Open Arms
by Max Lucado
If you ever wonder how in the world God could use you to change the world, look at the people God used to change history. A ragbag of ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in God’s proverbially open arms.
Abraham- God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used “old forked tongue” to start a nation. Moses- would you call upon a fugitive to carry the Ten Commandments? God did. David- his track record left little to be desired, but his repentant spirit was unquestionable. Jonah- God put him in a whale’s belly to bring him back to his senses. But even the whale couldn’t stomach this missionary for too long.
On and on the stories go: Elijah, the prophet who pouted; Solomon, the king who knew too much; Jacob, the wheeler-dealer; Gomer, the prostitute; Sarah, the woman who giggled at God. One story after another of God using man’s best and overcoming man’s worst.
The reassuring lesson is clear. God used (and uses!) people to change the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people. Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all. And what they may lack in perfection, God makes up for in love.
Jesus later summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father.
He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness. And the boy’s weary body fell into his father’s opened arms.
The same open arms welcomed him that had welcomed Abraham, Moses, David, and Jonah. No wagging fingers. No clenched fists. No “I told you so!” slaps or “Where have you been?” interrogations. No crossed arms. No black eyes or fat lips. No. Only sweet, open arms. If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used and take heart. Look at the forgiveness found in those open arms and take courage.
And, by the way, never were those arms opened so wide as they were on the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A redeemer redeeming the world.
No wonder they call him the Savior.
book coverFrom No Wonder They Call Him the Savior
© (W Publishing Group, 1986, 2004) Max Lucado
A RING TO HELP YOU SAY, "I DON'T" BEFORE YOU SAY "I DO".
Rings have always been a beautiful symbol of life's promises, commitments, and celebrations. One of the most wonderful of these is your wedding day. Everyone holds in their hearts a cherished dream of offering themselves on that special day, pure in body and spirit. You want that dream to come true; God wants it too, more than you know. Ask Him to give you the strength to keep that promise, THIS RING symbolize it with a Chastity Ring (R) made of precious gold or silver, to wear until that special day when you celebrate your marriage with your spouse.
Teachings
05-01-06 The Highest Form of Wisdom
May 1, 2006
"The Highest Form of Wisdom"
Wisdom is surrender. There are different levels of surrender and the highest form of surrender will always be the wisdom of the cross. This is a hidden battle. Almost no one will know about it. It is going on in side of me; it has to do with the interior life. It is the healing of my heart. Our hearts comes forth wrapped in so many fig leaves because of so many hurts, because of so many reasons that to open to this grace, to this kind of vulnerability, can be difficult at best. It is a process and it takes God's love and His grace. We must remember that this is what God wants for us; He really wants this for us. God wants us to have this wisdom of the heart. All of God's Confirmation gifts, by the way, are gifts of the heart. When He gives us these gifts they come right into the heart. The heart then is what informs the mind and then the mind can execute. It can do it. But the gift operates in the heart. God is a heart person. He wants us to communicate with Him heart to heart. He desires that we become one with His heart. He wants us to have His heart. He knows that our hearts must be healed. This is our inheritance. He paid a high price - a very high price - for this inheritance so that we can glorify Him in our bodies. Remember that the glory of God is man fully alive. He paid this high price so that we can have His life in abundance in our own bodies.
We need to desire this union. We need to beg for this grace for surrender. Everything is a grace. We just have to ask, ask, ask. We have to come to a point where we know that, "I cannot handle this anger any more. I have been stuffing it and stuffing it but it is coming out in other ways. I am projecting it upon other people. I cannot go on being a hypocrite. I cannot pretend. I cannot grin and bear it. I cannot." When you get to that point, you are really at the beginning of Wisdom. We begin to realize that this is God's work. I realize that I can come to Him and say, "Lord, I have all of this anger. Help me! Without You, Lord, I can do nothing. I am getting wisdom now. I am starting to really believe that I can do nothing." Remember, with God all things are possible. All things are possible.
We live in a society that makes it difficult for the gospel to be lived out. There is nothing in our society that really supports the gospel. If you want to live Christianity to the fullest you are going to be counter-cultural, aren't you? You are going to be swimming up stream. I was happy when I heard that the word Omaha is an Indian name that means ,"Going against the current!"
