current prayer projects
Monthly prayers for our community
Each month we will be praying for a local organization in our community. This month we are praying about discovering goals in 2022.
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DECEMBER 2021
In preparation for 2022, let’s talk about goals. Do you carry over the same goals
from one year to the next because you never complete them--exercising, fellowshipping
in the secret place with Father God, managing time, sharing Jesus with people…?
Probably many of us work hard at our goals for the first few weeks of the new year, but
with every passing day our determination and efforts fade away. By the third month,
they are a distant memory, until of course the beginning of the next year.
An important question we should ask before we set our goals is: Did we ask the Lord
what goals He wants us to accomplish? The Word says seek first the kingdom of God;
in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths; except the Lord build
the house, they labor in vain that build it. (Matt. 6:33, Prov. 3:6, Ps. 127:1a) Perhaps
we’ve failed to reach goals because we set goals with no input from God. And without
hearing from God, we cannot have faith.
Let’s not deceive our hearts by making good sounding, powerless “faith” confessions
that are not based on what God has said to us. It hurts our faith when we pray or
confess and it doesn’t come to pass. If we will make/take the time to hear from Him,
faith will come. We will be confident that we know His will concerning our goals, and He
will help us to achieve them.
Let’s prayerfully ask God to show us the 2022 goals He has for us:
Father God, please show me what natural and spiritual goals you want me to do in
2022. I don’t want to go it alone next year. I desire 2022 to be a year in which I am
aligned with Your will and plan so that much is accomplished for Your kingdom and in
my life. Forgive me when I haven’t asked You to show the goals You have for me. Heal
my heart and soul for the times I damaged them through self-sufficiency and pretend
faith.
Hearing from You is so important to me that I commit to take time to sit in Your
presence to discover Your plans for me. Dig out my spiritual ears and remove any
hinderances that have kept me from clearly hearing Your voice. I want to have a full
confidence of faith knowing that I have heard from You. I know when You give me Your
plans and wisdom and I then pray over those things in faith, You will hear and I will have
the petitions that I desired of You (I John 5:14-15).
I will act on what You speak to me and will have the most productive and blessed
year ever. Thank You for answering this prayer and for helping me to do Your will in
2022. I give You praise, honor and glory.
In Jesus’ Name, amen!
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Getting back to basics and re-learning (or learning for the first time) how to pray:
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Prayer Basics – Part 1
Prayer is talking with God and Him talking with us, a conversation.
Whether you are a new believer or have known the Lord for years, it is always good to review prayer basics. We all want prayers that get results so we don’t waste time and effort.
Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God so if we want answers, we will need to offer our prayers with confidence. Let’s look at some things that help us to be confident (have faith).
Our hearts must be clear of condemnation (I John 3:20-21). If we have unforgiveness in our hearts, or any sin, we need to repent (Matt. 6:14-15; I John 1:9). When we have faith, we can come to God and ask boldly (Heb. 4:16).
Before we can pray, we need to know the will of God about the situation. The Bible, His Word, is His will. This is important because we can only have faith in God for something He has said to us or promised in His Word. The scriptures He shows us become the plumb line for our prayer.
I John 5:14-15 - This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And since we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.
Here are some other basics.
It’s not enough to just mimic what someone else has prayed. We are to use our faith and pray from our heart.
Rom. 8:26-27 says we don’t know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, BUT the (Holy) Spirit will come to our aid and bear us up in our weakness. The Holy Spirit is in us so we should ask for and receive His help. He doesn’t do our praying for us, but He ”takes hold together with us”.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in heavenly languages is a huge benefit in offering up prayers. If you don’t know what this is please contact leaders at Redlands Christian Center.
Don’t be too quick to pray. You may need to look up scriptures that apply to your situation and meditate on them until all doubt is gone and you believe in your heart that the Word is true. The Holy Spirit will help you. Take time to wait on Him and listen to what He will say to you in your heart and through the scriptures.
God isn’t impressed with long, short or repetitive prayers. He’s looking for you to pray from your heart in faith. (Matt. 6:7-8).
Faith works by (the God-kind of) love. So selfish prayers and wrong motives won’t cut it.
When we are assured that we are going to receive what we have asked for, then it is only right that we should thank and praise God when we pray. Heb. 11:1 – Now faith is confidence in what we hope for (expect) and assurance about what we do not (yet) see.
Until we see the manifestation, we must guard our hearts against unbelief. That means we keep our words in alignment with what we have believed; no praying one thing and saying another unless you want no results (Jas. 1:6-8). We keep our faith effective and active by walking in love and obedience, by speaking and thinking on the scriptures we’re standing on and by continuing to praise and thank God for the expected outcome.
Sample Prayers
Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you concerning this (health issue) I’ve been diagnosed with. Your Word says that Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts. 10:38). I know in Jesus’ earthly ministry many times in the Word it says that Jesus healed them all. Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. I believe that Jesus is still the healer today. I Pet. 2:24 says by the stripes that Jesus took, I was healed. I receive what Jesus did for me. I believe Your Word and take it for myself. Thank You for healing me. I praise You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You that You are faithful to Your Word. I need to know what to do about (situation). Jas. 1:5-7 says that if I need wisdom, I can ask in faith and You will give it to me. I’m asking Lord. Please show me what to do about this situation. My desire is that (outcome). I believe Your Word and receive Your wisdom now. I thank You now for this gift and I open the ears of my heart to hear from You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!
Calling in the saints
After 20+ years of having the same chairs in the sanctuary, we were finally able to get brand new chairs. We bought more chairs than what we initially had, and now we are standing and praying for more families to fill in these chairs. We are calling in the saints and praying that God will plant more people at Redlands Christian Center.
Salvation for our family and friends
We are currently praying for our friends' and family members' salvation. We enourage you to submit anyone you know that needs to know the Lord and accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Throughout the month, our PR-Air Force team will pray for these names.