Let me be so strongly rooted and established in Your love, so much that I will never again heed these voices of fear, guilt and condemnation. You know how I've been feeling this sense of defeat in every area of my life for so many months now. You know my weariness...my lack of confidence that I will ever complete anything...my loneliness in my struggles.
Thank You...for the way that You constantly bring me back into the Body of Christ. It's an amazing blessing to worship You with them, to be able to pray together, for each other and for the world.
Thank You for hearing every prayer I've prayed, and every prayer my friends have prayed for me. I know that it was You who lifted my spirit when I was crushed; it was Your presence speaking peace and comfort to me when I heard accusations.
Thank You for dear friends, who have loved me so unconditionally. Help me to love them better too, and to remember them in prayer.
Thank You for Your promises: that You will NEVER forsake me, that You WILL complete the work that You have started in me.
Oh Lord, lift my eyes, and let me behold You. Let me see Your glory. Let me understand another dimension of just how much higher Your ways are above mine. Let me be so grounded in my identity in You, that I would not live like a pauper, like an orphan, when my Father is the King. Let my life honour You. Lift my eyes, Lord.
Free me from my procrastination. Redeem the time in my life. May I be emptied of all my own agendas, to be used for Your purposes.
Search my heart and mind, and sieve out the impurities. I know there will be pain, but Lord, help me through it! I know there are things my flesh doesn't want to get rid off, but Lord, wrench them from me, please.
I want to pray as Paul did for the Ephesians: that You would give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know You better. I pray that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in Your holy people, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength You exerted when You raised Christ from the dead and seated him at Your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And You placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
I want to pray as Paul did for the Ephesians: that You would give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know You better. I pray that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in Your holy people, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength You exerted when You raised Christ from the dead and seated him at Your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And You placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
All these things I claim, because You have loved me and called me Your child! In Jesus' name, Amen!
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David Wilkerson devotionals:
Rooted and Grounded in Love
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth, and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Rooted and grounded here means “to build under you a deep and stable foundation of knowing and understanding the love of God to you.” In other words, the knowledge of God’s love to you is the foundational truth upon which all others truths must be built!
For example, this is what the fear of God is built upon. A holy fear of God is not a dread that he is ready to strike you down if you are caught in some little fault. Rather, it is the dread of his holiness against rebellion—and of what he does to those who love darkness rather than light.
Christians who live in guilt, fear and condemnation are not “rooted and grounded” in the love of God. Our heavenly Father sent his Son to die for our sins and weaknesses. And without fully knowing and fully understanding that kind of love to you, you will never have a stable or permanent foundation!
“[That you] . . . may be able to comprehend . . . the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18-19). The Greek word for comprehend here suggests “to eagerly seize or lay hold of.” The apostle Paul means for you to seize this truth and make it the foundation of your Christian life. He is telling you to put your spiritual hands out and say, “I am going to lay hold of this!”
Perhaps you are assaulted by a temptation you can’t seem to shake off. Or maybe you carry a sense of never measuring up, of unworthiness—a fear that the devil is going to trip you up and you are going to fail God.
This is the day for you to wake up to God’s love for you! I pray that as you read this message, something will strike deep in your heart, and you will be able to say, “You’re right, Brother Dave. That’s me and I don’t want to live this way!” I pray that you will get hold of this truth—that it will open your eyes and help you enter a whole new realm of joy and peace in your daily walk with him.
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Stop Living Like A Pauper!
Are you tired of living like a pauper when everything you need has been provided? Perhaps your focus is wrong. Do you tend to dwell on your weaknesses, temptations and past failures? When you look inside your own heart does what you see discourage you? Have you allowed guilt to seep in?
Beloved, you are to be looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith! When Satan comes and points at some weakness in your heart, you have every right to answer, “My God already knows it all and he still loves me! He has given me everything I need to attain victory and keep it.”
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). He knows all about you—and he still loves you enough to say, “Come on in and get all you need. The storehouse is open!”
The doors to his storehouse are wide open, and his riches are full to overflowing. God is urging you: “Come boldly to the throne of grace, that [you] may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
How many years have you been on the outside? You have a Father who has been laying up a great treasure of provision for you and yet you have left it unclaimed.
The parable of the Prodigal Son shows us that by going in and enjoying his father’s treasure, the Prodigal had it both ways. He could live his earthly life with the abundant forgiveness, joy, peace and rest that were his and when death brought him into his eternal inheritance, he would fully enjoy what he had already known on earth.
Indeed, the greater sin was committed by the older brother—the one who stayed home, walked obediently and never failed his father. Yes, it is a sin to waste our Father’s substance on sensual living and a runaway spirit, but it is an even greater sin to rebuff God’s great love—to leave unclaimed the bountiful resources he gave to us at such a great price.
The Prodigal was not chastised, rebuked and reminded of his sin, because God would not allow sin to be the focus of restoration! There had been true repentance and godly sorrow and it was time to move on to the banquet table—to the feast. The father said to the older son, “He was lost, but now he is in the house again. He is forgiven and it is time to rejoice and be happy!”
