The ASK of Prayer

UV 344/10,000 Luke 11 v 9 The ASK of prayer Luk 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Asking is associated with attitudes. When we ask the Lord, we must ask with an attitude of praise, thanksgiving and faith that He is able to do or give what we asked. We must also be prepared to submit to His sovereign will should He choose not to grant what we asked. We can be importunate like the neighbour whom Jesus spoke of who kept asking his neighbour for some loaves of bread. We must ask based on our need. We must ask in accordance with God ‘s Word and placing our complete confidence in God we must claim specific verses like uni-verses. Why must we ask when the Lord knows exactly what we need? The persistence and attitudes with which we ask is a measure of our faith in the Lord. We must not stop with asking. We must also seek for doors of opportunity. Seeking is associated with skills. We must keep looking to see where the Lord has left the very thing we asked Him for or the signs that lead up to it. We must seek with the persistence of the seeker in a treasure hunt. We must never give up or loose hope. The word “ shall” conveys the sense of absolute certainty for it is not ‘ The Lord may answer’ but that He “ shall answer. Having found the door of opportunity, the Lord says,” don’t just stand and stare at the door, you must knock”. Knocking is associated with knowledge. We must know which doors we should knock on and when we must knock. It is like the game that is played on television, “ Deal , no deal”. Only the Lord knows what door will lead to what eventuality in our lives. We must take steps to have the door opened. A simple knock on the door of heaven can often give us the answer to a complex problem we are facing. The door that God opens is the door He intends for us. No man or force can close this door. Last year, a preacher prophesied, “ God is going to open an unusual door for you very soon.” Soon after, I got a call saying I am invited to attend a World Police Mission in South Korea. I was anxious if I would get the mandatory clearances within the few hours available. But, the permissions were obtained in a matter of a few hours. Prayer and the answers to prayer is not a split second event or a one sided communication but it is a spiritual process in which the Lord partners us realizing His purpose in our work, in our relationships, in our thoughts, emotions, decisions and goals. Prateep V Philip

God's Strategy of Choice

UV 343/10,000 Amazing Principles of the Uni-verse revealed verse by verse I Chronicles 28 v 9 The Hearts and Minds strategy 1Ch 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever Solomon served God with a perfect heart and a willing mind. Our hearts should always be overflowing or dripping vis a vis God: with thankfulness and contentment, a sense of awe and reverence, a sense of joy,a sense of patient expectation and anticipation, a sense of repentance and contrition, a sense of trust and love , a constant impulse to praise and worship the Lord. A heart that harbours all these attitudes and cultivates these responses is the heart that is perfect towards God. The Spirit of the Lord is always searching the hearts of mankind to reveal Himself to any who are seeking His presence in this manner. The search lights of Heaven are always trained on earth to look for and find hearts that are beating in sync with the heart of God. A willing mind is the second prerequisite in our relationship with the Lord. We should be willing to obey what is revealed to us by the Lord. We should be willing to pay the price of obedience. Abraham in offering to sacrifice his son Isaac was willing to obey the revelation of God. Moses obeyed the revelation of God. St Paul obeyed the revelation of God. We must be willing in the sense, our thoughts, emotions and decisions should be focused on doing what is pleasing to the Lord. He knows the secrets of our lives. He knows the motives behind every thought, word and deed. Like the Psalmist, we must pray out of reverence, “ Lord search me and find out if there is any wanton or hidden sin in my life and help me remove it.” When we forsake or give up on our faith in God, He too forsakes us forever. Hence, we must cling to our faith. We must never let go of it as if our very life depends on it. We must do the spiritual equivalent of an angiogram to know what attitudes block our spiritual supply channels or our arteries. It is critical to our spiritual growth to have those blocks removed. Prateep V Philip

The precept of intercession and the power of intervention

Uv 242/10,000 Amazing principle of the Uni-verse revealed verse by verse Esther 4 v 14 Est 4:14 “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” The precept of intercession: We must not hold our peace when the elect or the children of God, the believers and when the Jews, the house of Jacob face grave threats. The Lord has raised us up to where we are for a purpose. We can use our position, our influence or our power to fulfill His purpose in our times. Esther, the Queen was wary of the consequences of entering the King’s presence without being summoned and of trying to intervene on behalf of her condemned race. But, her former guardian and foster parent Mordecai persuaded her saying that God’s will be fulfilled any way and that the Lord had raised her up to be a queen for this very purpose. Enlargement and deliverance will any way happen by the will of the Lord but if she fails to play her God-ordained role in it, she and her relatives would be killed. Yesterday, a man from Nepal who I had met more than ten years ago called in a distress situation. I spoke to the police officer concerned. Later, in the night he sent a message of thanks,saying, “ Your one word was sufficient for that problem to be resolved. I thank God for you.” We are God’s answer for many people’s questions and problems. We need to recognize that it is by the conscious decision and design of the Lord that we are who we are and we are where we are. The words,” for such a time as this” is pregnant with meaning and relevance down to our days. We can today ask ourselves, “ what is the challenge that God’s elect and Israel face? “ We need to enter into the presence of the King of Kings since we are now His Bride, His church and intercede on behalf of the house of Jacob, Israel (now threatened by nuclear Iran- Russia-China- other nations) . We need to intercede or stand in the gap for other believers who are threatened and persecuted in different nations. When we intercede, He intervenes. The enemy will come like gushing flood waters but the Lord will hear our cry and stand like a rock barrier and break the rushing waters into many tiny streams that will peter away. Esther was rewarded instead of being punished for daring to intercede. She became at one stroke the instrument of redemption for the Jews, for exaltation of Mordecai and for the condemnation of Haman. She won and retained the favour of the king. We too through our prayers and our interventions in real time will be the instrument of redemption for some, the exaltation of some and the condemnation of the wicked. Prateep V Philip

