away from it completely. There have been occasions where He wanted me to handle it differently. The “sense” had a different “weight” to it. It was still an “unsettled” weight, I could tell something was “off” but it was of a lesser degree than something He wanted me to stay completely away from. He than revealed “how” I needed to operate - sometimes it was changing how I thought about the situation or needed to just let go of the way I thought about it. ALL PRAYER STARTS WITH THE WORD OF GOD. BEGIN BY PRAYING A SCRIPTURE BACK TO GOD AND SEE HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS YOU. ACTS 10:44 - “WHILE PETER YET SPOKE THESE WORDS, THE HOLY SPIRIT FELL ON ALL OF THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD.” As you are speaking scripture you can hear the words coming out of your mouth. (Proverbs 4:20-27.) The Holy Spirit moves on the Word. Sometimes it’s not right away. He is waiting until your faith gets hooked up with what you speak from the the Word of God. He is often waiting to see what you will do. How will you respond? “1. Draw close to God and 2. He will draw close to you” - James 4:8. He is waiting to see what you do. He will move as you move, on purpose putting Him first. Follow what He tells you to do. It may be a gentle hunch; or a thought “comes up”; or whatever the insight, follow it out. If you don’t follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings you will, at first, get gentle “nudges” regarding it and if your keep ignoring it you will notice a “dryness”. Almost like a staleness in your prayer time and you can’t hear from Him. Go back to what He last told you. Repent for not doing it. Mean it. You don’t want anything getting in the way of your relationship with God. It is the most important thing to your life. And ask what He wants you to do. Sometimes the timing is now off and there’s nothing you can do. Sometimes you can. Whatever it is, do it. He has to be able to trust you; and trust you will do what you said about “following Him”, and that you will follow His leading. The Word is always your “guard rail”. Just like John 4:23-24 all of our time spent with God is to be done in Spirit (Holy Spirit) and Truth. As John 17:17 says, His Word is truth. So it is done by spending time with the Holy Spirit and the Word. Start by telling the Holy Spirit that He can have His way with you in prayer and then go to a scripture if there’s a scripture you have been thinking of, or ask Him where you should go to in the Word. Get quiet and wait for His prompting - it may be a “hunch” or you’ll hear His still, small, quiet voice from within you telling you where to go, or you may see the words from deep inside you that come up to your mind. Go there. Then speak that scripture out to the Lord as you read it, you can pray it back to Him if you are led to. If you are led to pray it, go as far as you can with what you know in that scripture giving Him thanks for it working in you and then other scriptures will start to “come up” from within you. THAT is the Holy Spirit bringing things to your remembrance (John 14:26-27), see where He takes you. Speak them out loud as they are coming up. He will bring words and phrases to you; you can sense “something” - unction - on a part of scripture, follow the unction; He will bring other scriptures to your remembrance; or remind you of a vision or dream He gave you; or remind you of something you saw, or someone you know, however He leads you, follow Him. If a person comes up, ask the Lord how to pray for that person. He may have you stand in faith for that person in their situation. Sometimes you may simply pray: “ (For this person) Your will be done for them in the Name of Jesus. Whatever You are praying for them Lord (Romans 8:27) I put my agreement with you.” You can intercede for someone without them even knowing. Someone I know calls this “sneaky prayer”. It’s a good thing. The Lord will have you pray about things for this person to help them and they never need to know! I know I’m hammering this again…use scripture as guard rails. You will know what is appropriate to pray for and what is not. Scripture will keep you on track. I say this because prayer is supernatural. Let’s be real about this…we don’t know how to operate supernaturally. We exist in the natural realm and God has placed a barrier between the natural and supernatural realm on purpose. That is a part of what the Word and the Holy Spirit are for. To keep us on track and not get off in the proverbial ditch somewhere. We can’t base our prayer on anything in this world: what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, emotions (including pride- it is an emotion), and thinking. Prayer is not governed by them. In fact, emotions and our thinking (sometimes it shows up as “justifying”) will get you off in a ditch every time! I know…I have experienced this myself and it wasn’t good. I had my focus on something my thoughts told me rather than basing it on the Word of God, of which I knew what the Word said but I was still leaning to my thinking rather than the Word. This is always how believers get “off” track. Yes, God gave us our thinking mind and our emotions - our emotions will get stirred by Him but don’t base your prayers on emotions or on what you think - ever. God’s Word takes priority and He is always right, regardless of how you think or feel. If your getting moved by your emotions or your thinking, things will “feel” off, stuck, heavy, and you won’t have peace. You can tell that something isn’t right. Beware you don’t make an excuse for things being off. That is a means of “justifying” which is linked to the emotion of “pride”. It always goes off the rails. That is how to tell when you are going off on emotions or thoughts, thoughts or emotions. One is linked to the other. Thus, not following the Word and Holy Spirit. We all experience it but you have to know how to get out of it and back on track. Go back to the Word that you know. Sometimes it may be the simplest of things, like you know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for you and you’re saved. Maybe it’s a scripture you’ve been standing on, or one you have used for prayer, whatever it is keep speaking it out. Speak it out to stir up your faith. Speak in different rhythms. Like emphasizing the first word as you speak the scripture out. The second time repeating the same scripture, emphasize the second word; third time - third word, and so on. THIS will give you revelation - which means the Holy Spirit takes hold on that part of the Word and starts showing you things. You’ll be reminded of other scriptures, how it all fits together, and fits and cleans up your life. This starts the water of the Holy Spirit to deluge you from the dry spell of disobedience. It’s a wonderful way of getting back on track AND staying on track. We all make mistakes. No big deal. Forgive yourself. Learn from them. We operate in a physical world, we don’t know how to operate spiritually. You will make mistakes somewhere along the line. It’s okay to do that but don’t stay there. