RSS

Tag Archives: prayer

The Holy Spirit Working With You

17 Aug

SpotlightI’ve been posting about how prayer in the spirit allows the Holy Spirit to bring your prayer life to a whole new level. It causes your spirit and the Spirit of God to interact together. Yet, even this is only the tip of the iceberg.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

The power of the Spirit takes us beyond our own human understanding. No eye has seen – You can read the Bible from cover to cover and not see everything God has prepared for your life.

No ear has heard – You can listen to every sermon, prophet, and apostle yet still not hear all God has for you.

No mind has conceived – You can’t brainstorm, imagine, or even dream up everything that’s your portion in the will of God. BUT…God has revealed it by His SPIRIT.

He then goes on to explain that the spirit can investigate everything, even the deep things of God. I believe that Paul is talking about your own human spirit. Your spirit can search out all things.

You may think Google is good. The Bible tells you that your spirit is the greatest search engine ever created. I know that Paul was given an enormous amount of revelation. He wrote most of the New Testament under the direction of the Holy Spirit. How did he receive all of that? By spending time in the spirit.

Here Paul tells us the secret of this supernatural revelation. It can only be received in the spirit. He makes it clear that your flesh (eyes and ears) cannot grasp it. Neither can your soul (mind) come up with it. It has to be a work of your spirit.

If this is true, then you must know how to use your spirit in order to access this information. It only comes to a person who knows how to interact on the spiritual level. This means that you must know how to pray in the spirit in order receive the revelation that’s referenced by this verse.

Your body and soul can never search out the deeper things of God; it will only be accomplished by your spirit working in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:11-12

Remember when I asked you to keep an open mind about Romans 8:26-27 in my last post? I told you that I believed that Paul was talking about our human spirit as the one who searches our hearts. I told you at that time that we would eventually get to a verse that supports that assumption.

We are there now. Verse 11 above makes it very clear that your spirit knows the thoughts of your heart. The fact is that your spirit knows you intimately.

In the same way that your spirit knows your thoughts, God’s Spirit knows His thoughts intimately. Now for the question that can unlock the power of God in your life. What if these two spirits get together and compare notes? Your spirit knows the needs and the questions. God’s Spirit knows all the answers. The result is a release of the power of God over your life and ministry.

Question: How does prayer in the spirit affect your life?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 17, 2015 in Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Spiritual Interaction

14 Aug

PowerlessIn my last post I started to talk about prayer in the spirit. We saw that it’s a spiritual communication with the Lord. But how does this help me?

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
Romans 8:26-27

This is a verse that the translators had some problems with. First of all, there’s no capital “s” in the word spirit. They did that because they believed that this passage was referring to the Holy Spirit.

Actually, this verse is talking about the interaction between our spirit and the Holy Spirit. I believe that the first part is talking about our human spirit. I would ask you to trust me on this for now.

We will look at another verse in my next post that will bear me out (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). At that point, if you disagree, you’re free to disregard what I say. But for now I ask you to keep an open mind.

I believe that verse 26 is saying that our spirit cooperates with our weakness. It’s very familiar with the failings of our flesh. Because it knows you intimately, your spirit works with your weakness.

What is the weakness that it’s talking about here? The literal Greek in this verse says, we do not know, by seeing and observing, the objective of the prayer precisely as needed. We don’t always fully understand what we’re praying for. As a pastor, when someone comes forward for prayer, I want to see them blessed. If they say, “Pastor, I’m having severe headaches – pray for me.”, then I want to see them healed. So I pray in the name of Jesus, against that sickness.

What this verse is saying is that I don’t always know what’s happening. According to my observation, the person needs to be healed of the headaches. However, what if I don’t know that this person has been nursing bitterness against a brother in the Lord? What if the headaches are a physical manifestation of this bitterness?

There are many sins that can cause physical symptoms. The objective of the prayer should be to let go of the bitterness. That’s why the Scripture says that I don’t always know the objective of the prayer exactly as needed. This is a part of my weakness that my spirit helps me with.

So, what does my spirit do to help me? According to this verse, my spirit intercedes over me with sighs that cannot be spoken. Literally, you cannot put what the spirit is doing into words. The fact is, your spirit intercedes for you.

Now, here’s the great part. It says that he who searches our hearts does this work. It’s my spirit who searches my heart. Again, I’ll show you this elsewhere in Scripture in my next post. My spirit searches my heart AND knows the mind of THE SPIRIT.

Here I believe that THE SPIRIT is the Holy Spirit of God. This can only be what it means. Why would Paul feel it necessary to tell us that the Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Holy Spirit?

