fcb4
Fcb4: Frederick Christian Blauer iv
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Priests commune and Kings conquer.
“And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” -Rev 5:10
I slept under thundering heavens last night, lightnings & voices. My sleep was filled with prophetic themes and I awoke with a number of scriptures and words rising out of my heart and mind. Prayer, worship and proclamation arising out of the truth of heaven’s pictures of filled bowls, pouring fire and the epicenter of impact created when the earthly and heavenly touch and God’s purposes erupt!
Revelation 5:8:
“And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints.”
Revelation 8:3-5:
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”Kingdom ministry and mission is ignited when God’s Heart and God’s Hand are reached out for with passion and longing. A fire is kindled when the awoken and burning embers of Spirit breathed flame and wind combust on the dried up human altar of fleshly inability. The rains of heaven soak our altars to show us it’s not of us…but of God.
Our union in Him is the position from which we reign not our abilities, powers or proficiencies. It IS NOT by might, not power but by His Spirit, says The Lord.
“But God, rich in mercy, for the great love he bore us, brought us to life with Christ even when we were dead in our sins; it is by his grace you are saved. And in union with Christ Jesus he raised us up and enthroned us with him in the heavenly realms” -Ephesians 2:4-6
I heard the word “Hidden Treasures” in my spirit and looked it up and found this verse:
Isaiah 45:1-3:
“This is what the Lord says to his anointed…
whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Those who ask, seek and knock…find.
What ‘hidden treasures’ is our Heavenly Father about to uncover for us?
What glorious truth, what keys of the Kingdom is He revealing to you that will ‘unlock’ doors that cannot be shut?
What mountains will be ‘leveled’ that have stood in defiance to His glory and your rest and joy?
What fresh ‘anointing’ is being poured out upon you right now that will finally “subdue enemies and strip kings” that have opposed the purposes of God in your life, family and ministry or mission?
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God answers the little prayers too. I needed a bike rack to carry stuff when I’m with God doing good in the hood. I priced them out and realized they were not in my budget. But then when I was ordering coffee yesterday at the Shop, I asked Joe (a fellow bike fan) if he happened to have an extra one laying around. He said yes and he gave it to me today for free!
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Pray…that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,(Ephesians 6:19)…that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3)…that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified (2 Thessalonians 3:5)…that I would ‘Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.’(Timothy 2:25-26).
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“God will let you laugh again; you’ll raise the roof with shouts of joy.” -Job 8:21
God gave me a special gift of answered prayer today that totally showed me He’s really listening to my heart. Thank you Holy Spirit for the joy of your presence and the gift of prayer.
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Matthew 15:25-28:
“Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. “Master, help me.” He said, “It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to dogs.”
She was quick: “You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.”
Jesus gave in. “Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!” Right then her daughter became well.”This is the kind of story one has to read with new eyes and ears. encounter it with the belief that He is good, not indifferent to your need. Rise to the invitation to believe God’s silence isn’t a refusal but a wild invitation to believe and pursue Him.
I can’t explain the periods of time between request & receive or every sovereign choice to do or not do ‘this or that’ but we do have our stories. These sign posts of many other people’s journey are posted to offer help in the changing topography of God’s path for all of us. There are so many different moments on the way and they all call for a myriad of loving and living opportunities to grow & know God.
Let your hunger have its full life redirecting effect. Let the ache arise to a place of transformation and desperation. Don’t let the silence…silence you. Use the unfulfilled God-space to echo and magnify your pleadings until He turns toward you.
May He “give in” and bless you with His words and works but most of all, may He show you the gift of this type of trial and the gift of gold that your faith experiences through it all.
Don’t faint, little saint…He isn’t going to leave you without what you will need.
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I have quitted all forms of devotion and set prayers but those to which my state obliges me. And I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I keep myself by a simple attention, and a general fond regard to GOD, which I may call an actual presence of GOD; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with GOD, which often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly, so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to others.Brother Lawrence
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Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.- Sir Francis Drake (1540 - 1596)
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A prayer for those who have yet surrendered their lives to Lord Jesus based on: 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 & 2 Timothy 2:22-26 & The Empire Strikes Back
Spirit of truth,
I pray that you will demolish every argument, claim or assertion that stands between unbelief and faith in the knowledge of God.
