Praise is your greatest WEAPON Psalm 9:1-20

by Grethe Stanley | May 14, 2016 | encouragement, Masonry (2 columns)

Dear daughters of the King,
I was praying for you all I felt I needed to remind you that Praise is your greatest weapon against the devil.

Praise is not denial. The Bible never tells us to bury our pain. Instead, we are to pour it out like water from a jug.
“I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble” (Ps 142:2). However once we have expressed our concerns and our painful situations etc. to God, He gives us a powerful weapon with which we can fight our battles- THE WEAPON OF PRAISE.

God wants us to destroy evil, not just try to outrun it. He dosen’t want us to only try to defend ourselves and stay alive, He wants us to push the enemy back. He wants us to say as David did “I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet” (2nd Samuel 22:38-40.

Praise is one of our greatest weapons of warfare. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2nd Corinthians 10:4). When we praise God, our enemies have to turn back from attacking because they cannot stand in His presence. Every-time you praise Jesus for His victory on the cross, it reminds the devil of his greatest defeat. And he hates that.

You don’t have to praise God for your troubles, but you can praise Him in the midst of them. And rest secure that He “remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted” (Palm 9:12).

7 Thoughts for more effective prayer, learning from Hezekiah

by Sara Vitakic | Dec 6, 2015 | encouragement, Masonry (2 columns)

2 Kings 19:14-19

 1. Hezekiah got alone with God.

v.14

Hezekiah received and read the letter and took time to be along with God.

Invest in time alone with the Lord.

2. Hezekiah’s prayer was immediate.

v.14-15

No ‘afterthought’ prayer prior to making plans, he immediately prayed. First he went to God.

Take some notecards out with written prayer needs and lay them out on the table before the Lord and say, “Lord I give these to you, my struggles, needs and people I care for who need you. I can’t do anything about them, but I trust and believe you.

Writing prayer needs down, why? It helps us to remember to pray, and it helps us to watch as God answers.

3. Hezekiah’s prayer was open and honest.

v.15-18

Hezekiah simply to said to God the situation.

Whenever we are open and honest in prayer the Lord sees our heart and our sincerity. Simply share with the Lord the situation you are facing.

4. Hezekiah’s prayer was honouring, humbling and respectful of who God is.

v.15

Hezekiah knew that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and always-present when we talk with Him.

We to recognise the greatness of God and honour Him as we pray.

5. Hezekiah’s prayer was bold and direct.

v.19

It is good to pray with boldness and being direct as we see with Hezekiah.

Specific prayers receive specific answers.

6. Hezekiah’s prayer was dependent.

v.19

He was dependent on God to do something.

When we pray we realise that there are things only God can do and we depend on Him to do what is impossible and believe He will.

7. Hezekiah’s prayer was with confidence.

v.19

Hezekiah had trust and faith in God because of his personal relationship with God.

We can have trust and faith in God when we have a personal relationship with Him and spend time talking with Him.

A Little Note of Encouragement

by Sara Vitakic | May 28, 2015 | encouragement, Masonry (2 columns)

A LITTLE NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT

I came across this inspiring picture with encouragement today and loved it.

I thought, ‘Yes, I want to do all that, it’s so good. But how can I?’

Whenever we’re not sure about ‘how’ we need to turn to God’s Word, the Bible. These verses helps us to focus on the how and what.

TRUST in God’s timing – Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this.”

RELY on His promises – 2 Corinthians 1:20 “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.”

WAIT for His answers – Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

BELIEVE in His miracles – Psalm 77:14 “You are the God who performs miracles, you display your power among the people.”

REJOICE in His goodness – Psalm 13:5-6 “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me.

RELAX in His presence – Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Be blessed and encouraged!