Through prayer...

I found my notes taken during a conference concerning 8 points concerning a daily living in God's economy. I remembered the speaking brother mentioned concerning the key point, which is "through prayer".

Prayer is not mainly for asking good things for ourselves. Prayer is not mainly to ask God to heal the sick brothers and sisters in Christ. That's good but not good enough. Prayer is the base for our living in God's economy.

Here are the 8 points:

1. Through prayer, we seek first the kingdom of God - Matt. 6:33.
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

2. Through prayer, we live to the Lord - 2 Cor. 5:15; Rom. 14:7-8.
"And He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised." (2 Cor. 5:15)

"For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself; for whether we live, we live to the Lord, and whether we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore whether we live or we die, we are the Lord's." (Rom. 14:7-8)

- The Lord lives in us, therefore, we live, not just for Him, but also to Him.
- Rom. 14:7-8 are the verses that impacted me deeply. Whenever I go astray, I'm glad I'm the Lord's for the sake of His economy.

3. Through prayer, we consecrate ourselves to the Lord daily - Rom. 12:1.
"I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service."

- Consecration does not mean we become nuns or monks or hermits. Consecration means giving the Lord the freedom to work in us.

4. Through prayer, we cooperate with the central work of God - Eph. 3:17.
"That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being brooted and grounded in love."

- The central work of God is to make His home in our hearts through faith.

5. Through prayer, we become an open vessel to receive God's divine dispensing - Rom. 9:23; 8:6, 10-11.
"In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory." (Rom. 9:23)

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace." (Rom. 8:6)

"But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness....He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." (Rom. 8:10-11)

- The truth about our existence is that we are tripartite beings (with a spirit, a soul, and a body) and as such, we are vessels and God wants to dispense Himself into our entire being!

6. Through prayer, we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly - Col. 3:16.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom..."

7. Through prayer, we do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus - Col. 3:17.
"And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

8. Through prayer, we become one spirit with the Lord - 1 Cor. 6:17.
"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit."

Wowwww!

But then, when we are weighed down by earthly commitments and forget what our living should be, the Bible also has a whole lot of verses to remind us.

Matthew 13:22, "And the one sown in the thorns, this is he who hears the word, and the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches utterly choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."

Luke 21:34, "But take heed to yourselves lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down with debauchery and drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare."

So, the Bible reminds us...

Luke 21:36, "But be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man."

Matthew 6:31, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed?"

Philippians 4:6-7, "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses every man's understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."

1 Peter 5:7-8, "Casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you. Be sober; watch. Your adversary, the devil, a roaring lion, walks about, seeking someone to devour."

The human life is full anxiety. Human beings seek for all sorts of ways to de-stress, this & that. The real anti-anxiety factor is in us! The Lord, as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) is in us!

All verses are taken from The Holy Bible Recovery Version.