Jesus Is My Joy Ministries!

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I greet you in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, Shepherd.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all,

that your Faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son,

that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Romans 1:8-9 (KJV)

Fight The Good Fight

and

Pray Without Ceasing!

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Eph 6:10-18 (KJV)

In the Christian life we battle against rulers and authorities (the powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by satan, who is a vicious fighter. To withstand their attacks, we must depend on God's strength and use every piece of His Armor. Paul is not only giving this counsel to the church, the body of Christ, but to all individuals within the church. The whole body needs to be armed. As we do battle against "the powers of this dark world," fight in the strength of the church, whose power comes from the Holy Spirit.

These who are not "flesh and blood" are demons over whom satan has control. They are not mere fantasies — they are very real. We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ's church. When we believe in Christ, these beings become our enemies, and they try every device to turn us away from Him and back to sin. Although we are Assured of Victory, we must engage in the struggle until Christ Returns, because satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lord's side. We need Supernatural Power to defeat satan, and God has provided this by giving us His Holy Spirit within us, and His Armor surrounding us. When we feel discouraged, remember Jesus' words to Peter:

"Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Matt 16:18 (KJV)

How can anyone pray on all occasions? One way is to make quick, brief prayers our habitual response to every situation we meet throughout the day. Another way is to order our life around God's desires and teachings so that our very life becomes a prayer. We don't have to isolate ourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. We can make prayer our life and our life a prayer while living in a world that needs God's powerful influence.

"Praying for all the saints" means praying for all Believers in Christ; so we must pray for the Christians we know and for the church around the world.

Prayer must fasten all the other parts of our Christian Armour. We must pray with all kinds of prayer, public, private, and secret; social and solitary; solemn and sudden: with all the parts of prayer; confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgiving for favours received. And we must do it by the Grace of God and the Holy Spirit, in dependence on, and according to, His Teaching.

We must preserve in particular requests, notwithstanding discouragements. We must pray, not for ourselves only, But for all Saints. Our enemies are mighty, and we are without strength, but our Redeemer is Almighty, and in the Power of His Mighty we will overcome. Wherefore we must stir up ourselves. Have not we, when God has called, often neglected to answer? Let us think upon these things, and continue our prayers with patience.

Moreover as for me,

God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you:

But I will teach you the good and the right way:

1 Sam 12:23 (KJV)

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make His face shine upon thee,

and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee,

and give thee peace.

Num 6:24-26 (KJV)

God Bless You and Keep You in His Loving Care.

You Are Always In My Prayers.

Bruce