1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Revelation 8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
A foreign soldier was brought before his commanding officer and accused of communicating with the enemy. He had been seen emerging from an area where their troops were known to patrol. The poor man summed up his defense in a few words, stating that he had slipped away to spend an hour alone in prayer. "Have you been in the habit of spending an hour in private prayer?" demanded the officer. "Yes, Sir," he replied. "Well" said his commander, "never in your life have you been in more need of prayer than right now. Kneel down and pray aloud so that we all may hear you."
Expecting cruel punishment, maybe even death, the soldier dropped to his knees and poured out his heart to God. His prayer revealed a deep intimacy with God. His earnest fluency, humble appeal for divine intervention, and very evident trust in one who was strong to deliver, told without a doubt that he came regularly to the throne of grace.
"You are free to go," said the officer. "No one could have prayed that way without a long apprenticeship -- soldiers who never attend drill are always ill at ease for the review."
This soldier was praying intensely because he was plunged in the midst of a battle -- while we are in the middle of a war in Israel -- the entire world is a battlefield on an epic level spiritually, and you're in the thick of it.
One of the tactics of the enemy is to prevent us from praying. I read a statistics recently that the average Christian spends just seven minutes a day in prayer.
Let's realize the strategy of the enemy, and become disciplined in prayer. As you pray, remind yourself that you're not just praying, but warring against principalities and powers in the heavenly places. As we come to a realization that we're are battling, our prayers will become more intensified and our actions will then be backed by the power of prayer -- this is how we change the small world around us!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This unique passage in Revelation has a warning and a blessing.
The first part of this verse was a warning about the suddenness of the Lord’s return as He is coming as a thief to the world not anticipating His return.
The Hebrew language contains numerous words that have the same root yet vast differences in meaning. On deeper examination however, these words can be related in illuminating ways. For example, the three Hebrew letters --"Lamed", "Chet", and "Mem"-- which spell, "lechem", or "bread" in English, are also the root letters for "fight" (lehilachem) and "war" (milchama). For centuries Rabbis have discussed and debated the connection between these three words.
When the twelve spies were sent out by Moses into the land of Canaan, ten came back with a bad report. Joshua and Caleb, however, returned with a good report, saying in essence, “If God is for us — then who can be against us?” The two courageous spies expressed their confidence in a way that was quite cool: “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us.” [Numbers 14:9]
In Israel, the celebration of Shavuot took place yesterday. Most Christians would recognize this as the celebration of Pentecost in Acts 2. However, the very first Shavuot took place fifty days after the Israel crossed the Red Sea. It was on this day according to Jewish tradition that the law was given on tablets of stone.
An ancient Hebrew commentator wrote of this verse, "In the words of our teachers of blessed memory and in the Midrash [ancient Hebrew commentaries of the O.T.], it is taught that the 'breaker' is Elijah and 'their King' is the branch of the son of David."
In the Greek olympic games of old, a unique race was run. The winner was not the runner who finished first --- it was the runner who finished with his torch still lit!
“One that sows discord among brothers” is an abomination to God. It’s an amazing passage that is often overlooked when considering offenses which God hates.