Capture every rebel thought until they surrender in obedience to Christ. May they flee the desires of youth that are evil, hunt after righteousness, faith, love and peace, with a community of people who also call on God from a purified heart.
May they become one who no longer engages in foolish and stupid arguments that just end up distracting one from the truth and often end in dead end arguments.
Let kindness, humility, teachableness and the ability to have thick skin be the tone of the struggle for truth.
Grant a change of heart and mind that results in a change of life through a deep and powerful encounter with the gospel.
May they wake up, and see that “It’s a Trap” laid by the devil, who has captured them for his own purposes.
Amen.
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A prayer on this national day of prayer:
Psalm 20:1-5:
1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.Art: Benedictine Brother Martin Erspamer
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When it comes to teaching someone how to pray, the church has always turned to the book of Psalms.
Saints, Monastics and intercessors have practiced praying the scripture for thousands of years. A simple process of taking God’s word and turning it into audible prayer.
I was inspired and challenged by the Monks at Mt. Angel Abbey’s rhythm and discipline of regularly praying through the psalms. Durning the remainder of Eastertide until Pentecost I’m praying through the book of Psalms.
A simple plan: 21 days, about 7 psalms a day, around 3 or so, morning, noon and night.
It’s not good enough to teach people that they should pray without showing them how to pray.The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, we need to teach prayer.
Below is a short story on prayer I found inspiring.
There is a story about D. L. Moody making a visit to Scotland in the 1800s and opening one of his talks at a local grade school with the rhetorical question, what is prayer? To his amazement, hundreds of children’s hands went up. So he decided to call on a lad near the front, who promptly stood up and said, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” This is the answer to question #178 in the Westminster Catechism. To this Moody responded by saying, “Be thankful, son, that you were born in Scotland.”
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“Prayer should be short and pure, unless perhaps it is prolonged under the inspiration of Divine grace.” -The Rule of St. Benedict
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“Lord I groan, Lord I kneel
I’m cryin’ out for something real
‘Cause I know deep in my soul
There must be more
Lord I’m tired, yes I’m weak
I need your power to work in me
But I can’t let go, I keep hanging on
There must be more
There must be more
There must be more
River flow, Fire burn
Holy spirit breathe on me,
Holy spirit breathe on me”
By David RuisOne of my favorite old renewal songs that came back to my memory in worship today. This song fits perfectly into this Eastertide season as we revel in the Risen Christ’s victory over death and move towards Pentecost in holy anticipation. It’s quite amazing to think that Jesus promised more to come after the resurrection!
What are you asking for today? Jesus promised that the outpouring of His Spirit would be characterized by unprecedented answers to prayer (John 16:20-24). It is time to seek His face and ask Him to display His power and love and He said we will receive. What are you asking for today?
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Morning prayer:
‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ -Ezekiel 37:9 -
Morning Prayer inspired from Daniel & Paul’s trials:
Lord of all people,
You are the source of our peace and prosperity,
in all places and in every age it is known.We tremble with awe and wonder before You.
You are the Living & Eternal One,
Your kingdom and rule will never end.
You rescue and save Your people,On earth as it is in heaven,
You perform signs & wonders.
You have saved the saints of old,
And will deliver us from the power of the lion’s mouth!Amen
Daniel 6:25-28
“Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:
“Peace and prosperity to you!
26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.
For he is the living God,
and he will endure forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his rule will never end.
27 He rescues and saves his people;
he performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
2 Timothy 4:16-18:
“The first time I had to defend myself no one was on my side—they all deserted me. God forgive them! Yet the Lord himself stood by me and gave me the strength to proclaim the message clearly and fully, so that the Gentiles could hear it, and I was rescued “from the lion’s mouth”. I am sure the Lord will rescue me from every evil plot, and will keep me safe until I reach his heavenly kingdom. Glory be to him for ever and ever!” -
Daniel 9:17-19:
“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