Celebrating the Lord in our lives

UV 341/10,000 Amazing principles of the Uni-verse revealed verse by verse Jeremiah 9 v 24 Jer 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. It is the habit of mankind through the generations to glory or rejoice in riches and wisdom. But, the Lord has proved that riches are vain and wisdom is limited. Instead, He invites us to rejoice, to exult, to glory in our understanding and personal knowledge of the Living God, the Great I Am. Understanding and knowing the Lord enables us to understand almost every thing and any thing in history including our personal biography or in nature. It makes our minds as sharp as a knife that it can cut through any problem as a knife cuts through butter. It makes our heart a continual feast. No wonder the Lord said, “ I will sup with you and you will sup with me.” We can legitimately glory or delight in the immense riches of His character and power. His lovingkindness and righteousness are aspects of His character. His lovingkindness is better than life. Lovingkindness is an unique phraseology of the Bible. It means His love and kindness. His judgement is a manifestation of His power in accordance with His righteousness and love. We must delight in the revelations and manifestations of the Lord’s love and kindness, His power and righteousness in our lives. This comes from enjoying a personal and intimate relationship with Him. When we delight in this, He will delight in us and grant us the desires of our heart. How do we delight in practical ways in our life? We can often remember and give praise and thanks for His acts of love, mercy and grace towards us. You don’t become a millionaire in God’s kingdom by owning a million dollars but you become God’s millionaire or billionaire by recounting the million things He has done in you and for you. We can sing from our hearts. We can dance and celebrate as David did. I often dance in the privacy of my closed room, of course listening in an attitude of joy, worship and wild abandon to some worship songs. We can always exhibit a positive attitude. We can confess positively about our love relationship with God. When we exult in the Lord, we exalt Him. Prateep V Philip

Know your IDs

UV 339/10,000 Amazing Principles of the Uni-verse revealed verse by verse Know Your ID Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together Just as if we get our email id’s wrong when typing it , the mail bounces back, we need to know for sure and with absolute accuracy our id’s or our identity in Christ in order that our relationship with God Almighty is on sure footing. We become children of God when we put our trust in Jesus. Our individual id regardless of our status, age or accomplishment is “ child of God.” We are “blood relatives of God” in Christ. We become thereby heirs of God in the sense we inherit the precious promises of God that is more precious than all the gold and silver in the world. In what way are the promises of God more precious than gold? All the gold in the world cannot purchase for us freedom from the cause and effect cycle of sin-guilt-curses-death. The other id’s we have in Christ are numerous: we are God’s co-workers. We are the temple of God. We are Friends of God. We are saints of God. We are a new creation. We are citizens of Heaven. We are the salt and light of the world. We are the sheep of His flock. We are builders of the Kingdom of God. We are grafted onto the True Vine. We are priests and kings in God’s sight. We are the church, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. We are fishers of men. We are the captives of Christ. We are the elect of God. We are the ministers and witnesses of God. Our multi-dimensioned identity in Christ gives us the confidence that we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We will share as much in His suffering in this world as in His glory in the world to come. Our new id’s trigger in us and through us another cause and effect cycle of freedom-peace-blessings –eternal life. Each id gives us a sense of joy, peace and assurance. Each id sets in motion a river of life and blessing from our hearts and minds. This is the precious insight and knowledge in comparison with Saint Paul reckons all else as garbage. Our belief in our new id’s changes our conditioning and our programming,our values and perspectives, our emotions, our thoughts, our goals, our desires, our decisions, our actions and finally, our results. When I believe that my body is the temple of God, it means I have to keep it clean of habits like smoking or alcoholism. When I believe that I am a priest and a king, I will intercede for others, worship as a priest and exercise authority as a spiritual king or ruler over the world of darkness. When I believe that I am a Friend of God, I will confide in the Lord and expect Him to help me at all times. When I believe that I am a citizen of Heaven, I will live and behave like a pilgrim and a sojourner on earth with no permanent stakes here and many investments in heaven above. When we believe that we are the sheep of His flock, we will quieten our bleating hearts and minds and listen to His still voice inside us. When we believe that we are children of God, we will not be anxious about our future as we know that He who knows the future holds us in the palm of His hand. Last week, the Lord revealed concerning our younger daughter as a birthday blessing: “ I have packed you against my shoulder. I make you sit on my right shoulder. I carry you like a babe in my arms. I dandle you on my knees.” This is how He carries every one of us. Prateep V Philip