Because of the society in which we live, "surrender" sometimes brings up images that make us think of humiliation or defeat. If we have that concept it can be a real block within us to surrender. We may think that to surrender means that we have a defeatist attitude. We may think that surrender only comes when somebody is out to get us. We say to ourselves, "I am defeated. I might as well give up now because God is God and I am not. He eventually will have His way. I give up because I have to." If I have this kind of concept of God, that He is out to get me, kind of like a policeman, and I am just going to get tired and give up, that can block my surrender to God. It may cause me to yield to a more destructive pattern that I have somehow developed through the years. If I have a pattern of unforgiveness, to which I cling so that it is constantly in my life or if I bring that same situation repeatedly to the confessional, there may be an element within me that has not been surrendered to God. Perhaps God must show to me this pattern, which has to come into surrender, because it has a grip on me. It might even begin to poison me if I cannot break out of it. On my own I cannot break out. If I can see the symptoms, if I can see the pattern, I need to bring it to Him just to talk about it. That is where I begin. It might be that I have too much resentment. Perhaps I have too much fear. Fear is probably the biggest block to surrendering to God. In the beginning it seems that even Our Lady had some element of fear because the first thing the angel said to her was, "Do not fear, Mary." If I can identify a voice inside of me that is saying, "I am afraid! I am not going to have control. I don't know You that well, Lord. You are going to take me where I do not want to go. You are going to take me to something unknown. What am I going to hang on to, Lord, if I let go and just surrender to You?" then that is where I begin. We have so many fears. We must begin right where we are. We do not have to go to where God is. He will come to us where we are. He is always the God who comes.
Surrender is definitely an inside job. We want to come in to His kingdom within. The kingdom of God is within. We know that this is God's perfect will. Jesus taught us to pray, "Father may Your kingdom come. May it come in me. Through me, may it come to others." This is another way that we can gain territory for others. We want to beg for these graces, these lights, these gifts. God's love will come and His perfect love will cast out the fear. We are always in the process of conversion, which is the process of becoming a child.
There is a close relationship between being a child and being surrendered. Children are surrendered. They are always holding up their arms. They want to be picked up and not hang on to anything. They are incredibly free. This is what we want. However, there is the adult in us.
I had to smile the first time I read this. This is from Saint Augustine before his conversion. He said that the sin he knew was more to be desired than the joy he did not know. Have you ever had that happen? "I really like it here, Lord. If I give this up or if I surrender this, I do not know what will be in store for me. Maybe I am not going to be happy. I am finding this pleasant. I am comfortable." We have all sorts of sophisticated ways of saying what Augustine did. "The sin that I know is more to be desired than the joy that I do not yet know." That says a lot about us. We might cling to something that we know simply and only because we are afraid of something we do not yet know. That is where the fear is. That, in itself, can cause us to resist surrender to God - the letting go of the control because we do not know. We are so used to having our minds know things. To surrender is to take off our shoes. It is part of responding, "Here I am, Lord. Behold Your servant, Your handmaid." It is scary. Look at the fear and bring the fear to God. Do not be afraid to say to God, "I am afraid. I am afraid."
After all the discernment that was done for me - a whole year of private retreats, thirty days of a devil's advocate board, seven more months and finally the green light from Rome and it was the last week I was in the cloister. I knew that I was coming home; I knew the exact date. Suddenly, I found that I was not spending much time in the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle. I was the last one in the chapel and the first one to go. After a couple of days of that I thought, "Hmmmm. My activity has changed a little bit after sixteen years in the cloister. I wonder what is wrong." Self-knowledge goes a long way. I spotted something was wrong. I put my head in my heart and said, "What is it?" My heart just let me know, "You are afraid. You are afraid to leave the cloister. You are leaving without anybody! You have safety here. You have a beautiful community. You are leaving with only God's word, God's promise. You do not even know for sure if you can trust Him. You are going home. Your Catholic family and friends are not there anymore. They are off in other vocations. Your own biological family is not Catholic. You are afraid. You are going out there alone. You do not quite believe that the Trinity is going to be with you like They said." That was wonderful for me because my heart spoke truth. I had to accept, "I am afraid." So I marched right back into the chapel, knelt right before the Blessed Sacrament there in the tabernacle and I said to God. "You have been so good to me. You have given me so many words and so many promises and so many confirmations but I am afraid." The minute I said that to Him He flooded me with such peace and such joy and such love that I am here to tell you today that I have never known fear since. God wants us to be free.