*
Go To The Storehouse!
Here is how you go to God’s storehouse and get what you need;
1. Come boldly to his throne and ask largely for all the grace and mercy you need to see you through every temptation and trial. The devil has a million ways to make you feel guilty, fearful, condemned and confused and he’ll tell you, “You feel this way because you’ve got junk in your heart!” But I stopped looking in my heart a long time ago, because it’s always black. Yet it is white to my Father because it is covered with the blood of the Lamb! It does not matter how you feel. Simply look to God’s Word for what Jesus has done. He has wiped your slate clean!
2. Remind God that it was his idea for you to come in. You did not go the Lord saying, “Father, I want everything you have!” He invited you in saying, “All I have is yours. Come and get it!”
3. Take God at his Word! The Bible says that everything he has for us is obtained by faith. You need only say in faith, “Lord Jesus, flood me with your peace because you have said it is mine! I claim rest for my soul.” You cannot work this up. You cannot sing or praise it down. It comes from being rooted and grounded in a revelation of God’s love for you. This comes not in a feeling but rather in the Word that he himself has spoken: “In my house is bread enough to spare!”
4. Take God’s Word and hammer all your fear, guilt and condemnation to pieces! Reject it all—it is not of God! You can say, “Let the devil come at me with his lies. My Father knows it already, and he has forgiven and cleansed me. There is no guilt or condemnation toward me. I am free!”
Beloved, I believe that if you ask the Spirit right now to help you seize this truth—to get rooted and grounded in it—the coming days will be the greatest you have ever had. You can say, “Lord Jesus, I know I am going to make mistakes, but nothing is going to shake me because you have everything I need to attain the victory and to live in it.”
Come into his storehouse and claim all that is yours from your loving Father!
Beloved, you are to be looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith! When Satan comes and points at some weakness in your heart, you have every right to answer, “My God already knows it all and he still loves me! He has given me everything I need to attain victory and keep it.”
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). He knows all about you—and he still loves you enough to say, “Come on in and get all you need. The storehouse is open!”
The doors to his storehouse are wide open, and his riches are full to overflowing. God is urging you: “Come boldly to the throne of grace, that [you] may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
How many years have you been on the outside? You have a Father who has been laying up a great treasure of provision for you and yet you have left it unclaimed.
The parable of the Prodigal Son shows us that by going in and enjoying his father’s treasure, the Prodigal had it both ways. He could live his earthly life with the abundant forgiveness, joy, peace and rest that were his and when death brought him into his eternal inheritance, he would fully enjoy what he had already known on earth.
Indeed, the greater sin was committed by the older brother—the one who stayed home, walked obediently and never failed his father. Yes, it is a sin to waste our Father’s substance on sensual living and a runaway spirit, but it is an even greater sin to rebuff God’s great love—to leave unclaimed the bountiful resources he gave to us at such a great price.
The Prodigal was not chastised, rebuked and reminded of his sin, because God would not allow sin to be the focus of restoration! There had been true repentance and godly sorrow and it was time to move on to the banquet table—to the feast. The father said to the older son, “He was lost, but now he is in the house again. He is forgiven and it is time to rejoice and be happy!”
*
Go To The Storehouse!
Here is how you go to God’s storehouse and get what you need;
1. Come boldly to his throne and ask largely for all the grace and mercy you need to see you through every temptation and trial. The devil has a million ways to make you feel guilty, fearful, condemned and confused and he’ll tell you, “You feel this way because you’ve got junk in your heart!” But I stopped looking in my heart a long time ago, because it’s always black. Yet it is white to my Father because it is covered with the blood of the Lamb! It does not matter how you feel. Simply look to God’s Word for what Jesus has done. He has wiped your slate clean!
2. Remind God that it was his idea for you to come in. You did not go the Lord saying, “Father, I want everything you have!” He invited you in saying, “All I have is yours. Come and get it!”
3. Take God at his Word! The Bible says that everything he has for us is obtained by faith. You need only say in faith, “Lord Jesus, flood me with your peace because you have said it is mine! I claim rest for my soul.” You cannot work this up. You cannot sing or praise it down. It comes from being rooted and grounded in a revelation of God’s love for you. This comes not in a feeling but rather in the Word that he himself has spoken: “In my house is bread enough to spare!”
4. Take God’s Word and hammer all your fear, guilt and condemnation to pieces! Reject it all—it is not of God! You can say, “Let the devil come at me with his lies. My Father knows it already, and he has forgiven and cleansed me. There is no guilt or condemnation toward me. I am free!”
Beloved, I believe that if you ask the Spirit right now to help you seize this truth—to get rooted and grounded in it—the coming days will be the greatest you have ever had. You can say, “Lord Jesus, I know I am going to make mistakes, but nothing is going to shake me because you have everything I need to attain the victory and to live in it.”
Come into his storehouse and claim all that is yours from your loving Father!
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