Tag: holy spirit

A Prayer of Reception and Resistance (Warfare Prayer)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog2 Comments

Almighty God, blessed heavenly Father:

I bow in worship and praise before You. I take upon myself the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. I take up His words and ways, His person and work, and cover myself with His very life as my protection. (Matthew 11:29-30; Romans 13:14)

I surrender myself to You, gracious God; completely submit every area of my life to Christ; and listen to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I now take a stand against all the work of evil and every satanic stratagem that seeks to hinder me in my prayer life. I address myself only to You, true and living God, and refuse any sinister involvement of demonic forces in my prayers. (Matthew 23:12; Mark 9:7; Ephesians 6:11)

Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.

Jesus (Matthew 21:22)

As a blood-bought believer and adopted child into the family of God, I take up the authority and position graciously given to me because of the work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. Therefore, Satan, I command you, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to leave my presence with all of your demons. I bring the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ between us. (Ephesians 1:5, 20-22)

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Blessed Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit – I worship You alone. I recognize You are worthy to receive all glory, honor, and praise. I renew my allegiance to You and humbly ask that You, Holy Spirit, enable me and strengthen my faith in this time of prayer, and throughout this day. (Ephesians 6:10; Revelation 4:11)

I am thankful, heavenly Father, that You have loved me from eternity past; and that You sent the Lord Jesus Christ into this world to die as my substitute. (Ephesians 1:4, 7)

I am thankful, merciful Christ, that You came as my representative; and that through You I am completely forgiven. Blessed Father, You have adopted me into Your family; You have assumed all responsibility for me; You have given me eternal life; You have given me Your perfect righteousness, so that I am now justified and free. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

I am thankful, gracious God, that in Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, You have made me complete. You have offered Yourself to me, to be my daily help and strength. Open my eyes that I might see how great You are and how complete Your provision is for me this day. (Matthew 20:33; Romans 16:25-27)

I am thankful, Lord Jesus, that the victory You won on the cross and in Your resurrection has been given to me; and that I am seated with You in heaven. Therefore, I take my place with You, Lord Jesus, and recognize by faith that all wicked spirits, and even Satan himself, are under my feet. I declare that the devil and his demons are subject to me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Ephesians 1:22-23)

I am thankful, mighty God, for the armor You have provided. Today, I put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace and the helmet of salvation. I lift up the shield of faith against all the fiery arrows of the enemy; and I take in my hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. I choose to use Your Word against all the forces of evil in my life. I put on this armor and live and  pray in complete dependence upon You, blessed Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 6:13-17)

I am thankful, Lord Jesus, that You disarmed all power and authorities, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore, I claim all victory for my life today. I reject all the insinuations, accusations, and temptations of Satan.  I affirm that the Word of God is true. I choose to live today in the light of God’s Word. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Everyone who asks, receives.

Jesus (Matthew 7:8)

Heavenly Father, I choose to live in obedience to You and in fellowship with You. Open my eyes and show me the areas of my life that do not please You.  Work in me to cleanse and purify me from all ground that may give evil a foothold in my life. In every way, I stand into all that it means to be Your adopted child. (2 Corinthians 7:1; James 4:8; 1 John 1:7, 9)

Blessed Holy Spirit, I welcome all of Your ministry in my life. By faith and in dependence upon You, I put off the old person and stand into all the victory of the crucifixion where the Lord Jesus Christ provided cleansing from the sinful nature. I put on the new person and stand into all the victory of the resurrection and the provision Christ has made for me to live above sin. (Colossians 3:1-17)

I put off the old nature with its myopic selfishness, crippling fear, and deceitful lusts. In its place, I put on the new nature with its love, courage, righteousness, purity, and honesty. (Romans 13:12-13; 2 Timothy 1:9)

In every way, I stand into the victory of Christ’s ascension and glorification, in which everything was made subject to Him. I claim my place in Christ as victorious with Him over all the enemies of my soul. 

