Happy Faith Friday, Garden Fam 🌸
I hope you’ve had a blessed week!
If you caught last week’s post and video, you know that we talked about praying more powerful prayers. If you missed it, I strongly encourage you to go back and check it out. I truly believe it will bless and sharpen you. This week, we’re continuing the conversation and discussing faith, a key ingredient needed to activate our prayers and to radically change our lives.
Last year, God asked me, “Do you truly believe what you say you believe?” & sadly, my answer was no…
God had asked me to step out of the norm in many ways, and though I was committed to the idea of following His voice and His way, the process definitely revealed some major weak spots in my faith. In today’s video, I share God's Word and what I learned along my own faith journey to bring insight on what faith truly is and how to grow your faith.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), so where is your faith today?
If it’s not where it needs to be, or if you’re unsure, may today’s video set you forth on a faith journey of your own!
As always, I am wishing you a healthy & wholesome weekend!
Love you bunches 🍇
Focus Verses
Closing Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for another beautiful day.
Thank you for your Word and your Holy Spirit who enables us to understand it.
Increase our understanding of you and your Word and our belief in who You are
Give us spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear so that we can more readily be led by your Spirit
Continue to guide us into all truth and help us to govern our lives according to Your perfect will and perfect plan for our lives
Thank you for being who you are, for choosing us before the foundation of the world, and for the plans you established for each of us before you ever formed us in our mother’s wombs.
Thank you for your plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a future and a hope, an expected end.
Thank you for being a wonderful Father to each of us and for leaving us such a beautiful inheritance.
Lord, please continue to align us with your Will and your Ways so that we may be in right standing to receive and carry out all that you have for us here in the land of the living.
Lord, if there is anyone watching who does not yet know you, I pray that you would make yourself known to them in a way they’ve never experienced before. Give them a heart of flesh to receive you in the fullness of who you are, your goodness, mercy, forgiveness, correction, salvation, and especially your perfect love!
We love you, we honor you, and we praise you!
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Happy Faith Friday, Garden Fam 💕
I hope you've had a wonderful week!
As you may already know, prayer builds your relationship w/ God by welcoming Him into every aspect of your life. Prayer can also help to increase your faith and serve a multitude of other purposes in your faith journey and your life overall. Check out today's video and the notes below for more insight on prayer and how you can start praying more powerful prayers. If you enjoy today's post or video, please like and share it with a friend who you think may be encouraged.
Love you bunches!
Have a healthy & wholesome weekend 💖
Notes from today's video
Types of Prayer
Supplication
Asking God for something
Thanksgiving
Thanking God for his blessings
Worship and adoration
Telling God wonderful He is
Confession and repentance
Confessing and repenting of sin, and asking for forgiveness
Intercession
Praying on behalf of someone or a place, like a city, company, government entity, church, etc.
Note: You may touch more than one, or all categories in one prayer
Ways to Pray
Relationship-Building
Candid conversation
Inviting God into your day and sharing moments with Him
Recommendation: sometimes opt to talk to God about things before calling someone else
Note: May also help to minimize gossip and complaining
Vulnerable, Heartfelt Prayers
Laying out your heart before God
No words? No problem!
God understands the language of our tears
Psalm 56:8
The Holy Spirit prays on our behalf
Romans 8:26-27
Momentary Cries for Help
Simply, “Help me” or calling on the name of Jesus
For protection, insight, strength, encouragement, etc.
Quiet Time with God
Prayer is a conversation
Sometimes, sit and see if God has anything to say back to you
NOT the same as meditation – we are not emptying ourselves to be filled
Keep the Word on your mind and your heart open to what the Lord may want to impart to you
The Most Powerful Way to Pray – Pray the Scriptures!
Reminds God of His promises
Isaiah 43:26
A way to pray the perfect will of God
John 15:7-8
Jesus’ example – Praying that God’s will be done
The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 6:10
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Matthew 26:39
Activates the angels on your behalf
Psalms 103:20
Angels are employed by God to protect us.
They only move by His Word.
Bonus: Speaking and praying the scriptures can also help in spiritual warfare against the enemy
Psalms 94:20-23
Use the law aka the Word aka the Sword of the Spirit to crush the enemy!
How to get started
Immerse yourself in God’s Word!
Proverbs 7:1-3
John 14:26
The more you read and hear God’s Word, the more of the Word you will have to draw from with the help of the Holy Spirit!
Research and write down specific scriptures that relay God’s promises in general or that are related to your specific prayer requests
Don’t be afraid to pull out notes when praying the scriptures, especially early on!
Just start!
There’s no perfect way. If you are quoting God’s Word, and welcoming the help of the Holy Spirit, you can’t go wrong.
It’s okay to use the same scriptures multiple times. God’s word doesn’t change!
Focus Scriptures
Sample Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for being who You are!
You are alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.
You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!
You are such a perfect, loving and compassionate God
We repent of our sins and ask you to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness, as you promised to do in 1 John 1:9.
We thank you for your Word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths.
Please help us to write your words on the tablets of our hearts and thank you in advance that the Ho
ly Spirit will bring your Words to our remembrance when we need them!
Thank you that the Holy Spirit also prays on our behalf with groanings that are in line with your perfect will!
In every situation, we pray that your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!
Thank you for the angels who harken to your Word.
Finally, God, we thank you for equipping us with the full armor of God so that we may stand against the wiles of the enemy.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen!
Hey Garden Fam! 🌸
Just wanted to drop a quick message today to encourage you in your faith journey and your efforts to bring souls to the Kingdom. Just a loving reminder that we should know the Word of God for ourselves and should be pointing people to God & the Bible and not just to church. Christ did not just commission pastors to go forth and spread the Gospel; it is each of our responsibility as believers to do so.
In addition to that, it is our own responsibility to get to know God’s Word for ourselves.
Though God set in place pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, and evangelists to equip the saints for ministry (service), we are each responsible for developing a personal relationship with God through prayer & knowing His Word.
We should always be seeking and applying knowledge of His principles, laws, and promises. Church CAN be a wonderful place to support us in that process, but we NEED to know the Word for ourselves to:
🍇 filter and govern our lives accordingly,
🍇 discern whether what we’re hearing is actually sound doctrine,
🍇 be fully equipped with the whole armor of God to stand against the enemy, and
🍇 effectively share the pure Gospel with others.
Btw, if you left or were turned away from church (the building) for various reasons, I still encourage you to get to know God for yourself and make a decision from there. People may disappoint you and get it wrong sometimes, but God will NOT.
Be blessed & have a healthy & wholesome week, Fam! Love you bunches 🍇
Focus Scriptures 💕
Evangelism
💕 Matthew 28:18-20
Personal Responsibility
💕 Philippians 2:12-13
💕 2 Timothy 2:15
Leaders’ Purpose
💕 Ephesians 4:11-16
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