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. His is our Teacher and Comforter. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit and the Word to keep us on track in the realm of the Spirit. That’s what God’s Word is for, helping you to operate Spiritually in a physical world. The Spirit realm changes what is in the physical realm. In all things and in prayer, no matter the type, allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit and the Word. There is a “flow” back and forth in prayer: Spirit and Word; Word and Spirit; sometimes you are spending more time in the Word before the Holy Spirit grabs hold together with you - when He does flow, follow Him, do what He leads you to do. Go as far as you can, then when He “lifts” - the unction is gone - go back to scripture. This is the root of everything, of how to follow the Holy Spirit moves with the Word and it deepens your understanding and relationship with the Lord. Ephesians 4:17-24 (NKJV and NIV) So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do; in the futility of their thinking, they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality (the fives sense realm) so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in Him in accordance with the Truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds. (Be renewed in the Spirit of your mind.) and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We see in this scripture that this is a choice we have to make once we are born again. Someone can still be born again and never do this. They are still saved but their life will be difficult because they won’t follow the Word and the Holy Spirit. We have to choose to put on the new self. We do this by making a commitment to the Lord and ourselves to do this, to follow the Holy Spirit and the Word, the Word and the Holy Spirit. Always flowing from one to the other. They are not separate. If you are noticing a separation, then something is off. Ask the Lord for correction. He will show you. * II. The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge (Ephesians 1:17-18). You can’t be around Him, giving Him the priority and obeying His voice without having Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge. That is “Who” He is. He is power. He is love. He is life. He is water - the washing of water by the Word (Ephesians 5:26. (That’s why when we don’t do what the Lord says things feel stale and dry.) He is the Word. He is truth. He is IN you! Lean into Him to lead your prayer. Always. He will guide you. Yes, you have to learn how He flows. Sometimes He will do something for a while like nudging you to stay in scripture for a longer period with shorter times in actual prayer; then He changes it up and it’s longer times in prayer and shorter times in the Word. Sometimes He may have you do confessions (from the Word) as your prayer time after reading the Word. Although He shifts things He never goes contrary to the Word. Whatever He has you do is the season you are in. * III. Most of the time prayer is done alone but don’t neglect praying with the brethren. There are a great many things you can learn in group prayer, or it is often termed “corporate prayer”. There is greater power of God in manifestation, greater anointing, greater moves of the Spirit, thus greater revelation from God, and miracles as God deems necessary, along with the other gifts of the Holy Spirit in manifestation with corporate prayer: word of wisdom; word of knowledge; discerning of spirits; tongues and interpretation of tongues in a corporate setting; prophecy; and healing. * IV. Our God is powerful. It’s staggering to me that the God that controls everything, the universes, all matter, all creatures, it’s all His…He can reach out to us through His Word and through prayer. He wants intimacy with His kids. That’s us. Crave a closeness with Him. All parents want a closeness, a trust with their own children. It’s like any Godly parent who is teaching their child, they do not lie to them, and they would be very frustrated if their child does not believe them. Same with the Lord. We can believe Him. He can’t lie. What He speaks is truth. Trust goes both ways, on both sides: the parent and the child - the child trusts the parent and the parent has to know they can trust their child. That takes time at first. Another example to think about: a parent will not trust their two year old to drive a car. This shows there are stages of development. Don’t neglect the stage you are in. There are important lessons in each one. In Strong’s Concordance "prayer" is #4335 - PROSEUCHOMAI - “properly, to exchange, to wish, pray, literally to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith.” With the proper definition in mind you can see that prayer is most likely different than what you had previously thought. In prayer we are interacting with the Lord. We exchange our ideas and thinking for the Lord’s thoughts and thinking. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). What He says on the matter through His Word is His direction for us. We have to humble ourselves and let go of our pride and worldly way of thinking and think the way He thinks. He created everything, He knows how things truly work. And He gives us the faith to do it! He does this while He is showing us how to handle a particular situation and with what actions to take. Even if He gives you a vision, it will go with scripture. It always goes with scripture when He gives you things. He never leads or speaks apart from scripture. As you’re reading a particular scripture, a certain verse seems to “jump off the page.” This is the Holy Spirit highlighting something to you. It’s a scripture you get curious about or excited about. Write it down in your notebook. You may not get the answer right away but the Lord will show it in His time. All of this is the Holy Spirit helping you! He is the Teacher and this is one of the ways He teaches. Stay supple to Him, with Him, to His leading and promptings. And keep a prayer journal. Date each day, and put down the scripture the Lord gives you and what was revealed to you, and anything else for that time in prayer. It’s good to have it to look back on. * V. Devote yourselves to prayer… NIV Colossians 4:2; Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…KJV Ephesians 6:20; …always wrestling in prayer. For you, that you may stand firm in all the will (Word) of God, mature and fully assured. Col.4:12. “Devote; praying always; always wrestling (with our flesh); standing firm in His Word”: this seems like an impossible task but it’s simple. It’s staying in an open conversation with the Lord all throughout your day, allowing Him to lead you in everything: driving to work - maybe He leads you to go a different way, could be because of traffic, or