Prayer

It's 2011?! I think I was just getting used to 2010 and it's gone. 2010 was a great year for me! God lavished his love on my life like never before. I was able to do so many things and experience a deeper intimacy with God. I love that I will never get to the end of who God is. The more I search for him the bigger He is. The more I experience His love, the greater it gets. To be honest, I haven't really had a great start to 2011. It has been a battle. It started off wonderful at the International House of Prayer with some of my favorite people. I went to onething this year! It was amazing. Onething is a prayer/worship conference that is held every year in Kansas City, MO. For the last 5 days of 2010 I spent the majority of my time in worship and prayer- It was incredible! My heart was stirred for God. I want to pray more! I have never been very good at long, unrelenting prayer. I want to be better, I want to grow in my prayers and talk to God about people I love that are broken, lost, and hurting. I want to have more faith for the things I believe He has called me to do but have just not come to fruition just yet. I want not only have emotion and compassion for those in prison; and for those held in darkness, for the fatherless and for the sick, I want to plead before God's throne for justice. I came home with a fire in my heart and excitement in my spirit. Since I have been home (seriously, within 24 hours) I have seen people I care about come to me asking for help to get them through their addiction. I have also been physically sick two different times in the last three weeks which is unusual for me. I had people call me and ask me to pray about situations in their life more than before. It was a little overwhelming to think about. But, I also find this so exciting! Exciting, because God is not hiding from me what He is doing. He is asking me to do it with Him. He is asking me to intercede for them. Yes, I believe it has also brought more things to fight against; my own attitude, fear, mistrust, lack of faith, attacks from the enemy. I want to add that I don't say that lightly. I am not one to give the devil credit for things he didn't do. What I mean is, I don't think every time I have something come against me that it must be the devil. Sometimes it is just that I have a bad attitude or because I didn't spend my time wisely, made a bad choice etc. But, I do know that I have an enemy and he is very real. I know that he hates me and is stealing and destroying lives everywhere around me. But I also know the God who is greater, stronger, and full of POWER. I also know MY Jesus is living to intercede for our lives and prays that we are found faithful! Does that move anyone else? JESUS. PRAYS. FOR. US. Do we really get that? I have been on my face before him praying for those I love and sometimes it can wear me out. But, Jesus lives to intercede. He died to intercede. He conquered death. I pray that my faith will not fail. I pray that Jesus finds faith on the earth despite the darkness that is getting darker around us. We must pray for mercy and pray that those who cry out to JESUS will grow in their faith. As the dark gets darker I want to burn brighter. I want to be a light.



What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?36 As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-37

As always,

Sarah