Prayer Summary for October 18

Shared…
 
The following excerpt is taken from The Cross by Rod Parsley:

Taking Up the Cross

We live in a day in which the phrase “my cross to bear” has become a trivialized figure of speech. People who have never crossed the threshold of a church or cracked open a Bible use the phrase to describe anything that is an ongoing annoyance in their lives. Foot bunions, lazy husbands, cranky bosses, dry skin, and loud children have all been proclaimed to be crosses that must be borne. In the modern vernacular, the concept of carrying one’s cross has been twisted and abused into a mere affliction in much the same way Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” and Solomon’s “fly in the ointment” have been misappropriated, abused, and robbed of meaning.

Still, Jesus’s words meant something quite profound and serious when He said them. And they are recorded in our Gospels for a reason. They have meaning for those of us who hear a call to “follow Jesus” today. But what is it? What does it mean to “take up our crosses” for those of us who refuse to be swept along in the cultural current of a cross-less generation of “Christians”?

Cross carrying involves self-denial, choosing to say no to our own desires and pursue God’s desires instead. It means choosing to lay aside our personal agendas and embracing God’s grand agenda of the ages.

In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul talks about a type of self-styled pseudo-Christian who was already infiltrating the young church—people who were slaves to their appetites. People, “whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:19).

A refusal to deny ourselves makes us enemies of the cross, just as Jesus’s words suggest that a willingness to do so makes us a friend of the cross.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that send me. (John 15:18–21)

Finally, taking up our crosses means cultivating a love for the things Jesus loves. And more than anything else, He has a heart for the lost and dying of this world. He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

The Moravian Christians were a persecuted Christian movement in Central Europe that emerged well before the Protestant Reformation. A century before Martin Luther nailed his convictions to the Wittenberg door, the Moravians were quietly recognizing and rejecting the abuses and errors of Rome. In response, they pursued a simple faith of worship and charity. As a result, they were severely persecuted, and they suffered great hardship. Indeed, the founder of the movement, John Hus, was tried by a Roman Catholic council and burned alive in 1415.

The Moravians understood what “taking up the cross” meant. And they are marked by history for their extraordinary compassion, service to the poor and oppressed, and above all, their passion for souls.

Taking up our crosses means an intense desire to see not a single drop of Jesus’s precious blood wasted because someone failed to have an opportunity to hear and receive the redemption He purchased for him or her at Calvary.

If you would like to purchase this book, please contact Living Words Bookstore online or call (763) 315-7015.
 
Prayed…
 
Giving You all the glory, honor, and praise, today
We magnify Your precious name, Lord
Thank You for Your goodness, mercy, and kindness
Father, we want to be continually transformed into Your likeness
The favor goes before us and prepares the way
Thank You for the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for us
We are overcomers by and through that precious blood
Victory is in You!
Because of the blood of Jesus, we are healed, healthy, and whole
Calling for an outpouring of Your Spirit, today!
Declaring that we will never be the same again
Your anointing is setting free every captive that has been held in bondage
We will not stay status quo—we will rise up and walk in a higher way
The pressures of this world will not hold us back from fulfilling our calling and plan
Humbling ourselves before You, Lord
We are so grateful for those in positions of authority who speak the truth of Your Word
Pleading the blood of Jesus over Pastors and their families
Calling for an increase of accuracy and understanding for each one of them
That they would have a spirit of seeing and knowing
No weapon formed against them would prosper
Covering ministries with the blood of Jesus, today
Pushing back every onslaught of the enemy
We will continually push and press ahead to the higher calling of Christ Jesus
Going further and further than we have ever gone before
Not in the realm of the mental but in the realm of the spirit
Holding fast to all You have called us to do
Calling the lost souls into the kingdom of God
That we would carry out the fullness of Your plan
Praying over every laborer, give them strength to keep pressing ahead
Contending and believing for every believer to step up and take their place
Adjustments and changes are taking place today
Every hindrance, be removed in the name of Jesus’
Removing the blinders—no more blinded to the call
There is an appointed harvest for every believer
Lift their eyes, Father, to see their harvest
The Holy Ghost is bringing help all along the pathways
That they would respond to Your promptings, Lord
We have been called to do the work of the Father
Laying down every distraction
Yielding and responding to the anointing of God
Calling for boldness and courage to step out
It is by Your power and by Your Spirit that we will possess the land
Your hand is not too short, Father
Every lost soul, would be reached, and touched by You
This is the time that the former and latter rain shall come together
That Your rain would flood the earth, that Your people would rise up in victory
No longer defeated but walking victoriously
We will not be held back, and there will be no more lack
One word from the Holy Ghost breaks every chain of darkness
Doors of opportunity are being opened to every believer
That we would walk in authority, today!
Holding the blood of Jesus against every plot and evil scheme of the enemy
Even from the children and the youth the anointing will flow
Age is no consideration—from the young to the old
Each one is appointed for this day and this hour
It shall be just as You have spoken—nothing missing and nothing broken
In an instant, there will be a rising up!
All those seeds that were sown will begin to come up in these days
You are the God of peace—You bring peace to Your body this day
That we would be distributers of Your love, Lord
There will be an alignment—things are straightening and lining up
Praying over feet, that they would go in the right way
Thank You, Lord, for the opportunities to be a witness of Your love
We purpose in our hearts to do what You have called us to do
Thank You that we are prosperous in our bodies, souls, and minds

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