seeing someone you know and are to talk with, or avoid an accident, or simply enjoying the drive going in a different way; or going to the store - He may lead you to pick something up you didn’t know you needed, but you obeyed the unction and when you get home you find out it was something you needed; going to a coffee stand you don’t usually go to but again you see someone that the Lord is leading you to speak with. These are the types of things that will happen as you keep your “Spiritual antenna” up and be led by the Lord throughout your day. “Prayer” is simply conversation with the Lord all day and doing whatever He tells you to do. One last bit before we get into the different types of prayer: allow God to help change the way you do things. You do this by taking His revealed thoughts to you from His Word and make them your thoughts, and then follow them up with subsequent action. Don’t base anything on “how you feel.” You can’t trust feelings. But you can trust the Word. When a thought comes up that is contrary to His Word and what He has shown you, cast down that thought in Jesus Name and replace it with the scripture that speaks on that subject matter. As you are speaking with Him, you know He hears you because you are His sheep and you hear His voice (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; John 10:27; 1 John 5:14-15; John 9:31; 1 Peter 3:12). Yes, prayer is done by faith, like all things, to please God. We know what His Word says and we act on it, no matter what we “feel” like or what we “think.” As our Lord Jesus Christ said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “If it be Your will take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.” As we submit our will, our “thinking and feelings” to God and His Word God imparts faith to us to accomplish what is needed. It is an “interaction.” He will let you know what He wants and then you are to follow it out. But it is up to you to allow Him to mold and shape you in your prayer time with Him. He gives you the faith, boldness, and strength to carry it out, just like He did with Jesus. God truly does love you and wants to help. Let the Helper help you. Part Two: Types of Prayer Basic prayer is conversation with God but there are particular types of prayer. It’s kinda like life. For specifics in prayer, like life, there are certain rules for things. Like opening a bank account - there is a way it has to be done, you have to bring in your ID, sign papers, deposit money. It is different than buying groceries - there is a particular way that is done. Or obtaining a drivers license. All have different protocols. Prayer is the same way. And like all things with God, no matter what it is, it all takes faith…which God has imparted to you! And faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Yes, you already have faith but you have to build it up by spending time in the Word and then acting on it. This is how to activate it. We believe the Word and act on it. It’s that simple. These types of prayers help you on your journey with God and continue building and growing your relationship with Him. And there’s such a joy from the Lord as you are standing on His Word knowing it will come to pass just as He has said. And as you see your prayers answered it is exciting. For you are His sheep and you hear His voice! John 10:27. And whatever you ask in Jesus Name it is given to you (John 16:23). All types of prayer require faith. This means we believe His Word because God spoke it and He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). That’s what faith is and God put it in us. “Faith” means: believe. We all believe something. Including atheists. They believe there is no God (Romans 1:18-32). We use faith whether we know it or not. Everyone believes something. So faith, believing what God said, pleases God and when we approach His throne room in prayer, which is what we do when we close our eyes focused on Him, we do it with praise and thanksgiving from faith knowing we have our requests asked in Jesus Name (James 5:15-16; Hebrews 4:16; John 14:13-14, 15:23-24). All prayer is with the Holy Spirit’s leading - Romans 8:26. He will help you pray even when you don’t know what to pray. When you are praying using scripture the prayer doesn’t need to be long. It needs to be in faith on His Word. We don’t do the work. He does. We simply do the “believing”. God has already given the answer in His Word, and you are putting your agreement with Him. Now that’s a winning team! I view God as both my father and my best friend. He knows what is best for me. I would not have the same exact conversation with my father or best friend every day. I would instead have a variety of conversations - different lengths, different reasons for conversation, and more. Just keep in mind- God always knows best so His timing is best. Therefore the answer to your prayer is in His timing. * Here are the types of prayer. They are not in any special order. Use as seems appropriate. All prayer starts with a scripture - pray it back to God for the given circumstance then follow the type of prayer below. Agreement - Matthew 18:19-20. An agreement prayer is when two or more people pray together in agreement over a situation. When the Bible says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” It is no joke. Mountains move when people come together in prayer. It is a prayer of faith, using the Word that you are agreeing on over a situation. It can also be done as a group petition prayer - corporate prayer. This is when people come together, agree on what they are asking God for from His Word, and then pray about the subject in agreement with the Word you are basing it on. Agreement prayers are powerful. You simply have to agree. That’s it. That is a powerful thing. When the brethren come together to pray for each other like James 5:14-16 and Acts 13:1-3, and Acts 2 were all powerful times of agreement prayers of the brethren. It’s interesting to think that our Lord Jesus was able to send His Holy Spirit down to earth after His resurrection, in Acts 2, because of their unity (agreement) in faith on the Words that Jesus spoke -“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”” Acts 1:4-5. They were in unity, agreement in the upper room which I believe was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come upon all who were there. This was corporate. A group. Never happened before. Plus as people are in a group they can keep each other in check. Previously the Holy Spirit was on individuals in the Old Testament. This is what fellowship is for. Sometimes we need one another when things get tough or start to get weird. God is not weird, neither is His Holy Spirit. He is not the Holy Spirit of weirdness. He’s the Holy Spirit of POWER! Of Love. And of a Sound Mind. Even Jesus asked for His brethren Peter, James and John to pray with Him in Gethsemane. Jesus needed the prayer support. It is not a light matter. Know that when you are praying by yourself you can put your agreement with Jesus - He is ever making intercession for the saints and He is always leading us in triumph (Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 2:14). This is also agreement! You and Jesus, a winning team! 2. Faith - James 5:16 “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” “Fervent” means: mighty, effectual at work. We know our prayers are effectual and fervent. Don’t get stuck in wrote prayers. Be real with God. He will always lead you, and your prayer will “avail much.” And Mark 11:22-26 “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, 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. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” The prayer of faith is using the Word and believing what it says over your situation and be sure you don’t have any unforgiveness. That easy. Technically, you don’t really have to pray, rather “say” to the situation. Speak to the situation what God has already said about it in His Word. And as often you think of the situation, speak the scripture you are using regarding it. That’s what is referred to as the “scripture you are standing on.” Since God has already said it in His Word so you don’t have to ask. for it. It is already given. Now simply speak to the situation in your life and be sure to watch your words after you’ve prayed, that you don’t contradict your prayer. That is being “double-minded” as James 1:5-8. If you notice you said or did something that was contradictory to what you prayed, ask for forgiveness and cancel those words out in Jesus Name, and restate the scripture your standing on over the situation. Keep speaking over the situation until the situation changes. And be sure you don’t have any u unforgiveness. God cannot answer your prayer as long as there is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness acts like a wall blocking the answer from manifesting. Remember Hebrews 11:1, 6 says - “Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see...And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” 3. Praise and Worship - Praise and Worship is some of the most powerful prayer when you dip into your Spirit by the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to lead you. John 4:23-24 “God is a Spirit, and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” This means when you come to God do so in honesty of heart, praising Him with His Word that has “stood” out to you; and/or has come to pass for you. As He gives you thoughts that come up deep within you, speak them out as praise. There is usually a scripture He brings up and a memory of something…speak it out in Praise to the Father for bringing it to pass. At times Psalm 100 - “I will enter into His courts with thanksgiving, and I will enter into His courts with praise.” You can begin your prayer this way. With Praise and Worshiping the Father. There is no one like Him! And Hebrews 13:15 - “Through Him (Jesus) then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.” Do a study on the Names of God. Worship Him with His amazing Names. Then see how the Holy Spirit directs you in this. Follow Him. Gifts of the Spirit will always flow when you pray this way. Don’t get “stuck” in emotionalism. That will ALWAYS get you off track. Keep the Word on the forefront of your mind and if things are getting off and weird, go back to that particular scripture and speak it out loud. Repeat it. Other scriptures may come up from within you, speak them out. This is the flow of the Holy Spirit and follow it, Him, as He leads you. Follow the Holy Spirit when you can sense His flow; then when it seems to get “dry” go back to scripture. As you speak those scriptures out the Holy Spirit will take hold together with you on those scriptures and then you’ll sense His flow again. He works like this, back and forth. Spirit and the Word, just like Scripture says. 4. Corporate Prayer - is known as praying together, like the prayer of agreement, or praise and worship. Can be done with 2 people or many more like an entire church. The flow of the Holy Spirit is different depending on the number of people. This is all over the Book of Acts where brethren got together for prayer. Read these to see what happens in corporate prayer: Acts 1:14; chapter 2; 4:23-31; 11:27-29; 12:5, 12-17; 13:1-4; 16:25-26, 21:4-14. It is group prayer in tongues like Acts 2 describes. Just in case someone was taught “this has passed away” - that phrase is not scriptural. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Besides all the above scripture and 1 Corinthians 14:18 (Paul was telling them how to hold a church service in chapters 12-14 and flowing with all the giftings of the Holy Spirit and not only emphasizing praying in tongues.) As with ALL prayer, you begin with a scripture. *For example: Whoever is leading the prayer read out loud Jude 20, Isaiah 28:11-12, with Romans 8:26-27 and Ephesians 1:17-23 - “Heavenly Father, we come to You today in the mighty Name of Jesus. We thank You for Your Word for Your Word is truth. As we are gathered together in unity to pray whatever you want us to pray in tongues corporately, we know as You have said in Jude 20 that this will build up our faith for what we are believing for in our personal lives by praying in tongues; and as Isaiah 28:11-12 that You have given us tongues for which You are to speak to this people and it’s a rest! We don’t struggle. We rely on You Holy Spirit. Have Your way. We simply open our mouths and release the Holy Spirit language that is within us in Jesus Name. We know as Romans 8 says that the Holy Spirit will only speak what the Father wants spoken, He quickens us as we pray, He bears witness that we are children of God, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness when we don’t know what to pray so we roll over our tongues to the Holy Spirit as He leads our mouths. Thank You Holy Spirit for making intercession for us according to the will of God. And we also are expecting Ephesians 1:17-23 for our eyes to be enlightened to what You want us to know. Giving us insight, wisdom and revelation knowledge in the knowledge of You!! We give You all the praise for it, in Jesus Name.” - The prayer leader and the corporate body begins in tongues and if the Holy Spirit is reminding you of other scriptures, pray them out loud, then when you go as far as you can in English, you start praying in tongues. Be cognizant of one another. Don’t ignore each other or “steam roller” over (“run over”) each other as you are praying together. Being “loud” is not better and can interfere with the move of the Holy Spirit. You can be just as effective if your more subdued. But there are times when the Holy Spirit may want you to do something in particular, like shout out a word like “NO!” And then words in English will start to flow out. Speak them as they come up. He usually