Blessed in Spite of the Bonds

The majority of the New Testament was written by the incarcerated Apostle Paul. His letter to the Church of Philippi was sent from Rome, the place to which he requested to be heard by the authorities. His request and its satisfaction fulfilled the prophecy that he would in fact preach the Gospel in Rome. 

He begins the letter to the Philippians with his tender thoughts concerning the relationship that he has with them. Paul expresses his thankfulness for them as co-laborers in the Gospel. Then he encourages them of the continuing work of the Lord in and among them. And he makes it clear that they should not mourn his imprisonment, because it is working for the propagation of the Gospel.

Essentially, he was surrounded by an audience of prisoners, soldiers, and political powers. All of which had little time to attend religious meetings outside of the palace porches and prison halls. Paul was preaching to a "captive audience". Even in casual conversation, I'm sure the subject matter was directly or indirectly related to the Gospel. No doubt he shared the story of his conversion on the Damascus Road.

When the Apostle Paul was given the floor before King Agrippa, he recounted his experience on the Damascus Road. In the King James Version, Acts 26:28 King Agrippa said to Paul, "almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian". The New Living Translation renders the verse thusly: "then Agrippa said to Paul, do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian". Regardless of the translation, the verse reveals the Paul's intent to "reach the lost" for Jesus.

I find so much encouragement in the scriptures. While I am not in a jail cell or under house arrest, I am "bound" with various physical ailments. At times, I feel that I am completely helpless to carry out the calling that the Lord has placed on my life. There are times when I am in a state of fatigue so severe, I'm at the point of collapse. At other times, I am gripped with pain to the point of incapacitation. Then as the symptoms increase or compound upon one another, my mind will begin to weaken and fixate on the "what ifs". And if I'm not careful, I will begin to question God and my relationship with Him. 

BUT GOD, in His mercy brings His Word to my mind. He comes along side me and lifts my spirit out of the bonds of my feeble mind. The Holy Spirit empowers me to press on and to continue to share the Gospel to any/all who will listen.

Back to the Apostle Paul and another passage that brings so much encouragement to me. Remember the verses concerning "the thorn in his flesh".  While there are varying opinions as to what that thorn or messenger was, it is clear that its purpose was to help Paul remain humble. In verse 9, Paul refers to weakness and infirmities and how he is willing to endure them as a conduit of the light of God's glory. That willingness came because of the Lord's answer to his prayers. God did not remove the thorn, but He replied with a declaration of His faithfulness to strengthen Paul with His grace.

Again, in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 4 verses 14 - 18, Paul speaks of how our sufferings pave the way for the revelation of God's glory. He even calls our afflictions "light and momentary". Really puts our maladies into proper perspective.

Jesus came to set the captives free! I BELIEVE IN DIVINE HEALING. I believe He can do more than I could ever imagine. And I BELIEVE IN HIS ALL SUFFICIENT GRACE!!  So what if my flesh is bound? MY SPIRIT IS FREE! My spirit is free to believe and receive God's mercy and grace and help in my time of need. .

Dear Reader, regardless of your condition, look to Jesus. The supply of His grace is endless, His mercy endures forever, and He is faithful to answer your prayers.

Prayer & Medicine

Romans 8:28 assures us that whatever a saint experiences, it will work for their good. The Apostle Paul shares this same idea again in IICorinthians 4:15- 17; reminding the believer of God’s abundant grace and the glory of God that is revealed when we lean upon Him in our distress. He goes so far as to call our afflictions, “light” and “for the moment”. And encourages us to focus on the renewal of the inward man that takes place as the outward man perishes.

St. John 3:18 teaches that the one who believes in/on Jesus is not condemned. Essentially that is repeated in Romans 8:1, 2. The Apostle Paul says that we are of the Spirit and the law of the Spirit is LIFE in Christ Jesus. And that the law of the Spirit has freed us from the law of sin & death.

Often, we recall that this world is under the curse of death due to Eve & Adam’s sin. It is that curse that means sickness & death are inevitable. The body that houses our spirit, belongs to the earth and is subject to that curse. Yet the spirit belongs to God and is renewed as we remain in relationship with Christ.

The devil will try every kind of way to discourage us and cause us to doubt our relationship with Jesus, our faith in Him, and our belief in the Word of God. Even our own minds will question why an illness has come upon us or why our prayers remain unanswered. That is simply the weakness of our human flesh. However, we must shake off those thoughts and recall the scriptures that reveal our spirit identity and the benefits we possess because of the grace that has been lavished upon us by our Savior. The first two chapters of Ephesians remind us just how much He loves us and how great His plan is for us.

I can’t begin to know why some folks are healed and some are not. There are many more scriptures about people being healed than those that were not. But I do recall that the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake. In other words, he said, “Timothy, take some medicine”. I’m not good at depending on doctors/medicine. Yet, I have to remind myself that it is God that has given them the ability to learn about & properly dispense the remedies. Then I pray for them to use wisdom with their knowledge as they prescribe treatment.

Dear readers, please know that you are in my prayers. I am agreeing with the Word, III John 1:2, “….that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers”. Praying for your inner man to be strengthened and empowered as you trust in His all-sufficient grace. Praying that your spirit be stirred to hear the tiniest whisper of the Holy Ghost.

Personal Prayer Language

 

If you have been born again, then you have the Holy Spirit residing within you. That means you are eligible to receive the power that comes with being baptized in the Holy Spirit. When you experience that baptism, there will be evidence of it. You will speak in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. 

I pray for you to be FILLED with HIS WISDOM that must be applied to every part of your life/existence. I want you to think about one of the ways that He transfers/imparts that wisdom to man. It is through the prayer language that He has given to those who have been baptized in the Holy Ghost w/the evidence of speaking in tongues.

First Corinthians 14:14 speaks of our prayer language. The verse says that the mind is “unfruitful” when we are praying in tongues but our inner man/spirit is edified. For the mind to be unfruitful, simply means that it is NOT PRODUCING the content of the prayers. It does not mean that the mind cannot receive benefits. I believe that the mind benefits in an indirect manner, via the edified inner man/spirit.

Please stay with me here; recall Romans 8:26, 27 that teaches us the following principle: when we do not know how to pray (when our mind does not know how to pray), the Spirit makes intercession for us. And that intercession will always be “according to the will of God”. Again, I believe, this means the Spirit of God/the Holy Spirit within us, intercedes for our needs (those so close that we can’t begin to frame them into sentences). And, I believe that He intercedes for the needs of others on our behalf or in our place, as we yield to Him. For example: I am praying for you to receive His wisdom. That is a good prayer and wisdom is always a necessity. However, you may at that moment, actually be in need of a physical touch from the Great Physician. If I have you on my mind and begin to pray in my prayer language, the Holy Spirit will make the request to the Father for your physical healing.

Now consider John 14:26; the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the things that the Father has spoken to you. He will bring to your MIND, the things He has spoken to you in both the reading of the Word of God and the revelation that He gave to you through the Holy Spirit. I believe this is part of the EDIFICATION that your inner man/spirit receives as you use your prayer language.

In short: I’m encouraging you, as a co-laborer in the Gospel to pray in the Spirit more than you ever have. It is in those conversations with the Father that you are EMPOWERED for the work of the ministry. And one more thing…. one of the best parts of our prayer language…. that ole devil has no idea what we are praying and what we are receiving. He can’t distort the requests nor the answers that are made as we converse in our prayer language. In other words; our prayers are encrypted and protected from unauthorized access.