Blessed Holy Spirit, I pray that you would fill me. Come into my life, break down every idol, and cast out every enemy of my soul, because I belong to God! (1 Corinthians 10:14, 21; 1 John 4:18)

I am thankful, wise God, for the expression of Your will for my daily life as You have shown me in Your Word. I, therefore, claim all the will of God for my life today. (John 17:16-18)

I am thankful, blessed Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve, that You have blessed me with every spiritual blessing in Christ; and that before I chose You, You chose me. (Ephesians 1:3-4)

I am thankful, gracious God, that You have given me new life into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

I am thankful, merciful God, that You have made provision for me so that today I can live filled in the Holy Spirit with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. I recognize and affirm that this is Your will for me. (Galatians 5:22-26)

So, therefore, almighty God, I reject and resist all the sinister attempts of evil, and of every wicked spirit to rob me of the will of God. I refuse today to believe any feelings of failure and worthlessness; and I hold up the shield of faith against all the accusations, distortions, and insinuations that Satan would put into my mind. I claim the will of God for my life today. (Ephesians 6:16)

In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I completely surrender myself to You, heavenly Father, as a living sacrifice. I choose not to be conformed to this world. Instead, I choose to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I pray You to show me Your will. Help me to walk in Your way today. (Romans 12:1-2)

I am thankful, powerful God, that the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world, but have divine power to demolish strongholds, arguments, and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. I take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Therefore, in my life today, I tear down the strongholds of Satan and smash the plans of evil that have been formed against me. I demolish the strongholds of Satan against my mind; and I surrender my mind to You, Holy Spirit. 

I affirm, heavenly Father, that You have not given me a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. So, I break and smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my emotions today. I give my will to You. I choose to make right decisions of faith. I smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my body today; and I give my body to You, recognizing that I am Your sacred temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Ephesians 2:19-22; 2 Timothy 1:9)

Heavenly Father, I pray now, and throughout this day, that You strengthen and enlighten me. Show me the ways that Satan is hindering, tempting, lying and distorting the truth in my life. Help me to be the kind of person that pleases You; to be aggressive in prayer and in faith; to think rightly; to actively practice Your Word; and, to give You Your rightful place in my life. (Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, 11:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

I now intentionally and volitionally cover myself with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that You, blessed Holy Spirit, bring all the work of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and all Your powerful work of Pentecost into my life today. (Acts 1:8)

I surrender myself to You, merciful God. I refuse to be discouraged, because You are the God of all hope. You have proven Your power by resurrecting Jesus from the dead. Therefore, I claim this victory over all evil and satanic forces in my life. I pray all of this in the Name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving.  Amen. (Romans 5:1-6, 15:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 1:21)

Fourth Sunday of Advent – Mary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-55)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Mary and Elizabeth, by Lauren Wright Pittman

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
    Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
    and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Mary had a visitation by an angel, informing her that she would give birth to the Son of God. She immediately hurried to visit her relative Elizabeth, who was pregnant with the forerunner to the Son of God.

In the two women’s encounter, the baby within Mary is portrayed as of greater significance than the one within Elizabeth. And that was not because of the adults, but because of the babies themselves.

Something amazing and spectacular was about to occur in history. It would be so cataclysmic that these two babies, especially the one within Mary, would change the world in profound ways.

There was nothing particularly special about either Mary or Elizabeth – which is probably why they were perfect for the jobs of raising the Messiah and the Prophet.

The lowly non-descript persons are usually favored by God, even though the world knows nothing about them. After all, the kingdom of God knows nothing of billionaires and those in high places, even though the world knows nearly everything about them.

Throughout the history of the world, women have often been overlooked and underrated. Even in today’s Western world, even though it’s better than it was, women are still viewed not as qualified like men are. But that’s a topic for another time.

The Visitation, by Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996)

The most obvious observation from today’s Gospel story is that we wouldn’t have babies born without women. There were two in utero babies that had responses, because of two women.

Inside of Elizabeth’s womb, John leaped at the voice of Mary carrying his new cousin. Indeed, even before birth, John was filled with the Holy Spirit and began pointing to Jesus. (Luke 1:15)

John, although getting his prophetic leap from the Spirit, also got some significant prophetic oomph from his mother. Elizabeth spoke the prophetic word about Mary, who is “the mother of my Lord.”

Good people bestow blessing on others. And that is what Elizabeth did for Mary. This then, enabled Mary to express her own inspired blessing to God. To bless and be blessed means, on the practical level, that spiritual eyes are opened to see what is truly there.

Mary is a blessed person, not only because she is the Lord’s mother, but more fundamentally because she is faithful, and trusted in the promise of God to her.

To be blessed is to have God’s stamp of approval on your life. It has little to do with wealth or abundant resources. But it does have a lot to do with living a life of godly virtue and values.

So, again, it only makes sense that God used Mary and Elizabeth, two women who embodied being poor in spirit (humble) as the divine conduits for blessing the world.

