"A PATHWAY TO PRAYER"

1. THANKSGIVING & PRAISE: Present your whole being to Him.
(Matt. 6:6,9)
"'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30)

A. Every day there is a new reason to do so.
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Ps 100:4)
"This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. 118:24)
B. Present your body in worship to Him.
"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Rom 12:1-2)
"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name." (Ps. 63:3-4)
"This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!' The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." (Lam 3:21-26)
C. Sing a new song unto the Lord.
"Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day." (Ps 96:1-2)
D. Allow Holy Spirit assisted praise.
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." (Jude 1:20-21)

II. CONFESSION & CLEANSING: Present your heart.
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." (Prov. 4:23)

A. Invite the Lord to search your heart.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." (Ps 139:23-24)
(Matt. 6:12,14-15)
B. Recognize the danger of deception.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jer 17:9)
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
(I Jn 1:6-10)
(Ps. 32)
C. Set a monitor on your mouth & heart.
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Ps. 19:14)
"My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding." (Ps. 49:3)
"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips." (Ps. 141:3)
"I said, 'I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.'" (Ps 39:1)
(James 3)
D. Keep His purposes & goal in view.
"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
(Ps 90:12)
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3:7-14)
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren." (Rom 8:28-9)
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10)
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:12-13)
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matt. 6:10)

III. ORDER & OBEDIENCE: Present your day.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Pet 5:6-11)
"But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." (James 4:6-10)
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Rom 13:14)
(2 Cor. 10:3-5)(Eph. 6:10-18)
A. Surrender your day to God
"Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it." (Ps 37:4-5)
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matt 6:33)
(John 17:3; Phil. 3:10)
B. Indicate your dependence on Him.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."
(Prov. 3:5)
"LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul..." (Ps 131:1-2)
C. Request specific direction for today.
"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." (Ps. 25:4-5)
"And your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left." (Isa. 30:21)
D. Obey Jesus' explicit instructions.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt. 7:7-8)
"Give us this day our daily bread." (Matt. 6:11)

Following is a suggested prayer that can be prayed daily in addition to the above:

"I am grateful, Heavenly Father, that the Lord Jesus Christ triumphed over all principalities and dark powers. I claim that victory for my life today. I reject all accusations and temptations of Satan. I affirm that Your Word is true and I choose to live in the light of Your Word. Open my eyes and show me the areas of my life that do not please You. Work in me to cleanse me from all ground that would give Satan a foothold against me. I am thankful that You have made a provision so that today I can live filled the Holy Spirit - empowered to be a witness to my Lord Jesus Christ, with love and joy and peace,with long-suffering, gentleness and goodness, with meekness, faithfulness and self-control in my life. I recognize that this is Your will for me and I therefore reject and resist all the endeavors of Satan and his wicked spirits to rob me of the will of God. I come against every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. In my own life today I tear down the strongholds of Satan and smash the plans of Satan that have been formed against me. I tear down the strongholds of Satan against my mind, and I surrender my mind to You, blessed Holy Spirit, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and invite You into this place to have complete sovereign authority. I affirm, Heavenly Father, that You have not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I break and smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my emotions today and I give my emotions to You. I smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my will today, I give my will to you, and choose to make the right decisions of faith. I smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my body today, I give my body to You recognizing that I am Your temple. I rejoice in Your mercy & goodness. Heavenly Father, I pray that now and through this day You would strengthen and enlighten me, show me the way Satan is hindering and tempting and lying and distorting the truth in my life. I cover myself with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and pray that You, blessed Holy Spirit, would bring all the work of the crucifixion, all the work of the resurrection, all the work of the glorification, and all the work of Pentecost into my life today. Amen."

Have you taken your place with Christ in His death? By an act of faith you must lay hold of that death as your death; you must place Christ's Cross between yourself and "the body of sin." You must learn to refuse on the basis of your crucifixion the life of nature, the so-called "flesh life." You must take your stand with Christ on Calvary ground and each time that the "self-life" would assert itself, say: "In Christ I died. In His name , I refuse." This done, the Holy Spirit will bear witness to your faith and set you free, and keep you free. ("Bone of His Bone," F. J. Huegel, pp. 45-6, Zondervan Publishing House, 1940)

The Bible declares in Job 22:28 - "You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways." I declare/decree to you:

That the peace of God will enter into your mind and destroy all confusion sent by the enemy. (Phil. 4:7)
That the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Neh. 8:10)
That you will use wisdom when making decisions. (Prov. 4:7; James 1:5, 3:17)
That you will gain understanding of your God-ordained assignment. (Ps. 119:104)
That the plots of the enemy against you are canceled in the name of Jesus Christ. (John 10:10)
That the blessings of God will overtake you. (Deu. 28:1-2)
That you are a blessing to the nation. (Mal. 3:12)
That your children are purpose-filled by the Lord. (Matt. 21:16)
That no weapon formed against you will prosper. (Isa. 54:17)
That the healing hand of God will cancel every sickness or disease and replace it with wholeness. (Isa. 53:5)
That you are no longer a victim but a victor in Jesus' name. (1 John 4:4)
That He who has begun a good work in you will complete it in you. (Phil. 1:6)
That you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Phil. 4:13)
That your God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. (Phil. 4:19)
That the lies of man have no power over your life. (Ps. 110:1)
That the generational curses in your life are broken from your life. (Matt. 11:29)
That your finances are pressed, shaken together and running over with abundance. (Luke 6:38)
That you are blessed to be a blessing. (Hebr. 6:14)
That you are fearfully and wonderfully made by the hand of God. (Ps. 139:14)
That you are free to praise the Lord. (Ps. 150:6)
That you have the authority to bind every demon and ungodly spirit. (Matt. 16:19)

A PATHWAY TO PRAYER
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