Prayer Letter - 19 September 2005

To: Prayer Partners
From: Pastor Lucenay

A recent daily Bible reading, according to our read through the New Testament plan, carried us into Ephesians. I read, Be sure your heart does what God wants (Ephesians 6:6, NIrV). The heart can lead us in many ways. Jeremiah wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV) He shared the word of hope from God, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Ezekiel shared God’s promise, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezekiel 36:26, 27).

Years later, Jesus said, Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’… (Matthew 15:19, 20). Jesus reminds us that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:29).

Paul puts us on the faith journey as he writes, If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:9,10).

If we resist the movement of God’s Spirit in our lives and ignore the directions of God’s Word, we face the wrath of God, for the Bible says, because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5). However, when God’ Word becomes real to us, The secrets of the heart are laid bare (1 Corinthians 14:25). This is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence, whenever our hearts condemn us. For, God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God (1 John 3:19-21).

So, how’s your heart today? Sometimes the Spirit of God finds trouble in our hearts. We may be wrestling with temptation or we may have fallen to temptation. We may be struggling with guilt or shame, anxiety or fear. We may be bothered by the attention or inattention of others. The demands of life may leave us weary and worn. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me, Jesus said (John 14:1). How can I trust God with the troubles of my heart? Do not lose heart… we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For, what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16, 18). Make Paul’s prayer your prayer. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order than you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:18-21). Trusting God with the difficulties we face requires our faith in God’s ability to work in them regardless of what we see, understand, or want. Is this kind of trust easy? Not if we want to keep life in the order we would choose or under our control. However, if we walk by faith, we follow the way of faith, remaining obedient to His Word as we seek His strength in our weakness.

Talk to God about your heart.

• Where can you see God’s handiwork in your life? Thank Him for His goodness.
• Where are you hurting? Invite the Lord to hold your heart, to examine your hurt, to show you how to trust Him with your hurt.
• What are your worries? Lay them at His feet. Many of them will never come to pass. Others are beyond your ability to solve. Seek to trust God to handle what is beyond you.
• Name your fears. Is God greater than your fears? Sure He is. Put your fears at His feet.
• Where is your heart divided? Ask God to help you develop an undivided heart.
• Does your heart lack direction? Ask God to reveal His way to you. Make sure what you think is the voice of God on an issue is consistent with what the Bible teaches.

This week we shall pray for the heart of the church.

• Ask God to allow His Word to address what He feels He needs to address in our church. When Peter preached at Pentecost the Bible says the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said…’Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37).
• Ask God to unite us in oneness in Christ Jesus. All the believers were one in heart and mind (Acts 4:32).
• Invite God to inhabit our praises. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).
• Ask God to encourage our people. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love…Colossians 2:2

Yes, we shall continue to pray for people to come a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and yes, we shall continue to pray for the people who are ill. We continue to ask God to help us properly address space issues so we can minister properly to the people God invites to His church. We also pray for our leaders to walk with the Lord in godliness and lead us in God’s way with wisdom and grace. We ask God to help every person find a place of ministry in the family of God so he/she can use the gifts God has invested in him or her.

Thank you for taking time to consider your heart and the hearts of God’s people at KIBC. I hope you will take time to review this prayer guide and pray specifically for the people God puts on your heart. May God truly bless your heart this week.

Let us conclude our prayer by asking God to help us follow the advice of Solomon, above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23).