This kind of surrender helps us to make that Passover. We must do it every day. It is not a once and for all. Every day we must say, "Father, into Your hands. Into Your hands!" I remember when my own daddy was teaching me how to swim. He was in the water, holding up his arms. "C'mon, jump. C'mon, jump! C'mon, jump!" I did not know how to swim. I was scared to death of the water, but this was my daddy. He was going to catch me. If only we can keep our eyes on our Abba! "Into Your hands, into YOUR hands, Abba, I am giving my life. I am trusting You." Father always knows best!
Excerpt from Mother Nadine's, "Wisdom Instructs Her Children," Omaha, NE, 2005
04-24-06 Consecrated in the Spirit
April 24, 2006
"Consecrated In The Spirit"
Peter, as the first Pope said, in 1 Peter 1, "Consecrated by the Spirit to a life of obedience..." Peter had learned fast. That upper room experience taught him something. "Consecrated by the Spirit to a life of obedience (that is docility to Jesus Christ) and purification with His blood." That became a way of life for Peter and the apostles of the early church. The apostles were consecrated by the Spirit to a life of obedience. We are, too, by the grace of Baptism. We are consecrated people. We are people consecrated to a life of obedience - a life of surrender, a life of accepting God's will. Paul understood this. He said, "Commit everything to the Holy Spirit." Commit everything to Him - even every thought! This is quite a challenge. Have you ever tried it? Have you ever asked yourself, before you speak it out, "Is this under the protection, under the canopy, of God's love?" Consecrated is an interesting word. It means to be set aside - set aside for holiness. Ready to do His will! Holy, Holy, Holy. Be holy. You are consecrated.
We understand the consecration at Mass. The bread and the wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus. But we are consecrated too. God wants to change us into Jesus - into the body and blood of Jesus. He uses us in that wine press, to produce the wine. With Him, we become the grain of wheat so that we can become the bread. When we pray, "Lord, they haven't any wine," we must remember that we are going to be called to be victims of our own intercession. We are the ones who will produce that wine. We must become that bread.
There is a beautiful scripture that says, "My son, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trial." When we ask God to do things, prepare to be the victim lambs of that intercession. Prepare to purchase that grace. Jesus did and He will continue doing it within us now. "Be sincere of heart, undisturbed in times of adversity and accept whatever befalls you. For, in fire (that is God's love) gold is tested" (Sir 2:5 ).
In Zephaniah 1:7 we read, "Silence in the presence of the Lord, God! For near is the day of the Lord! Yes, the Lord has prepared a slaughter feast. He has consecrated His guests." Pray this through in your own private prayer time sometime. Guess who will be used for the feast? Guess who will be slaughtered? It is us! We must be used to feed His sheep. We must be His lambs. The Church is starving spiritually. Mother Theresa of Calcutta saw that right away. We, in America, are the poorest nation in the world, she said, spiritually speaking. Our people are starving. Our sheep are starving. Our lands are starving. We need to become Eucharist so that they can be fed. All this is accomplished by doing - simply doing - whatever He tells you. Ask the Lord for that desire, whatever it is, to want to do whatever. Ask that you may desire it!
Love wants to please the beloved. This can be a suffering love. It definitely was for Our Lady. It was a tremendous cross for her in her obedience to God. We see it fully at the foot of the cross when the prophetic word was very visible, "Your own heart a sword shall pierce." It is the sword of the Spirit. It is the sword of love. Love is what always pierces our hearts. Have you ever noticed that when you are in the most pain it is from people you love? It is not going to be from a church out there or from a stranger. It is going to be from people you love. It may be from animals you love or children you love. It will be from somebody close. Only love can pierce the heart and there is power that comes out of that kind of piercing. It happens when God's Spirit is leading us into situations where we would rather not go or to do what we would rather not do. But this kind of love (God's piercing) covers a multitude of sins. "Greater love than this," Jesus said, "no one has." If your heart is being pierced know that you are being used deeply by God. You hardly even have to pray. You are just living fully in intercession. You are in the full power of intercession. You have the burden. God might reveal to you what that burden is for. That pain might be caused from one person but it might be used for hundreds of others. God can apply it to so many other people or He may just use it for one. That is up to the Lord. Your surrender will bring forth God's love. It casts that Fire upon the earth that He so desires go forth from the piercing of the heart.