gives a word at a time. A word. Then another word. Eventually a sentence will come out. Defer to one another. Meaning when you can tell the Holy Spirit is really moving on someone, pray quietly next to them. Hook up your Spirit with their Spirit intentionally. By choice. We each have a river of living water flowing inside each of us by the Holy Spirit. When you intentionally “hook up” with them, you are bringing your two rivers together into one. There is more power. More anointing. Follow the flow. You’ll notice the prayer becomes like a conversation. Agreement may come out of your mouth. Like you will respond to something he or she says, like “yes!” Or “that’s right.” You may even find yourself repeating words that they are speaking. Even in tongues. In general whether you are praying alone or corporately, slow down your enunciation. Words that come our of your mouth may be the same as the person you are listening to; or words that sound “odd” - write them down; words may come out in your birth language (if it’s other than English) or in another language you know. Write them down. You may be a person whom the Lord works through with visions. He may give you a vision as you are praying. Write it down. You may get scriptures with it. Whatever you get, even if it seems silly, write it down. One time when I was in corporate prayer, many years ago, with my church the words: “kitty, kitty, kitty” kept coming out. Then other people were getting it on occasion. (That’s corporate prayer.) None of us knew what it was about. Didn’t matter. We had all written it down. Then one day I was watching a documentary of something ( I won’t get into it all) but that word was used by the government to describe Iran. This made sense to me because the Lord aways brings up nations when I pray. It didn’t make a lot of sense to others because the Holy Spirit works differently with them. And there was another layer to it: “kiddie, kiddie, kiddie”. We all know what that means now. However the Holy Spirit works through you, you will find out as you pray in tongues. Some folks get things about people groups; others about states; others about individuals. How ever the Holy Spirit leads, follow. If you get a heavy unction with sobbing, follow it out, BUT don’t stay there! Keep going until you hit JOY! In His presence is fullness of Joy! Never stay in the heaviness and sadness. Yes, at times it’s appropriate because the Holy Spirit is grieved about a certain matter but He doesn't stay there and neither should you. It’s common in corporate settings for prophecy to come up. It may be spoken over the gathering of people praying, over your state, or nation. If someone is praying prophecy over you, keep in mind the source of where this is coming from. Is this person in tune with the Holy Spirit? Are they in God’s Word often? Is it a bold prayer, or does it line up with more of a “doctrine of men” type of preaching? If it doesn’t make sense to you - through it out. If :it’s important to you the Lord will bring it up again. This is where 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 is super important: “Do not quench the Spirit, Do not treat prophecies with contempt BUT test them all; hold on to what is good reject every king of evil.” Overall don’t lean to your own thinking. You have to dip into your inner man, into the Holy Spirit and follow His lead. He may have you do something that is not in your comfort zone, like hook up with another believer for a time in prayer. So important to keep Proverbs 3:5-6 in mind, “I trust in the Lord with all my heart and I lean not to my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths.” Then when it seems like the unction has lifted on the corporate prayer and it gets quiet. Stay quiet. Sometimes the Lord likes this - “Be still and know that I am God.” When the time is right and you can tell that the prayer time is ended, everyone compare your notes with each other. We all see in part and know in part, so when we compare notes we get a bigger piece to the picture. If you have never prayed this way I encourage you to! There is nothing like it!! 5. Petition - A.) Petition prayer is when you ask God for something. Like the prayer of faith, you get a scripture that the Holy Spirit seems to be highlighting to you regarding your situation, and pray it back to God in faith, and believe you receive. Then praise Him for the answered prayer until it manifests. B.) There is another type of petition prayer. It is when you are not sure what the Word says about your situation OR you do know but you are struggling to get your will in alignment with God the Father’s - like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asking for the Father to take this cup from Him…”nevertheless not My will but Yours be done.” We need to humble ourselves to the answer God gives us even when we don’t like it and be obedient to do what He says to do. C). There is another type of petition, it is Habakkuk 2:1-3 (NKJV and NIV) - “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, ’Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables (or upon a notepad), that he may run that reads it (a herald may run with it). For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry (linger), wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’” If the Lord has given you a dream or vision of something, take that dream back to Him and pray over it, questioning what needs to be done with the information He has given you. There may be one of three ways He will have you pray: 1. to stop the dream or vision from coming to pass; or 2. He will have you pray to decrease the intensity of what you saw in the dream or the vision; or 3. He will have you pray in order to prepare people for what is coming. With this last one He may give you additional information about it. With dreams and visions, most of the time the person will have the interpretation right away but sometimes they don’t and need to ask the Lord for interpretation. He knows what it means and will tell you in the right time, it His timing anyway. Sometimes it’s not right away. Sometimes it may be a while. Other times if you are in corporate prayer the Holy Spirit may remind you of it - mention it at the appropriate time because we all have slightly different anointings and someone may have the interpretation of it. Or several people may have different parts the Lord will give them to interpret. 