So what this tells me is that my spirit knows my weaknesses and searches my heart. But, because of the fact that the Holy Spirit now resides in me, my spirit also knows the mind of the Holy Spirit. And it’s this same Holy Spirit that intercedes for all the saints in the perfect will of God.

This is simply the most powerful interaction that anyone could ever hope for. These two things are happening as we pray in the spirit. My spirit intercedes for me knowing both my needs and my weaknesses. The Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints knowing God’s will. As they get together and share with one another, there’s nothing that they cannot accomplish together.

Question: How does prayer in the spirit bring your prayer life to a whole new level?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 14, 2015 in Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Building Yourself Up

12 Aug

Music ManMany people ask why prayer in the spirit is so important. Many times it’s used as a spiritual toy that we only take out to play with on Sunday mornings. Scripture lets us know that it’s much more than that.

But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
1 Corinthians 14:3-4

I’ve heard many people talk about this passage of Scripture. Some think it means, “Prophecy good, tongues bad.” The truth of the matter is that there are two totally different gifts that are to be used for two totally different purposes.

The reason God gives you the gift of this spiritual language is to edify you! The word edify literally means to build up. I can’t serve God without constantly being built up on the inside. One of the most important reasons that God has given us this gift is so that we can regularly strengthen ourselves by the spirit.

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
1 Corinthians 14:14

This verse tells us that it’s our spirit, not our mouth that’s doing the praying. My mind doesn’t understand what’s taking place. This is because the transfer is spiritual. At one point the Lord gave me an excellent illustration to emphasize this truth.

During a sermon when I was speaking on this topic, I asked my Assistant Pastor to come up front to help me demonstrate. I gave him no prior warning as to what would be happening. I then gave him a CD player and told him to place the earphones on.

I then told him and the congregation, that when I press the play button, my assistant would hear a pastor preaching a salvation message. What I wanted my assistant to do was to speak out loud exactly what the pastor on the CD was saying, word for word. The result got quite a reaction. This because the pastor on the CD was preaching in the Korean language!

This is a beautiful picture of what happens when we pray in the spirit. Your mind hears your spirit praying in a language it doesn’t recognize – the language of the spirit. It tries to mimic it with your mouth, but only ends up sounding unintelligible.

This is why what we hear coming out of someone’s mouth does not always parallel what’s said by the gift of interpretation. Your spirit might be interceding for a need, while your mouth is merely saying “Praise the Lord” over and over again in Russian.

It’s interesting to note here exactly what the gift of interpretation is as mentioned in the Bible. The word the Apostle used was a word that means to put into words. Basically this means that the message we hear by the gift of interpretation was not in words until it was interpreted. This goes right along with the truth that it’s our spirit praying and not our mouth.

This is also why the gift of tongues will cease after the resurrection. The only reason that we speak this way during the use of the gift is because our mind doesn’t grasp what’s taking place in our spirit. After the resurrection we’ll still communicate with God in the spirit, but because our mind and body will be perfected, it will not have this outward effect anymore.

Question: How have you been built up by praying in the spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 12, 2015 in Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Battle Tested

22 Jul

mhXQFuII’m taking a few posts to talk about the spiritual battle we’re a part of. I believe that the church needs to develop a warrior mentality. In the natural world, soldiers don’t live with civilians. They live set apart, and they see themselves as set apart.

By looking at the example of Christ, we can see what this battle is all about.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1

In my last post we saw that we’re to fight this spiritual battle with all persistency and petition around all the saints. The fight is not in the center of the saints where the “praise party” is going on. It’s on the edges – in the prayer closet – in the private places.

Notice that Jesus was not in the city or with His disciples when the devil attacked. It was in the place of prayer and fasting. That’s the true place of warfare.

So often I’ve heard worship leaders, in the midst of a great time of praise and worship, proclaim, “We’ve got the enemy on the run!” Far from it. During those times the church is in the mess hall, far from the battle. Warfare occurs when we’re in private.

The Scripture is clear that Jesus was tempted by the devil. It’s important to know what this means. We think of tempt as Satan trying to get us to fail. The actual Greek word means a test, proof, or examination.

Temptation is merely asking, “Are you the real thing?” When you pick up the shield of faith, are you for real? Are you just repeating something you heard, or does it come from your heart?

This is important for believers to understand. Whenever we grasp a new concept in Christ it must be added to our faith. It can’t simply be something we give lip service to. We have to be willing to live it out.

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Matthew 4:3-4

We need to see that the first attack is personal. Who are you in Christ? Are you going to cater to your flesh or to the spirit?

This is why you need your helmet and sword. You have to walk in the authority of your position in Christ. You must understand the power of the Word of God in you. That’s the only thing that will counter this attack.