Surrender comes when humility confronts pride. It is obedience confronting disobedience. It will be the gateway to heaven here and now. It will open the doors to God's grace. It opens the door primarily and first of all for us. Every yes will bring us that peace. Every yes, every surrender, will be the experience of Jesus when He said to the thief, "This day (right now) you will be with Me in paradise." We are with Him. "All the way to heaven is heaven," Catherine of Sienna said. He is the way. We are people consecrated to this truth.
Excerpt from Mother Nadine's, "Wisdom Instructs Her Children," Omaha, NE, 2005
04-17-06 I Don't Think I Can Do This
April 17, 2006
"I Don't Think I Can Do This!"
You do not need to be afraid. God will never ask something that we cannot do or without giving us the grace to do it. Sometimes, though, it is the tiniest things that are the most costly. They are hidden. Nobody knows about them. There is something about big things! Everybody knows about them. Everybody knows I am being a martyr; I am going to get help. I am going to get pity. I am going to get consolation! I am going to get support. In the hidden things we pray, "No one knows I am dying, Lord, except You." Sometimes, this is the most difficult because we are dying to any self-glorification, any self-affirmation. We had a friend one time who actually told me that he really thought that he could never be called to the ministry of intercession. I said, "Why not?" He told me, "There is no glory in it. There is no thanks in it. Nobody even knows that you are praying for them. I need a ministry that is more visible." This is a very invisible ministry. It is not, however, invisible to God. God will never, never be outdone in generosity.
I will tell you a story about an incident that was very costly for me but it set me free in many ways. In case you are struggling with something little, know that God does not see it that way at all. It can bring much grace for His church. This story is about bells. As a college student one summer, I went to work at a nice, big insurance company. My father dropped me off that morning - the first morning of the job. It was a very large insurance company and they had bells. There were bells for everything- bell when you go to your desk, a bell for coffee break, a bell when it is lunchtime, a bell when lunch is over. Bells! I found it to be so impersonal; there seemed to be no relationships. You could not make up your own mind or decide for yourself. It seemed to me that you were stripped of freedom. It really bothered me. In fact, it bothered me so much that at mid-afternoon, I called my father and said, " Can you come and get me? I am going to quit. It's these bells! I feel like a little puppy dog. They ring the bell and you go!" So I quit. I got another job for the summer and then went back to college. A couple years later, I was called to the Catholic Church and a couple of years after that, into the cloister. The first thing that comes in the cloister is - you have it - bells! It is the only way they communicate. Bells! Everything is bells. Even more bells than the insurance company! Bells to get up, bells to go to breakfast, bells to go to prayer, bells for the Angelus! And there are all different kinds of bells. You learn the signals for the different bells. Bells all day long! I thought, "Oh God! I cannot believe You did this!" I was really sweating it out because I knew that I could not just quit, or call up my daddy and say, "Please come and get me!" But I did call up the heavenly Father and I said, "Help! I am in trouble."
Take it to God right away. He did give me the light. He gave me a beautiful grace. He said, "This is My voice! Do not look at it as just a bell! This is My voice. Every time you hear it, know that I am calling you. I am calling." He made it so personal. He knows I like that personal relationship - that one-on-one personal relationship. He said, "It is I! It is I! I am calling you to get up. Remember your dad used to say, ‘Rise and shine, darling! It is time to get up!'" He said, "This is what I am saying when you hear that bell in the morning, ‘Rise and shine! It is time to get up!'" It made all the difference in the world. After that, I did not hear the bells anymore. I heard only, "God is calling! God is calling! God is calling!" And I was free. Hopefully, I got some graces for other people for their freedom and their struggles too.