Both Mary and Elizabeth believed. Elizabeth believed the words of the angel to her husband Zechariah. And Mary believed the angel’s direct words to her when she heard them. Without hesitation or any ambiguity.

Faith accepts what it cannot see; and when faith does see with actual eyes, it can see what is underneath the physical appearance.

Let’s also make sure to observe that this sort of faith, this particular way of seeing, has its consequences. Elizabeth and Mary both knew quite well that one of them was an unmarried pregnant woman.

They understood the social judgments to come, along with the shaming, and perhaps even the ostracism that would likely occur – even though all of this is divine through and through.

But grace can always use the eyes of faith to see beyond social status and convention in order to do what is right, just, and good. Mercy can always see what is truly honorable.

Elizabeth was perfectly comfortable extending hospitality to a person for whom others were likely to whisper, judge, and reject. Which is why I like Elizabeth. Every generation needs more women like her.

The welcome and love of Elizabeth is of the same sort that Jesus would show to prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. Like Elizabeth, Jesus could see beyond any societal shame to what was divinely happening in front of him.

Mary magnified the Lord with immortal words infused from the blessing bestowed upon her by Elizabeth. To bless another person is to open them to the possibilities of God’s actions in them and through them to the world.

That is the real gift that keeps on giving. And it is the most appropriate and valuable gift that we can give to another this season.

O God of Elizabeth and Mary, you visited your servants with news of the world’s redemption in the coming of the Savior. Make our hearts leap with joy, and fill our mouths with songs of praise, so that we may announce glad tidings of peace, and welcome Christ in our midst. Open our souls to receive the One who came to love your flock. Amen.

The Gospel Is For Everyone (Acts 11:1-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
The Preaching of St. Peter In Jerusalem, by Charles Poërson, 1642

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story:“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

“Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (New International Version)

In this Advent season, the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings for Year C direct us toward the good news that Christ’s incarnation is not only for Jewish people; it is also for everyone.

But Peter needed some remedial teaching about this gospel. He had to get the reality that God grants repentance leading to new life for Gentiles, firmly into his Jewish head and heart.

The first advent of Jesus Christ – his incarnation as the God-Man on this earth – was meant for the world, and not exclusively for the Jewish people. Sometimes, however, it takes a vision or a dream to really get the message across.

And God is gracious to do whatever it takes in order to gain our attention and bring us to a point of changing our minds about things we are in error about.

The Gospel is for everyone.

The Gospel is Jews and Gentiles. The Gospel is for you and for me. It’s for your grumpy neighbor and your crazy uncle. It’s for that obnoxious co-worker and the persnickety church lady. It’s for the Grinches and Scrooges of this world, as well as for the already convinced.

Yes, indeed, the good news of Jesus Christ is for everyone, without exception.

I do so hope that you don’t have to learn that truth the hard way. I do rather hope that you have a wonderful experience of discovering a Cornelius of whom you had no idea even existed, until the mercy of God led you otherwise.

It is my prayer that you have (or will have) a story to tell, much like Peter’s, in which you found that the grace of God has no limits, that there is plenty of Christ to go around for everyone.

There is no need to stand in God’s way, because no one can stop God’s grace. When the mercy of God starts moving, it becomes a giant snowball gaining speed and strength and size going downhill. And when it hits, you’re going to feel it!

Grace overcomes and overwhelms everything. 

One of the most scandalous truths of Christianity is that God graces common ordinary people who seem as dead as a bowling ball with the Holy Spirit and gives them life. 

The Apostle Peter had to learn this with some difficulty, but he embraced the work of God among the non-Jewish Gentiles. “The Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning” was Peter’s plain account and confession of the reality that God grants repentance that leads to life for all kinds of people no matter what their race, ethnicity, gender, class, or background. 

It is a wondrous and astounding spiritual truth that God’s gracious concern is not limited to a certain type of person.

Along with Peter and the other believers so long ago, let us rejoice in the work of God that brings deliverance and transformation. 

Grace is and ought to be the guiding factor in how we interact with people. 

Losing sight of grace leads to being critical and defensive. Whereas, embracing grace leads to the humility of seeing the image of God in people very different from ourselves. 

Grace tears down barriers and causes us to do away with unnecessary distinctions between others. Our appropriate response to such a grace is to glorify God for his marvelous and amazing work. 

The Gospel is not only a gift to receive; it is also a wonderful gift to give.