That’s why you need to know who you are in Christ. What’s your calling in the kingdom of God? The battle is all about who you’re going to trust for your needs. Of course, that means we know the difference between wants and needs.

Jesus could have answered “Yes” to the devil’s challenge. The question is; where did the Lord’s response come from? Was it the Bible that said “no”? Was Jesus merely quoting Scripture?

No, this came up from His Spirit. It was the overflow of a heart that was full of God’s Word. That’s where we get the strength for overcoming the enemy’s schemes.

The fact is the Word is more important than bread. We have to come to grips with this. What’s the Word more important than in your life? It might not be a bad thing that you have to push aside in place of the Word of God to you. It’s this response from our heart that proves we’re the “real thing” during the times of testing.

Question: How have you been tested lately?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 22, 2015 in Faith, Prayer, Spiritual Warfare

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

How Busy is Too Busy?

15 Jun

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThere are so many opportunities in today’s generation. I’m talking about both ministry and recreational activities. How do you know when you’re too busy?

In the book of Revelation, Christ dictated letters to 7 pastors in Asia Minor. The pastor of the church in Ephesus was told the following…

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”
Revelation 2:2-3

The pastor of Ephesus was doing great things. The church was flourishing. The people were being fed and protected. They were overcoming in spite of many adversities. How could the Lord possibly be displeased with that?

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
Revelation 2:4-5

Very simply put, this pastor allowed the work of the ministry to replace his relationship with the Lord. A great truth that I’ve heard again and again is, “Don’t become so involved in the work of the Lord that you forget the Lord of the work.” God was concerned with this pastor’s lack of relationship. He said that this pastor had forsaken his first love.

This is an easy trap to fall into. As the church began to grow and the demands of the ministry started to escalate, time with the Lord became harder to set aside. Before long his relationship time with Christ got pushed into the corner of “when it’s convenient.”

I’d like to say that this problem was only a part of the early church. But some things never change. I believe that there’s a greater pull on us now to overload our schedules. There are so many opportunities to be involved in good things; that we have very little time for our spiritual walk.

Remember that it wasn’t always like this. When you first came to Christ, you were excited about what He was doing in you. Maybe you spent late nights on your knees in prayer. You prayed for souls to be saved. You prayed for wisdom, strength, and boldness. You knew that you didn’t have a chance of fulfilling the Lord’s calling on your life without His working in you.

Things have changed now. You’ve become wiser – more experienced. Now you know what living for Christ is all about. You feel more secure in your calling as a believer.

Please realize that there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s a good thing to become mature in Christ. The problem comes when you no longer feel the need to pray as much. You don’t seem to need God’s help like you used to. You know what living for God is all about now.

The diagnosis is that your relationship with the Lord has grown cold and it grieves the heart of your Lord and King. Have you become so busy with the work of the Lord that you’ve forgotten the Lord of the work? Test yourself. You need to be brutally honest. Has your time with the Lord suffered?

It’s wonderful that you’ve grown in maturity, but that’s not the issue. The question is; are you spending TIME with the Lord as you used to?

Question: How would you rate the quality and quantity of time you spend with the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 15, 2015 in Leadership, Ministry, Prayer

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Hiking and Praying

29 May

BackpackAs I said in my last post, I’m about to leave for two weeks of hiking and praying. I always find these times refreshing. I get to be alone with the Lord for hours praying and listening for His voice.

The Lord spent 40 days alone in the wilderness. This helped to prepare Him for ministry. I’m looking forward to what Holy Spirit will work in me during this time.

Actually this type of praying in the outdoors was a large part of Jesus’ ministry. Over and over again we read of the Lord having this “alone time” with the Father.

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
Matthew 14:23

I think that every believer should experience this blessing. No, you don’t have to go off into the woods for a week. You can find a quiet place near your home where you can spend even an hour or two outdoors with the Lord.

I can tell you this; it’s a totally different experience than praying in your house or office. Be prepared to hear from God in a way that you never have before.

As I’m preparing to leave, I feel the Lord impressing me to do something a bit different for the posts while I’m away. My hope is that it will be a blessing to you.

I realize that this blog is not very far reaching at this point. But there have been a few of my posts that seemed to touch a lot of people. So for the two weeks that I’m away, I’m going to repost the 6 most read posts of mine since I’ve started.

Many of those following this blog were not here for those early days. They’ll probably be new to most of those now following me. The Apostle Peter put it this way.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body…
2 Peter 1:12-13

It’s good to be reminded of the truths that we’ve heard in the past. Who knows, even if you read them the first time they were posted, you might get something new from them in your present walk with the Lord.