Do not overlook little disturbances and say, "Oh, it is just little. It is nothing," and put it on the back burner. It is the little things that can really purchase souls because they are costly to us and they bring us closer to God. When we draw closer to God, His grace will be there to help us in that surrender.
Excerpt from Mother Nadine's, "Wisdom Instructs Her Children," Omaha, NE, 2005
04-10-06 I Surrender
April 10,2006
"I Surrender!"
Every surrender, every yes, will bring Jesus. He is the God who comes. He is the God who comes. The Lord showed me that we enter into the mystical priesthood. When we are baptized, we are baptized priest, prophet and king, aren't we? We enter into that relationship. It is like a mystical priesthood. He showed me that every ‘yes' brings Jesus more and more into my heart. It brings more of God into my heart. It can also bring Him into the hearts of others because we are standing in the gap for them, for the church. We are standing in the gap for God's people. We become, literally, the heart of the mystical body. What happens to me can happen to others. Do you follow that? That is the beauty of the mystical body. We are not in this alone.
The Little Flower discovered this one time in one of the psalms when she read, "Draw Me." The very next line read, " We follow." Wherever we are, personally, with God, all those that have been given to our care will follow. We may never know who they are in this life-time, yet they will receive that same grace. Our yes is not just a personal yes any more than Our Lady's yes was personal. Her yes was for all of us. It was for the world. She is still giving Jesus to the world and to all of us in special ways. Every ‘yes' will bring Jesus into the hearts of all mankind. It becomes apostolic - very apostolic. And it is very simple. At times it will be costly. Calvary was costly. But Pentecost was worth it.
Our Lady wants Jesus to grow within us. We want to allow Jesus to have the freedom within us that He loves. He is used to it! In Nazareth He grew. In the interior life, He wants to continue growing in us. Give Him the freedom to do so - so that wisdom will grow. Wisdom grows if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit. Jesus was always led by the Spirit. He is a lamb; He is wisdom enfleshed. He is wisdom incarnate. He is modeling for us by the way He was always led. The scriptures are full of the ways He was led. It is wisdom at its best when we allow ourselves to be led.
Jesus was led out of Nazareth. Finally, one day, it was time to go. I asked Him one time, "How did you know it was time to go? You were there so long! It was such a tremendous mission. It seems to me that You wanted to go at the age of twelve but You returned to Nazareth and were there year after year after year! At the age of twenty You still had not been called out. Everybody wants to leave home when they are twenty or twenty-one, but You remained." He was thirty years old before He was called out! "How in the world did You know? " I asked Him. He said, "The same way that you know you are being called out of the cloister. You know the Spirit." He waited upon the Spirit. The Spirit led Him out of Nazareth. The Spirit led Him into the desert. The Spirit led Him to Calvary. The Spirit will lead us there too - to the cross. All power and all wisdom comes from the cross.
I started visiting people that were founders and foundresses of other orders when I came home from the cloister. My spiritual director thought it would be good for me to meet some of these people and to see how the Spirit was moving in the new life in the church. They all really seemed to know what they were doing. They really seemed very intelligent. They really had it together. But the conclusion that I was drawing was that they were prepared and I was not. I was beginning to wonder if God had made a mistake and I started to waver. The Lord asked me, "What is wrong?" I began to pour out my heart. "I just don't have wisdom!" "I don't think I am qualified. There is something wrong here. Would You give me wisdom if You really want me to stay out here and do what You want me to do?" He said, "Oh, I would be happy to give you wisdom." I said, "Could I have a scripture that would confirm that, that would really back that up - what You just said?" (It takes us a while to believe Him.) He said, "Yes, I will give you a scripture!" He gave me Isaiah 53. Well, I was so excited! I did not know what Isaiah 53 was but I was staying at a place where there were a lot of hermitages and I could not wait to get back to look up Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 is the very heart of this charism. It is all about the Lamb, the suffering servant, the Lamb that was led to the slaughter and opened not his mouth. That is wisdom in the eyes of God. "Oh!" I said to the Lord, "I guess maybe I have that! I can let You lead me." "That is it," He said. "That is it."
