Call out for strength and power

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” ~  Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV).
 
I thank the Lord God Almighty to be able to reach you faithful readers from around the world. May God’s love, grace, mercy and peace be yours in abundance both now and forever. Our God is a mighty God and he is faithful to his children. He is a God full of promises and he delivers.
 
I pray that you are on fire for the LORD and that you are becoming exactly what he intended you to be. Then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

It took me until just recently to realized most of the people that call themselves Christians believe in the resurrected Christ in doctrine only. They give ten minutes to the LORD as they rise each morning and go to church on Sundays and check the box for the week. But they haven’t sought after the resurrection power and the authority that God gave us through Jesus.

To me that is very sad. Take a minute an imagine the glory of the LORD that would be shown if we all exercised the gifts God has given us. Wow! We would be seeing darkness disappear right before our eyes. I have to think that is what God wants.

That is my prayer for you today. Don’t just check the box and keep treating the LORD and spending time with him as a task you need to complete each day.  God is much, much more than something on your checklist. God is the Great I Am. He is our healer and provider.

Don’t hesitate one minute to take things to the LORD in prayer. It saddens him to see us sidestep him and his supernatural power as we struggle. The Spirit of God is on us and he is able to help us with our body, soul, wallet, circumstances and Spirit.

Call out to the LORD for he gives power and strength to his people.  You are fathered by a God that listens and so answers prayer.   

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” ~ Psalm 66:20 (NIV).

Shalom,

Rick Hawbaker
Praying 4 U Ministries

More prayers answered...There goes God

“Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” ~  Psalm 5:2 (NIV).

A Christian friend at work sent a co-worker to me for prayer early last fall. The co-worker, Bud Hexom, had just been diagnosed with esophagus cancer, and the cancer had already spread to his back and to some other organs.

Doctors told Bud he would see his 75^th birthday in April, but would not be alive in May. This is how man evaluated his health issues. But, our almighty God, the great healer of the universe, had a different plan.  

I thank you all for joining me in praying for this believer. He is getting stronger every day and has not been sick from the chemo or in pain. He does still have some cancer and he is again taking chemo. He is now within a week of May and feeling the best he has felt in months.

Bud’s wife is super excited as she watches him feel well enough to go to the store with her. On a trip to the store last week she watched him load lawn fertilizer bags in their vehicle.

Bud thanked me this morning for keeping the body of Christ stirred up offering prayers for him the past eight months. He said he thought for years that he was control of his life, but has found out God ultimately calls all the shots.

He is very thankful for all the prayers from around the world for him to be healed and knows that the prayers offered in faith have extended his time on earth.

“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” ~ James 5:15 (NIV).

I thank the LORD for the great fighting warrior that Bud has become and thank the LORD for people just like you who have been lifting him up to the LORD in prayer.

Led By The Spirit,

Rick Hawbaker

Praying 4 U Ministries

Develop a direct line of communications

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” ~ Romans 12:12

I thank the LORD for the huge hug he gave me as I rose this morning. Feeling the warmth of his presence and knowing he is constantly with me is great assurance that this will be another great day.

There is nothing like getting a nudge from the Father. May my thoughts be His all through this day He has made. I have much joy in my heart knowing I am with Him here on earth and we will be together in heaven forever.

I thank the Spirit of God for coming upon me and giving me the great confidence I have. It is He alone who saves us, delivers us, heals us, and makes us whole.

Stepping over the dark spots in a fallen world shepherding with Jesus is what I have been called to do. I pick up those who have slipped, hold up those who are weak, and fan the flame of the Holy Spirit that has been lit in others.

Heed the call and join in helping the LORD to build the mighty kingdom. Pray continually to the King of the universe. The more you communicate and develop a direct line of communication with him, the easier it will be to recognize his voice. Ask the LORD what it is He wants you to do for Him.

Led By The Spirit,

Rick Hawbaker
Praying 4 U Ministries

On the road again...memorizing scripture

“My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.” ~ Psalm 119:148 (NIV).

The voices we hear come from three places…God, Satan and ourselves. I heard someone telling me several years ago to try to memorize scripture. I know it would not have been Satan telling me that, and it surely was not from me. It had to be from God.

God told me to memorize one scripture a day for the 40 days before my birthday as a present to myself. Although I had never tried to memorize bible verses for over thirty years, I gave it a try. After all, who does not want a present for their birthday, especially one from God.

It was actually very easy to do. I wrote the scripture on a note card each day and carried it in my pocket. Whenever I had a spare moment I would read it and try to say it from memory.

After the forty days I would wake up and think of a book in the bible and then recite the verses I knew in that book. In the 40 days I was using the verses I had memorized in conversation and while praying with others.

God has been pinging me lately to memorize scripture on healing to use when praying with others to be healed. The first two days were easy as I just pulled out two verses on healing I already knew. I had no plans what to do from there on.

The second day on the way home from work, I heard a sermon on the radio that encouraged people to memorize God’s Holy Word. If this was not enough confirmation that I was supposed to continue doing it, I was chatting with my wife over dinner that night and she was telling me how she had been thinking about memorizing scripture.

So guess what? God has got me back on track meditating on his word day and night and my wife is doing it too. Thank you God for giving me confirmation that I am supposed to do this and thanks for giving me my wife to help motivate me as she learns your word too.

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” ~ Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV).

Led By The Spirit,

Rick Hawbaker
Praying 4 U Ministries

Rising Up And Sharing The Love Of Christ...

"Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious." ~ Psalm 66:1-2 (NIV).

The Holy Spirit was in the House. Thank You, Jesus. Thank you, God the Father. I am talking about last Sunday as the spirit-filled Freedom Fellowship Church was launched.

Worshippers were excited and full of enthusiasm as the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit was over all those who attended. People who said they had not had goose bumps in many years of attending church had glory bumps on this day and vowed to return.

Anointed Pastor Todd Hudson, taught strongly out of the Word of God, the Worship Team did an awesome job and the prayer time during the service was amazing. O what a joy praying for the children of LORD. Prayers for healing, deliverance, marriages, salvation, jobs, financial circumstances, and more, circled the room.

It was a great day for the LORD as ground was claimed for King Jesus. A HUGE thanks to all my friends around the world who have been praying for the launch of this new church. I thank God for it and am anxious to watch and be a part of what our amazing LORD is going to do with His new church.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NIV).



Rising Up And Sharing The Love Of Christ,

Rick Hawbaker
Praying 4 U Ministries †