Devotional Teachings on Spiritual Growth, Prayer, Family, and Recovery

In this series of posts I would like to cover a subject that has often been controversial in various realms of Christianity. It is however an essential piece for experiencing a well rounded prayer life. What I am referring to is what the Bible calls praying in the Spirit.

With anything in the Christian life: praying, soulwinning, preaching, it can be done in the flesh, or in the Spirit. If your expecting results that will last for eternity from these activities than you must enlist the Spirit’s help. Paul gives us the best outline for praying in the Spirit, lets study it phrase by phrase. Romans 8:26-28 says, “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.”

The Spirit helpeth our infirmities- I don’t know about you but I’m glad the God has provided me a prayer partner for me because I have many weaknesses that make me a poor prayer warrior. Lets look at how the Holy Spirit provides His help to us.

Helpeth- The word translated helpeth in this passage is the greek word sunantilambanomai (Strongs #4878) which means to take hold of together with against something. When you are praying you are literally batting with demonic forces to accomplish things in the heavenlies. For instance while Daniel prayed for Israel in Daniel Chapter 10 there was an intense warfare going on in the Heavenlies to prevent him from getting an answer.

Satan does not want you to pray effectively, and will use a variety of weapons to stop you. Racing thoughts, television, bickering with a spouse are just some of his weapons. Thanks be to God we do not have to go it alone, the Holy Spirit wants to take hold of the weapon of prayer with you, and help you use it against Satan. He doesn’t want to just pray through you, He wants to pray together with you. In John 16:7 Jesus called the Holy Spirit the comforter which is the greek word Parakletos. Parakletos means, a helper, and interceeder, one who come along side to help. God sent us the Holy Spirit to come along side of us and help us in the work of intercession

Infirmities- The greek word for infirmities is asthenia, and literally means an inability to produce results. You mean to tell me that the great Apostle Paul admitted to having an inability to produce results in prayer! Absolutely, apart from God’s divine enablement the best efforts of sinful men will produce little results. In fact a good definition of sin is falling short, or missing the mark. One of the Hebrew words for intercession (paga) has as one of its definitions striking the mark. Because prayer is like a long range missile, and when we partner with the Holy Spirit we can make missile strikes against his territory that will always hit the mark.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to do something that is not going to produce results. Fortunately we have at our disposal the same power that help create the universe, and resurrect Jesus from the dead. So today as you pray acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s role ask for His help. and be prepared to be amazed by the results.

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C.T. Studd was a wealthy, and athletic young man in the 1800’s that gave up everything the world had to offer to be a missionary to China. He gave the following exhortation called the chocolate soldier to the Christians of his day, and I think it’s still very relevant.

HEROISM is the lost chord; the missing note of present-day Christianity!In peace true soldiers are captive lions, fretting in their cages. War gives them their liberty and sends them, like boys, bounding out of school, to obtain their heart’s desire or perish in the attempt. Battle is the soldier’s vital breath! Peace turns him into a stooping asthmatic. War makes him a whole man again, and gives him the heart, strength, and vigour of a hero.

Every true Christian is a soldier – of Christ – scorning the soft seductions of peace and her oft-repeated warnings against hardship, disease, danger, and death, whom he counts among his bosom friends.

The otherwise Christian is a chocolate soldier! Dissolving in water and melting at the smell of fire. “Sweeties” they are! Bonbons, lollipops! Living their lives on a glass dish or in a cardboard box, each clad in his soft clothing, a little frilled white paper to preserve his dear little delicate constitution.

“They say and do not” – they tell others to go, and yet do not go themselves. “Never” said General Gordon to a corporal, as he himself jumped upon the parapet of a trench before Sebastopol to fix a gabion which the corporal had ordered a private to fix, and wouldn’t fix himself, “Never tell another man to do what you are afraid to do yourself!”

To the chocolate Christian the very thought of war brings a violent attack of ague. “I really cannot move,” he says. “I only wish I could, but I can sing, and here are some of my favourite lines:

‘I must be carried to the skies

On a flowery bed of ease,

Let others fight to win the prize,

or sail thro’ bloody seas.