Jesus grows in us through our daily dying. "Pick up your cross daily," He said, "and follow Me." He will see that we have a cross. He can find all sorts of little things - little splinters that can rub us the wrong way. He has all kinds of ways to have us say, "Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord!" It becomes our theme song, doesn't it? He loves it. He said, "If you do not die daily, you are going to remain alone. But if you can say yes, if you let this dying process continue, if you allow your life to proclaim the death of the Lord, you will bear much fruit for the kingdom - for the Father's greater honor and glory. In John 15 He tells us, "The Father is pleased that you have become My disciples and bear much fruit." There is no joy like giving joy to the Father. We hear that the Father is pleased! We all want to hear that. He is pleased because there is only one fruit and that is Jesus. In the word obedience, O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E, in the very center of that word, right in the heart of the word is the word DIE! D-I-E. That is what we are talking about. It is very sacrificial. It will bear tremendous fruit.
Excerpt from Mother Nadine's, "Wisdom Instructs Her Children," Omaha, NE, 2005
06-05-00 We Need the Pentecost Experience!
June 5, 2000
"We Need the Pentecost Experience!"
"Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:29). This is part of God's nature-He is fire. Isaiah said that his lips were purified by fire, by the presence of God (Is 6: 6-7). There is a purification process. Jeremiah held the Word of God in his heart and said it was as though it were a devouring fire. It just burned within him and when God spoke, He said, "Is not my word like fire?" (Jer 23:29) When we really hear the Word of God, it has an affect on us. It sets us aflame. On the road to Emmaus the disciples said, "Were not our hearts burning?" (Lk 24:32)
In the Song of Songs, we hear that love is a flame, it is a fire, and Scripture says that great waters cannot extinguish it (see Sng 8:6-7). We see the two properties, water and fire, meet. The fire is more powerful than the water, and the fire conquers it. It is a tremendous flame of love! All of us in the Church, in the Mystical Body of Christ, carry the torch now. The flame has been passed on into our hearts, and it is through many, many revelations of God's flaming touch of His love and many purification processes that finally bring us to the full baptism of the Spirit in fire, to the fullness of the Calvary experience.
One time I heard some of the leaders in the Charismatic Renewal apologizing that they had led their people to the Pentecost experience when they should have led them to the Calvary experience. I felt like saying, "Don't apologize. You know that even the Apostles other than John couldn't make it there either." We need to have the power of love. We need to have the Pentecost experience first before we can lay down our lives in that kind of love, that kind of intensity, that kind of passion. We have to go through this purification process before we can get that kind of holiness, that kind of zeal, that kind of commitment to the Lord. So the leaders in the Charismatic Renewal were leading us correctly. We had to have Pentecost first, and then the Spirit Himself will take us through the purification process. He is the Fire; He is the Flame of God.
This is what it means to be consecrated. In the Old Testament, fire would consecrate the sacrifice. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit within us now, the flame of God's love, that makes us a consecrated people. We are a holy, consecrated people because of that Flame that is constantly making us into a living sacrifice. "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice . . ." (Rom 12:1). Offer spiritual sacrifices. We cannot offer spiritual sacrifices except through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now that we have the Spirit within us, He can tell us what to offer. He can do it through us and with us and in us so that we become a living, holy, consecrated sacrifice to the Father. This is pure worship.
In the first or second century, Jesus appeared to Origen and said, "He who is close to Me is close to the Fire." Any of us who are close to Jesus are close to the Fire because He is the Flame. So if we want to go through this transformation process and be changed into that Flame, into that pure Love, then we have to get close to the Fire, closer and closer and closer.
Excerpt from "A Flaming Heart," Contemplative Album, Omaha, NE, 1984.
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To Those in Mortal Sin…
BEFORE the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord communicated a word so powerful, so pregnant with Mercy, that I left the church exhausted:
To those lost souls bound in mortal sin:
THIS IS YOUR HOUR OF MERCY!
