Exercising Faith: “I can do all things in Christ that strengthens me”

[SANDRA DUKES]

Exercising Faith

There is a song; I do not even know the title of the song but it always fills and "feels" my heart and spirit with a positive determination. We sing it quite a bit at my church and if asked I venture to say there are others in the church that love the song as much as I do. I guess one would ask; how is this song, one of your favorite songs and you don’t even know the title or who is the composer? My only answer would be that I love the rhythm, the melody, the emotion and comradely it brings to the flock as a whole; standing together proclaiming our faith in God. At that moment we are a visual scriptural epiphany of “I can do all things in Christ that strengthens me”. We become a divine revelation and realization of the power and promise we receive when we pray without ceasing and perform in obedience without doubt. Perhaps you also sing this same song at your church one of its stanzas is:

“Show yourself mighty Show yourself strong

Show yourself mighty in the midst of the storm

When things seem to go wrong

You just show yourself mighty and you just show yourself strong”

The Prayer of Groaning and Travail
From; Calandra Haynes
""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." (Romans 8:26-27)

We call this kind of praying "travail," because it is so much like childbirth. It is the will of God to give birth to His purposes, but that process of birthing is not instantaneous or painless. It can be quite a struggle. Words alone can't accomplish it. The Holy Spirit in us moves beyond words to sighs, groans, and inarticulate longings. We move with our prayers. We may stand up and reach up to God, then pace, then fall to the floor, even writhing as we yearn for the relief of the longed-for "birth." It can be very much like labor, purposeful and intense. In the heat of the effort, we no longer worry about maintaining our dignity. This kind of praying is fervent. We see God’s intense desire to create an opening through which He can bring new life, change, growth, or fruit.

The prayer of groaning brings deliverance from within and pushes back the pressures of darkness from without. Walls of resistance toward God are within each of us. We hardly see them, and we definitely cannot deliver ourselves from them, but this kind of prayer is higher than our understanding. It is larger than our limited comprehension, because it by passes our minds and allows the Holy Spirit to move us into freedom that God desires. The prayer of groaning originates deep within our spirits. It is a deep calling unto deep. We long for even a foretaste of things to come, and we want to be prepared: "For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven" (2 Cor. 5:2)

Travailing prayer comes before the promise is born, but not before the promise is conceived. Intimacy with God allows the "conception," as the promise is revealed and received into our spirits. But travail is how the birth is achieved. It opens up the way, removes the hindrances and constraints, and creates a broad "highway" for God's promise to be shown forth into the light of day. (See Isaiah 40:3)

I do want to mention one more thing. Travail takes time. We have to be tenacious. We will go through stretches when we are not crying out. In fact, nothing seems to be happening. It's more like being a watchman on a wall when nothing is happening. But we stay there. We don't abandon our post. We keep alert. We persevere. That's what Spirit-empowered prayer is like. The Holy Spirit’s energy does not flag. When you’re praying in the power of the Spirit, you will not give up. You will be able to go far beyond your normal ability to pray, even if you possess a lot of natural energy and zeal. As you do it you get better at it. You keep laboring until you have a breakthrough.

O'God, help each of us to make a difference. Anoint each of us with Spirit-empowered prayer power that goes beyond our natural mind. Take us further in prayer than we have ever been before, for your Kingdom’s sake. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

In Jesus’ name, Amen."

Example of Exercising Faith

This missive below is to one of my leaders concerning a problem with telephone connections involving a teleconference prayer line this morning is a prime example of how we exercise faith whether we are operating alone or as a communal group.

Amen. Thank you for your swift reply. As I mentioned in the e-mail the devil was defeated because I (we) prayed in spite of... and the Holy Ghost showed up. As a godly people we must praise God in and at all times. I look at this morning as an exercise tool - such as; barbells- weights building my faith muscles. As one lifts the barbells there is resistance because of its weight and earth's gravity; in that process it causes the muscles to tense up ; to tighten and then to expand which produces larger and stronger muscles. This is the same thing that happens with our faith; we exercise our authority as loyal and trusting servants by lifting up our faith in God in prayer and praise against the adversary, adversities and resistance, creating a stronger prayer life and faith, causing a more intimate relationship with the Father, a bond that cannot be broken, bent, cracked or creased or damaged. We become part of the systematic process of Activation - Demonstration- Celebration - Manifestation.

Amen and Hallelujah!
Prophetess Sandra Dukes

"No Dampened Spirit"

This is a powerful skit posted by our dear brother, Robert T. Sells. He represents Peter.
Originally posted on Youtube and Scribal Anointing.

Please copy and paste or click link below for a short

http://abcpreachers.ning.com/video/no-dampened-spirit

[Denise Stacy]

Thank you sister.

[Bradley Walker]

Sandra, Thank You So Much For Sending This Over. Its Been a Krazy Spirit With Me. Keep Me and My Show In Prayer. If you Have To Watch it and Lay Hands or Speak Into It. Be One 1 Accord With Me. http://www.youtube.com/sidekickshow