Mark time, Christian heroes,

Never go to war;

Stop and mind the babies

Playing on the floor.
Wash and dress and feed them

Forty times a week.

Til they’re roly poly,

Puddings so to speak.

Chorus: Round and round the nursery

Let us ambulate;

Sugar and spice and all that’s nice

Must be on our slate.’

God never meant me to be a jelly-fish! God’s men are always heroes.

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Today we will cover our primary offensive weapon in the Christian armor the Sword of the Spirit, Ephesians 6:17 “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The Sword of the Spirit- The Roman soldier had two primary weapons a javelin for long range warfare, and a sword for close hand to hand combat. The word Paul uses for sword is machaira, which means short sword or dagger. In greek machaira can be used in three primary ways which I think have important spiritual applications for the word of God.

Surgery- A machaira could be used to perform surgery during, or after battle. Frequently when we are under spiritual attack, or just have been under attack we get wounded, and we need spiritual surgery. Paul says the sword of the Spirit is the word of God, God’s word is the most powerful surgical instrument in the universe.

In Hebrews 4:12 the Bible once again likens the machaira to the word of God and says, “…piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, …and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” In this battle of life it is often very difficult to determine the difference between what God trying to lead us to do in our spirit, and what our mind, will, and emotions (soul) wants us to do. You see if it feels right (emotions), is logical (mind), and its what we want (will) it can be very hard to discern that we are about to make a mistake.

Enter the word of God as we read, study, and meditate on the word of God what we want, think, and feel comes into sharp contrast with what God wants, thinks, and feels. We are then able to make Spirit led decisions that will prevent the enemy from gaining an advantage.

This verse also says that the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts, and intents of the heart. The heart is a terrible weakness for us in battle, because not only can it be deceived by Satan, but is in fact a deceiver itself (Jeremiah 17:9). The word of God clearly helps us discern clearly if our thoughts, and motives are Biblical, and Spirit led. Before we make any major decisions we should consult the word of God to make sure we are not being deceived.

Worship- The machaira could also be used to prepare a sacrifice for worship. The Bible says in Romans 12:1-2 that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. The only problem with a living sacrifice is that it has an irritating tendency to get off the altar. Do you find that to be true of yourself? You put your all on the altar during an invitation, or other special time, and seems like hours or days later you have completely hopped off the altar. Animals strangely enough didn’t seem to like being placed on a flaming altar they had to be put to death first with a sword or dagger. Our flesh to cannot stand the fiery altar of surrender, and consecration it has to be put to death again, and again by the word of God.

Hand to Hand Combat- When we are in close hand to hand spiritual warfare there is only one thing to do, use the word of God. In Matthew chapter 4 the Lord Jesus Christ is led into the desert to be tempted of the devil, a time of intense hand to hand combat. What powerful weapon did Jesus pull out to battle this formidable ancient foe? Bazooka, RPG, .50 Caliber Desert Eagle? No, he pulled out the most powerful weapon in the universe the word of God. To every temptation He responded, “it is written” when we are under attack that is our only weapon. We must soak ourselves in the word of God so that it is available to us in the heat of battle. The word of God correctly applied will put Satan on the run every time.

The Word of God- There are two Greek words which are translated word in the New Testament that refer to scripture. The first, logos, refers to God’s written word, and to Jesus, who is the living Logos (John 1:1). There are many biblical examples of the word logos:

• “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God” (John 1:1).
• “The seed is the word [logos] of God” (Luke 8:11).
• “Holding forth the word [logos] of life” (Philippians 2:16).
• “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word [logos] of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).
• “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word [logos] of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (I Peter 1:23).

However Paul in this passage does not use logos to describe the word of God he uses the greek word Rhema. Rhema refers to the spoken word, and literally means “an utterance.” In New Testament usage a rhema is a verse or portion of Scripture that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention with application to a current situation. Another way we might say this is that a rhema is God’s particular word for a particular situation.

