I believe with all my heart that this year, God’s people are coming into a shift. For those who have been faithful and have honored and obeyed God, I declare that He is going to put you in a position that you could not have ever gotten into on your own. He is bestowing favor and honor in a fresh, new way!
I declare that this year, doors are going to open for you that have not opened before. What should have taken you 40 years to accomplish, God is going to do in a split second. I declare you are coming into acceleration. Suddenly, a dream will come to pass. Suddenly, a promise will be fulfilled. Suddenly, the negative situations are going to turn around. Now, get ready for the surpassing greatness of His favor! 2013 is going to be an exceptional year for you as you come into these supernatural shifts in Jesus’ name! Amen!
A Prayer for Today
Father, thank You that this year is the year of acceleration! I declare by faith that I am coming into new levels of favor. Thank You for Your goodness and for leading me in the path of blessing You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ” (Philemon 1:6, NLT)
The Bible tells us that faith without works is dead. If we don’t put our faith into action, it’s not really faith; it’s just nice ideas. You see, when God truly does a work in our lives, it affects everything about us. It affects our words, our thoughts and our actions. How do you know someone is generous? By their generous actions. How do you know someone is kind? By their kind actions. How do you know someone is gentle? By their gentle actions. How do you know someone is a follower of Christ? By their Christ-like actions.
Can people tell by your actions that you belong to God? We all have areas where we can come up higher, but as believers in Jesus, we can be confident that God is at work in us. He is faithful and will complete what He started. As we invite Him to search our hearts and minds, as we surrender every area of our heart to Him and put our faith into action, He will finish His perfect work in us!
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Matthew 5:44, NKJV.
If you’re going to do anything great in life, if you’re going to be a great businessperson, a great teacher, a great parent or a great leader, not everyone is going to cheer you on. I’d love to tell you that your family, friends and co-workers will celebrate you, but that’s not the case. Some people simply can’t handle your success. As you grow and increase, as God pours out His favor, somebody will get jealous. Somebody will start finding fault. Don’t be surprised if a relative tries to belittle or discredit you. If you focus on making everyone around you happy, you’ll start changing and lose sight of what God has placed in your heart.
Friend, your destiny is too great to be distracted by people who are never going to affirm you. Don’t take it personally. It’s not about you. It’s their problem. Shake it off, run your race, be great anyway.
Greatness in the midst of criticism begins with forgiveness. Don’t hold a grudge. Bless those who curse you; pray for those who spitefully use you. As you keep doing what is right, God will honor you. He’ll promote you, and you’ll see the dreams and desires that He placed in your heart come to pass!
A Prayer for Today
Father, I come to You today with an open and humble heart. I choose to forgive those who have criticized me. I choose to bless those who have hurt me. I choose to be great because You have equipped and empowered me to rise higher in this life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
10 Tips to Help Your Prayer Life
1. Choose a specific place to pray away from distractions so you can concentrate. Ringing phones and crying children will sabotage your “quiet time” before it gets started.2. Pray at the same time every day, if at all possible. Make it part of your regular routine and it will become habit. Write it into your schedule and then treat it just like a daily appointment.
3. Pray out loud. Many people can pray under their breath or in their minds for long periods and still maintain intensity, but for most of us it’s a quick ticket to dreamland. When we pray out loud we have to form intelligent sentences. We have to concentrate more on what we’re praying about.
4. Keep a note pad handy so you can jot down different things that come to mind while you’re before the Lord. Sometimes you’ll get great ideas totally unrelated to what you’ve been praying about. If you jot them down you can quickly get back to the topic at hand without being too distracted.
5. Make a list to keep track of your prayer needs. This can be done several ways. Prayer needs can be listed by category like “Church,” “Family,” or “Unsaved friends.” Or they may be listed by the days of the week. Each day you pray for a different set of needs. You may want to include prayer everyday for a different area of society that has a tremendous influence on the direction of our nation. These seven categories include 1) the church and religion, 2) the family and the home, 3) the media, 4) government, 5) education, 6) business and commerce, and 7) the arts and entertainment.
6. Redeem time for praying out of unused corners of your schedule. Those who have to drive to work can use the time talking with the Lord instead of screaming at traffic (just don’t close your eyes!). Busy homemakers can combine prayer with housework, especially if the task doesn’t require a lot of concentration. Joggers, swimmers and cyclists can use their workout time for prayer. Sometimes my best times with the Lord have been chats during long, early morning walks or jogs along the beach.
7. Change the pace during your prayer time. Include praise, thanksgiving and singing as well as petition. Spend some of your time reflecting on the Scripture, meditating on it and digesting its meaning.
8. Keep a prayer journal. Here are two variations of this idea. The first is to keep track of what you prayed for and when you prayed for it. Leave a space to jot down the answer when it comes. This will help you to keep alert to God’s answer so you can thank Him promptly. Sometimes prayer answers come in the back door and you don’t want them to slip by you. The second variation is to write the entire prayer in your journal. Make it a personal letter to the Lord on a daily basis. Just write “Dear Lord” instead of “Dear Diary.”
9. Pray with someone else. Though some prayers can only be said in solitude, there will be times when you’ll want to join hearts with another person in prayer. If you commit to meet on a regular basis, the accountability can really help build consistency. Such prayer trysts can become powerful, life-changing events.
10. Pray one-sentence prayers. If the thought of laboring over a topic wears you out, pray short, sincere prayers instead. A sentence or two may be all that’s needed to exhaust the topic for you for the time being. If so, just move on to the next item without feeling guilty for your brevity.
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