Scripture: Matthew 7 v 7: "Ask and it shall be given; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you."
These simple words hold important keys to effective prayer and deeper intercession. When you seek you will be shown something deeper. You need to know why it is there and how it originated. Its like a surgeon searching out every bit of infected tissue and looking for the origin. You are engaged to hunt down what lies beneath and not just what is obvious on the surface.
For born again Christians truly walking in the Spirit of God and not in the flesh or carnality, there is no condemnation according to Romans 8 v 1 - 2: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
Even in the Church today these Christians are well hidden. If we are a New Creation, meaning no longer only human but even better than what Adam was like before the Fall, we walk in love, forgiveness and mercy towards all. We are being changed into the likeness of Jesus because we are members of His Body.
Colossians 1 v 17 - 18: "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence."
Because of the above scripture we need to keep up an active prayer life, which is communication with our Father in Heaven. This enhances our relationship with Jesus Christ which is the only way we can make it to eternity with Him. Our God forces no one to respond to Him. He has given us free will and it is our choice to serve Him or not.
Why does a man or woman become an alcoholic or a drug addict? Why is illicit sex so popular? Why do wars, disasters, human trafficking, terrorism and kidnapping trouble our planet? We need to knock on Heaven's door for answers. Sometimes personal problems "run in the family". There is a history from generation to generation of alcoholism; insanity; abuse; haemophilia; heart disease; family feuds etc.
Before we even dig deeper under the skin to answer these questions - the main reason that sin flourishes is because we have a God-shaped space within us, being spiritually dead. Sin killed our spirit, our connection to God, before we were even conceived in the womb. Jesus had to die, to take our sin and death, so our spirit could be resurrected with His. We become alive in Him only when we are born again.
Let me say it again - A part of the dead spiritual body of Christ comes alive every time a sinner is born again. John 3 v 3: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This applies to everyone mention above, addicts, sex offenders, warmongers, maniacs, terrorists, cult members, humanitarians, philanthropists, etc. When Jesus says Verily Verily or Truly Truly He is saying emphatically that this is vital for salvation.
The main line churches do not preach the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Millions of people over 2025 years have been lost due to never knowing they must be born again to see Heaven. They still do not get it. They follow the traditions that are contrary to God's plan and will and believe they are just fine. Satan has blinded the eyes, souls, minds of centuries of church leaders and their members against the truth.
Mark 7 v 7 - 9: "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." These are the words of Jesus.
Are you too shy or fearful to tell family, friends, strangers the truth because they might mock you, shun you, exclude you? The love of Jesus is to go tell everyone the TRUTH no matter how they treat you. You may be the last person they ever talk to and never know how to be saved. I am frequently mocked on Facebook when trying to correct some weird opinions about Jesus. Yesterday I was called an unintelligent person for believing the Bible!
We ask seek knock on God's door to share the gospel with the lost. To heal the sick. To cast out demons.
The signs of a believer are found in Mark 16 v 16 - 18: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
If you are not doing these things, do not even know you should be, you need to get out of the church you are in and seek the face of God for one that truly teaches and does the above vitally important things.
This is when we need the gift of discerning of spirits of good and evil. You cannot cast out a sickness or disease, and you cannot heal a demon. You need to determine what you are dealing with before you can help. Kind words and sympathy don't help when a family melts down in grief and despair. Its like putting a plaster over gangrene. The rot has set in and radical surgery is needed. Seek and you will find exactly what is at the root.
How many thousands of people go through life with problems that can be dealt with very simply. In these modern times many pooh pooh the existence of demons, which pleases the demons, and their master. We have seen incredible victories after deliverance prayer.
We are spirit beings! We have a separate part called a soul which consists of our mind, emotions and will. These are clothed in a body of flesh. Everything that happens in our spirit will manifest in our soul and flesh. We need spiritual help from those who have the gifts of the Holy Spirit to deal with the invisible enemy who attacks the unwary.
2 Timothy 1 v 7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and a sound mind."
Seek the underlying cause of problems like alcoholism and drug abuse. Every single time you will find hurt, betrayal, abuse, bitterness and memory recall of hurts. No smoke without fire. So let's put the evil fire out. Seek out the reason for "self-medication" through drugs or alcohol. Who needs to be forgiven to release that buried pain? Forgive so that you may be forgiven said Jesus.
Luke 4 v 18: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Words of Jesus.
Christ in us the hope of glory! When we are filled with the Holy Spirit Jesus says we can do all the things He did plus greater things than these. This is because we are conscious of the spirit of the people we encounter and have been instructed by Jesus on how to know what we are dealing with.
Let us follow Jesus and do the will of our Father in Heaven. Ask for guidance; seek the origin of problems and uproot them; knock on His door for revelation about serious international issues that need strong prayer to bring solutions. Remember nothing is too difficult for Jesus to fix.
Prayer: Heavenly Father You warned us not to worship idols but we need reminding. You told us to walk on the strait and narrow path because the broad, easy going way, leads to destruction.
You are our God and no other is worthy of adoration. Steer us through these troubling times, Father, as we seek You we will find answers. In Jesus' name. Amen.