6. Deliverance - This may be done for yourself or someone else. Simply understanding your Authority in Christ Jesus and knowing what He did at the cross takes care of any mess the devil tries to throw at you (Luke 10:17-19; Genesis 1:26-28; Colossians 2:13-15; Ephesians 1:20-23; 1 Corinthians 2:5-8). Yes, there are specifics: 1. What “doorway” did you open to allow the demon access; Is it a family curse (shows up as cycles that keep repeating in your life); Is there unrepented sin; Is there unforgiveness; is it a curse that came from an item you bought or received from someone (yes, Romans 8:2 but if there is unrepented sin the curse has access). Whatever the doorway is, close it, in Jesus Name, and get rid of the item if it’s attached to an item in your possession. It may be from a movie you saw, or music you listened to, or a book you read. Whatever the doorway, repent of opening it and close it in the Name of Jesus; then loose all demons that entered through it in Jesus Name; then cast them out/off of you in Jesus Name, AND very important: cut all cords to the sin (Isaiah 5:18; 5:21-23). (Yes, being born again you can have a demon in your flesh. It’s not saved. Your Spirit is. And the demon can dwell in your flesh. Depending on the situation it can be in your body, in your thinking, tied up in your emotions. Especially if it’s a driving force and you can’t control the situation like addictions (demon of addiction, linked to unforgiveness and sometimes to a family curse) - that is telling you it’s demonic. The devil forces. And he has come to steal, kill, and destroy. You can always tell by what is showing up in your life. 1. Repent of the sin, whether it’s from you or generational family curse; 2. Cut all cords to the sin; 3. Loose and cast out and off all demons; 4. All done in Jesus Name, the Name ABOVE all names, and receive your deliverance in Jesus Name. *Don’t get caught up in this. People have become heavily involved in this, even as a ministry and yet, it’s not an official ministry from the Word (Ephesians 4:11-12 ”—apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints (maturing) for the the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ.” And 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 doesn't say anything about deliverance as a ministry. Yes, deliverance is a part of the basic ministries of Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, but it is not a stand alone ministry. I am saying this because many of the brethren have gotten hurt. Some, severely. There can be many reasons why. You have to know that you know your Authority that was given to you by Jesus Christ and you are coming from a place of victory because the devil is under your feet (1 John 4:4; Ephesians 1:20-23). REMEMBER: don’t make the devil out to be bigger than God. Never will be. Never was. Ain’t going to happen. He is under God’s feet. God has already defeated Him so don’t put up with any of his mess. Many believers are too focused on his shenanigans rather than on God. If that’s you, change your focus. Put your focus on Jesus - like Peter on the water- Peter got his eyes off Jesus and on his circumstances and that’s why he began to sink…he wasn’t really walking on the water per se…Peter was walking on the Word - Jesus said, “Come” - That’s what Peter walked on. The Word and eyes on Jesus! 7. Intercession - Intercessory prayer means praying on behalf of someone (1 Kings 13:6; Isaiah 59:15-16). This type of prayer is powerful because you are praying in behalf of someone and petitioning God for them. It may start in English praying a specific scripture for their circumstance, then you may roll it over into tongues to see where the Holy Spirit leads. Follow the Holy Spirit. You may simply get “peace” about the situation; or He may have you pray a scripture over them and receive it for them. Sometimes He may have you pray in tongues over the person for a while. Maybe even several months. Whatever it is, do it. Tremendous power is made available through the Holy Spirit to change things that may not happen any other way. 8. News prayers - This one may sound odd but there is a point. It’s a type of intercessory prayer. Again, if the Holy Spirit leads you to do this. You can look at your news feed or something that you saw during the day - something that “strikes you” or maybe it just bugs you, take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him about situation. You are interceding on behalf of the situation and people involved. You may be praying for an industry - like the medical industry; or space industry; or other businesses; or maybe for the dealings of countries with a war; or individuals in a circumstance that was reported like a building that blew up or a tornado. Whatever it is see the Holy Spirit leads you. He will bring up things regarding the situation to you. He may have you stand on certain scriptures to pray in behalf of the situation and people. Sometimes it can be intense. Nevertheless, always go until you hit victory. Joy. Even if it’s “on purpose” because you are praying from faith that He has the situation in hand. 9. Tongues - (See “Corporate Prayer" also.) In your private prayer time when you are by yourself it is a good idea to pray in tongues. At the very least because of what Jude 20 says, “But you, beloved, build up yourself in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes you simply need a Spiritual vitamin shot! It builds you up. If you're feeling worn down, it’s a good thing to do. As with all prayer, begin with scripture. I like Jude 20 and Isaiah 28:11-12. Speak them back to the Father in Jesus Name expecting to be built up in faith and having rest (meaning “don’t struggle”. You can’t do anything anyway - just open your mouth in tongues). Pray in tongues for as long as you are led to or have time to. Then when you end the prayer, thank the Lord for the answered prayer. You don’t have to know what you prayed. After all Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:14 that when you pray in tongues your mind is unfruitful. Since we know our minds are unfruitful we can then keep our minds focused on scripture while tongues is coming out. Then listen to the sounds of the words coming out of your mouth. Slow down the words. Write down any that capture your attention. Especially a word or words that repeat. I find that if I do an internet search of those words that they mean something very specific. You’ll figure out the spelling, follow the unction of the Holy Spirit. What “seems” right. You will eventually learn “how” the Lord has you pray. For me, I pray for nations, sometimes political things that are going on; someone I know prays for the lost; another prays for Israel. Whatever it is, that is what you are called to do. Just follow the Holy Spirit. Sometimes words in English will come out, sometimes prophetic - depending on how someone grew up or what you have been exposed to, this type of prayer is sometimes misinterpreted, misused, or misunderstood. Whatever comes out, write down what you get. If you don’t remember that’s fine. Simply trust the Lord. He will do what needs to be done. There are some people that I know that when they pray in tongues they get “down loads” of teachings the Lord is giving to them, to the Body of Christ. There is no private interpretation of scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21). There are all sorts of things the Lord can do through