7 Power Prayers to Supplement your Prayer Life

These are seven power prayers to supplement your personal prayer time with God.  Feel free to print these out and use them as you feel led by the Spirit.  Personal prayer time is so vital to an intimate relationship with God.  The honest, heart felt cries we make to God are properly supplemented by these more formulaic prayers.  Enjoy 

Prayer of Delighting
Father God in Heaven,
We come boldly into your presence in the name of Jesus Christ. We have full access to the throne room through Jesus, so we come boldly before you God. We seek you now. We seek you Father in all your fullness.
We need you God, your guiding arm, your wisdom, your mighty power,
God you we delight in you,
Your perfect presence is joy to me!
God we delight in you.
God we delight in you.
(Repeat as needed as you enjoy the presence of God)

Prayer of Magnificence
God you are a Mystery to me,
you dwell in infinite time, you dwell beyond time itself,
there was no universe before you, and there was nothing before you. You are the originator of all things.
You dreamt me up inside your mind and decided I should exist.
You created an eternal soul for me.
You spun my DNA and placed the stars across the cosmos.
You made the animals for me to live with.
I'm in awe of you Lord.
Truly I ask the question: Who are you Lord really? Who are you really? Show me your glory!
Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. (1 Chron 29:11)

Prayer of Holiness

Father Lord, 

change me, mold me, shape me, transform me into the likeness of Christ Jesus. 

Remove from me what displeases you, 

shape and mold what is good in me, 

develop my talents, shape my skills, renew my mind, 

renew my spirit, renew my soul, 

help me to not complain as I go through the times of testing and tribulation. 

Guide me safely into your loving arms in perfect holiness in Christ Jesus, spotless and blameless on the day of Christ Jesus, 

In Jesus name, Amen.

Prayer of Mercy

Lord I am in need of your mercy today. 

Please God, have mercy on me. 

The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

I grow weak Father, shine upon me. Release your angels in the name of Jesus to protect me. 

I'm powerless Father, please take it from me. 

Have mercy Father, have mercy, please have mercy, the flesh besets me, but you are greater God, 

I have great faith in you, I trust in you, come quickly Father, and deliver me, in Jesus name, amen. 

Prayer of Marriage Blessing

Beloved God, hear my prayer,

Father I bring my marriage before you,

You know all the moments, all the words, the emotions, the battles and the victories, 

Lord, please draw us together always,

Marriage is under such attack Father,

Let us believe no lies about marriage and what it means,

Let us never part ways, 
Let us always hold together,

Help us to give ground to one another,

Soften our hearts in conflicts,

We rebuke and cast our demons attacking our marriage,

We cancel demonic schemes against our marriage,

We loose angels to protect our marriage,

Lord build our marriage with eternal bonds,

May we always draw nearer to you God, and as such, draw nearer to each other, in Jesus name, amen.

Prayer of Melancholy

Father God, another day stretches out before me,

I am weary with this life, I'm tired of fighting the battle,

Everyday is a new struggle Father,

Everyday seems to turn more gray, and empty,

Lord, rise up and bring seasons of refreshing,

Lord, fill my cup with love to pour out to others,

Renew in me a right spirit, be with me in tribulation,

Help me not to give up, 

I turn away from self, and focus on you God,

I turn toward you God in the gray day and tired day,

I cry out to you God, and wait on you patiently,

Lord help me to endure this life,

In Jesus name, Amen. 

Prayer of Sin Battle
Lord, the pit closes in around me,
I find myself enslaved once again to sin,
I've fallen into temptation,
The enemy has led me astray,
So I run toward my heavenly Father,
Who will help me in time of need,
I am grieved by my sin,
I am disturbed by the horror this door has opened,
I see the evil gaining a foothold,
Lord God Almighty, have mercy on me,
Please forgive me for my sin,
Please forgive me by the blood of Jesus,
I repent before you now God, I turn away from that sin, and toward you God,
I seek your Face,
Please forgive me, guide me out of darkness, I turn this problem over to you, please do what I can't do God.
Do the impossible. Set me free,
In Jesus name, Amen

7 Pictures of the Gospel: Healing Gospel, Grace Gospel, Penal Sub, Defeat of Satan, and Social Gospel

We all have a certain way we explain the gospel to ourselves and to those who need it.  I've heard the various formulas many times. Which one is most accurate? How do they fit together? Let's take a look.