The Power and Wisdom of God in you

UV 338/10,000 Amazing Principles of the Uni-verse revealed verse by verse I Corinthians 1 v 24 The Power and Wisdom of God manifested in Christ 1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God Jews grew up on a diet of miracles having witnessed miracles from the birth of their nation out of one man whose wife was barren to their being freed from the bondage of Egypt through the signs and wonders performed through Moses. The Greeks grew up on a diet of wisdom having been nurtured by a host of philosophers led by Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. The former represented an extreme faith in the supernatural power of God to provide breakthroughs in impossible situations. The latter represented an extreme faith in the ability of human rationality or reason to find the answers to perennial questions of life and living. But , Christ Jesus represents both the power of God to intervene effectively, powerfully and positively in the affairs of human beings as also the wisdom of God in reconciling the requirements of justification of humanity that His own attributes implied in terms of His absolute holiness, justice, love, mercy and grace. The Jews wanted to nationalize God while the Greeks wanted to rationalize Him. But, God in His wisdom and grace reached out to all nations and all generations through the person, teachings, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. He reached out with a love that cannot be comprehended by a sophisticated mind but can easily be understood with a child-like faith. Man’s quest for conquest ends and begins in Jesus, the focal point of history and your story. At this focal point, the light of time and space will break into the seven colours of the spectrum or the rainbow, reflecting the glory of the power and wisdom of God, our Creator-Father. Miracles were done for the Jews but today, with Christ in us , miracles are done in us , through us and for us. When we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives by faith, the power and wisdom of God will be manifest in our lives in diverse ways. It will be manifest in finding answers to the questions of life that the Greek philosophers could not adequately explain. It will be manifest in our finding our purpose and fulfilling our potential. It will be manifest in miracles of healing and deliverance. It will be manifest in our relationships. It will be manifest in our creative problem-solving abilities. It will be manifest in a near divine ability to forgive those who offend us. It will be manifest in our reflecting the same manner of love to those around us. Unlike the Greek, we will no longer focus on winning the argument but on winning the man. Unlike the Jew, we will no longer focus on gloating about a miracle but in exulting in the love of God and in exalting Him in and through our lives. Indeed, with the power and wisdom of God working in us, who or what can oppose us? Who or what can withstand us? With Christ in us, can kings and armies, bombs and threats, curses and insults, death and disease or powers and principalities prevail against us? Prateep V Philip

Understand who makes us stand

UV 337/10,000 Amazing principles of the Uni-verse revealed verse by verse Romans 14 v 4 Understand who makes us stand Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. No man can judge us as we are the servants of God. He is the One and only One who holds us up. He is able to make us stand. He makes us withstand the forces and foes, visible and invisible who oppose, resist or attack us in different areas of our lives. This uni-verse was spoken by the Lord in a time of prayer just last night. It is freshly baked bread to make us understand the source of our strength and sustenance. We are accountable to God. He judges the motives behind our actions and words. He alone knows the totality of our circumstances. When we fall as we sometimes do, He is able us to make us stand again. It is not the falling that matters but how we rise up. A righteous man falls seven times but every time he rises up. When we fall, He lifts us up holding our right hand. Our right hand is a metaphor for the five fingers that enable us to hold God’s hand and get back on our feet are: The Word, prayer, fellowship, repentance and worship. Normally, a servant is duty bound to come to the help of his or her master. But, here is a Master who comes to our help. He is the shield of our help, the sword of our excellency. He will judge those judge us unfairly or unjustly. He will neither let any weapon to prosper against us nor any tongue that judges us to stand. Those who do, do so at the peril of being defeated and of being exposed as liars. When Job’s friends judged him saying that his sin must have brought about his downfall in his family, society and fortunes, the Lord chided them and asked them to seek forgiveness. The Lord enables us to take a stand of faith on the promises and Word of God. He will not let us down. But, He will uphold us. He will strengthen us and give us reason to hope against hope, to believe and trust despite the circumstances. Our stance of faith on His Word will ultimately determine our circumstances. The problem is that most times in the world, our circumstances drive and determine our beliefs and attitudes. The word “ promise” share the same root “ pro” with prosperity, provision, problems, progress, protection and promotion. It is apparently the key to all these blessings of the Lord. Even problematic circumstances are situations in which God’s promises are put to the test. You can’t have a King David without a Goliath, a healing without a sickness, a deliverance without an assault, a breakthrough without a crisis. But ,we need to take a flint-like, unflinching stand in believing the specific promises that the Lord speaks into our lives. This uni-verse is also an admonition for us who believe not to judge other servants of God as we so often are inclined to do. It is the Master’s prerogative that we should not and cannot usurp. When we judge others, we put ourselves in the place of God as Joseph so clearly and wisely recognized when his brothers sought his forgiveness for having plotted to first kill him and then sell him into slavery. The Lord chose that circumstance to make him outstanding in the world of that day. Likewise, someone may plot evil to make us fall but God can turn it to good, to make us stand where in normal circumstances we should have fallen. The Lord told me, “ Given the size and power of the forces that oppose you, you should have fallen. But, it is I who makes you stand.” Prateep V Philip