tongues. All we have to do is let Him. And they are all important because the devil doesn’t know what you are saying and you are putting God’s Word into the atmosphere to bring to pass whatever He needs. A note on prophetic prayer : this simply tuning into the Holy Spirit at a particular moment in time and then giving it a voice and action but it is only when you are truly tuning in to the Holy Spirit and what God wants said or done and speaking it out loud. Notice in 1 Corinthians 12 it is a “word” of wisdom and a “word” of knowledge. It often starts that you get a single English word. Speak it. It will probably repeat. If it does, ask the Lord out loud what the word means. He will begin to show you with either a “knowing” in your Spirit, or remind of you of a scripture, or show you a vision, or prophecy will start flowing out of your mouth. Of course, this can be misused. You have to be “knuckling down” in your Spirit to get out what He wants said and not what you want. You won’t remember most of it. Guaranteed. Whatever you do remember, write it down. If the Lord wants you to remember, He will bring it to your remembrance (John 14:26). Since we are human and we are prone to sin, many times people try to pray prophetic prayers over what they want, or what they believe a person wants, instead of what God is telling them to say or do. You can tell by the “feel” of it (I hate using that word: “feel” but you get my point.) Something is “off.” Stop. Go back to the scripture you are standing on for this time of prayer, repent, and ask the Holy Spirit to instruct you. Be teachable. Find the way God wants to handle it rather than your own ideas. It’s about submitting your thoughts to His. There is one more element to praying in tongues : if you are obedient to moving as the Lord leads you. There can be a time, it’s a little hard to describe it properly but you will understand my meaning, where you are “unsettled”. It can be as if your “on edge”. Something is “not right”. You may even sense a “heat” coming from within your very depths. You have been following His leading. Reading the Word and praying. And yet there is this “unsettled-ness” or “uneasy” within you. This means the Holy Spirit is putting a “burden of prayer” upon you. Get alone and pray in tongues!!! Remember Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Trust the Holy Spirit’s leading and just let the tongues flow! Sometimes it may be for 10 minutes, sometimes it may be for a few hours. Keep at it until the burden lifts. You’ll be left with peace or laughter in the the Holy Spirit (anytime praying in tongues, pray until you hit “peace” or laughter, sometimes the Holy Spirit will really put a laughing bit on ya! Go with Him! It removes “junk” that may have been sitting on you). Times like this are crucial. There is something urgent the Lord wants prayed over. The Holy Spirit will reveal some aspect of what you are praying over. You may not know the whole thing because He doesn’t reveal it entirely. But you will get the idea of what you are praying over. Simply follow His lead. When I have experienced this, and it’s only been a few times that it’s happened in my life, each time I was praying for a person who was in danger. One time, I knew the person, and praise God nothing ever happened to them because the apparent prayer enabled the event to be stopped. Thank You Jesus for making tremendous power available! On another occasion, the event happened. I didn’t understand at the time and was deeply concerned about it. In time the Lord showed me that there are three reasons why He has us pray. When the Lord gives you things, whether it’s in prayer, dream, or vision, there are one of three ways to pray about it: 1. To stop the event; 2. Decrease how serious the event will be; 3. Can’t stop the event nor can it be decreased but you can prepare the person(s) heart(s) for it. Whatever it is pray over it. The Lord has it worked out with how He wants it handled and He is leading you to do it. How amazing is it that the Lord is including us in these types of things! Yes, it is a type of intercession and it’s the Lord doing it in another way. 10. Confession - A confession prayer is taking something from the Word of God and putting yourself in that scripture changing pronouns and word to make it personal and speaking it out over your life. For example: 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself in Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing (not counting people’s sins against them) their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word (the message) of reconciliation.” Now, take that word and put yourself in it by changing a few of the words to make it personal. Then speak it out to the Lord over yourself and your life: “Therefore, since I am in Christ, I am a new creature: old things have gone away and all things have become new, and all things are of God in me, Who has reconciled me to His very self, hallelujah! And all these things are of God - He has reconciled me to Himself by Christ Jesus and has given me the ministry of reconciliation not counting my sins against me and has committed unto me the Word of reconciliation. Thank You Jesus for Your astounding love for me!” 11. Guidance - A guidance prayer is type of prayer that asks God for both wisdom and direction. This is based on James 1:5 and Ephesians 1:17-18. If we seek God for both of them, not separate from each other, we can use His Word and His direction to make sure we are walking the righteous path to do His will. This is a prayer of faith. Simply speak the scripture in James and/or Ephesians and thank the Lord for giving it to you. Then wait quietly. He may tell you right then, or He may take a while. Stay in expectancy. He will show you. 12. The Lord’s Prayer - For me this was hard to fully understand because in my youth I was raised Catholic. So it didn't "mean anything" - it was something you said to appease the priests or nuns. But I have since studied it and it is helpful in learning the proper things to pray for when you are new to prayer or don't know what to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is an example of prayer that was prayed by Jesus in Matthew 6:9. I like it in The Scripture translation of the Bible (it's a word for word translation. It is below). In this prayer, Jesus gives specific step-by-step guidance on how we can talk to God. This doesn’t mean this is the only way we pray, but if you are wondering what type of prayer is best for you, this is a great place to start. Sometimes when you don’t know what to pray, go to this prayer. It starts with worship: “Hallowed by Your Name.” Because holy is the Name of the Father (*See study on the Names of the Father). His Kingdom HAS come on earth and remind the enemy of this, pray that His will be done (for the situation) on earth as His will is of course done in heaven. Ask that He give you direction in His Word (Jesus is the Bread of Life, Jesus is the Word) as well as food for the day; and ask for the Lord to forgive you of your sins and you forgive those who have done wrong against you; and ask that He not lead into trial, meaning not test you but deliver you from the evil one. For His is the Kingdom, the Power, and Glory, Forever!!. Matthew 6:9-13 "This, then, is the way you should pray: 'Our Father who is in the heavens, let Your Name be set-apart, 10. let Your reign come, let Your desire be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11. Give us today our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13. And do not lead us into trial, but deliver us from the wicked one - because Yours is the reign and the power and the esteem, forever. Amen.' 13. Praying the Bible - (*See “Foundation of Prayer” article.) Where there is God’s word, there is an ability to turn it into a prayer. I like using as a foundation all the prayers in the Epistles. These cover everything. But you can use any scripture, Old Testament or New. 14. Dedication - A dedication prayer is to dedicate a specific thing to God. Most often when we pray a dedication prayer, we are praying our dedication to God. A dedication prayer is a type of prayer that enables me to get back into focus and truly give it all to God. As John 3:30 says, “He must increase but I must decrease.” There have been times I haven’t kept on track and realize I haven’t spent my usual time with the Lord in prayer, or didn’t do what I said I would do (dedication) of praying if He wakes me up in the middle of the night. I got lazy and wanted to sleep. I had to repent. Then I asked Him what He wanted me to do. Rather than what I thought. Always ask the Lord if He wants you to make that dedication. It may be something that you think is important but God doesn’t. 15. Blessing - A blessing prayer is to ask for God’s favor, or blessing, over a specific part of your life or someone else’s life. A popular blessing prayer from the Bible is from Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” When we ask God to bless a specific part of our lives or upon someone else, may we remember that we do it to further enhance His kingdom, not our kingdom on Earth. Take a look at Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12 and Proverbs 11:25. And another part is when you are visiting someone you can pronounce a blessing upon there home Matthew 10:12-13. There's also another blessing prayer in the Book of Jubilees. It was prayed by Abraham's father over him, Jubilees 12:29 - "Deliver him (me) from the hands of evil spirits who have sway over men's hearts. And let them not lead him (me) astray from You (Father God) And I pray that he (I) does not walk in the deceitfulness of his (my) heart, (in Jesus' Name)." 16. Breath prayers and Emphasis prayers - A breath prayer is a type of prayer that breaks down a Bible verse into breaths. It can help us when we are frazzled or stressed to bring it back to God and rely on God’s inner peace rather than our own. For example, Psalm 23: [Breathe in.] The Lord is my shepherd; [Breathe out] I shall not want. etc. Doing this with a short Bible verse can help us re-orient ourselves to the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and Savior when our emotions and/or our thoughts try to beat us (2 Peter 3:18.). Emphasis prayers - similar to the breath prayers, these re-orient ourselves and connect us directly to the Holy Spirit. Like the breath prayers, this is good to do with short verses because you will speak out the entire verse each time. Take the first word of the scripture and emphasize it on the first speaking of it. Then take the second word and repeat…etc. For example, (part) 1 John 1:5: (word in Bold is emphasized) GOD is light and in Him is no darkness at all. God IS light and in Him is no darkness at all. God is LIGHT and in Him is no darkness at all. God is light AND in Him is no darkness at all. God is light and IN Him is no darkness at all. God is light and in HIM is no darkness at all. God is light and in Him IS no darkness at all. God is light and in Him is NO darkness at all. God is light and in Him is no DARKNESS at all. God is light and in Him is no darkness AT all. God is light and in Him is no darkness at ALL. This can be done with any verse of scripture and restores you with the fire of God and His revelation about that verse. 17. Listening - This is something I saw someone post that I liked. I do this in my prayer time but I never gave it a name. It simply was my quiet time with God. What the woman said who posted this was: “It may be my favorite (prayer) because I avoided it for so long. For so much of my life, I constantly prayed to God like a genie and forgot to actually listen for His responses.” For me, this is all part of “Be still and know that I am God” - Psalm 46:10. Prayer is a conversation. Not just “you” talking. Listen to what He has to say. As always follow the peace in your heart - Colossians 3:15. “No peace” - stay away from it. “Peace”- then your good to go. Another note from the woman who has written about this: “I was praying over a tough situation for months one time, not knowing which decision to make. Finally, I felt a nudge from God that said, Hey, would you like my opinion? (God probably isn’t sarcastic like I am, but that is what the nudge felt like to me.) So I stopped and tried my best to still my mind. Every time I would lose focus, I would pray a breath prayer and redirect myself. It turns out that God didn’t want me to make a decision yet. I felt peace after listening to God. More than anything, I encourage listening prayers to be just as often as all the other types of prayer combined.” I concur about listening for what the Lord has to say, and not making a move until you know. I listen to God every time I pray. I ask the Lord how He wants me to pray. It may be different than what my thinking is or my understanding. He knows what’s best and He will direct your steps if you allow Him to. Conclusion Prayer is a constant, ever-evolving relationship with God. Like any relationship. Just because you can’t see Him doesn’t mean it’s not happening. You will find it is more real that any relationship you could ever have. Some of these ways of praying may feel weird and awkward at first, but sometimes it takes a bit of awkwardness to break through. Trust Him. As you use these new ways of being closer to God you will learn how to follow Him. If you want to see results in your prayer life, changing the way you pray can be a huge help. Just as you would not expect to see results in your physical fitness if you never changed your workout routine, you will not see results in your prayer life if you never change your prayer routine. There’s a phrase: “You are where you are because of the things you’ve done.” So change it up. Find a new way to connect with God and step out of your “comfort zone.” You’ll never be the same.