One more thing; please keep me in your prayers as I take this time to seek God. And please be patient with me if I take a while in responding to comments. Sometimes the cell phone reception is spotty on the trails.

Question: Do you have any interesting experiences you’ve had outdoors with the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 29, 2015 in Ministry, Prayer, Spiritual Walk, Times in the Wilderness

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Spiritual Sensitivity

27 May

TrailHow sensitive are you to the things of the spirit? Do you take the time to hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you? God’s people should be in tune to what the Lord is accomplishing on the earth.

This is how Paul described it.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14

I know that I’ve mentioned my hiking from time to time in this blog. As a matter of fact, in a few days I’m leaving on a two week long “hiking and prayer” trip. I’m looking forward to a good time in the Spirit.

I find it enjoyable talking to non-hikers about my backpacking trips. I love their reactions to some of my statements.

“How can you sleep all night in a shelter with only three sides?” “What do you eat?” “Where do you find a bathroom?”

I think that it shocks some people to learn that it’s possible to live without all the trappings of society. The thought of spending one night without TV or the internet is frightening. They don’t even want to think about the fact that running water isn’t necessary to survival.

Unless you’ve experienced the freedom of the wild, the ecstasy of a mountaintop, or the tranquility of a hidden lake there’s no understanding what I find.

It’s the same in the spirit. Unless you’ve experienced the wisdom, peace, and power of a relationship with the Holy Spirit, you have no clue how important it is. The thought of spending time in prayer is foolishness to those who ignore it.

That’s what Paul is talking about in the verse above. The phrase man without the spirit is actually the soulish man in the Greek. He’s not talking about an unsaved person. Rather, it’s the Christian who lives by what sounds logical to him. He gives no thought to the Spirit.

Unfortunately there are many believers who live this way. They read the Bible, go to church, and then do their best to figure out what they should be doing for the Lord. What they don’t realize is there are some things in their Christian walk that they can never figure out on their own.

They need to be hearing from the Holy Spirit. There are some things God has for us that can only be received by the spirit. But in order for that to happen there needs to be some quiet, alone time with the Holy Spirit.

There are some who can’t imagine spending time in the presence of God. But until you experience it for yourself, you’ll never fully understand the blessing. All of my descriptions fall short of the reality of time spent in the Spirit.

Walk in that blessed experience today. Spend time in the presence of the Lord. Let His Spirit minister to yours. Come away refreshed and revived. Let your soul be reminded why it’s so important to obtain what can only come from the Spirit.

Question: How has your life been touched and changed by time spent with the Holy Spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 27, 2015 in Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk, Times in the Wilderness

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Change is the Constant

13 Apr

TrailGoing through changes in our life is never easy. I wish it were. If you want to lay hold of your destiny, then you need to accept change.

Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.” As she breathed her last – for she was dying – she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
Genesis 35:16-18

Sometimes going through change is like we’re dying to ourselves. Psychologists say that when change takes place there’s a grieving process that we must walk out.

The fact is that we can’t stop change from happening. The only thing we have control over is our attitude. It’s how we deal with change that makes all the difference.

In this Scripture, Jacob and his family were “on the road” when his wife Rachel died in childbirth. If anyone could have had a reason for bitterness, he did. But he didn’t wallow in self-pity. She named the child Ben-Oni, which means, the son of my trouble. The hurt of that day would have followed the child for his entire life.

Instead, Jacob immediately changed the boy’s name to Benjamin, the son of my right hand. He released the pain into God’s hand. I don’t know what you’re going through right now. But if there’s a great change you’re grieving over – give it to God.

Only the Lord can bring you through. As you spend time in His presence you’re allowing Him to turn your Ben-Oni into a Benjamin.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
Genesis 35:19-21

There are many changes that are hard to deal with. That’s why it’s so important to work on our attitudes during those times.

When God speaks to our hearts as we’re quiet before Him, He may require us to make a great change in our lives. Sometimes the change is so big, that it may seem that our old way of life has died and we’ve been reborn to a new way of living. It’s like our life is going through a huge makeover.

It’s essential that we learn to bury the “old man” and then move on. Unless we leave the past behind, we can never enter His future.

One of the ways Jacob moved on was in the setting up of a pillar – a memorial – to remind him of what happened. You could set up a “memorial stone” as well, by commenting in your journal or placing a sticky note in your Bible. It could be a kind of tombstone for your old way of living.

God wants to bring you from glory to glory but you’ll have to leave your old self behind. Change is really the only constant in life. Either you’re going through it right now or you will in the near future.