Gracious God, just as you brought deliverance and salvation that leads to life for people from ancient times, and gifted them with your Holy Spirit, so today continue your mighty work of transformation in the hearts of people that I share the good news of Jesus with. Amen.

What Should We Do? (Acts 2:37-42)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Apostle Peter Preaching, by Lorenzo Veneziano, c.1370

When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God invites.” With many other words he testified to them and encouraged them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized. God brought about three thousand people into the community on that day.

The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. (Common English Bible)

The Apostle Peter, follower of Jesus, had a fire in his belly and fresh wind in his lungs.

Pentecost will do that to a person.

The promised Holy Spirit came – the Spirit of fire and wind – and the result was an impassioned, reasoned, and convicting message from Peter.

The crowd of people listening to Peter understood clearly that he was saying the person and work of Jesus was the activity of God.

And Christ was killed because of his presence and ministry. But three days later, he was raised from death. And then, ascended to heaven, promising the Spirit’s continual involvement.

The people listening to Peter were cut to the heart, convicted in the depths of their soul, and beside themselves as to their culpability in Christ’s situation. They cried out to Peter and asked him what they should do, how they could possibly be a part of what God is doing in the world.

Peter’s response to the crowd was to change – to repent and be baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle was telling them to turn away from the old way, and turn toward the new coming kingdom of God.

Baptism assures people that God has received their repentance, and has forgiven them. It initiates the believer into the new community of the redeemed, the church.

This was not only for Jewish people, but also for Gentiles; and for everyone, both far and near.

Celebration, by John August Swanson (1938-2021)

The four qualities which characterized the earliest church were these:

  1. The new community followed apostolic teaching (the story of Jesus)
  2. The church continually engaged in fellowship (mutual encouragement and working together in unity)
  3. The believers broke bread together (kept meeting together in shared meals to remember the person and work of Jesus)
  4. They prayed (as the Lord had taught them to pray – for God’s gracious and benevolent kingdom to come, and God’s ethical and moral will to be done, right now on this earth, as it is always done in God’s heaven)

For those who are established in the faith of Christianity, all of this material raises several questions to reflect upon in how our life together as Christians is going:

How do Christians understand the word “repentance?”

Because this determines a great deal of how we live as believers. If we discern repentance as following the rules – both written and unwritten – then we are likely behaving more in the old ways that the earliest believers were to repent of.

But if we see repentance as a way of life, of continually offering prayers of confession to God, and seeking to align our life with the words and ways of Jesus, then we are living more into the spirit of Peter’s original exhortation to the people.

Is the Church living as the baptized community of the redeemed?

Again, how do we understand the word “baptism?” If baptism is nothing more than a personal decision to outwardly show one’s faith, then we have severely truncated Peter’s meaning of the word.

Baptism is the outward sign that we belong to God. And belonging to God is something God does, not us.

One good way of understanding the whole of the Christian life is that we are to ‘live into our baptism,’ that is, we are to daily live our lives cognizant that our life is not our own.

We belong to God. Long before we happened to choose God, God chose us. And we must always remember that.

Are believers in Jesus living in the Spirit?

The Spirit has been given as the continuing presence of Jesus on this earth. The Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words and ways, his person and work. To live in the Spirit is to be continually reminded that what is important to Jesus, needs to be important to us.

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of competing or fighting. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. (Matthew 5:3-10, MSG)

Are individual Christians and the Church communicating the promise to those who are far away? In other words, are we seeking to include others in the community?

Too many churches are closed groups who have a lot of extraneous rules and ancillary beliefs in order to truly be a part of their local church.

This does not mean we are to have no rules or guidelines or any teaching about our particular Christian tradition. However, it does mean that make sure we are proclaiming good news (which is what the word “gospel” means) because the gospel is radically inclusive, not exclusive.

Therefore, to have a community of people who genuinely love one another by spiritually changing and growing, serving and helping, sharing and encouraging, praying and opening up, is to have a group of redeemed persons who give a compelling proclamation of good news through both their gracious words and their loving actions.

If we have little Christ’s walking about this world and living according to his words and ways, and being full of the Spirit, then we give other people a big reason for faith, hope, and love in a world that is too often characterized by being overwhelmed, jaded, and hopeless.

One can never go wrong with living a blessed life as Jesus has defined it; and as the early apostles and believers lived it.

May it be so, to the glory of God, and for the blessing of the church and the world. Amen.