Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye
shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
(Eph. 6:16)
Here is a video depicting warfare by arrows in ancient days. The apostle Paul gives us insight into the sometimes-constant battle against the mind. The thoughts that the enemy bombards us with is similar to the warfare fought in this video. Knowing the word of God and having faith in God are both sword and shield used to come away from the battlefield victorious!
Casting all your care upon Him; for he careth for you.
(I Peter 5:7)
Those who have feelings of anxiety often feel like there is no hope and no one understands — and there is no one to help them come out of what they are experiencing in that moment. People with anxiety can often feel overwhelmed with thoughts of what other people’s opinions are about them. Those with anxiety are worried about the future or something that is unfolding in their lives.
GOD IS THE ANSWER TO ANXIETY! David had feelings of anxiety, but he learned how to overcome his fears. He said in Psalms 61:2-3, “From the most remote place of the earth, I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy” (NHEB). The enemy is expert at trapping unsuspecting souls, but it is written: “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 124:7-8).
There are solutions to life that we don’t have and questions about life that we can’t answer. God is there to give solutions and to answer questions. He will amaze you with His problem-solving and answers! He has the ability to take the most complex situation in our lives and turn it around for our good! What a mighty God we serve! He will never leave or forsake us; He proves Himself time and time again!
Can’t you hear Jesus’ words to Martha: “But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41 – ESV). Like Martha’s sister, Mary, there are times when we are to put away the details and come sit at Jesus’ feet! We are to cast all our cares on Him. He cares for us! This day has enough to deal with, so don’t give undue thought about tomorrow, but seek God’s kingdom (Matt. 6:33-34). We are not to be anxious about anything, but our cares should be given over to Jesus as we pray (Phil. 4:6-7).
He that has ears to hear, let him hear!
“And in the desert you saw HOW the Lord your
God carried you, like one carries a child. And he
has brought you safely all the way to this place.”
(Duet. 1:31 – NCV)
“How…?” is usually a question we ask or ponder that seemingly has no foreseeable answer. The Israelites questioned Moses many times about the way things were unfolding in the wilderness. Many of them murmured and complained or just simply did not believe that God, through Moses, was able to bring them to their destination. What we do see is a great and loving God, who provided for an estimated 2 million people for approximately 40 years! Our God is God!
God doesn’t give us any details in the scripture above as to HOW He preserved Israel from all the dangers in the wilderness and HOW He kept them from becoming extinct as a nation. We do understand from the scripture that He preserved them by carrying them and brought them to their promised land! “How” is God’s business; our business is to trust!
Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest
the desire of every living thing.
(Psalms 145:16)
You may be asking “how…?” today. Know this…God has a track record and history that those who belong to Him have been sustained. The old are often overlooked in our society, but look to those who are old and righteous and ask them about His power to provide (Prov. 16:31). King David, in the Bible, had come to a long and fulfilled life and his words remind us of God’s faithfulness: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (Psalm 37:25)
Look back on your life and see where God has brought you from and, right now, GIVE HIM THE PRAISE! Then…from there…there is nothing else to say but this: Trust God!
These all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with the women, and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
(Acts 1:14)
It’s good to know why anyone would intercede for another. The scriptures below teach us why those in the bible prayed for others. We are given reasons why we are to pray for others, as well.
| Scripture Reference | Scriptures |
| Romans 8:34 | Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. |
| Ezekiel 22:30-31 | And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. |
| Hebrews 7:25 | Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. |
| Luke 22:32 | But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. |
| Jeremiah 9:17-18 | Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. |
| Isaiah 59:16 | And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. |
| Romans 8:26-27 | Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. |
| Genesis 18:23-33 | And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. |
| Jeremiah 7:16 | Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. |
| II Corinthians 1:11 | Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf. |
| I Thessalonians 5:25 | Brethren, pray for us |
| Joel 2:17 | Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? |
| Isaiah 53:12 | herefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. |
| Psalms 106:23 | Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. |
| Romans 15:30-32 | Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. |
| Jeremiah 14:11 | Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. |
| Acts 12:5 | Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. |
| Lamentations 3:48-50 | Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission. Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven. |
| Isaiah 62:6 | I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, |
| Matthew 5:44 | But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; |
| Philippians 1:19 | For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, |
| I Thessalonians 1:2 | We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; |
| I Timothy 2:1-4 | I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. |
| Genesis 17:18 | And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! |
| Jeremiah 29:7 | And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. |
| I Timothy 2:5 | For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; |
| Nehemiah 9:32 | Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. |
| Colossians 1:9 | For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; |
| James 5:13-16 | Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. |
| Job 16:21 | O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! |
| Ezra 10:1 | Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. |
| Hebrews 5:7 | Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; |
| Romans 10:1 | Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. |
| I Chronicles 21:17 | And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. |
| Daniel 9:16-19 | O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. |
| I Kings 13:6 | And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. |
| Jeremiah 27:18 | But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. |
| Colossians 1:3 | We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, |
| I Samuel 12:19-23 | And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; 21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. 23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way. |
| Revelation 5:8 | And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. |
| Matthew 18:19-20 | Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. |
| Luke 23:34 | Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. |
| Romans 5:10 | For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. |
| Job 42:8-10 | Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. |
| John 14:6 | Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. |
| Psalms 122:6 | Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. |
| Numbers 12:13 | And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. |
| I Samuel 7:5 | And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. |
| Numbers 21:7 | Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. |
| Ephesians 6:18 | Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; |
| James 5:14-16 | Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 1Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. |
| Acts 7:60 | And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. |
| Philippians 1:9-11 | And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. |
| Exodus 32:31-32 | And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. |
| Colossians 4:3 | Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: |
| Jeremiah 11:14 | Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. |
| Romans 1:9 | For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; |
| Numbers 14:13-19 | And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) 14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, 16 Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. 17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. 19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. |
Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words
and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.
(1 John 3:18)
There is a movie titled: “The Imitation of Life”, that could have easily been named the Imitation of Love. The two main actors are a single black mother and her fair-skinned daughter, who conveniently passed as white. The daughter had struggles loving her mother because she wanted to “fit in” with white America during the 1950’s. The mother pursued the daughter with unconditional love. The daughter (suffering her own struggles with her skin color) rejected her mother’s love. She finally realized the depths of her love for her mother at the time of her mother’s death — which was too late. (This was a tragic story!) The movie should be seen by all people who have issues loving anyone because of internal and external pressures.
In many ways there are struggles we face with those who are considered different than who we have defined ourselves as. Many only want those type of people in their world. The church also struggles with loving certain members who are in the body. We all know that love can be expressed by words, but “I love you” means nothing if there are no actions that back up mere words. Take a moment and ask yourself how would you define love? What does it look like? Is it a nice feeling you have for someone and they, in-turn, have for you? How would you define it? Let’s go back to I Corinthians, chapter 13 and revisit the “love” chapter and see what love really is. Here is a good biblical definition of love, as well: For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE his only begotten son. The verse clearly suggests that love is a sacrifice. Forms of intense giving are expressions of love. Love means little to others if our flowery words are simply poured out on them. We must be careful because there is an imitation of love. It looks like love, and it often masquerades as love, but it can have its root in selfishness and indifference. True love cannot be imitated with just words of expressions.
God — help us to love — not just with words, but also in deeds! Amen!
PCAFI Christian Ed. Aux. (ICEA) Articles 