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Monday, October 7, 2024

Rich's proverbs, book six -updated 10/21/24

Book nine here.

Book eight here.

Book seven here.

Book six here.

Book five here.

Book four here.

Book three here.

Book two here.

Book one here.

This is a continuation of my practice to take notes on what I prayed.

Chapter One

1. I just heard that the man who taught me how to pray has passed. Father, thank you for putting this man into my life. Thank you for his passion to know you and to pray, which he passed to me.

The legacy of prayer. With Jim Tharp gone, who will take up the cause? Where are the mentors who teach and model prevailing prayer? Where are the 20s, 30s, and 40s who burn with prayer?

2. This church has been around since 2011. What will its legacy be? What will be its impact be for the sake of the kingdom? Is there anyone in our church who is working with the long haul in mind?

3. We use words without knowing what they mean.
  • ​Blessing is the good stuff father gives us.
  • ​Grace is his desire to be near us.
  • ​Mercy is his lifting of condemnation and death from us.
4. Here I am, after decades of being a Christian, still learning fundamentals. Or maybe, re-learning. Like forgiveness. Prayer. Encouragement. Worship. Father, remind me to be edifying. Remind me to spend time with you. Remind me to keep my thoughts in order.

5. Father, why are so many Christians fascinated with the false idea that you punished your son for our sins? It seems almost perverse.

6. I would rather have a messy church that walks in faith than an orderly church that has pleasant Sunday services.

7. The kingdom is the ultimate reality. Everything else is a pale imitation.

8. How do we integrate worldly pursuits with kingdom? We work, recreate, hang with friends, eat out, buy and sell. The kingdom is not separate, so a kingdom perspective is required when doing these things.

9. Luke 1:19 - I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak...
Heb 2:1 - For if the message spoken by angels was binding...
Heb 1:2 - ... but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...
Col. 2:18 - Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.

We now have the Son. His revelation is the highest. It seems there's no need to hear messages from angels anymore. I'll need to think on this some more.

10. I don't want to play games with you or test the edges of grace. You don't negotiate regarding boundaries. "Little" sins are not ok. I don't want to have compromise in my life.

11. I may not see what I hope to see in the natural, but you are at work. John 7:24 - Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.

12. Heb. 10:4 - For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

"take away," smite off... same Greek word:

Mark 14:47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

Heb. 10:11-12 - And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God...

"Take away:" strip off, strip from, take away, cast off, cut adrift, cast loose.. same word: 

Acts 27:40 - Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea...

Wow, the blood of Jesus is totally effective. My sin is cast off and stripped from me. Thank you, my savior.

13. It seems like I pray the same things a lot. But I can't stop. There's nothing more important to me than your church and its people.

14. Father, who might need a kind word today? Keep me aware of opportunities to extend your grace.

15. Matt. 6:7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

I think we pray with many words because we have been taught that prayer is only saying things to God. This idea comes from those who believe God doesn't speak to us apart from the Bible. Which turns prayer into a monologue.

This is a lie. Father, you are always speaking, and I want to hear what you have to say. Calm my tongue, and teach my soul to hear.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

16. For many years You have been teaching me about your faithfulness in provision. In uncertain times you have never failed me. All my life I have seen you at work. I am blessed.

17. A long time ago you spoke someone's heart to start a new church. This church. That vision has brought us to this point today. What will we do now? Will we stay with the status quo? How will we wield this church as a tool for the kingdom?

Chapter Two

Last week's prayer notes:

1. Father, empower us to make a kingdom impact. You are moving in every church everywhere, increasing your presence and glory in these Last Days.

Col 1:6 ... the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world...

2. Revival is fragile. Or, easy to quench. At least this has been true in the past. But it doesn't have to be. Father, teach us to steward the Glory, prepare us to handle revival.

No church is ever ready for revival. The best way to prepare for revival is to learn to keep in step with the Spirit.

3. There's a new Holy Spirit paradigm coming. Our church will need to change. We can no longer do what churches have always done. We can no longer live our lives so casually. This is a new season.

4. Many new people are coming to our church. I believe you will prosper us with great numbers of people. There's no sin in praying for big crowds. But for certain people, if this is not the church you want for them, move them on.

5. Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity...

Holy Spirit, take us into the deep waters of faith. Increase our understanding, I want us to know you and the power of your resurrection. I want each person in this church to know this.