Make the choice now to rely on God’s grace in times of change. Be willing and ready to accept His leading, whatever form it may take. Only then will change do its work and make you a better, stronger person.

Question: What are the changes God is leading you through right now?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 13, 2015 in Encouragement, Faith, Prayer, Worship

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Look at Me when I’m Speaking to You

02 Feb

BeamI live in the Boston area. Maybe you’ve heard what our weather’s been like lately. Last week we had two feet of snow and now they’re calling for another foot this week.

Needless to say, I’m ready for spring. I love to go out into the woods to hike and pray. It’s a great way to meet with the Lord.

Did you know that this was a large part of Jesus’ ministry?

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke 4:42-44

Very frequently Jesus went off alone into the wilderness. Usually He would go to pray and to meditate on the Word while seeking the Father’s will for the days ahead. Many times He wouldn’t even tell anyone where He was going. This caused the people and especially His disciples to become annoyed on more than one occasion.

Most people don’t understand the power of solitude with the Lord. When you’re alone in God’s presence, you can see the way ahead more clearly. This is because there are less distractions around you.

I’ve been driving in the car with friends and talked with them the whole way to where we were going. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that those conversations aren’t very deep. I can talk and keep my eyes on the road if I don’t have to think very hard.

Intimate conversation, on the other hand, is very different. If what I’m saying is important, then I want you to make eye contact with me. I want to know that you’re giving me your full attention.

It’s the same with the Holy Spirit. We can pray and praise the Lord no matter what we’re doing throughout the day. That’s fine and it keeps our minds focused on Him.

But there comes a time when we need to enter a more intimate time with Christ – worship. This requires an undistracted heart. I’ve found that the outdoors provides just such an experience. It allows me to “make eye contact” with the Lord.

From the example of Christ, we see that walking in the Spirit is a lot more efficient than the trial and error method many Christians use.

“I’ll try going forward; if the door closes I’ll try another direction.”

When you spend quality time with the Lord seeking His will for your life, you don’t have to waste your time on all these dead end paths that lead nowhere. Jesus knew where He was going before He was surrounded by the crowd. Then they couldn’t sway Him from His path by their persuasive arguments. It’s that level of guidance you should be seeking from God.

If you’ve never tried it, spend some time with the Holy Spirit in the outdoors. Of course, you may have to wait until the weather breaks. Unless you’re like me and can’t wait. (I have a good pair of snowshoes!)

Find a nice solitary place that you can come undistracted into the Lord’s presence. You won’t be disappointed.

Question: Where do you go to seek God with no distractions?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
1 Comment

Posted by on February 2, 2015 in Prayer, Times in the Wilderness, Worship

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I Give Up!

19 Nov

Dead EndIt’s so easy to give up when times are tough.  That’s the difference between surface Christians and overcomers.  Which kind are you?  Only you can make the choice to keep going forward.  This is what it takes to make it to your destiny in God.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

Realize that God has a good plan for your life.  Whether we know it or not, God has us walking a good path.  He wants the best for us.  He knows what will fulfill us better than we do.  But we must continue to the end if we’re going to enter our destiny.

Know that everything worth having requires effort to obtain.  Sometimes the road we’re on seems rough and steep.  That shouldn’t stop us, however.  Struggles are a part of life.  If it were easy, everyone would be walking in the blessings of God.  It takes an attitude of perseverance to make it over the hills of life.

Keep your eyes on the finish line.  Don’t let your present hardship become the focus of your attention.  Keep your vision upon Christ and His plan for your life.  That’s what can sustain you during the difficulties that you encounter.  If you can see the goal, then you know that it’s not over yet.  God will have the final word in your life.

Keep moving forward, no matter what happens.  I love to go out hiking.  But it doesn’t always turn out well.  There have been times that I’ve been injured on a hike.  It would have been very easy for me to let weariness and despair take over.  I felt very much like laying down on the ground and giving up.  I had to keep telling myself, “Keep putting one foot in front of the other – you’ll eventually come to the end.”

Understand that moving slowly is better than standing still.  This is probably the best advice I could give you.  No matter how slow you think you’re going, don’t give up.  You will make it!  Never look at your life in terms of a sprint to the finish.  You need to see yourself as being in it for the long haul.  The victorious finish of your race depends on it.

Maybe you’re going through a seemingly impossible situation right now.  Give it over to God in prayer, if you haven’t already done so.  It could be that you’ve taken the responsibility for the problem back to yourself.  Let go of it and allow God give you the strength you need to see it through.

Questions: Have you ever felt like giving up?  How have you found the strength to continue on?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 19, 2014 in Encouragement, Power of God, Prayer

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →