Litwithprayer Podcast

Last week we left our story with Queen Esther inviting her husband, the King of Persia, and his second in command, Haman, a descendant of the Amalakites, to a second banquet. Here, Queen Esther would make her request to the king. Haman did not have any idea that the queen was herself Jewish and related to Mordecai, the Jew.Although the decree to kill all the Jews had been set for a certain date and Haman was invited to a second banquet with the queen and king, he could not be happy because of his hatred towards Mordecai. Haman's wife and friends suggested he have gallows built specifically to hang Mordecai. They suggested that he ask the king if he could hang Mordecai  the next morning. This would finally make Haman happy and he could enjoy the banquet with the king and queen later that evening.That night before the day of the second banquet, the king could not sleep. He had one of his servants bring in the book of records and had it read to him aloud. The news that had been recorded gave an account of Mordecai saving the king's life when he overheard two of the king's personal servants' plan to kill him. Mordecai reported what he had heard and after an investigation was done, it was found to be true. The king asked what reward or what honor had been given to Mordecai and the servants reported that nothing had been done.As the king was thinking, Haman had entered the outer court and had planned to ask the king to hang Mordecai the next morning. When the king heard that Haman was in the outer court, he called for him to come into his chambers. He asked Haman to suggest an appropriate display of honor for someone that the king really wanted to honor. Haman immediately thought, “who else would the king want to honor other than me?”  He proceeded to suggest that a royal robe that the king had worn be put on the person and let that person ride the king's horse with the king's royal crest on its head. One of the king's princes would parade the person through the town square and proclaim to the people that he is the man that the king delights to honor.The king loved Haman's suggestion and told him to quickly go do it and be the person that parades Mordecai. What a shock and turn of events for Haman. He did as the king commanded and after he paraded Mordecai, he quickly went home with his head covered. He was humiliated and very upset. As he was discussing the matter at home with his wife and friends, the king's servants came to take him to the banquet.After the king had a great time at the banquet he asked Esther for her request. She could ask him for anything up to half of his kingdom. She asked that her life and the lives of her people be spared from being killed and annihilated. She said she would not have said anything if they had been sold as slaves, but being killed and destroyed was different. The king asked who was responsible and the queen said “the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” The king was furious and he went out into the garden while Haman begged Esther to spare his life. When the king came back inside Haman had fallen across the couch where the queen was sitting and the king accused him of assaulting the queen. The guards told the king that Haman had prepared gallows to hand Mordecai who had saved the king's life. The king ordered that Haman be hung on his own gallows. Mordecai later replaced Haman and became second in command to the King of Persia.Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/facing-imminent-danger-part-4?sd=pf

Queen Esther had a difficult decision to make which was a matter of life and death not only for herself but for her people. She had hidden her identity as a Jew and now a proclamation to kill all Jews had been decreed for a certain date. After fasting for three days and nights she made a decision to go into the inner courts of the king and wait to see  if she would be killed or given permission by the king to approach him. She said in a message to Mordecai, her uncle, “I will go to the king, which is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”  She went in faith and with courage.The king raised his golden scepter allowing Queen Esther to come and speak with him.  The Bible says that she found favor with the king and he asked her to give him her request. He said he would give her up to half of his kingdom. Queen Esther came prepared with her request. She didn't beg the king to save her people at that time. Here is her opportunity to make such a request, but instead she invites the king and Haman to come to a banquet that she has prepared for him. The invitation pleased the king so he quickly called for Haman and invited him as well.  Haman attended the banquet with the king and again the king asked Queen Esther for her request, up to half of his kingdom. Queen Esther invited the king and Haman back for another private banquet the next day and said she would make her request at that time. Haman was so happy on his way home from the banquet until he saw Mordecai the Jew. Mordecai would not bow to him and tremble before him. Haman was incensed, but restrained himself from doing anything at that moment. He didn't want to spoil the memory of being with the king and queen at the banquet. When Haman got home he gathered his wife and friends and bragged about the banquet, his riches, his blessings, his many children, and how he had been promoted. But he did reveal what was truly in his heart. With all of his great riches, family, and promotions, when he saw Mordecai sitting at the king's gate (the town square where business is conducted), these great things meant  nothing to him. His hatred toward Mordecai was greater than the good fortune he was experiencing.  The evil heart is never satisfied. Haman could not fully enjoy all of his worldly blessings and his family as long as he saw Mordecai disrespecting him.  You may be wondering, “Why didn't Mordecai show respect and bow to Haman?” The book of Esther does not give the reason for Mordecai's refusal, but it does describe Haman as the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. Haman came from the lineage of Agag, former king of Amalek. The Amalekites had been enemies of the Jews for many centuries because they were the first to attack them when they came out of Egypt and continued to have battles with them as recorded in the Old Testament. Some historians believe that Haman may have worn a pagan symbol or idol. Bowing to an idol goes against God's law which is Jewish law (Exodus 20:2). When Mordecai is referred to as, “the Jew,” it would be customary for a Jew not to bow to an idol or pagan symbol.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, sexual immorality,  thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” God does not look at the outward appearance of a person, but what is in a person's heart (I. Samuel 16:7). What comes out of the mouth, your words, comes from your heart and the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. (I Chronicles 28:9).Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/facing-imminent-danger-part-3?sd=pf

Last week we left the story of Esther with a death sentence over the Jewish people. The wicked Haman had talked the King of Persia into signing a proclamation that on a certain day all the Jewish people would be killed, including women and children, young and old. Haman allowed his hatred for Mordecai, the Jew, to include every person who was of the Jewish race.Little did Haman know that Queen Esther was also a Jew. She kept her identity a secret because her uncle told her not to reveal it. She was orphaned as a child when both her parents died, and was adopted by her Uncle Mordecai. When the king was looking for a new queen to replace his disobedient wife, he had his men search his kingdom for the most beautiful young virgin women who would be considered as the next queen of Persian. Esther was one of the young women taken for this competition. Although it sounds glamorous the young women taken would all have to sleep with the king and if not chosen to be his queen, they would become a part of his harem and not have their own husbands or families.Esther was beautiful and lovely and found favor with the servants that helped her and when her turn came to visit the king, he fell in love with her and chose her to be his queen. Queen Esther could only visit the king when he called for her. If she were to go see him without being called, she would be killed unless the king lifted his golden scepter allowing her to visit. When news got back to Esther about the decree to kill all Jews, Mordecai asked her to go to the king and ask him to save her people.Mordecai made it clear to Esther that God may have chosen her to be in this position for such a time as this. He said if she did not act, God would deliver His people, but she would not be spared. If she kept silent she would not be spared according to Mordecai, but if she went to the king without being called she could be killed. She had to make a difficult decision and called for her people to fast from food and water for 3 days. Esther and all her maidens fasted as well.Read the rest here: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/facing-imminent-danger-part-2?sd=pf 

The midterm elections have been completed and you may be happy or upset at the outcome. Did you know that the Bible is full of stories containing lies, conspiracies and politics? In Ecclesiastes 1:9, the verse reads, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Although we have made technological advances and man's knowledge has increased over time, the nature of man is still influenced by good versus evil, light versus dark, and God's love versus Satan's hatred towards mankind.In the book of Esther one man's hatred towards another almost caused the slaughter of the Jewish people. During the reign of King Ahasuerus the Jewish people had been living in Persia. Many years before the land of Israel had been invaded by the Persians and the Jews were taken as captives to Persia. Although they were captives, the Jews continued their religious practices and served God among the Persian people who served idols.Mordecai was a Jew who became the enemy of one of the king's top leaders, named Haman. Haman had been promoted by the king and an order was given that all the king's servants who were within the king's gates had to bow and pay homage to Haman. Mordecai sat within the king's gate but would not bow or pay homage to Haman. The other servants told Haman and when Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow or pay homage he became very angry. The servants told Haman that the reason Mordecai gave for not following the king's rule was that he was a Jew.From that day on Haman decided that he would get rid of Mordecai and all of the Jewish people. He came up with a plan casting lots (like throwing dice) to set the future date of the genocide. He went to the king and told him that there were certain people scattered around Persia who had their own laws and did not follow the kings laws. He talked the king into signing a decree which set a date for the destruction of all the Jews, young and old. The decree allowed the killers to take all of their possessions as well. Once the king had signed the decree he could not go back on his word or change his mind. When Mordecai found out about the decree he was very upset and cried out to God for help.Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/facing-imminent-danger-pt1?sd=pf 

One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving with friends and family. It's the one day that most Americans take time to celebrate around a table, give thanks to God, and spend time catching up with each other. It's also the day that many Americans see as “turkey day” without any thoughts of thanksgiving to God.Throughout scriptures in the old and new testaments we see verses of giving thanks to God for His loving kindness, tender mercies, His goodness, His faithfulness, and awesome grace. (Psalms 106:1;I Thess. 5:18). King David in the book of Psalms wrote songs and verses  giving thanks and praises to God. Although he had many moral failures (committed adultery with Bathsheba and was responsible for the death of her husband), he was repentant and asked God for forgiveness. He had a very close relationship with God and through his lineage with Bathsheba, the Messiah would be born.In the book of Luke, there was an occasion when Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem near the border of Samaria and Galilee.  He came across ten lepers who cried out to Him and asked Him to have mercy on them. Jesus responded and told them to go and show themselves to the priest. Why would Jesus respond this way?During Jesus' time on earth leprosy was an incurable contagious disease. The disease is caused by a bacterial infection that grows slowly and affects the nerves, skin, and mucous membranes. Untreated the disease will eat away at skin, cause blindness, loss of fingers and other extremities of the body, and eventual death. Because the disease was contagious those that had leprosy had to be separated from their families and the general public. They formed their own small communities like this group of ten lepers. According to Biblical law, only the priest could declare a person clean after inspection and that person would be allowed back into society. Today, leprosy is curable with antibiotics and drug therapy. It is not a common disease and most new cases are found in India.The ten lepers had heard of Jesus and His healing and miraculous works. They did not come close to Him because it was against their laws to do so. Even from a distance they cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them. When Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest, they did as He said. They had faith for their healing and were obedient to do as Jesus instructed. They didn't wait to see if they were healed first, they followed Jesus' instructions. As they were on their way to see the priest, they were cleansed of the disease. One of the lepers when he saw he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God. He went back to Jesus, came close to Him and knelt by His feet and gave Him thanks. He was a Samaritan and not a Jew.Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Jesus commented that the only one that returned to give glory to God was this stranger (Samaritan). Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Arise, go your way: your faith has made you whole.”  He was already cleansed of the disease but if he had any missing fingers or disfigurement, his body was made whole.Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/why-be-thankful?sd=pf 

The Apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament in letters to the various churches such as the churches in Ephesus, Corinth, and Thessalonica. Although Paul was not one of the twelve disciples, he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Before he met Jesus, his name was Saul, Saul of Tarsus. As Saul, he was a highly educated Jew in the law, the scriptures, and was also a Roman citizen. Saul was a religious leader who knew the scriptures, kept the law, and thought that followers of Christ were the enemy of God. He was responsible for hunting down Christians and having them killed. After he had an encounter with the risen Jesus, he was converted, became a Christian and was renamed Paul. Paul dedicated the rest of his life to spreading the gospel, planting new churches throughout the region, and wrote letters to the churches when he was in prison. Because new Christians were coming out of paganism and idol worship Paul explained God's saving grace versus the law (10 commandments & the other 600 laws) and gave instructions to the churches. Although some of Paul's instructions and teachings were directed at the culture of his day some Christians today disagree on the true meaning of his teachings as it applies to our day and cultural norms. The Bible tells us to study the Word and become a good student rightly or correctly understanding the meaning of His Word. There are many passages that cause controversy among Christians, but are not major issues that would make a difference in one's salvation or going to heaven. Many times scriptural controversies distract us with the main message of God's love, our need for salvation, His saving grace, and our faith walk. Arguing with one another on scriptural teachings can be divisive, cause guilt, be judgmental, legalistic, and take our focus off what is most important.We will take one example and discuss whether men and women should wear hats or head coverings when praying or prophesying according to I Corinthians 11. Some people say men should not wear hats or caps in church because it is disrespectful to God. However, Jewish men wear Yamakas on their heads and it is very respectful. Some say long hair is the covering on the head and not a hat or fabric. Men should not have a head covering and do so by wearing their hair short, but women need to have long hair because they need to have their heads covered. Some say women should wear head coverings, hats, veils, in church but only certain religions and denominations practice this custom. Does wearing something on top of your head as a man or a woman make a difference to God? Will He hear your prayer only if you have your head uncovered as a man but covered as a woman? Will God hear your prayer only if you are a man with short hair but if you have long hair no? What about all the women with short hair? Will God not hear their prayers?The point is when reading scripture, we must also take into account the context of the message. What were the customs of that day and how did those customs relate to what the scripture was addressing. When we don't fully understand and know the answer, we can go to God and ask Him to reveal the meaning and give us understanding. When it comes to hats or no hats, short or long hair, a woman or man praying or prophesying, what is the Holy Spirit telling you? If you feel convicted that you should pray without a hat, then follow your conscience. Should your convictions be the same as someone else's? If God is telling you that you should have short hair, should you make others feel bad if they have long hair? How short is short and when does hair become long? read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/rightly-dividing-the-word?sd=pf

The four gospels in the New Testament give a different point of view of Jesus and His ministry on earth before He ascended into the heavens. However, each gospel showed Jesus doing good, healing the sick, performing miracles, and even raising the dead.There are more than 25 recorded accounts of Jesus healing the blind, the lame, the diseased, the demon possessed and even the dead. In most instances people asked and begged Him for healing. On other occasions He was moved by compassion. Jesus saw a sorrowful mother grieving over her son and He raised him from the dead during the funeral procession.  In most instances Jesus healed when He saw faith in action.One day, when Jesus had crossed over to a coastal town called Gennesaret, on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, people recognized Him. They immediately spread the word that He was there and they brought those that were sick. The people begged Jesus to let them just touch the hem of His garment. He didn't have to lay His hands on them because they had heard about Jesus and they believed that touching the hem of His garment would be enough to bring them healing. They were not disappointed. As many as touched His hem were made perfectly well.  Perhaps these people had heard about the woman with the issue of blood who was healed when she pushed her way through a crowd and touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Jesus did not know who had touched Him until He asked and she replied. The point is when people heard that Jesus was close to them they brought the sick, the lame, and those in need of healing to Jesus believing that He could heal them. They heard, they spread the word, and they brought people to Him. How much more should we, today, spread the word of Jesus, His loving kindness and grace towards us and those we know?  Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/point-of-contact?sd=pf 

Jesus spoke in parables and gave illustrations to help people understand the relationship between God and man. In the book of John Jesus says, “I Am the True Vine” and He goes on to say that His Father God is the vinedresser or gardener of the vineyard. We, His children, are the branches that are supposed to bear fruit.The vine is the lifeline of the plant and the branches grow from the vine. The role of the branches is to bear fruit and become more fruitful. Jesus said that the branches that bore no fruit would be cut off and those that bore fruit the Father would prune or cut back so that they could bear more fruit.Jesus said that if we abide in Him, relying on Him and not our independent selves, and He abides in us, we would bear much fruit. Without Him we can do nothing. Jesus wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him and as we draw our life from Him through His Word and Holy Spirit we would bear a lot of fruit.What is the fruit that we are to bear?  In the book of Galatians (Gal. 6:22-25) the fruit of the Spirit is listed as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The opposite of those characteristics are works of the flesh which include adultery, hatred, jealousies, envy, murders, drunkeness, sorcery, and the like (Gal. 6:16-21). Jesus wants us to depend on Him to change our character from the flesh driven desires of man to the character of Christ. To have a life of love, joy, and peace is so much better than a life full of anxiety and depression which is the fruit that comes from the works of the flesh. You may not be a murderer but how many times has social media made you envious of someone else's lifestyle, looks, or things?Why did Jesus use the term “bear” fruit and not “produce” fruit? We may think that the fruit we are to bear is saving more souls and preaching the gospel to more people. Bearing fruit comes from God working in us, and through us. Producing fruit is us trying to work for God to please Him by what we do. Our job is to believe and depend on Jesus, His Word, to help us in every area of our lives. We may go through unpleasant circumstances or a period of pruning where our Father is cutting off areas that are hindering our fruitfulness. Just like the vines, we will grow and become more fruitful. If you feel you are going through a period of pruning, stay close to Jesus who loves you so much, and know that this season will be short and you will bear more fruit from it. (Psalm 1:3)Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jesus-is-the-true-vine?sd=pf 

The Bible is full of prophecies from the old testament beginning in the book of Genesis and ending with the book of Revelations. The common thread throughout the Word of God is the story of Jesus Christ coming to redeem or pay for the salvation of mankind. When man sinned death was introduced and man's authority was given to Satan, God's enemy. When Jesus came, He paid the price for man's salvation on the cross and all who believe in Him and receive Him as savior have eternal life, a free gift. Along with salvation, man can take back his authority over Satan and do the works of Jesus through faith.During Jesus' time on earth, the Jews were under the rule of Rome. The people had to pay taxes to Caesar, they were governed by Roman rulers, and the Roman military made sure that there were no insurrections or attempts to take back their land. The Romans allowed the Jews to continue their worship of God in the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was very lavish with tons of gold and beautiful stones and was the center of Jewish life.In the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each one gives an account of Jesus predicting the destruction of the temple. Jesus warned that the temple would utterly be destroyed and no stone (temple walls) would be left on top of the other. He told His followers to watch and when they start to see armies surrounding Jerusalem, then they are to escape to the mountains and not go into the city again. Jesus said that the destruction would happen during their generation and warned that many would be killed.Jesus went on to say that Jerusalem would be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Jesus continued to predict that there would be wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilence, and many things that would cause men's hearts to fail because of fear and the expectations of bad things coming on the earth. Jesus warns and tells His followers to watch and pray and not get trapped in the cares of this life, drunkenness, and carousing. He tells us to watch what is going on and know the signs of the times. As Christians we are to live with the expectation that Jesus can return anytime but we are to continue His work while we are here.Shortly after Jesus made the prediction of the destruction of the temple, He was arrested and crucified, rose from the dead, and later ascended into heaven. Approximately 35 years after Jesus's crucifixion, there were rebels fighting against the Romans. Roman armies were camping around the city. Those who remembered Jesus's words escaped out of the city and did not return. In 70 A.D. During Passover many Jews were returning back to Jerusalem but were not allowed to leave.  The Roman general Titus attacked the city, fire broke out, and many were killed during the full destruction of the city. Those that listened to Jesus escaped. The Jewish accounts of the destruction were written by historians who survived and were eyewitnesses of the event.  Today, when there seems to be a war against Christian values and freedoms, remember, Jesus had already predicted this. He told us not to be fearful. He is with us always and we are to keep watch and pray. These are exciting times and God put you here during this time for His purpose. (Jer. 29:11; 1 Peter 2:9)Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/signs-of-the-times?sd=pf 

This week we conclude Jacob's journey from being a deceiver, running away from his greatest fear, becoming a victim of deception, paying the price, and finally maturing as a leader and returning to face his greatest fear.Throughout Jacob's journey we see that God was faithful to his Word and kept him safe and blessed him despite his many shortcomings. God was very patient and it took Jacob 20 years before he was ready to face his greatest fear. It was time for Jacob to become the leader of his household and separate himself from his father-in-law. He decided to go to his own homeland and face his brother Esau who swore that he would kill him because of what he had done. Although Esau sold his birthright with its many privileges for a pot of stew and was tricked out of the first born blessing, God had blessed him as well.  By the time Jacob left for his homeland, he had become very wealthy with livestock, servants, and possessions. Because Laban, his father-in-law, had deceived him many times and cheated him of his wages, Jacob and his family, servants, livestock left in the middle of the night without Laban or his son's knowledge. They left while Laban was away shearing his sheep. When Laban returned and saw they had left, he and his men pursued after Jacob. It took seven days but he caught up with them. During this time God had given Laban a dream and told him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob, neither good nor bad.” Although Laban could have harmed Jacob, God warned him not to entice him with rewards or threaten him with harm to force him to go back to Laban's household. It was God's will for Jacob to go back to his home. After Laban said his goodbyes and blessed his daughters and family, Laban and Jacob made an agreement of peace between their families. Laban returned to his home and Jacob continued on his journey.God took care of Jacob and now the final challenge was ahead of him. Jacob sent some of his servants to Esau with a message saying that he had flocks, donkeys, oxen, and servants and asked to find favor or grace in Esau's sight. Then the servants returned to Jacob and reported that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. Instantly Jacob became very  afraid and stressed out. He thought about his family and how they may get killed by Esau. Jacob decided to divide his group into two companies so if Esau attacked the front company, the second company could escape and may live.Jacob then prayed to God  for deliverance admitting that he was not worthy of God's mercies and that he was afraid. In his prayer he reminded God of His promises to keep things well with him and that he would have a great number of descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered. If he and his family are killed there would be no descendants. Jacob then sent his servants with large numbers of camels, goats, rams, and other livestock. They were to meet Esau and tell him that they were gifts from Jacob and that he was behind and will meet him. Jacob had three waves of gifts for Esau. While the gift presentations were done, Jacob was hoping that the gifts would calm his brother and he would spare the lives of his family. He took his wives and children and sent them further back for their protection should anything happen to him.read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/facing-your-greatest-fear?sd=pf 

God is faithful to His Word and His promises. In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised Abraham that He would multiply his descendants as the stars in the sky. He would be their God and give them a specific piece of land forever. From that promise came Isaac who was born to Abraham when he was 100 years old and his wife Sarah 90 years old. Isaac married Rebekkah and they had the twins Jacob and Esau. Although Esau was born first the birthright blessing went to Jacob.Jacob obtained the birthright blessings through deceit, but would experience being deceived by his uncle Laban. During his twenty years working for his uncle, he had been tricked into marrying Leah instead of her younger sister Rachel and had to work for 14 years to pay off his debt for Rachel. The next six years he would work to provide for his growing family and build his own wealth. God had promised Jacob that he would be blessed and while he was with Laban, Laban was blessed. Laban used Jacob and changed his wages ten times. Because God was with Jacob, Laban's wealth increased and naturally he didn't want the blessings to leave.Jacob wanted to go back to his home and take care of his own family. By this time he had many sons with Leah and one son, Joseph, with Rachel. He asked his uncle for his wages. Although Laban didn't want him to leave with his family he agreed to give Jacob all the spotted, speckled, and streaked livestock of sheep and goats. This was a good deal for Laban because he expected very few would go to Jacob. Jacob separated the livestock so they would not breed with Laban's flock and produce spotted, streaked, or speckled offspring. Any newborns that were speckled, spotted, or streaked would go to Jacob.Jacob continued to take care of the livestock and did something unusual. When the animals would go to the water troughs to drink, he put in some sticks of peeled poplar, chestnut, and almond branches so that the white parts would be exposed. When the animals came to drink they would also breed.  Jacob used the sticks when the stronger flocks would drink and remove them when the weaker ones came to drink. When the animals gave birth they produced spotted, speckled, and streaked offspring. Remember, these animals were not spotted, speckled, and streaked to begin with, so it was God that blessed Jacob.  The number of Jacob's flocks increased greatly and Laban could not cheat him out of his wages. It was plain to see the difference in the flocks. When Laban's sons began to complain that Jacob was becoming wealthy off of their father's flocks and Jacob could see that Laban had a different look on his face, Jacob knew it was time to leave. God also told him it was time to take his family and leave. Without telling Laban, Jacob took his family, his livestock, and possessions and left without saying goodbye.  God was faithful to His promise and blessed Jacob financially. Jacob was exceedingly prosperous when he left with livestock, camels, donkeys, and servants. By this time Jacob had matured and was the leader of his family. It took him twenty years but God was with him.You may be believing God for one or more of His promises to come to pass in your situation. Don't give up if it seems to be taking a long time. Keep speaking His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.(2 Tim. 2:13; Numbers 23:19) Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/god-is-faithful?sd=pf 

The Bible is such a wonderful book full of life's lessons, wisdom, and God's promises to His children. The Old Testament is full of stories that actually pertain to character development and God's patience towards His children. Last week we went over the story of Jacob, the trickster, who gets tricked into marrying the sister of his true love. He was promised Rachel, the younger sister who was beautiful, but woke up in the morning with Leah, the older sister. By morning Jacob was sober and could see that his new wife was Leah and not Rachel. As Jacob had tricked his father Isaac who could not see clearly, Jacob was now suffering from his own blindness on his wedding night.  Both Jacob and his father in law Laban have character flaws and use deceit to accomplish their goals. Jacob who bought Esau's birthright for a pot of stew and tricked his father into giving him the first born  blessing has now been tricked and has to work an additional 7 years  to pay for his wife Rachel. Why would God choose Jacob?God had made a promise to Jacob's grandfather Abraham and that promise was passed down to his father Isaac and then was passed to Jacob. The promise included a multitude of descendants, the promised land, and through his blood line all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Jesus the Messiah).One night as Jacob was escaping from Esau after stealing the blessing from his father, he camped out and had a dream. In this dream there was a ladder from the ground to heaven and angels were going up and down the ladder. Then God who was above said to Jacob that He was the God/Lord of Abraham and Isaac and He would bless him with the promises given to Abraham. He also said that He would be with him and keep him and bring him back to his homeland.Jacob woke up and made a vow to God saying that if the Lord would be with him, keep him and provide bread to eat and clothing to wear and bring him back to his father's house in peace then the Lord would be his God and he would give a tenth of all that God would give him. Later, Jacob would spend twenty years working for his uncle and father in law Laban. Fourteen years for his true love Rachel and the next six to build his wealth and provide for his family.God honors His promises and next week we will see how God provides financial blessings on Jacob in a very unusual way.  The point is that God keeps His Word and we as His children should remind ourselves that sometimes God's promises may take longer to manifest than we expect. God is more interested in changing our character first than changing our circumstances.  Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/the-promise?sd=pf 

The story of Jacob, the son of Isaac, and the grandson of Abraham is very interesting because when he was born, he was holding on to his twin brother's heel who came out of the birth canal first.  Jacob's name means supplanter (someone who replaces or overthrows a thing or someone) as in the case of Jacob replacing his brother Esau in the birthright and receiving the first-born blessing from their father Isaac. Jacob was known as a deceiver, a trickster, because of how he obtained the birthright and how he deceived his father for the blessing that should have gone to Esau. We can safely say that Jacob was not a person of good character in this stage of his life. He probably learned some of these things from his mother Rebekah who came up with the plan to deceive her husband Isaac. Jacob was Rebekah's favorite son and Esau was Isaac's favorite son.As we discussed last week, Jacob tricked his father and stole the first born blessing given by his father Isaac. When Esau returned from hunting, cooked a delicious meal for his father, and was expecting to receive his father's blessing, he was devastated to find that he had been tricked by his brother once again. He hated Jacob and had murder in his heart towards Jacob. Rebekah instructed Jacob to flee to her brother Laban's home until it was safe to come back. She instructed him to find a wife there as well.Little did Jacob know that his stay with Laban would take twenty years of his life and  he would never see his mother again. Jacob goes to Laban's house as instructed and helps him with his livestock business. After a month, Labon says to Jacob, “I need to pay you for your work. How much do you want?” Now Laban had two daughters, Leah, the oldest and Rachel the younger. Rachel was beautiful and Jacob had fallen in love with her. Jacob asked Laban to give his daughter in marriage to him and he would work for him for seven years. Laban agreed and Jacob happily worked for him knowing that he would have Rachel as his wife.Time went by quickly for Jacob because he loved Rachel very much. Seven years past and he asked Laban to give him Rachel to be his wife. A wedding feast was held and that night Jacob slept with his new wife for the very first time. Jacob may have celebrated too much because he didn't realize that Leah had replaced Rachel and in the morning Jacob discovered that he had slept with Leah and not Rachel.Jacob was not happy to find that he had been deceived by Laban and the two sisters. When Jacob confronted Laban, his father in law said that it was the custom in his country for the older daughter to be married first before the younger. How ironic that Jacob had supplanted his older brother for the birthright and blessing and now the older sister had supplanted the younger sister in marriage to Jacob. Laban had a solution, he told Jacob to fulfill his honeymoon week with Leah and agree to work another seven years for him and he would give Rachel to him as his wife as well. Jacob agreed and fulfilled his week with Leah and then received Rachel as his second wife.Fortunately for Jacob, he didn't have to wait another seven years. He loved Rachel more than Leah and Leah knew it.Jacob, the deceiver and trickster, gets deceived himself. What a shock it must have been to finally finish seven years of labor and discover that he had married the wrong wife.Did Jacob reap what he sowed? He deceived his father and stole from his brother and had his mother as an accomplice. At this point in his life he is working for love and gets cheated out of his first love. What an emotional experience that must have been. But Jacob had a promise of blessings on his life from God.Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/reaping-what-you-sow?sd=pf 

Last week we focused on  Esau and Jacob, twin brothers, and how each valued the birthright of the first born male. Esau was born first with Jacob hanging on to his heel when he was born. As an adult, Jacob was willing to take advantage of his brother's weaknesses for his own benefit and Esau put more value on satisfying his fleshly appetite over his birthright. By his actions and in the spur of the moment decision, Esau despised his birthright when he sold it to his brother for a meal of lentil stew. In the Jewish culture the birthright determined who would become the family leader and receive a double portion of the family inheritance.Isaac, the father of Esau and Jacob was getting old, could not see very well,  and he wanted to pass on the blessing of the oldest son before his death. He asked Esau  to go hunting for game and then make him his favorite dish so he could enjoy it and then bless him as the oldest son. Rebekah, Esau's mother heard isaac speak to Esau and had a better idea. Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob and Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau. She told Jacob that she would prepare a delicious meal for Isaac her husband and that he should pretend to be Esau and go and get the blessing instead of Esau.Rebekah prepared a great meal from goats meat for her husband and Jacob took it in for him to eat. Now Esau was a hairy man and Jacob had smooth skin. Jacob was worried that he might get caught and be cursed instead. Rebekah had more tricks up her sleeve. She had Jacob take animal skin and put it on his hands and on his neck, she clothed him with Esau's clothes, so he would smell like him and sent him in. Isaac was a little suspicious because he said how did you get this game animal so quickly. Jacob lied and said that God had blessed him and he was able to get the animal very quickly. Jacob said you sound like Jacob and he started to feel his arms and said, but you feel like my son Esau. Since he couldn't see properly, he asked Jacob if he really was Esau and Jacob lied and said yes.Isaac blessed Jacob with the birthright blessing of the oldest son. He pronounced blessings and prosperity over him and gave him the blessing of ruling over their family. He blessed Jacob with the blessings of Abraham which would be passed down from generation to generation. Jacob deceived his father and pleased his mother. As soon as Jacob left his father, Esau came in with his savory meal prepared for his father. When he found out that Jacob had already been there and received his blessing, he started sobbing and asked his father if he had a blessing left for him.  Isaac was very upset for he knew that he had been deceived but he could not take back the blessing. He did give Esau a blessing, but it was not the birthright blessing. From that day on Esau hated Jacob and wanted to kill him because he had taken advantage of him with the birthright sale for stew and now the first born blessing was stolen from him.Rebekah heard that Esau had murder in his heart towards Jacob so she instructed Jacob to leave and go to her brother's place for safety and find a wife there. She would let him know when it would be safe for him to return. Little did she know that she would never see her favorite son Jacob again. He was gone for many years and Rebekah died before his return.Isaac and Rebekah played favorites with their sons and it only caused more trouble and heartache. Although it was prophesied that Jacob would become the leader of the family, Rebekah's plans for her son's blessings would later cause him heartache and he would be greatly deceived by Laban, Rebekah's brother.Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/the-birthright?sd=pf 

In the book of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, the genealogy or blood  line of Jesus Christ is recorded starting from Abraham who begat Isaac who begat Jacob and so forth continuing for forty more generations until finally the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Messiah, was promised to come from the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Isaac married Rebekah when he was forty years old. Rebekah could not have children until twenty years later after Isaac had pleaded with God to let her become a mother. God answered Isaac's request.  When Rebekah was pregnant she was having some physical discomfort and asked God if everything was fine why was she having these physical issues. God told her that she had two nations in her and one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger. The discomfort she was experiencing was from her children struggling within her womb. When she gave birth, there were twins, the first was very red and hairy. They named him Esau. Hanging onto Esau's heel was the second baby and he was named Jacob.  The name Jacob means supplanter (one who wrongfully seizes and holds the place of another).The significance of the birth order of Esau and Jacob is the birthright. The oldest son would become the leader of the extended family and he would receive a double portion of the family's inheritance. Being the oldest son had its privileges. As adults, Esau was a man's man, a skillful hunter, an outdoors man and the favorite son of his father. Isaac loved eating the game that Esau would bring home from hunting. Unlike Esau, Jacob preferred to stay home and was a tent dweller. He was the favorite son of his mother.One day Jacob had cooked a delicious stew and Esau came in from the field and asked Jacob to feed him. He said he was very weary and was about to die because he needed food.  Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright today.”  Unfortunately, Esau did not consider the value of his birthright and he swore and agreed to exchange his birthright for bread and  the stew of lentils that Jacob had prepared. He ate and drank and left despising the birthright. Although Jacob took advantage of his brother at a weak moment, his brother being the oldest, should not have made that agreement. He devalued his birthright and sold it for one meal. Esau allowed his flesh, his appetite, his stomach to rule over his sense of doing the right thing no matter how much it hurt at the time. His excuse was, “What is the value of a birthright if I am about to die right now?” He didn't care at the moment.When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you become part of God's family and you inherit the promises of God through faith. How many times have you allowed your flesh, your appetites, to overrule what you know is the right thing to do. We have weak moments and unfortunately we regret some of the decisions we make without thinking of the consequences. Despite our bad decisions, we can ask God to forgive us and help us through our weaknesses. God says that there is no temptation that is common to man that we cannot escape through Him. He is faithful to help us. (I Corinthians 10:13) Let's value our birthright through Christ Jesus and live an abundant life. (John 10:10)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jacob-and-esau?sd=pf 

Triple Blessings - Numbers 23-25 This week we conclude the story of Balaam. He is hired by the King of Moab to curse the Israelites who have just moved into the land of  Moab. Balaam is a sorcerer who seeks knowledge and power from God but also prays to false gods which have demonic spirits. Balaam is not a prophet of God, but in the Bible God answers him when he asks God about cursing the Israelites. Balaam practiced his art for money. Even though God told him not to go to the King of Moab, and not to curse the Israelites because they had been blessed by God, Balaam did what he wanted. Although an angel almost killed him, Balaam kept negotiating with God and finally God allowed him to go, but told him to only speak what God tells him. Finally arriving at his destination, the King of Moab was very excited to have Balaam with him. Now, he could do what he was paid to do and curse the Israelites. Three separate times, in three different locations, 7 altars were built and burnt sacrifices of bulls and rams were offered on each as offerings to God. Balaam would go pray to God and then return to speak the word of the Lord before the King of Moab. Balak, the king, expected to hear curses but instead, words of great blessings over the Israelites came out of Balaam's mouth. Changing locations had the same results. God had already told Balaam that the Israelites had His blessings on them. Perhaps Balaam thought if they gave a lot of sacrificial offerings to God, He would change His mind. Naturally, the King was very angry at Balaam, but Balaam reminded him that he could only speak what God tells him. But, Balaam doesn't  give up. He knows he can't curse the Israelites, but he also knows that God wants His people to worship Him and no idols and false gods. Their disobedience to God's commandments would bring God's anger on them.  Balaam advises the king to send women to the Israelites to tempt them  to party, go to their festivals, become sexually immoral and have them worship their gods. Unfortunately, this plan worked and in the end 24,000 disobedient Israelites died. Balaam and King Balak were eventually killed when the two nations went to battle. During one of the blessings,  Balaam spoke these words from God, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent (change His mind). Has he said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) In today's world when truth and lies are hard to distinguish, knowing that God's Word is the truth and we can rely and trust in His Word/Bible should encourage and reassure us as we grow in our faith. God does not lie and His promises are yes and Amen for His children. (2 Cor. 1:20) God has a great future for you and He loves you beyond any measure. (John 3:16; Jer. 29:11) Remember, you are blessed and you can speak blessings over yourself and your family each day.Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/triple-blessings?sd=pf 

Last week we discussed the situation of Balaam, who seemed like a prophet of God, but was actually described as a prophet who practiced divination (an evil practice of sorcery, fortune telling, and black magic), completely against God's Word. The Israelites were warned and commanded not to practice those arts and were subject to stoning if they were caught. (Leviticus 20:27)Balaam received God's message that he was not to go to the king of Moab and put curses on the Israelites because they had already been blessed by God. He, however, was tempted to find a way where he could obey God, but also get the riches and rewards that the king promised him. Unlike true prophets of God (Elijah), who refused any money for miracles, Balaam was paid for his “blessing & cursing” services. Balaam was open to God and the many demonic spirits that would give him supernatural knowledge and power to bless and curse.Although Balaam was already told by God not to go to the king of Moab he made a second request to God. This time God said, “If the men come to call you, rise up, and go with them; but yet the Word which I shall say unto you, you shall do.” We can surmise that the men did not come to call him first, because he had already gotten up the next morning and saddled his donkey to go with them. The next verse says that God's anger was aroused because he went with them.As Balaam was riding his donkey, the donkey made some moves on her own and would not go where Balaam was directing her. The Bible says that the donkey could see an angel with a sword in front of him so she steered away from the path into a field. Balaam hit his donkey and directed her back on the path. Again the angel appeared in front of the donkey and this time there was a wall on both sides of the road and the donkey veered towards one wall crushing Balaam's foot. Balaam hit his donkey again. The angel went further up the road where there was a narrow pass and the donkey would have to run into the angel if she continued. This time the donkey just laid down on the ground before getting close to the angel. Balaam was so angry that he hit her with his staff.Then God opened the mouth of the donkey and she spoke to Balaam asking him why he had hit her three times. He replied that she had abused him and if he had a sword he would have killed her. The donkey replied that she had been obedient since she came into his possession and had never done such things before. God opened Balaam's eyes and he was able to see the angel with his sword drawn. The angel asked Balaam why he had struck the donkey three times. He went on to tell him that he would have killed him and let the donkey go. Balaam confessed that he had sinned and he didn't know that he stood in his way. He asked if he should go back and the angel told him to go with the men to the king but only speak what God tells him.Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/angels-and-talking-animals?sd=pf 

Blessings & Curses: Numbers 22-1-21 When the children of Israel were on their journey to the promised land, they moved and camped in the plains of Moab which was on the side of the Jordan river across from the city of Jericho. The inhabitants of the land had heard of their exploits and how the God of Israel had delivered them. The Moab people were very upset and afraid. The king of Moab, named Balak, sent his princes to call on the services of Balaam who was a practitioner of divination. Divination was the art of revealing the future and using supernatural means to cause good fortune or curses. Although Balaam sought supernatural knowledge and acknowledged God, he was not called a prophet of God in the Bible but a diviner. In the old testament the practice of divination was against God's law. In Deuteronomy 18:10-11 God tells the Israelites that when they come into the promised land they are not to follow the ways of those nations. They are not to practice divination, witchcraft, fortune telling, consult spirits, interpret  omens or use sorcery. Balaam was hired for a fee to put a curse on the Israelites. He had the reputation of successfully blessing or cursing people. King Balak sent his princes on a long journey to get him. He told the princes to stay the night while he sought a word from God. God asked Balaam, “Who are these men with you?” Balaam replied that  they came from King Balak and were sent so he could accompany them and put a curse on the people who had come out of Egypt. King Balak wanted to defeat and push them out of Moab. God told Balaam not to go with the princes and said, “you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” In the morning Balaam sent the princes of Balak back home to tell the king that God had not given him permission to leave. He left out the message that God had blessed the Israelites and he was not to curse them.   The king sent back more honorable and important people to ask Balaam to return with this group and he promised Balaam honor and whatever he wanted. Although God had told him “no” the first time, Balaam said, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.”  However, he said he would seek what God had to say that night. Again Balaam sought God and this time God said, “If the men come to call you, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto you, you shall do.” The scripture does not say whether the men the next day came to call on Balak or if Balak got up himself and got ready to go. The  next verse says that Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. The next verse says that God's anger was aroused because he went with them. Balak disobeyed God and  his heart was set on getting wealth. Perhaps he thought he could place the curse, make a lot of money, and it wouldn't make a difference because the Israelites were blessed. But God told him not to curse them when He told him not to go. Have you prayed and felt that God was telling you what you should do, but deep down you wanted a different answer? Perhaps you were praying about taking a certain job  that would pay more but it would take up your Sundays and you couldn't go to church or you would be working so much and wouldn't be spending enough time with your family.  Perhaps there's a toxic relationship or bad influence in your life that you know you need to end, but you are afraid of being alone. Have you been tempted to read a horoscope to get guidance on what you should do rather than seeking God. Have you given God scenarios like “if you want me to do this then make this happen…?”Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/blessings-and-curses?sd=pf 

Jesus Opens Blind Eyes John 9:1-41 When Jesus read Isaiah 61 He said that He was anointed to preach recovery of sight to the blind. There are several stories of Jesus healing the blind, but one story stands out because it was of a man who had been born blind. Jesus took dirt and made mud with His saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the mud and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.The man obeyed Jesus and went and washed his eyes. As soon as he did, he was able to see clearly. Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath which was against their religious traditions. On the Sabbath, the Jews were commanded to rest and not do any work. When the religious leaders heard that this man had been healed by Jesus on the Sabbath, they were very critical and called Jesus a sinner. The religious leaders were themselves blind because they didn't recognize that Jesus was sent from God to heal those who were physically blind as well as spiritually blind. The religious leaders didn't celebrate the miracle of sight for the blind man because their traditions were more important to them.  The good news is Jesus still opens blind eyes today. He can heal you physically and open the eyes of your understanding and give you wisdom. Whatever your need, take hold of God's Word and ask Him to make it a reality in your life. God wants you well and He wants you to see through the darkness of this world. Jesus is our light and His Word will guide us. God's Word never changes and all His promises for you are there when you take them and believe. (John 3:16)Read the rest here: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jesus-opens-blind-eyes?sd=pf

“All these (God's commandments) I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” (Matt. 19:16) These were the words of the rich young ruler who ran up to Jesus, knelt before Him, and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus went through many of the commandments, “do not commit adultery, do not lie, do not steal, do not murder, honor mother and father, love your neighbor as yourself,” of which the rich young ruler said, “all these have I done.”  Here the young man states that he has been doing all of the right things since he was a youth. Jesus loved this young man and He told him that he lacked one thing. Jesus told him to go and sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and to come and follow Him. Jesus told him he would have treasure in heaven. Why did Jesus tell him to do this? The young man wanted to know what he needed to do. Jesus gave him something to do, but it was something that he truly didn't want to do, because his wealth and possessions were more important to him than to give them up to follow Jesus.  Jesus revealed what was in the heart of this young man, who thought his performance of keeping the laws and commandments since he was young, and perhaps he thought his wealth and stature in the community was proof of his “good and righteous” living. This young man knew he needed something because he ran, knelt, and asked Jesus for the answer.  Did he want reassurance from Jesus that he was righteous and he would have eternal life? How many of us think that we are going to heaven because we live a “good” life and we do “good” deeds or we are very “religious?” Compare this young wealthy ruler with Zaccheus who climbed a tree to see Jesus when people were all around Him. Zaccheus was a tax collector who made his money off the people and he was hated by them. He cheated them out of their money because of his position as a tax collector. When Jesus went to have dinner with him in his home, Jesus didn't tell him to do anything with his wealth, but Zaccheus had a change of heart and said in Luke 19:8-10:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”What a difference. Jesus looks on the heart and He wants us to have a change from the inside out. Jesus came to let us know that we are all lost without Him. We can't earn our way to heaven or be good enough.Read the rest here: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/the-rich-young-ruler?sd=pf

Last week we talked about Jesus' message of freedom, deliverance and liberty from the following text He read in Isaiah 61. Jesus was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poorHe has sent Me to heal the brokenheartedTo preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blindTo set at liberty those who are oppressedTo preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” The word “gospel” is translated from the Greek and means a proclamation of “good news.” Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor. Why the poor and not the wealthy? Jesus came to save everyone (John 3:16), but He said it was much harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:23). When a rich young ruler came to Jesus he asked Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. The young man said that he had kept all of the commandments. Jesus knew that money was a hindrance so He told the young man to go sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor, and to come and follow Him. The young man was saddened by this request because he had many possessions and he didn't want to give them up. One who is rich has money to rely on and it's harder to let go of it, whereas a poor person has nothing to rely on and very little or nothing to give up. When the good news is preached, the poor do not need any money to receive salvation. It is a free gift to anyone who will believe and receive, whether rich or poor. But the good news is not only for eternal life after one leaves this world, it is the good news that you don't have to remain poor in this life as well. The promises of God for believers is that He would meet our needs and He would bless us (Phil 4:19; Psalm 23). Not only does God want to save you, He wants you to live an abundant life because He loves you so much. All He asks is that you believe and trust in Him for everything in your life. (John 10:10)Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jesus-preaches-the-gospel-to-the?sd=pf 

This week we celebrated our country's Independence Day when the original colonies declared their freedom from British rule. We remember the sacrifices that were made to give us freedom that we enjoy today. As followers of Jesus we enjoy freedom from sin and remember the sacrifice that was made on the cross for our behalf. Jesus paid the price for us because He loved us and wanted us to be free from sin and have everlasting life. When Jesus first started His ministry, He was baptized in water and then filled with the Holy Spirit. He was led into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. Afterward He went about preaching and teaching with great wisdom and power. When He returned to His hometown in Nazareth, Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and was given the book of the prophet Isaiah to read. Jesus stood and read the following (isaiah 61:18)   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poorHe has sent Me to heal the brokenheartedTo preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blindTo set at liberty those who are oppressedTo preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”When Jesus finished reading from Isaiah 61, he stated, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus came to deliver the captives and set at liberty those who are oppressed. In John 8:32 it says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” When you are struggling with challenges like addictions, self doubt, or unbelief that God wants the very best for you and has a great plan for your life, read the truth. What does God say about your situation? As you read God's Word, you are transforming your mind everyday and becoming free from life's hindrances and challenges. (Romans 12:1) Celebrate your freedom today!Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jesus-preaches-freedom?sd=pf 

After Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy spirit  descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice from heaven said,”You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” From that moment Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was led  into the wilderness where he  didn't eat anything and was tempted by the devil for forty days. The devil tempted Him in every way he could and towards the end when Jesus was hungry, He challenged Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God by commanding a stone to become bread. But Jesus only answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.'”Jesus was quoting scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 when God fed the Israelites manna every morning. Manna was bread that came from heaven each day to feed the Israelites. They had to consume their daily ration and not save any for the next day. If they tried, the food would be spoiled or rotten. God was teaching them to rely on Him for their daily bread or daily needs.When temptation came from the devil, Jesus used the Word of God against him. Jesus at this point was hungry and physically weak after not eating for forty days. Satan tried the same trick or  temptation he used with Adam and Eve in the garden. He tempted Eve with forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that he said would give her wisdom and be like God. She ate of the fruit and also gave it to Adam who also ate in disobedience to God. Jesus is referred to as the second Adam. The first Adam did not use the Word of God when tempted to eat of the fruit,  but Jesus, the second Adam, did not fall for Satan's trickery. He used the Word of God and did not try to prove He was the Son of God by doing what Satan asked Him to do. Jesus knew Who He was and didn't need to obey Satan's request to prove it. We are always faced with temptation, but do we use the Word of God to overcome it? Jesus knew Who He was and we should know who we are in Christ Jesus.  When we give our lives to the Lord, we become new creations and the children of God. Our identity is what God says who we are. We are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, we are redeemed, we are saved, we are healed, we are a chosen and holy people, we are God's handiwork made in His image. (Deut. 28:13; Eph 2:10) So when you are tempted to beat yourself up for something you feel guilty about, when you are tempted to fear and be anxious, or tempted to do something you know is wrong, use the Word of God as your weapon and live a victorious life through Jesus Christ, our Savior. (Romans 8:37)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/fight-temptation-with-gods-word?sd=pf  

One interesting story in the Old Testament is about Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90 years old when Isaac, their only son,  was born. God had promised Abraham that he would have a son with Sarah even though she was past child bearing age. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that through his child with Sarah the nations of the earth would be blessed. One day God made an unusual request. He asked Abraham to take his son, his only son, whom he loved, to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains.  Abraham took Isaac and two other men and traveled to Moriah. When they were close, Abraham instructed the men to stay and said that Isaac and  he would go and worship and return back to them. Abraham knew that God had told him to sacrifice Isaac, but he had faith to know that he and Isaac would return. Did he think that God would raise Isaac from the dead after the sacrifice?And why would God ask him to sacrifice, kill his only son, that was the promised child? Abraham trusted God that He would return Isaac back to him even after death. As Abraham and Isaac were walking towards the place where the sacrifice would be held, Isaac asked his father “where is the sacrificial lamb for the burnt offering?”  Isaac had no idea that he was the sacrifice! Abraham replied and said, ”My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” After Abraham built the altar and placed the wood on it, he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood.   The Bible doesn't say if Isaac resisted or complied, but He must have trusted his father to be willing to be tied up and placed on the altar. Abraham takes a knife and is about to kill his only son, when an angel from God calls him from heaven and tells him not to kill his son. He tells Abraham that God  now knows that he completely trusts God and he is willing to do what God asks him, even to sacrifice his only son. God was testing Abraham to see if he honored Him more than his promised son.  Abraham proved himself and God provided a ram whose horns were caught in the thicket. Abraham frees his son, sacrifices the ram and then they both return back to the men and then back home. In this story, Abraham is a picture of God our Father and Isaac, a picture of Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb, who ultimately dies to take away our sins. God tested Abraham to see if he would give up his only son, the one he loved dearly, to follow what God had instructed him. But, Abraham had great faith to believe  that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead. So when God the Father sent Jesus His Son, He was willing to give His only begotten Son “that whosoever believed in Him, would not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) And Jesus was willing to go to the cross and suffer to pay for our sins. Jesus knew He would rise from the dead after three days and three nights, but He also understood the pain, suffering, and separation from His Father that He would have to endure.  If Abraham was willing, God was willing. Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/abraham-tested-by-god?sd=pf 

Prayer was such an important part of Jesus' lifestyle that He would break away from the crowds that followed Him to go and pray to His Father (Matthew 14:23). Often He would go alone up on a mountain or into a secluded place.  One day the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. What Jesus taught them is known as the Lord's prayer and it is an example of how we can pray as well. The original King James Version uses old English that we don't use today. However, many of us may have memorized it when we were children. The following is from the New King James version. “Our Father in heaven,Hallowed  be Your name.(holy and praise be to Your name )Your kingdom come.Your will be doneOn earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts,As we forgive our debtors.And do not lead us into temptation,But deliver us from the evil one (or evil).For Yours is the kingdom and thepower, and the glory forever.  Amen.”   This prayer was given to the disciples before Jesus went to the cross. After Jesus died, rose from the dead, and went up to heaven,  the old covenant of law (Old Testament/agreement) was fulfilled. Jesus brought the new covenant (New Testament)  of grace and truth through faith  which  was paid by His shed blood. Should we pray this prayer today or use it as an example of how to pray? We can use this example for prayer, but keep in mind that this was directed to the Jewish people during Jesus' time as they were transitioning from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament because He came to be the perfect sacrifice that would pay for our sins once and for all if we accept Him into our hearts and make Him our Lord and Savior. As we start with the prayer, we should give praise and honor to God our Father. As we continue in prayer we can pray for spiritual and physical needs. Today, as a Christian, the kingdom of God is within us because Jesus our king reigns in our hearts. We ask for His will to be done in our lives. We can also ask for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Is it God's will to heal, to forgive, to save? Yes, so let's pray for others as well.Jesus is our daily bread and as we read, hear, and  study the Word we are able to feed our spirit being and grow in faith. We can also pray for our physical needs to be met. Thank God we have our debts  or sins forgiven because of Jesus. When we ask Him to forgive us of our sins and we receive Him by faith, we are forgiven. As we have been forgiven, we should also forgive those that have sinned against us. Does God lead us into temptation if we don't pray against it? James 1:13-15 says that God does not tempt man but man is tempted by his own desires. We are to pray that God delivers us when we are going through trials and temptations. God says that He will never allow temptations that are more than we can handle (I Cor. 10:13).Temptations can include unbelief, doubt, and fear.   Finally, glory, honor, and power are  the Lords Amen. As Christians we conclude or include the name of Jesus in our prayers (John 14:13-14) because the power is in the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:9-10).Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jesus-always-honored-his-father?sd=pf

Throughout the Bible we read stories of people who faced fearful circumstances and yet chose to obey God. One such story is in the book of Daniel during the time when the Jews were in captivity in Babylon. The prophet Daniel had already faced the lions in the lion's den and was delivered unharmed. Daniel's friends, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego, would also go through a testing time where their faith would be challenged. The Babylonians did not serve the God of the Jews, but served their own man-made gods and idols. When Daniel revealed King Nebuchadnezza's dream and the interpretation of it, the king promoted Daniel to be the head administrator in the Babylonian kingdom. The king also stated that Daniel's God was the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets. Despite this, the king made an  image of gold that was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. The king had a dedication with all of the important leaders of the kingdom. There was an announcement that when musical instruments were played as a symphony, then all people who heard the music had to bow down and worship the image of gold. Whoever did not, would be thrown into a burning fiery furnace.   It was reported to the king that Daniel's three friends did not obey the king's decree when music was played. In fact, the king was told that these Jews did not serve the Babylonian gods or worship the golden image. The king became furious and commanded that the three be brought to him. When they came before the king, the king questioned them and gave them a chance to obey his decree or be thrown into the fiery furnace. The king added, “And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”   The three answered that their God would deliver them from the fiery furnace and the king's hands, but if not, they would not serve their gods or worship the gold image. Upon hearing this, the king became more angry and commanded that the furnace be heated up seven times more. He commanded certain mighty men of valor in his army to tie up the three with ropes and throw them into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the mighty men of valor were killed by the flames of the fire.  The king could see into the furnace and what he saw was completely amazing. He saw the three walking around in the furnace with no ropes, but they were still clothed. He also saw a fourth person with them whom he described looked like the Son of God. The king went closer to the furnace and called them to come out. When they came out, their clothes didn't even smell of fire and not even their hair had been singed. The king admitted that God had delivered them and he issued a new decree that any people, nation, or language who speaks against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego would be cut in pieces and their houses burned. The king then promoted the three of them into higher positions of leadership in the kingdom.Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/choose-god-over-fear-and-man?sd=pf

Speak the Word - Matthew 8:5-13 This week we celebrated Memorial Day to remember the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives serving in the military. They served to protect and keep us safe from enemies who wish to harm and dominate free people. They may have volunteered or they may have been drafted and had no choice. Once they were enlisted they had to be physically and mentally trained, educated in weaponry and their field of expertise, disciplined to follow orders and the chain of command. During the times of Jesus the Jewish people in Israel were ruled by the Romans. The Roman Empire was strong and covered north Africa, parts of Asia and Europe, and the middle east. Roman soldiers were foreigners who served many gods and goddesses. It was Roman soldiers that carried out the orders to crucify Jesus on the cross. On one occasion Jesus had entered the town of Capernaum and a Roman centurion (military leader in the Roman army) approached Him and pleaded with Him, saying “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” Jesus responded and said, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should  come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go', and he goes, and to another, ‘Come' and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this' and he does it.” When Jesus heard the centurion speak He was amazed and said to His followers, “Truly I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.”  Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way, and as you have believed, so be it done for you.” And the servant was healed that very same hour. The Roman centurion understood authority and He respected Jesus' authority to heal. Although he had a prestigious position in the military, he came to Jesus with humility and faith to plead on behalf of his servant. The centurion only needed a spoken word from Jesus. As far as he was concerned, once Jesus said the Word that was enough for him. As Christians we have the spoken Word in written form. We are to speak His Word (scriptures in Bible) when it comes to our circumstance and mix it with faith believing that what God has promised He will perform. Jesus said the centurion had great faith. If we want great faith then we must continue to hear the Word of God and speak to our circumstances. Faith can grow by hearing and hearing the Word of God. As we speak the Word the seeds of faith get planted in our hearts and grow.  As we meditate on God's Word we can expect to be prosperous and have good success.  (Joshua 1:8; Romans 10:8; Romans 10:17)Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/speak-the-word?sd=pf 

Elisha was a prophet of God that was trained by the prophet Elijah for many years before Elijah was taken up into heaven. He was given a double portion of his gift by God and performed twice as many miracles as Elijah. Elisha was consulted by the kings of Israel and Judah during their times of war. He would prophesy whether they would have victory and he was able to let them know the plans of the enemy. The king of Syria was at war with the king of Israel but it appeared to him that someone was telling their secret plans to the king of Israel. One of the  servants told the king of Syria about the prophet Elisha and how he knew even the things that he discussed in his bedroom. The king of Syria found out where Elisha was staying and sent a great army with horses and chariots to surround the city of Dothan.  In the morning, Elisha's servant got up and saw the great army surrounding the city. He said to Elisha, “what are we going to do?” Elisha told him not to fear because those that were with them were much greater than the army. Elisha then prayed to God to open his servants eyes so he could see into the spiritual world. God opened his eyes and he was able to see the whole mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. As the Syrian army approached Elisha and the city of Dothan, Elisha prayed to God to strike the army with blindness. God did and Elisha approached them and said that this was not the city and they should follow his directions and he would take them to the man they were seeking. Elisha led them to the king of Israel who was in Samaria. Elisha prayed to God to remove the blindness and He did. The soldiers found themselves captured by the army of Israel. God's prophets served God and were leaders who communicated God's messages to the people of Israel. God used them to give direction to the people and advise their leaders, to turn to God and away from idolatry. God showed His power through them with many miracles. The ministry of prophets exists today, but not in the same way because Jesus came and brought a new relationship between God and man.  Each person who receives Jesus as Savior has a direct relationship with God and can communicate with Him all the time. When we need protection from the enemy, God and His angels are around us. We do not need prophets like Elisha because we have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit within us. God's Word is full of promises regarding protection. When our enemies surround us, we are not to fear but to believe and pray. Your enemy may be depression, fear, addiction, anxiety, sickness, and physical danger. Protect yourself with the armor of God which is the shield of faith, sword of the Spirit, and the gospel of truth. (Ephesians 6:10-18) To remind you of God's love and protection for you, read and memorize Psalm 91 and personalize it to you and your loved ones.Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/god-is-our-protector?sd=fs

Clearing Your Vision  (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:41-42)Jesus spoke in many parables using stories and illustrations that even the simplest of people and children could understand. On one occasion Jesus was teaching on a subject that is very fitting for us today even in our culture.How many times are we quick to judge and condemn others? In Matthew and Luke Jesus tells us that we should not judge or condemn others until we have looked at ourselves. He illustrates this point by saying that before we try to remove a speck in someone else's eye, we need to remove the plank that is in our own eye first so we can see clearly. He is saying that we are looking and judging others on small things, but we have much bigger things in our own hearts that could condemn us. Before we criticize others, we need to look at ourselves and remove what is not good, which may be our negative or bad attitude, hatred, jealousy, unkindness, pride, self-righteousness, impatience, and other negative thoughts or behavior. He actually called people hypocrites who didn't judge themselves first. Jesus says to judge not, so that we will not be judged. When we judge others we will be judged the same way. How many times are we more harsh with others but want grace and mercy for ourselves? So does Jesus not want us to use good judgment when dealing with people who may seem dishonest or untrustworthy? God wants us to be wise and use good judgment. We are to look at the fruit of the person. What does this person produce? Do they have love, kindness, patience, and other good qualities? God looks at the heart and many times we look at the outer self. We may look at someone's attractiveness, their social standing, their money, and what appears to be good. We have to rely on the Holy Spirit to help us when it comes to dealing with people. If someone is a bad influence on your life, don't hang around with them. The Bible gives us guidance and tells us to guard our hearts and mind. What about others judging you? People are quick to judge and condemn and sometimes they can be your friends and family. Sometimes that person is you. Have you ever beaten yourself up emotionally or mentally because of mistakes or bad choices and behaviors? We all do, but thanks be to God, He knows your heart and He loves you so much. So whenever you want to criticize or condemn someone, look at yourself first. Clear your vision, so you can help others. If you are criticizing and condemning yourself, know that Jesus came to save and help you, not to condemn you. See yourself the way Jesus sees you, His child, forgiven, righteous through Him and deeply loved and highly favored.Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/clearing-your-vision?sd=fs

Two of Jesus' closest disciples were brothers, James and John, also known as the Sons of Thunder. Their nickname depicted their fiery disposition. On one occasion when Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Jerusalem they stopped in a village of the Samaritans and wanted a place to stay. They were rejected because they were Jews. The Samaritans and Jews did not get along. The brothers asked Jesus if they should call fire down from heaven to consume them because of their disrespect for Jesus. Jesus rebuked them and said, “you do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.” (Luke 9:55) John later became the author of the gospel of John, and 4 more books in the New Testament. Jesus picked John to take care of His mother when they were at the foot of the cross. John was also the only disciple that could not be killed even though he was boiled in oil and forced to drink poison. He was exiled to the Isle of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelations. It is interesting to note that John called himself, “the disciple that Jesus loved.” Spending time with Jesus was transformative. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, John was the only disciple that was at the foot of the cross with Mary the mother of Jesus, and other women who were followers of Christ. All of the other disciples had scattered because of fear. John had a revelation of how much Jesus loved him and he was not afraid to be by the cross or of the Roman soldiers and the Jewish religious leaders who were responsible for Jesus' death.  In 1 John 4:18, it says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” When we have a deep revelation of how much God really loves us, it is transformative. It's not how much we love Jesus, but how much we understand and know that Jesus loves us so much, more than we could even imagine.Having that confidence that God is for us and not against us and He loves us with all of our faults and shortcomings eliminates guilt, condemnation, and fear.Receiving Jesus Christ as your personal savior is the first step to a transformative life. (John 3:16)Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/sons-of-thunder-to-the-one-that-jesus

Jesus was a storyteller who spoke in parables to get His message across. Many of these parables were simple, but had truths that were hidden. When the disciples (followers of Christ, not just the twelve) wanted to get a deeper understanding, Jesus would explain the meaning of the parables.  What is interesting, is today as you and I read the Word of God, we may come across a parable that we don't quite understand based on what we read. In Luke, Jesus tells the story of a certain rich man who had a steward (business manager), who was in charge of the resources of his boss including all of his business affairs of selling and collecting payments for his boss. This steward was not doing his job. He was accused of wasting his boss's resources. His boss calls him in for an accounting and so he can fire him. The steward knows he's going to get fired, and he says to himself, “What shall I do? My boss is going to fire me, I cannot dig and do manual work, and I am too embarrassed to beg.” He comes up with a plan to secure his future. He goes to all of his boss's debtors and asks each one how much they owe. One said, “a hundred measures of wheat.” He tells him to take the bill and write eighty. Another says, “a hundred measures of oil.” He tells him to write fifty on the bill.The plan was to discount all of the debtors' bills so when he loses his job, the debtors will feel obligated to help him out. He did them a favor and saved them a lot of money, and now it would be their turn to do him a favor and provide for his livelihood. Now, you would think that the boss would be very upset that the steward had discounted the bills. On the contrary, he actually  praised the dishonest (unjust) manager for acting shrewdly and prudently or wisely. Jesus goes on to say that the sons of this age are more wise or shrewd than the sons of light or those that serve God and do what is right. The unjust manager was thinking ahead and made a plan to secure his future. Jesus was saying that this steward knew he was going to be fired for wasting his boss's resources, but made friends with those that could help him in the future. He was smart. As followers of Jesus, we have resources as well. God has given us our lives, bodies, minds, gifts, talents, time, and the ability to work and earn money. We are stewards or managers of what God has given us. We have probably wasted some of those resources on our own selfish desires and needs without thinking of the future. God wants us to be wise and use our talents, time, and treasure while we are on the earth, but also think about God's kingdom and what we are doing to expand it. Use what God has given you and think about the future. Use wisdom to turn your negative situation around, and also  use your resources to help spread the gospel so that more people will be saved and they will be your friends forever.Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/take-lessons-from-the-shrewd

The Choice is Yours Luke 23:39-43As we reflect on the great sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, most of us know the conversation that occurred between the two thieves that were on either side of Jesus.Both men were convicted criminals who were punished for their crimes. One of the thieves says to Jesus, “If you are Christ (the anointed Messiah) then save yourself and us.”  The other thief rebukes him and says “Don't you fear God? We deserve to die for what we have done, but this Man has done nothing wrong!” That thief addresses Jesus and says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” Jesus replies, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”The one thief asked Jesus to remember him. By Jesus' statement, the thief was saved from that point on and went to Paradise/heaven when he physically died. That thief  had enough faith to ask Jesus to remember him as he was dying and in his last moments before death. The other thief had the same opportunity after mocking Jesus and being rebuked by the saved thief, but chose not to reconsider and ask Jesus to remember him as well. Two men, with the same opportunity, make different choices. You may think that if you live a good life, unlike these thieves, you will go to heaven when you physically die. The Bible says that “all  have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” or have fallen short of God's standard. The only one who was sinless and met the standard was Jesus. We can never meet God's standard even if we think we are good people. The Word of God says,  “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17) The Bible also says that hating your brother/sister is like murder (I John 3:15) and “whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). What about things that are in your heart but you don't act on them? Jesus Christ said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;' but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27)The point is, whether you think you have lived a good life or deserve punishment like the thieves, you have a choice to make to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior or to reject Him. If you were born into this world you are automatically a sinner no matter how good or bad your behavior is. When you receive Jesus, you are reborn in your spirit-being and God sees you through the blood of Jesus which has cleansed you of all sin. In God's eyes you have met the standard because of Jesus. Does this mean you will never sin again? No, your spirit is reborn in Christ and God sees you righteous (in right standing with God) but you still have a body with fleshly desires, a soul with a mind, will, and emotions that need renewing by the Word of God each day. (Romans 12:2)  Once you have received Jesus, as long as you are not on your deathbed, you have a great earthly journey ahead of you. You are a baby Christian who has an exciting life ahead to grow each day and become stronger in your faith. God has a promise “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29: 11) If you haven't made that decision yet, don't wait until you are physically dying, today is the day of salvation. (Hebrews 3:13; John 3:16)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/the-choice-is-yours

Raising Jesus from the Dead - Matthew 28 Christians throughout the world just celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For many, the salvation message of God's love reached them, and decisions to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior were made. The Bible tells us that the angels in heaven rejoice when one person makes that life-changing decision. (Luke 15:10) The resurrection of Jesus was proof that He was the Son of God, He spoke the truth and He came to die for our sins because of God's love for us. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15 that if Jesus did not resurrect from the dead then the preaching of the gospel was in vain and that our faith was also in vain.  But what evidence can we use today to prove that what we read about Jesus was an actual account of fact? There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies that relate to the Messiah and Jesus fulfilled all of them. Since Jesus had spoken of His death and resurrection before the crucifixion the religious leaders wanted to make sure that His dead body would not be stolen by the disciples. They went to Pilate and said that the body must be secured because Jesus had spoken of being raised from the dead on the third day. (Matthew 27:62-66) Pilate sent guards and had the tomb sealed. While the guards were doing their duty to watch over the tomb, there was an earthquake and the angel of the Lord came and rolled the boulder from the tomb's entrance and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and he was dressed in all white. The guards were so frightened that they trembled and fell over like dead men.They reported what had happened to the religious leaders who paid them off with a lot of money and told them to say that they fell asleep at night and the disciples came and stole the body. (Matthew 28) After Jesus arose from the dead He appeared to Mary Magdalene and other women who had gone to the tomb with spices after the Sabbath. They wanted to anoint the body, but there was no body, the tomb was empty. The women told the disciples that Jesus was alive, but they did not believe them until He appeared to them.  Jesus appeared to many including over 500 people at one time. When Jesus was arrested all the disciples scattered and even Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed in the morning. The only disciple who was at the cross when Jesus was crucified was John who was comforting Mary the mother of Jesus. After the disciples saw the resurrected Jesus, their faith came back and they all became bold preachers of the gospel. They witnessed Jesus ascent into heaven, they waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and preached with signs and wonders. They were all willing to die for their faith and all but John were killed as martyrs for the gospel. A great transformation happened between the time of the crucifixion and the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on them. (Acts 1 and 2) Lastly, the Apostle Paul, who was responsible for the death of many early church Christians, had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and wrote most of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He preached the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus. These eyewitness accounts were corroborated by historical records not only from the writers of the Bible but other historians as well. As the resurrected Jesus said to doubting Thomas, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."Because of the resurrection, we can believe that all the promises in God's Word are for us and we are truly loved and highly favored. (John 3:16)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/raising-jesus-from-the-dead 

This week has been named Holy week because Christians and Jews around the world celebrate Passover and Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Passover is celebrated to remember the night the death angel was released to kill all the firstborns in Egypt. The Hebrew people, who were slaves in Egypt, were instructed to kill a sacrificial lamb, paint its blood on the door frame of their homes, roast, and eat the lamb that night with their families and friends. They all had to stay in the home. That night the death angel would pass over all the homes that had the blood of the lamb on the door frame and all inside would be saved. The Egyptians, including the Pharaoh (king of Egypt), were struck by the death angel. Each firstborn of every home including Pharaoh's oldest son died that night. It was the final blow that caused Pharaoh to finally let the Hebrew people leave Egypt and their captivity. From that time on the Hebrew/Jewish people would celebrate the Passover every year and remember how they came out of slavery by the hand of God. When Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples they didn't know what was about to happen and they didn't know what He was telling them. While they were eating, Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him. He also  took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28) This meal is referred to as the last supper and today we call it Holy Communion or communion. As Christians, we are to remember that Jesus, who knew no sin,  died a horrible death on the cross to save you and me from our sins. His blood was poured out of His body when He was whipped by the Roman soldiers for our healing. His blood also represented the payment for our sins and represented the New Covenant or Testament. The new covenant meant that animal sacrifices were no longer required because Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice, once and for all.  But why death on the wooden cross? It was the cruelest slow form of death, a public humiliation, and one that only the Romans performed. The Jews had used stoning as their public means of capital punishment. In the Old Testament, it states that cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree. In the New Testament, it says that Jesus became a curse for us, so any curses that may have crossed our paths, have no legal rights to remain if we have received Jesus as our personal savior.If you feel that your life is cursed even though you may be a Christian, the good news is that Jesus took all the curses on Himself when He went to the cross.  Many times, our own words or those we have received from others have become curses. In the book of Leviticus, there are blessings and cursings listed under the law. The New Covenant or Testament brings us grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have the blessings and all the curses were put on Jesus. Find the promise or scripture that addresses your situation and become free from all curses in your life. Jesus died but rose from the dead on the third day so that you can have an abundant life. (John 10:10; John 3:16; Galatians 3:13)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/why-the-cross 

The Old Testament gives us a historical account of God's chosen people, the Jews, starting from creation with the first Adam and ending before the birth of Jesus Christ, the second Adam. God's grace and mercy is illustrated throughout the Old Testament in the many recorded stories. Last week we highlighted the story of David and King Saul. There were many accounts of King Saul going after David to kill him. Although there were two recorded stories where David could have killed King Saul, he never took advantage of those opportunities and allowed God to work in His timing. David became king after King Saul and his sons were killed in battle against their enemy, the Philistines.  David's best friend was Jonathan, Saul's son, who was also killed that day. When news of Saul and Jonathan's death was known, Jonathan's son named Mephibosheth, who was five years old at the time, was taken by his nurse to a safe location. Unfortunately, as the nurse was running with Mephibosheth, the boy fell and became lame in his legs. They stayed in hiding because they feared that David would kill Mephibosheth if he found out that he was alive. Traditionally a new king would kill the family of the old king so no one would try to get the throne back. King David did not follow these traditions, but some who served King David took it upon themselves to seek out family members and kill them. When David found out he had those men executed.  As the new king, David inherited all of King Saul's possessions and lands because there was no one left alive from the house of Saul that David knew. Years later, David asked his staff if there was anyone alive from the house of Saul that he could show kindness to for Jonathan's sake. There was a servant named Ziba from the house of Saul that spoke up and told David about Mephibosheth.  David had him brought to the palace.When Mephibosheth was in David's presence, David told him not to be afraid and told him that he would restore all of his grandfather Saul's possessions and land. Mephibosheth, who was still lame in his legs, fell forward bowing on the ground and said “ What is your servant , that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” David instructed  Ziba to take his sons and servants and farm the land for Mephibosheth and take care of everything for him. David's other request was that Mephibosheth dine at his table every night like a king's son. So from that time on, Mephibosheth went from poverty and hiding, to a rich inheritance of land, possessions, servants, and a place of honor at the kings table. Mephibosheth didn't earn these blessings and he had nothing to offer. Even when he heard David speak he considered himself like a dead dog. He was given back these blessings because David had a close relationship with his father and had promised him at one time that he would take care of his family if anything should happen to him.This story is important because it is recorded in the second book of Samuel for our sakes. David was a man after God's own heart. He loved God and did his best to do the right thing. Because of his relationship with Jonathan, he had respect for King Saul, did not avenge himself even though Saul was trying to kill him. King David showed grace and mercy to Mephibosheth who could not do anything for him, did not earn it, and had no power or riches. Grace and mercy was extended because of Jonathan, his father. How much more should we embrace God's grace and mercy towards us because of our relationship with Jesus? We cannot earn God's goodness because it is a free gift if we receive it.  Understanding how much God loves us will help us trust Him and receive his goodness and grace. (John 3:16)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/

Can you trust God's timing? (I Samuel 19; 21; 24) Before a monarchy was established in Israel, the prophets and judges were the leaders of the Jewish people. The people did not want to continue with prophets and judges as their leaders but wanted to have a king. They approached the prophet Samuel who went to God and God chose Saul, a tall, handsome, and courageous warrior to be the first King of Israel.   As the new king, Saul was to keep the commandments of God and lead his people so they could live in peace and in God's blessings. They had the Mosaic law (10 commandments under the leadership of Moses) as well as many other traditions and regulations that were to be followed. God used the prophet, Samuel, to advise King Saul in many matters,  especially in those regarding war with their enemies, the Philistines. However, Saul allowed his emotions of anger and pride to get in the way, and he made some bad decisions and disobeyed God's messages that came through the prophet Samuel. During Saul's reign, David, the shepherd boy, became a hero when he slayed the Philistine giant named Goliath. David went on to become a great warrior and Saul started looking at David as a threat to his throne. As battles against the Philistines were won, the people started singing songs of celebration about Saul and David.  One day King Saul became very angry when he heard the people sing, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands!” Saul was so jealous and angry that he became more obsessed about killing David. Instead of focusing on the real enemy, the Philistines, King Saul was blinded by his jealousy and hatred towards David and diverted more of his attention to go after him. Although the prophet Samuel had anointed David to be the next king of Israel, David continued to be on the run to escape being killed. There was one occasion when David and his men were hiding in a cave and King Saul came into the cave alone to urinate. David could have killed the King, but he did not and instead cut off a piece of his robe. David later showed King Saul that he could have killed him but did not. Although David's men thought that God provided this opportunity to kill Saul, David responded that Saul was God's anointed and in God's timing, God would replace him, but not by his own hands. King Saul and his sons would later die in battle against the Philistines. David mourned the death of Saul and his best friend, Jonathan, Saul's son.  David takes the throne as Israel's second king and from his lineage comes Jesus Christ. We have two leaders, Saul and David, both chosen by God. One allowed his emotions to rule his actions and the other trusted God and His timing. David respected God's anointed King Saul but knew that his time would come in God's timing. The lesson is to trust God in everything and not allow the negative emotions of jealousy and pride to get in the way. We all struggle with those emotions depending on our circumstances, but we have the Holy Spirit to help us in our struggles. When you are tempted in those negative areas, reach out to the Lord and He will be there to strengthen and help you. (Proverbs 3:5-6)Read the full newsletter at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/can-you-trust-gods-timing 

Abraham in the Old Testament is known as the “Father of faith,” because through his lineage came the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian faiths. The Jews came through his son, Isaac whose mother was Sarah and the Arabs came through Ismael, whose mother was Hagar. Jesus Christ came through the lineage of Isaac, and thus Christians through faith were promised the blessings of Abraham. Abraham had a nephew called Lot who was a righteous man who made poor decisions. Lot moved his family to a prosperous but wicked city called Sodom. Sodom and its close-by neighbor, Gomorrah, were filled with people who were sexually immoral, very proud and arrogant, and did not care for the poor and needy. God told Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness and sin. Knowing that Lot lived in that area, Abraham asked God to spare the cities if there were 50 righteous people. God agreed. Then, Abraham asked for that number to be 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally he said one more time, 10. God agreed and then left Abraham. God sent two angels who appeared as human men to the city of Sodom. Lot saw them as they entered the city and came to them. When he found out that the men were going to spend the night in the city square, he asked them to come and stay at his house because it was very dangerous at night. The angels agreed. That night old and young men came to Lot's house and banged on the door and called out to Lot. They asked Lot to send the two strangers out so they could gang rape them. Lot went outside and pleaded with them to leave them alone. Lot even offered his daughters to them, but they wanted the men. Finally the angels pulled Lot back inside, closed the door, and struck the men with blindness. They instructed Lot to get his family ready to leave in the morning because God's judgment was coming to destroy the city.   Lot went to his married daughters and sons in law and asked them to leave with him. The sons in law laughed at him as if he were joking. When morning came the angels had to take Lot, his wife, and two daughters by the hand and lead them out of the city  because they were lingering too long. They instructed them not to look back at all. They headed out of the city and when they were safe, fire and brimstone began to fall on the cities. Lot's wife was disobedient and looked back. She was instantly turned into a pillar of salt.The cities were utterly destroyed and everything in it. Only Lot and his two daughters were spared. From a distance, Abraham could see the smoke coming from Sodom and Gomorrah. Although God did not find 10 righteous people in order to spare the cities, He had grace and mercy and saved Lot, his wife, and two daughters. The destruction of the cities because of great wickedness and sin reminds us of the days of Noah when he and his family were saved. Abraham could bargain with God because he had a covenant relationship with Him. Abraham knew God was willing to show His mercy and grace, however, he stopped short at 10. When we have a relationship with Jesus, we become righteous (in good standing with God, holy), not because we are morally good in ourselves, but because Jesus is perfect, sinless, and He took our punishment on the cross. When we receive Jesus through faith, we become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21; Phil 3:9; Romans 4:3) The good news today is that we don't have to bargain with God. In Hebrews 4:16 it says  “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The Bible is full of promises for our good and as a child of God we have access to all of them. (John 3:16; I Cor. 15:57)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/abraham-bargains-with-god?s=w 

The Apostle Paul and the Unknown god (Acts 17) The Apostle Paul was a very educated scholar in the scriptures and was one of the religious leaders called a pharisee. He was also the son of a pharisee. Paul, a Jew, was also a Roman citizen which gave him additional rights under Roman law, especially when the Jews were trying to imprison him. God called Paul to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the risen savior, to both Jews and Gentiles. In many of his travels to various cities outside of Israel, he would find Jewish synagogues and go and preach and argue the scriptures with those who would listen. Many believed and became Christians but others were angry and tried to imprison him. Paul would flee to another city to avoid imprisonment. On one such occasion, Paul left the northern area of Greece and headed for Athens. The other brothers in Christ would join him later.   Paul was distressed when he saw that the city of Athens was full of idols. He went into the Jewish synagogues and the public marketplace to debate and continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus and His resurrection. There was a group of philosophers called epicureans and stoics who began debating with him. The Greeks were very interested in philosophy and new ideas and were curious about what Paul had to say. They took Paul to a forum called Areopagus where he could address the thought leaders of the city. Paul got up and said,  “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” He continued, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Paul continued to preach the gospel of Jesus and His resurrection. Some scoffed and others  became believers. Like the days of Paul, when the gospel is proclaimed, there will be scoffers who reject the good news, and then there will be those who believe and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. When we don't know the true God, we make our own idols hoping that they will bless and help us. An idol can be money, status, our looks, other people, and material things. Why seek worldly idols when we have the great creator who loves and cares for each of us? Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com 

The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1:9)Have you ever wondered why there are so many different languages around the world? Without an interpreter or technology could an English-speaking person communicate effectively with a Chinese-speaking person? In the book of Genesis, we have an account of what happened.After the massive flood that killed everyone except Noah and his family, God blessed Noah and his sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their three wives) and said, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Noah lived 950 years and his descendants lived many hundreds of years as well. As new generations were born their life spans would be shortened.A few generations after the flood, there was still one language among all the people. As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and decided to settle there. They decided to build a city and a tower whose top would be in the heavens. They were not building it for the glory of God, but instead, to make a name for themselves and not be displaced around the earth. The Lord saw what was going on and said, “Behold, the people are one, and they all have one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.”  The Lord scattered them abroad based on their separate languages and the building project ceased. The name of that place became known as “Babel” or as we know, the Tower of Babel, which means “confusion.”There are two interesting points about this story. First, what was the motive behind the building of the tower? The people wanted to erect this structure for themselves. One of the sins that God abhors is the sin of pride. It was the motivation behind Satan's fall as the chief archangel of the Lord. Satan wanted to be like God and be worshiped. Proverbs 8:13 states, “Pride and arrogance…, I hate."The other interesting point is what God said to Noah and his sons. He told them to multiply and fill the earth. Instead, the descendants of Noah decide to stay together and build the city and tower. God said, “Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”  Their knowledge of building may have been far more advanced than we know. They had the ability to do whatever they could imagine as a united group, even though they were not obeying God's instructions.The takeaway is to follow God's instructions and be humble. Give God the glory in all you do. Whatever we can imagine, we can accomplish it if it is God's will. And we know God's will through the Word of God by believing and receiving the promises that are written. Find your promise for your dream, but remain humble in your journey. God loves you so much and He has a great plan for your life. (John 3:16; Jer. 29:11-12)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/ 

Tragedy Strikes the Widow of Zarephath (I Kings 17:17-24)Last week we told the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. In the story, the widow experienced a miracle of provision that provided an endless supply of flour and oil during a period of drought and no rain. Her miracle came through her faith and obedience to the prophet Elijah's word.During this time of drought, the widow, her son, and Elijah had plenty of bread to keep them alive until rain would come upon the land. But, something tragic happened. The widow's son became ill and died. The widow, a non-Jew, assumed that it was a punishment for her sins and blamed Elijah and His God. She says to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God?  Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”How many times has God been good to us and then something goes wrong and we instantly become guilty and think He's reminding us of our sins? Life happens, both good and bad. However, knowing that we have a loving God who loves us so much, we have to remind ourselves that He will work things out for our good. We may not understand it at the time. We just need to pray, find the scriptures that address the issue and believe that He will take care of us.God took care of Elijah by providing him safety in a land outside of Israel, a place to stay at the widow's house, and a never-ending food supply for the household.  Even though Elijah was a man of God, he experienced the tragedy as well. He told the widow to give him her son and he took him to the upper room where he lodged. He laid the boy on his bed and cried out to God and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” Elijah, like the mother, was just as human in his response. He was asking God if He brought this tragedy. Then Elijah did something strange. He stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to God and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him.” God heard him and answered his prayer. The soul of the child came back to him and he was alive once again.Elijah brings the boy down from his room and gives him to his mother and says, “See, your son lives!” Then the mother responds, “Now I know you are a man of God and the Word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” We go through trials and challenges in life, and this story reminds us of God's faithfulness. His Word, which we have in the Bible, is the truth. When you are faced with a personal challenge or tragedy, remember that God loves you and His promises in the Word are for you. As we face our challenges, go through the emotional ups and downs, we can hold onto the promise in Romans 8:28 which says,  “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ( John 17:17; Romans 8:28; John 3:16)Read the rest at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/elijah-and-the-widow-of-zarephath?utm_source=url 

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath (I Kings 17:1-16)In the Old Testament, God used prophets who declared His word to the children of Israel, warned leadership of their sins and actions against God, and performed miracles to show God's power. The people were blessed with prosperity and peace when they followed God and obeyed His commandments. There were kings that ruled righteously and followed God and there were kings who were disobedient and followed after pagan gods and celebrated idolatry. In the book of I Kings, we read about King Ahab who was the worst of all the kings that had ruled before him. He erected wooden idols and worshiped the false god Baal. He also married a very wicked woman by the name of Jezebel.God's prophet at that time was Elijah from the area of Tishbi. Elijah proclaimed to King Ahab that there would be no rain or dew for years until he would speak the word for rain. God instructed Elijah to go into hiding by a brook that had flowing water. God provided bread and meat in the morning and evening by sending ravens to bring him food. After the water dried up due to the drought, God told Elijah to go to a coastal town called Zarephath which was outside of the land of Israel. God told Elijah that a widow would provide for him.Elijah arrives at the city gates and sees a widow gathering sticks. Although she is a Gentile and not a Jew, Elijah obeys God and asks her for a cup of water and then asks for a piece of bread. The woman replies, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it—and die.”  Elijah responds, “Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.' The widow had faith in the man of God and did as he requested. The flour and oil never ran out and all three of them were sustained during the rest of the drought which lasted a total of three and a half yearsIn the New Testament, Jesus refers to this story in the book of Luke and says, “ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.”This story is a great illustration of God's grace and mercy even during a time of drought and famine. Although God had a covenant or agreement with the children of Israel to be their God and they, His people, their disobedience opened the door for a poor Gentile widow woman to receive His grace and mercy. When Jesus came to earth to His chosen people, the Jews, and they as a nation rejected Him, it opened the door for the gospel to go to the Gentiles. When you are going through a period of drought and famine, call upon the God who loves you and expect Him to come to your aid. The widow of Zarephath was not qualified for any benefits under the covenant, but God's love and grace qualified her because of her faith. We, whether Jews or Gentiles, are not qualified or worthy,  but through faith in Jesus and His sacrifice we are when we believe in Him and His love for us. (John 3:16; Luke 4:25-26)Read the rest at www.litwithprayer.substack.com 

How Is Your Heart? Matthew 15:1-20 Roses, chocolates, gifts, and special meals are traditions that say “I Love you,” especially on Feb 14, Valentine's Day. Like many of our celebrated and commercialized traditions, Valentine's day has its roots in pagan traditions that were later adopted by the Catholic church as a Christian tradition named after Saint Valentine. The red heart is the most recognized symbol of this tradition celebrating love and romance. When it comes to the heart and man's traditions, Jesus had a lot to say.  In the book of Matthew, the religious leaders, Pharisees, and teachers of the religious law asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples break the traditions of the elders, and not wash their hands before eating?”  Jesus, as His usual custom, answered them with a question. He asks them why they allow their traditions to supersede God's commands and gives them an example. Under God's law, they were to honor their mother and father including taking care of them and their expenses as they aged. They had a loophole in their man-made traditions that allowed a person to declare that their resources/money was devoted to God and not use it for their parent's welfare. Later they could cancel that declaration and avoid their responsibility. Jesus goes on to say, “Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Jesus always came against man-made traditions that superseded God's intentions for man. In Jesus's day, the religious leaders cared more about their traditions being kept than the welfare of their people. God is more concerned with the condition of our hearts and not what we do out of tradition. Going to church may be a tradition for you, but how is your heart? The Bible tells us to guard our hearts and minds, hold onto God's Word in our hearts and live, and to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not depend on our own understanding. God knows the intentions of our hearts. The Bible says that a good heart produces good and an evil heart produces evil. When we receive Jesus into our hearts we become a new creation. God forgives us of our sins, cleanses our hearts, and puts His Spirit in us so that we can start a growing relationship with Him. When it comes to love, no man-made tradition can compare to God's greatest love gift, His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have never accepted Jesus, today is a great day to do so.  (John 3:16, Prov. 3:5, Matthew 12:35; John 1:12) Read the rest at www.litwithprayer.substack.com 

God is With You: I kings 18:25Have you felt that God is not with you when you are going through a struggle? Do you feel that life has dealt you a hand that is negative and unfair? It happens to everyone at some point in life. It's life and thank God we don't have to struggle alone.In the book of Kings, God's prophet, Elijah, had experienced a great victory over the prophets of the false god Baal. Elijah had challenged them to call on their god to bring fire on their sacrifice. It did not happen. He even mocked them and said, “shout a little harder, perhaps your god can't hear or is traveling.” Their false god failed them as they tried as hard as they could for a response. Once Elijah called on his God, the Lord of Israel, the fire came down and consumed the sacrifice.The prophet Elijah had faith in his God that He would answer his prayer. Elijah wanted to prove that His God was the true God and God came through. After the great victory, Elijah was threatened by an evil queen named Jezebel. He, like many of us, went into fear and depression. The great prophet Elijah experienced what you may be going through today. Elijah went into hiding and complained to God that he was the only prophet left. God promptly told him that He had many more in hiding.When you are struggling in life, call on your Savior the Lord God almighty, Who loves you so much and wants to come to your aid when you are faced with a challenge.Believe that God is with you for you are not alone.(John 3:16)Not subscribed? Subscribe below so you never miss a newsletter!Thanks for reading Litwithprayer Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Personal Development Tip of the week: If there is one thing in your life that you are working to make happen when it comes to your career, purpose, whatever it might be, here are a few things to consider when it comes to getting the result you are after.Know your outcome or the result you are after: The more specific you are when it comes to the result you are after the greater you can see what you need to do in order to achieve it.Take one action towards this outcome: This could be making a phone call, applying for that job you want, buying a book to help you in your career. Evaluate: Evaluate the outcome of your actions to see if they worked or didn't. A key thing to remember is whether the outcome of your action works or not it isn't bad because you can learn from it and know what didn't work. Feedback is never bad if use it going forward. Change your approach: If your previous action did not work change your approach by taking a new action until you get what you want. Yes, it's as simple as that. Just because something doesn't work the first time doesn't mean you can't get what you are after you just have to keep going and taking new actions. Lastly, anything new you try typically doesn't work on the first attempt.Question for you? What's one thing you are working to improve upon in your life right now? Let me know in the comment section below!Join our community at https://litwithprayer.substack.com/ Prayer for the week: Dear Lord, thank you for this new week ahead. Bless me this week to make good decisions and continue to prioritize my relationship with you in my life. I thank you in advance for this blessed week I am about to have and the blessing you are going to bring my way in Jesus name amen.God BlessDaynePS. If you would like to support us consider checking out www.litwithprayer.com and picking up our devotional prayer journal to our new pieces of Christian-based Jewelry.

In the book of Samuel, we read about David as a shepherd boy. Watching over, feeding, and keeping predators away from the sheep was the responsibility of the shepherd. Although an important responsibility, it wasn't a desirable job and was usually assigned to the youngest or weakest in the family, as was the case in David's situation. He was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse.Keeping sheep was a lonely job but David was never alone. He spent his days worshiping God, meditating on His Word, and playing music on his harp. He also had plenty of time to practice shooting stones with his slingshot. Being in the wilderness with sheep, David developed courage and strength when faced with predators that were after the sheep. Some of these predators included bears and lions and David killed both. One time a lion had snatched one of the animals in its mouth and David rescued it by striking the lion and taking the sheep from the lion's mouth. When the lion would rear up, David would grab the lion by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Little did David know at the time that his wilderness training and skillsets would put him in a place of promotion and authority.You may be in a season where you are being responsible but you feel like you are in the wilderness. You may feel alone and are not getting any recognition or appreciation for the work you are doing. Take advantage of these times to come closer to God and experience His love for you. Meditate on God's Word and use your time to develop your skills, both internally and externally. Just because nothing exciting is happening in your life right now, do your best in the season you are in and improve or learn new skill sets and work on developing a strong mind and a closer relationship with God.  As a young boy, David wasn't even considered or remembered by his father, Jesse, when the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel. David was still out watching the sheep. Finally, when all of David's brothers had been considered and refused, Samuel had to ask Jesse, “are these all the sons you have?” When David was brought to Samuel, the Lord chose him and he was anointed to be the future king of Israel. Afterward, he went back to the sheep and was not treated any differently.When the current king of Israel, Saul, had trouble with his emotions and mood, David was asked to go to the palace and play his harp before him. David was known as an excellent skilled musician.  When David played, King Saul felt much better and his depressed and oppressive mood was lifted. David was favored by King Saul who promoted him to be his armor-bearer as well. Later David slays the giant Goliath and after Saul's death, he becomes king of Israel.As a musician, David also wrote many songs including a well-known one in Psalm 23.“The Lord is my shepherd, I will not lackHe makes me lie to down in green pasturesHe leads me beside still watersHe restores my soulHe leads me in the paths of righteousnessFor His name's sakeYea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of deathI will fear no evilFor You are with meYour rod and Your staffThey comfort meYou prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemiesYou anoint my head with oilMy cup runs overSurely goodness and mercy shall follow meAll the days of my lifeAnd I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”If you are going through a wilderness experience, remember Psalm 23 and know that God is preparing you for greatness. He is your loving Shepherd who will be with you.  (Jer 29:11; John 3:16)Read the rest at www.litwithprayer.substack.com

Are We Living in the Days like Noah? Genesis 5 and 6We go back to the old testament to revisit the story of Noah in the book of Genesis.  Noah was the tenth generation from Adam, who was created by God, in the image of God, and was the first human being. The Bible says that Noah was a righteous man living in a very evil and violent world.During the time of Noah, people lived hundreds of years. The book of Genesis records Noah's ancestral line from Adam and the ages of all his ancestors. Noah lived 950 years. Lamech, Noah's father lived 777 years and Noah's grandfather, Methuselah, lived 969 years, the oldest recorded age in the Bible. What happened that caused lifespans to be drastically reduced?As the world was populating, God saw that the wickedness of man was great and that every intent of man's thoughts was only for evil continually. Genesis also gives an account of a seemingly super race of people who were giants that were born from the offspring of the “sons of God” who married the “daughters of men.” Some theologians believe that the “sons of God” were fallen angels who intermarried with human women. You can read the passages in Genesis 6:1-7.Although mankind had been corrupted by evil and wickedness, God found one righteous man, Noah, who was perfect in his generation and walked with God.  Noah found grace and favor with God and God instructed Noah to prepare an ark that would save his family and the animals from the judgment and destruction that would be coming to the earth in his time.In Matthew 24:37 the Bible says, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.” As we see evil increase, we have hope that our salvation is secure because Jesus is our “ark of salvation.” When we receive Him as our Savior, we have grace and favor on us and we need not be afraid of what is going on in the earth. We need to be informed, aware, and wise in the times we are living in so that we do not fall for the lies of the enemy.  He may put thoughts in your mind that it's the end of the world so there's no use doing anything productive. This is the time we need to be strong and do what Jesus told us to do and that is to spread the good news and fulfill our destiny that God has called us to do, even in an evil and wicked world. (John 3:16; Hosea 4:6; Jeremiah 29:11)Personal Development Tip of the week: One thing that has served me so much in my life is the use of the questions I ask myself every day. If you think about it, all thinking really is asking and answering questions. If you think about what I just said to question whether that statement is true or not you are asking yourself a question.Interesting right? The reason I bring this up today is that if we can realize our thinking consists of asking and answering questions we might want to look at the questions that we constantly ask ourselves every day. Do you find yourself from time to time asking yourself questions that don't serve you? Probably because we all do. When was the last time you said…Poor question examples:Why am I such a screw-up?Why do I continue to fail?Why am I always in a bad mood?Why is God doing this to me?A large part of the quality of your life comes down to these questions we ask ourselves each day. In knowing that, we can start the process of creating new more empowering questions that lead us to better answers. Bad question, bad answer. Good question, good answer.Some of the biggest breakthroughs in your life are just a good question away. Here are some examples of the question I ask myself each day in my prayer life and when I'm just thinking.Good question examples:How can I love and appreciate even more the life that God has blessed me with?How can improve my life today that serves myself, others, and God?What do I need

Why Not You? (I Corinthians 1:27; Exodus 3)Did you know that the Bible says that God uses what the world considers foolish and weak to confound the wise and the strong?  Even though God says in His Word that He has a great plan for your life, you may feel very inadequate and unworthy. You may feel that you are not good enough, don't know enough, and have to work on all your issues and weaknesses first. Well, I have good news. God can use you for His purposes starting where you are right now. It may not happen in your timing, but trust Him in the journey.When God called Moses to go back to Egypt and lead his people, the Israelites, out of slavery, Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh (King of Egypt) and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? Moses did not feel qualified to do such a thing and had run away from his past. Forty years before, when Moses was a younger man in Egypt, he visited his people and saw the cruelties and hardship of the Israelites. He witnessed an Egyptian beating an Israelite and when no one was around, Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. The next day when Moses was with the Israelites he tried to help two Israelites who were fighting and one of them responded, “Who made you our judge, and will you kill me too like the Egyptian?” Moses got out of Egypt very quickly and fled to safety until God called him many years later.When Moses asked the question, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out?” God answered and said that He would be with him. Moses willingly followed God's instructions and became the deliverer of the Jews who were in slavery. There are many examples throughout the Bible where God uses the most unlikely people to do great feats. God is looking for a willing person who trusts in Him. It's easier for God to use someone who may be the least qualified because that person hasn't become proud of all their accomplishments and talents. God wants the glory and wants to show off His love and power through us so that we cannot boast in ourselves.Moses had a strong desire to help his people when he was young and living in Pharaoh's palace as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. He allowed his emotions to take over when he saw injustice and killed the Egyptian in secret. God still had a plan for Moses' life,  and when the timing was right, he was able to deliver his people from Pharaoh and Eqyptian slavery.Personal Development Tip of the week: God helps us with our dreams and goals. He knows that we may not be qualified by man's standards, but His Word says that “All things are possible with God.” He said He would be with us always, including those times when we experience doubts and fear. What are your dreams and goals? Ask God to help you and believe that He loves you so much and nothing is impossible with Him. (Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37; Philippians 4:13)Prayer for the week: Father God, help me to remember today that I am qualified for your great work in my life and that I can do all things through you who gives me strength. Bless me, guide me, and direct me this week to make wise choices and continue to progress in the areas of my talents and gifts that you put inside me from the moment I was born in Jesus name Amen. God BlessDaynePS. If you would like to support us consider checking out www.litwithprayer.com and picking up our devotional prayer journal to our new pieces of Christian-based Jewelry.Do you know Jesus?If you have never asked Jesus to be the leader of your life and forgive you of all your sins, this is the right time to act. Pray this simple prayer and believe it in your heart: “Dear God, Your Word says that You loved me so much that You sent

Do You Have Childlike Faith? Luke 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Matthew 19:13-14If you were fortunate to be taken to Sunday school as a child, you might remember a song with the following words:        “Jesus loves the little children of the world,         Red and yellow black and white,        They are precious in His sight,        Jesus loves the little children of the world.”In the book of Matthew, while Jesus was teaching, people began bringing their children to Him so that He could bless and pray for them. When the disciples saw this they were annoyed and rebuked or reprimanded them so they would turn around and not bother Jesus. Seeing this, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”  In Mark and Luke's account, they include Jesus stating, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”Jesus had compassion and love for children and wanted to bless and pray for them. So what was the connection between the children and the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God?  Young children are very trusting and Jesus tells us that we are to receive the kingdom of God like a child.  God asks us to trust Him in everything and not to worry or have anxiety.  Children who know they have loving parents, trust them and they don't worry about the electric bill or where the food is coming from. They know that their loving parents will take care of them.Our heavenly Father, who loves us so much more than our earthly parents/family, wants us to approach Him with trusting childlike faith in Him. You may be a super Christian who knows the Bible front to back, or you may be a baby Christian who just received Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Wherever you are in your walk with God, approach Him without fear and come with trusting faith knowing that He loves you and wants to bless you with an abundant life. (John 3:16; John 10:10)Personal Development Tip of the week: Comparison is the thief of Joy. I have talked about this quote before and I want to revisit this today because when we compare our lives to someone else's whether that be where we are at in our faith in relation to someone else or just what we have we rob ourselves of our own unique God-given life.God made you on purpose with a purpose and you are uniquely gifted to do wonderful things while you are here on earth.Don't let someone else life and or success in life steal the Joy that God has given you. Ask yourself today, “Is what I'm consuming on social media and or T.V. making me feel less significant?”If the answer is yes, maybe it's time to decrease the amount of time you go on social media and or stop following the people who make you feel this way. You get your identity in Christ and Christ alone. Not in what other people have or are doing in their lives.Focus today I what God is doing in your life to bring out your unique talents to the world. He is just getting started on your life. Believe that and receive that each and every day.  Prayer for the week: Father God, help me to remember today that where I am in my walk with you however small is still pleasing to you, and knowing I can grow closer to you and understand your word each day. Bless me this year to put you first in everything I do and continue to progress and not try and be perfect. You love me so much and I meditate on that today and thank you for this great week ahead I am about to have in Jesus name Amen. God BlessDayne

Know Your Enemy (Ephesians 6:10-20)As we begin a new year, feelings of uncertainty and anxiety may have been pushed back a little as we hope that 2022 will be much better than 2021. The message from many of our leaders in power and mainstream media for the past two years has been one of fear, fear of sickness, and fear of death. If you are a child of God then you know or should know that we as children of God are in a full face war with darkness, evil, and fear. Fear causes anxiety, doubt, and confusion. But thank God, we can overcome and be victorious. “... in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)As children of God, we must be alert and armed, because our enemy, the devil, wants to steal, kill, and destroy God's children.(John 10:10) The enemy starts with our hopes and dreams to get us discouraged and wonder if God really cares for us and what is going on in the world. There are so many voices trying to influence us and our beliefs. Jesus said to be of good cheer and not be afraid. He has overcome the world. In this world, we will have trials and persecution, but when our confidence is in Jesus, we can “be of good cheer and have peace.” (John 16:33) In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes to the church and tells them to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” He explains that we as Christians are like soldiers, but our warfare is spiritual and not physical. Roman soldiers in Paul's time had to wear full armor for war to protect their vulnerable body parts. Since our warfare is spiritual, we must fully arm ourselves with the gospel of truth, righteousness, peace, and above all, take the shield of faith which will absorb all the fiery attacks from the enemy. When the enemy attacks your body with sickness or your mind and accuses you with thoughts like, “you are not good enough for God, you keep doing the same sins over and over, you will never achieve your dreams and goals,” then like a soldier, you have to put on the protective helmet called salvation.  You have to know that Jesus is your salvation. Jesus loves you so much and He is there to save and deliver you.Lastly, the armed soldier has both defensive and offensive weapons for warfare. They include the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the act of praying always. (Eph 6:10-20) So if you want 2022 to be a great year, then wherever you are in your spiritual journey, make it a year where you stay alert and armed every day to fight off fear, evil thoughts of failure, protect your mind by knowing that you are truly loved by Jesus, and meditate on God's Word for your situations and challenges in life. Pray by talking to God like a friend who is always with you. Jesus will never leave or forsake you.Personal Development Tip of the week: One more thing on fear… Anything that comes into your mind on a daily basis that is negative is an attack from the enemy. In knowing that we must act to speak victory over our life and not defeat.God has given you authority over any attack from the enemy. (Read Luke 10:19.)When you feel those attacks or negative thoughts arm yourself with the words and scriptures so that you can speak a victory and God's blessings over your life. Prayer for the week:  Father God be with me today and protect my mind to guard off any negative thoughts or attacks from the enemy. You have given me authority and I claim that authority right now in Jesus name amen.-Dayne PS. If you would

Who Were the Magi and What Was Their Purpose?  The Gospel of Matthew is the only one of the four gospels that gives an account of the visit by the Magi or wise men from the East. Although Christmas traditions tell the story of the three wise men coming from the East to present their gifts to the baby Jesus, the scriptures do not tell that account. The Magi were highly educated scholars and astronomers who were part of a religious sect. They came from the East (Media, Persia, Assyria, and Babylonia). They came based on the Jewish prophecies of the birth of the King of the Jews.Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Daniel was the leader of the Magi or magicians, also known as the wise men. He had favor with the King of the empire at that time because God was with him and he was able to interpret dreams. Daniel was the wisest of all of the wise men of his time. This was the same Daniel that had been thrown into the lion's den and came out unharmed. Daniel prophesied that a virgin would give birth to a Son, and they would name Him Emmanuel (God with us). The teachings of Daniel would have been passed down so that the wise men during Jesus's birth would have recognized the signs in the sky. The wise men traveled to Israel as an entourage carrying valuable gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to present to Jesus. They had seen the star and knew the season for Jesus' birth. They traveled to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”  King Herod and those in Jerusalem were greatly troubled about this announcement. King Herod called his chief priests and scribes and asked them about this question. The religious leaders told King Herod that the scriptures state that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem. Herod met with the wise men and told them to go to Bethlehem and after they find the child to come back and let him know so he could also go and worship the child.The wise men left for Bethlehem and the star went before them and stood over the area of where the child was located. Jesus was no longer a baby in the manger, but a young Child under two years of age. The wise men and the entourage were extremely overjoyed to see Jesus and they brought their gifts and worshiped Him. The gifts were very valuable and included gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The gifts were highly valuable, practical, and symbolic. Gold symbolizes Christ's divinity, frankincense, a fragrant oil, is used for worship, and myrrh, another oil/perfume is used in embalming a dead body. Jesus was the Divine King who left His divinity to be born as a man. He was also the sacrifice for mankind and came to die to pay for our sins and put us back into a relationship with God the Father.The wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. They went home another way. Joseph was also warned in a dream to take his family to Egypt because Herod would be coming to kill Jesus. Joseph immediately took his family at night and left Bethlehem for Egypt. The family had money to travel and remained in Egypt until King Herod had died.King Herod expected a visit from the wise men but realized that they were not coming to see him. He was so angry because he wanted to kill Jesus. There was no way that he would allow another king to take his place. He was a ruthless leader who killed his own sons, siblings, and anyone who would threaten his position as King. He immediately ordered all male children under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed. This was a horrible and sad event.When Herod died Joseph had another dream where the angel of the Lord told him to take his family back to Israel. Those who wanted Jesus dead had all died. Joseph took his family back but settled in Nazareth. The account of the wise men is important to s

The Good News that Brings Joy, Peace, and Goodwill to All: Luke 2: 8-20In the book of Luke, shepherds were out in the field watching their flock of sheep at night.  Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared unto them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. The shepherds were afraid until the angel spoke and told them not to be afraid and announced the good news that a savior, Christ the Lord, had been born in the city of David (Bethlehem). The angel proclaimed that the birth of Christ, the anointed Messiah, would bring great joy to all people. The angel told the shepherds that they would find the Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.There was great fanfare and a great host of angels appeared and started praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”  Once the proclamation and celebration had been made and the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds said, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has made known unto us.” They quickly made their way to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus lying in the manger. He had been wrapped in swaddling cloths. They told everyone around them about the angels and the announcement of the birth of Christ, the Savior.The shepherds returned back to their fields praising God for what they had heard and seen. So, why did God make his announcement to lowly shepherds and not to the very important people of the town? Jewish law required a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered each year for the forgiveness of sins of the people. A perfect lamb, with no spot or defect, had to be chosen for the sacrifice. The shepherds were the keepers of the lambs that would be used for sacrifice and also used for the Passover celebration. Jesus is referred to as our Passover lamb and God's sacrifice that would end all sacrifices for the payment of man's sin once and for all. (I Cor. 5:7-8; John 1:29)Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the lives of His sheep. We, His people, are referred to as sheep. Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself and came into the world as human flesh to show God's great love for humanity. Although Jesus was God, He put aside His divinity and experienced life 100% as a man. He was born a sinless human because His Father was the Holy Spirit. He chose to live a sinless life and was obedient even unto death on the cross. Even when He went into full-time ministry at 30 years old, He healed the sick, raised the dead, performed miracles, cast out demons, as a man.The Good News is that Jesus came to bring man back into fellowship with God the Father. Sin from Adam in the garden had separated man from God. But Jesus, the second Adam, paid the price and anyone who receives His free gift of salvation can have eternal life and live with the joy that God loves you so much and has a great plan for your life. So, as you celebrate the season, make sure you have received Christ as your personal savior. (John 3:16; Jer. 29: 11-12)Something Exciting is coming tomorrow! I'm so excited to be launching something new tomorrow! What is it?Tomorrow I will be launching a new book “The Book of Proverbs”, (NKJ translation) created in a unique way with design and images to make the experience of reading the bible enjoyable and peaceful.We all struggle to read the bible in some shape or form so I wanted to create something that gives you a way to enjoy the bible while you read it.This will be the first in a series of books that we will be launching in 2022 and we wanted to start with Proverbs because Wisdom is so important in our walk with God and as we grow as Christians.Will will be doing a big sale for the week of Christmas starting tomorrow exclusively on Amazon so if you would like to be the first t

Paul and Silas Unjustly Jailed - Acts 16:19-40Last week we went over the story of how Paul and Silas commanded a demon spirit of fortune-telling to come out of a slave girl. When this happened she lost her powers of fortune-telling and her owners were very angry at Paul and Silas. The owners accused Paul and Silas of teaching customs which are not lawful for Roman citizens. The magistrates (legal authorities) had them beaten and thrown in jail. The jailer was commanded to keep them very secure. He put them in the center of the prison and put their feet into stocks so they could not escape.Although unjustly beaten and thrown in prison, Paul and Silas worshipped God and sang praises and songs to Him. They were praying and singing at midnight while the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosened. The jailer, fearing that all the prisoners had escaped, drew his sword and was about to kill himself when Paul called out to him to not harm himself.  He reassured the jailer that all of the prisoners were still there.The jailer rushed to Paul and Silas, trembling, said, “What must I do to be saved?” They responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”Paul and Silas spoke the Word to the jailer and he accepted the Lord as his savior. He took them to his house, cleaned up their wounds, and fed them. His whole family believed, were baptized, and saved. The next day the magistrates told the jailer that he could let Paul and Silas go. However, Paul and Silas were unwilling to go secretly and said they would not leave. The magistrates were afraid because they found out that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens and by law, they could not be beaten without a trial.  The magistrates came and pleaded with them to leave their city. They came out of prison but went directly to the house of Lydia to finish what they came to do in the first place. After their visit, they left the city.God used the Apostle Paul and Silas who were both Jews and Roman citizens to spread the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews). Through unjust circumstances, Paul and Silas were not defeated. They praised God and sang their way to freedom. In doing so they saved the life of the jailer and his household became believers in Jesus as well.When you ever feel locked up in discouragement and unfairness, keep praying and singing to the Lord. The devil, your enemy, hates any kind of praise and worship to the Lord God. In your darkest moment find praise and worship songs that will lift up your spirits as you pray and trust God for your deliverance. As the jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.” This is a great promise to keep for your household if you are the only Christian. Keep believing for your loved ones to come to Christ. Jesus is the answer. (John 3:16)Exciting Announcement!Last week we were able to find a partner, Donorbox, to help Litwithprayer's future mission of launching the Litwithprayer foundation and attaining our 501C3 status in 2022!The giving back part of our mission is extremely important to me and I can't wait to share with you more of our plans as we head into 2022!If you would like to support the efforts of Litwithprayer going into 2022 and the many initiatives we are working to deploy, consider checking out our page on Donorbox here to make a contribution.Your support means the world to us and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me directly at dayne@litwithprayer.com