So how does this apply to our daily battle? In counseling, or witnessing, or preaching instead of going to the classic verses on a particular subject every time, ask the Lord what word would be most profitable for this situation. For instance I like using the Romans Road in my witnessing, but this isn’t always the best plan. So I try to ask God for one powerful word tailored to that situation. The Roman sword was a straight sword and was most effective as a thrusting sword not a swinging sword. So instead of always swinging wildly with your favorite passages, determine God’s Rhema for the situation, and use that one verse or passage over, and over till the enemy lies defeated before you.

You see God knows what word a particular person, in a particular situation most needs. It is not our word that will be effective but The Spirit’s chosen word. So if your under personal attack, and a verse comes to mind use that verse over, and over till the enemy flees. The old time preachers understood how to use God’s Rhema effectively. Charles Finney for instance when given a Rhema before, or during a meeting would thrust that one word into peoples consciences over, and over till often people were laying on the floor groaning in conviction.

So let us begin to study the word, memorize the word, and meditate on the word. For God surely won’t bring to mind what we haven’t already put into our mind. Also let us start asking, and seeking God for his particular “sword” for today, and each warfare situation we face.

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What is Recovery? The word “recover” means to obtain again something that has been lost, or to return something to a normal condition. In order for something to be recovered, it must have already been in existence and in a particular condition. When, after it has been lost or damaged, it is returned to its former condition, it is said to be recovered. The noun “recovery” means the restoration or return to a normal condition after a damage or loss has been incurred. Redemption, and sanctification are God’s process of restoring humanity to their original state of completeness, and perfect communion with Him.

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What is addiction? Addiction is enslavement, to a substance, activity, or state of mind intended to fill a void that can only be filled by God. Addiction is precipitated by untrue views of God, our past, ourselves, and the world around us. Real recovery only occurs as we develop an intimate relationship with God, and he reveals to us what is true about these four areas.

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1. Listen to Him
2. Take extra time to talk to Him
3. Obey him whether you agree or not
4. Trust Him
5. Spend time with just the two of you
6. Tell Him I love you
7. Do special things to show him you love him
8. Write Him a poem
9. Sing just to Him
10. Walk with Him
11. Tell Him how you feel regardless of how you think he’ll react
12. Don’t be bitter against Him
13. Talk to Him like you do anyone else
14. Tell Him how grateful you are for things He does for you
15. Call Him Daddy

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In today’s post I would like to cover the Helmet of Salvation. Ephesians 6:17 says, …take the helmet of salvation. The helmet was the part of the armor that protected the head, because while a soldier could sustain many injuries and still live, a head wound was usually a fatal blow. In the Spiritual realm I believe that the Helmet of Salvation is illustrative of the protection of the mind.
Satan consistently attacks the mind on two fronts first of all through attacking our assurance of Salvation, and through impure thoughts.

Assurance- If Satan can get you to doubt your salvation you may have many pieces of the armor, but you won’t get far in battle without being overtaken by fears, and doubts. Fear, and doubt are powerful enemies that are hard to overcome. So the best thing to do is settle the issue of your assurance before you venture out for one more day of battle. Let’s cover some ways to have assurance of salvation.

Realize God is the Prime Mover in Salvation- What this means simply put is that you didn’t have a thing to do with getting salvation so how can you lose it. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4, “he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” You are not an afterthought God has been planning on saving you, and securing you before the world even existed. Furthermore before you were saved you weren’t even looking for God Romans 3:11 says, “there is none that seeketh after God.” God is the one who seeks us out when we are running after destruction with all our hearts. John 6:44 Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” God draws sinful man through seeking after them, loving them, sending them messengers, and man never reciprocates till God initiates.

So you see God planned our salvation, sought us out to save us, drew us through love, and the Bible, and messengers. So how can you lose something you had nothing to do with? The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” You see salvation is a gift of unmerited favor (grace) from God you didn’t earn, you can’t lose it.

God doesn’t change His mind- Romans 11:29 says, “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” That means basically God is not an Indian giver, it was His desire to give you salvation, and He’s not going to change his mind.

The Bible is written for us to be sure- The Bible says in 1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” The Bible was written so that you might know that you have eternal life. Not wonder, not doubt, not fear, not think, but absolutely know 100% sure that you are His.

Jesus promised to keep us secure- John 10:28-29 says, “…I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” You are absolutely secure in the hands of Jesus for all eternity if you have accepted His free gift of salvation.

The Holy Spirit lets us know were secure- Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesus was a city of much commerce especially for lumber transactions. So whenever a load of lumber was purchased it was sealed with a signet (a unique identifier of the owner) so that everyone could see who it belonged to.

The Holy Spirit dwelling within us is a sign to ourselves and everybody else that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16 tell us, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. The Holy Spirit is constantly speaking to our spirit, and assuring us we belong to God. Furthermore the Bible calls the Holy Spirit His earnest payment for our salvation. An earnest, or down payment is used to show the seriousness (earnestness) of a buyer to complete a transaction. God has put a massive down payment on us, and He fully intends to finalize the transaction. So when Satan attacks our salvation we can look to the word of God, the character of God, and the Spirit of God for assurance.

Renewing of the mind- Another function of the Helmet of Salvation is the renewing of your mind. God is not merely content to save us from the penalty of sin, He wants to save us from the power of sin. This process is called sanctification, and one of the most powerful aspects of this growing to be more like the Lord is changing our thinking. I don’t know about you after years of meth addiction, and living in the World I had some pretty “stinking thinking”! The problem with that is that “as a man thinketh so is he.” So if I continue to repeat the same destructive thought patterns I will continue to reap destructive actions. Fortunately the Lord has provided three methods for thinking right.

Renewing- Romans 12:1-2 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The first step to right thinking is really two steps present yourself to God, as a living sacrifice, and two stop letting the thinking of this age cloud your mind. In presenting ourselves as a sacrifice, and literally dying to self we are then yield to the Holy Spirit who can clean, and change our minds.

The second verse could literally be translated, “stop letting yourself be molded to this age” you see Satan wants you to think like him, and he uses the media, books, etc. to shape your thinking. Stop it! You have a choice, and the only place you should be getting your thought from is the Word of God let it renew you mind.

Rejecting- Just because you get saved doesn’t mean all of your destructive thought patterns, and satanic lies you have believed disappear. Sanctification is a process, and God does the work, but we do have responsibilities. These responsibilities involve our will because everything you believe you have chosen (the will) to believe. In that same vein God has said that we are to cast down every thought pattern that does not conform to the Word of God. Paul says, to only think on things that are lovely, just, pure, virtuous, praise worthy, and of good report. In other words if its ugly, unjust, impure, evil, criticism, or bad news reject it outright it will only perpetuate your destructive thought patterns. As we willfully reject bad thoughts, and accept good thoughts God changes are thinking patterns

Receiving- One of the best ways to think correctly is to just receive, or yield to what is already true of you. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “…we have the mind of Christ” not we are getting the mind of Christ, not “Lord, please give us the mind of Christ” we have it right this very moment we just need to yield to what is already true. Galatians 2:20 tells us that Jesus Christ wants to live His life through you, and that includes His mind. The wisest, and smartest man to ever live wasn’t Solomon it was Jesus Christ, and His mind is available to you if you will just yield to what the Bible says by faith. I know that Will Fowler’s best thinking led me to become a 112 pound meth addict, living in a truck, running from the police, and a restraining order from my family. God’s thinking on the other hand has led me to Bible college, career, ministry, a beautiful family, etc.

So let’s put on the helmet of salvation today, and let the Lord give us assurance of our salvation, and new non destructive thought patterns.

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Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard,
even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of
Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the
LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

In the 20th century the ecumenical movement started from a felt need of the lack of the
Church’s influence in the world. There is today a cry for unity in religion. We see prayer services where those of a Catholic or Protestant faith can lift up prayers to God along with those of an Islamic faith or Buddhist faith. The general thought is that if we can break down doctrinal barriers than this world would be a much better place.

What the world needs is not a lot of indiscriminate unification but for the Church to
return to her apostolic roots. The verse above states that it is pleasant when brethren
dwell together in unity. Then the verse gives very picturesque types of the Holy Spirit. If the Church was ever a major influence in the world it was because she had God on her side. In the beginning of the Church we can clearly see what unified it and made it a force to be reckoned with.

In Acts 2, we find the Church in a state of revival and unity. However, what was the
unifying factor for them? It seems from the book of Acts that there unity as brethren was attributable to five things. In Acts 2:1 we see that they are united by prayer that brought them in one accord to one place. This is a great reason the Church has no power because they quit praying. The Bible plainly says when two or more are gathered that God is in the middle of us. I fear we have seen over and over what man is capable of accomplishing where the church is not unified, absorbed in prayer. The second unifying factor for the early church is a common salvation experience. Joining hands with other faiths will not accomplish anything in this world! God will only send revival to those that have received the word gladly and asked for Jesus Christ’s forgiveness.

Next, we see that the Church continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. We cannot
have unity with those that don’t share a common belief in the fundamentals of the faith.

The unity of this Church was brought about by a simple belief and obedience in the
teaching Jesus gave to the Apostles. Unity was also promoted in the Church by
fellowship, fellowship comes from the Greek word koinonia, and gives the picture of a
partnership. These believer brought together by the common experience of salvation and
a common doctrinal foundation now found that they had a common mission–to serve
others and share the Gospel with the world. The Church has all but forgotten our common
mission to take the Gospel to the world, and so the message rarely reaches outside the
walls of the Church.

Breaking bread together is another key feature of the early Church’s unity. How often
does the Church of today break bread together? We are so busy, so involved in our own
business and family activities that we rarely get together to share a meal with fellow
believers. We only have surface relationships with others believers but Christ gave us the Church so we can edify one another how can we do that till we get to know people where they live. The last thing that brought unity was that they had all things common. They were genuinely concerned with the physical needs of other believers and were willing to do without or sell their own possessions so everyone could have material needs met.

What we call unity today is a poor substitute for the true brotherhood of the first century church. We will never again have apostolic power till we have reclaimed apostolic living and unity. Their existence was so simple they were obeying the teachings of Jesus with no reservation. If we had their unity, we would have their power. We would have revival.

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1. To the Father (Matthew 6:9)
2. In the name (authority) of the Son (John 14:3)
3. With the help of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26)
4. According to the Will of God (1 John 5:14)
5. Should be constant, persistent, untiring, and sleepless (Ephesians 6:18)
6. With willingness to obey his commands (1 John 3:22)
7. Using scripture in your prayer (John 15:7)
8. Start with Praise and Adoration (Psalms 103, Rev. 5:12-14)
9. Proceed to confession (1 John 1:8-9)
10. Continue with Thanksgiving (Phillipians 4:6-7)
11. Using Supplication for our needs (Matt. 6:11-13)
12. Entering Intercession for other needs (Luke 18:1; Col. 4:2; 1 Tim. 2:1-4)

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Wrote this for a project I was working on, and thought it might be helpful to my readers.

1. Know that you are a Christian yourself. (1 John 5:12)
2. Understand the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life personally. (Ephesians 5:12)
3. Pray for Boldness and opportunities to witness (Acts 4:23-31)
4. Memorize salvation verses (John 3:16, Romans 3:10, 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-13)
5. Carry Gospel literature, or a Bible.
6. Find a Mentor (2 Timothy 2:2)
7. Show them they are sinners (Exodus 20, James 2:10, Romans 3:23)
8. Show them the penalty for their sin is death in hell. (Romans 5:12, Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:15)
9. Show them Christ’s Death paid the penalty (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:23)
10. Show them they must accept Christ’s payment by faith, and turn from their sin (Romans 10:9-13, Acts 2:38, Acts 16:31)

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