Hurt/Healing Gospel

This is a popular gospel for the post-modern age. Common in megachurches. It goes something like this: You're in pain, you're hurting, you're discouraged and depressed and life seems meaningless. So turn to Jesus and he will heal you, he will help you, he will turn your life around, he will give you a new purpose. Jesus understands what you're going through and he's going to help you and heal you and carry you through. Believe in Jesus and you'll come out of darkness and into the light. 

This is certainly an aspect of the gospel, isn't it? But it's not the whole gospel.  It's just a part of it.  It limits Jesus to a sort of self-help guru who came to give you a better life. Of course that is somewhat true of Christ, he does give us a purpose and new desires and light to see the world as it truly is.  But that's just part of the gospel.  

Works/Grace Gospel

This is a popular gospel in baptist and non-denominational churches. It focuses on the dichotomy between grace and works.  It goes something like this: The main problem we face as humans is that we try to do good works instead of believe in Jesus.  Your good works are as filthy rags before Jesus. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion can save you. Only Jesus. Only grace. Any works you do are simply trying to do good works for your salvation instead of trust in Jesus. So only grace is allowed, and any works are immediately suspect, viewed as a believer attempting work for what God has already done. 

This is a generally valid angle on the gospel, the idea that for some, they will be obsessed with doing good works to try to appease God, which is completely useless. So they need to instead rest in Christ, by faith. But this concept does not necessarily apply to all people. This is again an aspect of the gospel, but not the whole gospel. And when we over-emphasize it, we end up distorting scripture. 

Courtroom Gospel (Penal Substitutionary Atonement)

This is by far my favorite depiction of the gospel, I think it outlines it in the clearest form. Fairly common in reformed churches. It goes like this: You owe a debt before God that you can never repay.  That is the list of sins that you have committed over your life.  You can't do any good deeds to repay for these sins. So you stand condemned before God, to hell. But Jesus Christ the God man came in human form, lived a perfect life, died, and rose again, to give you new life.  Jesus paid off your debt before God, on the cross, and if you will believe in Him and repent of your sins, you will enter into the "great exchange" your sins are transferred to Christ on the cross and Christ's righteousness is transferred to you. You are born again, and begin a whole new life.

Once again, this is an important part of the gospel, I would argue the most important, never-the-less it's not the complete gospel, there are other aspects to consider. And if we over-emphasize this portion of the gospel we can end up having believers thinking Jesus died for them but doesn't live for them, and doesn't bless them in any way apart from paying on their behalf. 

Defeat of Satan Gospel (Christus Victor)

This is a less common angle of the gospel but non-the-less it's quite valid, it goes like this: Because Adam and Eve rebelled against God, this put Adam and Eve, and the entire human race in bondage, caught in slavery to sin and death under the control of Satan the god of this world.  Jesus Christ came to defeat the works of the devil. By Jesus life, death, and resurrection, Satan was defeated and Jesus took from him the keys of death and hell. When we believe in Jesus, we are transferred from the tyrannical kingdom of Satan to the victorious liberty of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.  Jesus bought us from the devil with his own blood. 

When's the last time you heard the gospel described in this way? Pretty interesting, but once again it shouldn't be taken in isolation. Yes, fundamentally when we believe in Jesus we become part of the kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of Satan. This is a great gift, but shouldn't be overemphasized over the other realities. (Similar to this perspective is the "moral government" view, that Christ was slaughtered as a display of God's righteousness and to show just how evil sin really is, though it's fairly uncommon these days as well.)

The Messianic Gospel 

The messianic gospel presentation is common in messianic Christianity, Pentecostalism and charismatic churches. This is an increasingly common perspective on describing the gospel that is very appealing for many reasons. This is describing the gospel from the perspective of the Old Testament system of sacrifices. For every sin committed by the people of the ancient nation of Israel, there had to be atonement made through the blood of animals. Animals were sacrificed as a stand in for the coming one who would finally be the perfect sacrifice. This is described powerfully in the book of Hebrews. We see the Old Testament sacrificial system contrasted with the coming of Jesus Christ, who would be the perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. 

This is a great way to describe the gospel to a Jewish person or a mature Christian, but it will be a difficult for a modern/post-modern unbeliever to receive the gospel this way. For someone outside the context of ancient Jewish culture, which is, pretty much everyone, it's going to be a rather alien way of describing the gospel. There is also the danger of becoming more and more focused on Jewish cultural practices, Jewish feast days, and even Jewish mysticism, and eventually these OT cultural practices begin to take on a greater importance than the New Testament gospel to the gentiles. 

Oppression/Freedom Gospel

This description of the gospel is becoming more prominent in mainline protestant churches, in the context of social justice and systemic injustice in society. It goes something like this: We are all oppressed under unjust cultural systems, governments, and economic systems that leave us enslaved and in bondage. Only Jesus Christ can set us free from these systems of bondage, and make us free, and help us to work in society to topple these unjust systems. Jesus Christ came to set you free from slavery and oppression. 

This is certainly an important angle of the gospel, that in the world we often do find ourselves enslaved and in bondage. But more often than not, particularly in the west, we aren't as much enslaved by systems as we are enslaved by addictions.  The danger with this approach is that we can lose the emphasis on sin as a personal issue individual to each of us, and soon it becomes more about social justice and political activism, and less and less about individual salvation in Christ. 

The Social Gospel 

This is a perspective of the gospel common in Methodist, and The Salvation Army, to name a few. This views the gospel from the perspective of helping others, it goes something like this: Jesus Christ lived a beautiful and sacrificial life of helping others, healing people, feeding people, clothing people, affecting social change, and transforming the political world.  So believe in Jesus so you can live out his mandate of feeding the poor, clothing the naked, befriending the lonely, visiting the prisoners, and so on and so forth. 

This is of course an aspect of what it means to be a Christ follower. If we love Jesus, we ought to live as Jesus lived, Matthew 25,31-46 all those wonderful mandates to help people. But this is more our response to the gospel, than the gospel itself, though it's important to talk about, following Jesus is more than helping people, it's believing in Christ Jesus and all He did for us. 

There are still more perspectives, like the Catholic view, that one must receive the eucharist and the wine, and by doing so they are Christians. There is the hellfire and brimstone gospel, Repent or burn in hell, the sort of "turn or burn gospel." There's the angle of Christ as the second Adam. There's Christ as fulfillment of the Old Testament law.  There is the gospel of slavery/freedom. I could keep going. The cross is so rich with blessings and gifts, it's beyond fathoming.

So which of these is right? Well, I think each of this are valid angles of the same gospel, one might be from the side, another from the other side, one from the front, one looking down from above, one looking up from below it, and so on and so forth. 

In conclusion, as we consider these various perspectives on the gospel, how can we make sure we're speaking the full gospel to the world? I don't want to just carry some of it, or one angle, instead I want to carry it all, every word!

Watersheds: What radical shifts define your life?

There have been several points in my life where a radical shift took place. The first was being born. That's a radical shift, from not-existing to existing. 

Others took place. Going from teens to twenties. 18 to 27 was the most destructive period of my life. Total disaster. Yet the mental hospitals, and jail stints served a useful purpose, crushing my ego to the point of being willing to hear what I did not want to hear. 

And then after years of addiction, coming to Christ, and becoming free was huge. Going from enslaved junky to set free saint is a massive shift. That was like going from living darkness to being a light, truly an unthinkably huge shift.

But recently, there was a similarly severe shift. For 7 years I had been serving in ministry as chiefly a yeoman-type worker. I was frontlines. I was rarely a leader aside from leading a Bible study, or leading a small group.  And that changed in 2019 when I was ordained as a minister. That was the most radical shift in recent memory, going from being a sort of middle intern, to a church leader. It was such a massive shift in lifestyle and perspective.  I never knew leadership was so difficult. But it certainly is. 

What radical shifts define your life? That's the question I want to pose to you today.  God has those shifts set for you in your life. They are coming. Perhaps you are in one now, and you don't even realize it?

Every single human being ever born goes through them. In fact Jesus himself went through them as well, going from new born baby to toddler, and youth to teen, and teen to young adult, and so on.  We all endure various shifts in our growth process. 

Where are you at in the endless watersheds of life? There are big ones and small ones.  A small one might be learning a new sport. A big one would be something like getting married, or having a baby, or taking on a job with new responsibilities.

However, sometimes we can get stuck in life. We can get stuck in the growth process. I was effectively stuck for about 9 years in a state of ego and repeating loops of refusing to learn things I needed to learn. So I found myself trapped in a repeating disaster, that was addiction. You get stuck, and end up a beggar on the side of the road in your own story. Very tragic, but it happens to more people than you think. It doesn't have to be addiction either, many more I'm sure simply get stuck in wrong beliefs, or broken philosophies, or selfish attitudes, or pleasure-seeking roads, or end up in the wrong careers, with the wrong people, and in the wrong places, and God sovereignly calls them out, but they are intent on going their own way and refuse to walk down the route God has for them. Can anyone relate?  Some even die that way, but I digress.

We're going to assume we're on the right path, at the center of God's will for our lives, which is indeed a beautiful place to be. Are you at the center of God's will for your life, are you traveling the narrow road? If so, then we consider watersheds.

God has watersheds for your life.  Massive shifts. Total changes.  The hardest yet for me was shifting from seminarian to minister.  I must admit I selfishly thought, watching many ministers and officers that such positions were easy and I wondered why they didn't do more and work harder. Then I felt the pressure of it first hand. I felt the difficulties building up.  I felt the intense spiritual warfare that takes place as you find yourself a higher priority target attacked by demons and demonic powers constantly.  It's absolutely insane.  

The enemy seeks to exhaust the saints. So controversy after controversy would hit. One after another, some bigger, some smaller. All intended to weaken me one by one.  It's similar to Elijah, he won a great victory against the false prophets of Baal. There were so many encounters before that and years staying with a widow, trusting God for food. But after his victory at mount Horeb, he was exhausted and then he received word that Jezebel wanted him dead. A small thing, all things considered right? He had been harassed and hunted for years. But it was spiritual. And it was the straw that broke the camels back.

I've faced similar things. There is a great victory. But then some subtle wind hits, some negative news, some sickness, some minor inconvenience and it crushes you. And you lose it for a while. You go a little crazy, you might say. 

That is the severe battle I face as a leader is the battle of my "controversy tank."  It's like I have a tank full of ability and resolve and zeal and courage built up to deal with various big and small controversies, an employee becomes difficult, many miss a church service, someone must be disciplined biblically, an event with many preparations, a one on one meeting with a superior, submission of statistics, gathering of data, family relations strained, disagreements with friends, and eventually the tank is drained. And the enemy knows just how to drain my tank.  And when the tank is empty, he hits again, sometimes hard, sometimes soft, and I must collapse, and cry out to God, and God helps me, my tank is expanded in the effort, and I grow. 

This is very difficult.  

Four simple words, but how much they mean. 

So message to you here for the day is simple, are you ready for the next radical shift God has for you?  You may find it very difficult as well. But that's OK.  Endure the difficulties.  Keep going when you are past your reservoir, then cry out to God in bitter tears, sleep, have a bit to eat, and keep going.  You will find new strength. But don't give up. Don't quit. You may find yourself a beggar on the road, in your own journey. Keep going. Persevere. Just as Christ did.  Imagine if Christ had walked away in the garden the night before his crucifixion and fled into the night to some distant region? That would not be well for our eternal hope. However, if you find yourself running from God, perhaps you can also turn around, in the belly of the whale, like Jonah, and become the hero you were always meant to be.  

4 Key Points for Christian Growth in 2022

“Elizabeth Elliot tells of two adventurers who stopped by to see her, all loaded with equipment for the rain forest east of the Andes. They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians. She writes: "Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me -- confident and, we think, well-informed and well equipped. But has it occurred to us that with all our accumulation of stuff, something is missing?

She suggests that we often ask God for too little. We know what we need--a yes or no answer, please, to a simple question. Or perhaps a road sign. Something quick and easy to point the way. What we really ought to have is the Guide himself. Maps, road signs, a few useful phrases are things, but infinitely better is someone who has been there before and knows the way.”

Elizabeth Elliot tells, A Slow and Certain Light.

Today we’re talking about the topic of Christian growth. What does it look like? How do we go about practically growing? Growth is all about becoming all we’re called to be in Christ. God has changed us into new people. He’s declared us holy in Christ, yet there is also this process of sanctification we go through, where slowly over our lives we become more and more like the character of Christ. And we learn to live like Christ did on the Earth, as we prepare for his return.

The first scripture I’d like to point you to today is 2nd Peter 1:2-4 ESV which says,

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

When we talk about growth we quick to want to focus on ourselves, aren’t we? We think alright, I gotta make sure I have all my gear, like the two adventurers headed into the rainforest. Do I have my self help book, my to do list, my fad-diet, my determination, my self will, my abilities. And so on and so forth. We look to ourselves to grow.

But that is not what it means for a Christian to grow. A Christian instead of looking to self, or self-taught ideas, or dragging ourselves ahead by our own bootstraps, instead we look to Christ. We learn about Christ. We turn the focus off of ourselves and onto Christ, and helping others.

We seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. And as a result, all of our needs are cared for by Him.

But what we do, as our footwork, is follow the Leader. We allow the Holy Spirit to lead us through the wilderness. We allow Jesus to lead us through the wilderness. We seek answers in prayer. We go to the guide. How do we do that? By praying. By reading our Bibles daily. By doing morning devotionals. By attending Bible study, and church services. There we encounter the Lord, and are filled, and guided in the right direction through our journey in the wilderness.

So that’s my first point for you today, follow Jesus as you live out Christian growth. Let Christ be the leader of your growth process. He brings us from one issue to another, as he shapes us and molds us into His likeness.

As Christians we often start small, just very basic changes in our lives, but over time those changes become great, and our journey becomes great.

Job 8:7 ESV says, “And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.”

Then again, also, as a Christian, we can start well, but sometimes starting well is the easy part, and the hard part is continuing well. We see many who start well, but they never finish. They end up drifting away. Perhaps they didn’t count the cost of being a disciple? It will cost us everything.

Galatian 5:7 says, “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?”

The Galatians had started off so well, but they quickly became led astray by false teachers. Let’s make sure we start well, but also continue well. And let’s make sure know that though our beginning may be small, often our latter days will be very great.

So let’s take a look at 4 key points about Christian growth. What does Christian growth look like?

1. It’s messy. Yes, growth is a messy process - Often time we mess up and stumble again and again and again. And we have to keep returning to Christ, seeking His grace. But eventually we find our break through. So we have to be patient in growth. Have you ever felt stuck in your walk with Christ? Stuck on a sin? Stuck in a negative place? Then perhaps something needs to change. Something big. The Bible says it’s better to cut off our hand and throw it away, than with two hands be found in sin, and cast into the lake of fire.

Matthew 5:30 “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Failure does happen, persistence is required. Keep going. Keep praying. Keep seeking God. Keep repenting. Turn away from sin, and toward Christ. He will help us.

2. It’s stressful, involves pressure, taking risk - Change can be very stressful. And it involves pressure. We often wonder, why am I going through this fiery trial right now? And the answer is Christian growth.

It says in the word, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” -Romans 5:2-6 ESV

3. It’s Putting the Flesh to Death – Colossians 3:5 ESV “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

We must put the flesh to death by the Spirit’s power, in christ. And we have the promise that says the power of the blood of Christ will do this in us.

It says in Hebrews 9:14 ESV “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

We know that our flesh was crucified with Christ, but sometimes our flesh wants to pop back up and have it’s way right. I want pleasure. I want this. I want that. Selfishness pops up, that’s why I have to repeat to myself the word from

Galatians 2:20 ESV I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

This is all a process. It’s not just one and done. We often have to keep putting the flesh to death and living for the Spirit. It starts over for me everyday. Every 24 hours, new day, live by the Spirit, not the flesh.

4. It’s Living by Faith not by sight – We see mountains often in front of us, and our call is to live by faith not by sight. We have prayer requests and hopes, but we see the same old thing day by day, our job is to live by faith not by sight. Living by faith is believing and understanding and knowing the reality of God’s sovereignty his total control and ability to affect change, and also believing that He will. That is faith. And we live by faith, not by sight. Because we’ve seen the evidence time and again, in our lives, that God moves mountains, they disappear into thin air, our minds can’t comprehend it, our cynical pessimistic attitudes burst into flames and can’t believe what they’re seeing when God makes the way, and we walk on dry ground where there was once a flood. And it’s incredible. And it happens. Our job is to keep believing.

In conclusion today, my prayer for you today is this:

2 Peter 3:18 ESV But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.