6. When are we going to start moving mountains?
When are we going to be able to silence hurricanes and raise the dead?
When will our faith rise to this level?

7. I wonder, are we so rational, so skeptical, so logical that we are blinded to the possibilities?

8. Have we gotten really good at quenching the Holy Spirit?

9. Today's church doesn't seem to much resemble the church in the Bible.

10. Seeing things in the spiritual realm is not the same thing as spiritual maturity.
Performing healings or speaking in tongues is not an indicator of closeness to God.
Prophets are not automatically leaders.

11. Blessing is good, but your presence is better.

12. We always want the best for our children. But we don't seem to think in those terms when it comes to the church's children. What will be the spiritual legacy of our church?

13. 2 Cor 12:9 ...He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.”
  • "Grace." Your desire to be near us and bless.
  • "Sufficient:" Enough.
  • "Power:" applying your inherent ability.
  • "Perfected:" to complete, consummate
  • "Weakness:" frailty, the handicaps that go with the weakness.
Your come close with blessing, and that is all I need. You apply your great abilities and they are completed even within these things that slow me down.

14. John 14:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do...

Amen, amen... "emphasis marker, introduces a statement of pivotal importance."

15. Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
  • Secret, hidden
  • Guard
  • Encircle
  • Escape
16. Even in the darkest of times your kingdom is advancing. Therefore, I will not be dissuaded from praying for revival. It's in the greatest darkness your church must shine brightest, like a beacon of hope.

Chapter Three

Here's last week's prayer notes:

1. Speaking the truth has some virtue, but speaking the truth in love carries the Holy Spirit.

2. Take me deeper into your presence. Take me past my self-imposed limits. Take me farther than I thought I could go. I must know you more.

3. How my heart is burdened for our children, especially young teen girls! It grieves me that our children are being used and abused to push a political agenda. It angers me that the enemy has so much influence.

Destruction. Chaos. It must stop in Jesus' name! Father, would you fill these young girls with your Holy Spirit? Give them a strong awareness of their identity in Christ. Protect them from these insidious influences.

4. One of the signs of maturing in Christ is when one's focus moves off of self.

5. Many of us view our salvation as it applies individually. But we are also saved into the Body as a people.

6. "In these last days I will pour out my Spirit..." "...a rainfall in rich abundance, emphasizing the greatness of a fresh outpouring, not in drops, but in great abundance." Amen, let it be so.

7. I just learned of another friend passing. His wife told me, "He liked you so much." That hit me harder than news of his death, and I don't know why.

Maybe it’s because I've never considered myself to be as good of a friend as I want to be.

8. What happened to "what might we see?" Pray and fast on Tuesdays, culminating in Tuesday Pursuit Night? 

9. When I start getting a little full of myself I think of Job getting questioned: "Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?"

Or, "put on your big boy pants."

10. There's no striving, just abiding.

11. Psalm 144:1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.

My rock, my sure foundation. Spiritual warfare. The battle is coming, and the watchmen on the wall are sounding the alarm. We are all in whether we want to be or not. Church, we'd better learn how to pray and fast. Matt. 17:21

12. Much has been made about Mary sitting at Jesus' feet while Martha worked. But it's ok to be a Martha sometimes.

13. Leviticus 10. Aaron's sons worshiped with strange fire and God killed them. What might that tell us about how we should worship?

Ananias and Saphira died for lying to the Holy Spirit. How might something like that happening in our church service change things?

Psalm 2:11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

14. A spirit of stupor... hmmm. Holy Spirit, would you break off stupor and dullness from us! There is no wall you can't break through, so Spirit of wisdom and revelation, break though into our deepest places and move in us and among us.

15. Why do we employ reason and logic regarding the world and its chaos? These are spiritual problems requiring spiritual solutions.

16. If you're deceived you don't know it. That's why it's called deception.

Holy Spirit, unveil my eyes and renew my mind so that I might see and know the truth.

17. I just had a sort of vision. Our church, our people, have locked doors that need to be opened. I don’t know what they're hiding. I don’t know why we have them. There are old doors, secret doors, barricaded doors.

I'm reaching for door knobs, opening locks, swinging wide many doors. The Light of the Holy Spirit is shining in, revealing old wounds, horrible secrets, favorite sins, roots of bitterness, unforgiveness.

They all shrivel up in the Light. Healing and liberty. Shine upon us, Holy Spirit! Let every sort of evil depart from us! Let the secret doors swing wide and give up their dark things!

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