To those enslaved by pornography,
Come to Me, the Image of God
To those who are committing adultery,
Come to Me, the Faithful One
To prostitutes, and those who use or sell them,
Come to Me, your Beloved
To those engaging in unions outside the bounds of marriage,
Come to Me, your Bridegroom
To those who worship the god of money,
Come to Me, without paying and without cost
To those in witchcraft or bound in the occult,
Come to Me, the Living God
To those who have made covenant with Satan,
Come to Me, the New Covenant
To those drowning in the abyss of alcohol and drugs,
Come to Me, who am Living Waters
To those enslaved in hatred and unforgiveness,
Come to Me, Fount of Mercy
To those who have taken the life of another,
Come to Me, the Crucified One
To those who are jealous and envious, and murder with words,
Come to Me, who am jealous for you
To those who are enslaved by love of self,
Come to Me, who has laid down His life
To those who once loved me, but have fallen away,
Come to Me, who refuses no soul…. and I will blot out your offences, and forgive your transgressions. I will remove your sins, as far as the east is from the west.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I command the chains which hold you to be broken. I command every principality and power to release you.
I open my Sacred Heart to you as a hiding place and refuge. I will refuse no soul who returns to Me trusting in My infinite Mercy and Love.
THIS IS YOUR HOUR OF MERCY.
Run home to Me, my beloved, run home to Me, and I will embrace you as a Father, clothe you as My child, and protect you like a Brother.
To the one in mortal sin,
Come to Me! Come, before the last few grains of Mercy fall through the hourglass of time…
THIS IS YOUR HOUR OF MERCY!
STEPS TO HEALING
for a soul
REPENTING OF MORTAL SIN:
Pray Psalm 51 right now:
"Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness;
in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.
Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.
For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.
Against you alone have I sinned;
I have done such evil in your sight
That you are just in your sentence,
blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty, a sinner,
even as my mother conceived me.
Still, you insist on sincerity of heart;
in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure;
wash me, make me whiter than snow.
Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation;
sustain in me a willing spirit.
I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
Rescue me from death, God, my saving God,
that my tongue may praise your healing power.
Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice;
a burnt offering you would not accept.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn."
AMEN.
1. Resolve to find a priest and go to the Sacrament of Confession as soon as possible. Jesus gave priests the authority to forgive sins (John 20:23), and wants you to hear that you are forgiven.
2. Smash your idols. You must remove from your midst those things which are leading you to sin. Jesus said, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell." (Matt 5:29)
* Throw away pornography anywhere you have it.
* Remove computers/TV’s that are a temptation, or put them where you can be accountable. What is more important: convenience, or your soul?
* Pour alcohol or drugs down the sink.
* Move out of your partner’s home if you have been living together in sin, and commit to remaining pure in actions and intentions until marriage.
* Get rid of any occultist items, such as horoscopes, Ouija Boards, Tarot Cards, amulets, charms, books or novels on witchcraft or the occult which contain spells, chants, etc. and say a prayer asking God to cleanse you of all evil influence or bondage from these things:
"JESUS, I renounce the use of __________ and ask You to place the power of Your Holy Cross between me and this evil."
3. Make ammends:
* Ask forgiveness when possible.
* Give back or replace what has been stolen, or repair what has been broken.
* Do what is necessary to undo harm where possible.
4. Take necessary steps to get help where needed:
* If you have an addiction, or feel overwhelmed by the effects of grave sin, you may need qualified counselling. This may be the way in which God wishes to bring about your complete healing, as long as it takes.
5. Go back to church and begin to receive the Sacraments which Christ has provided to strengthen, heal, and transform you. Find a church which you know is faithful to its Catholic teachings. If you aren’t Catholic, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you where to go. And begin to pray each day, speaking with Jesus as you would with a friend. There is no other love greater than God’s love for you, and you will discover this more deeply through prayer and reading the Bible, which is His love letter to you. Trust Him with all your heart.
Questions often asked…
• What exactly IS mortal sin:
Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It is a rejection of God’s moral order expressed in His commandments, and written on the human heart. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: grave matter, full knowledge of the evil of the act, and full consent of the will — one’s God-given free will.
• How does it affect us now, and in eternity?
Mortal sin cuts one off from sanctifying Grace and the gift of eternal life offered freely through Jesus Christ. If mortal sin is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell — for our freedom has the power to make choices forever, with no turning back.
• Is hell real?
Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer its punishments, “eternal fire.” The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in Whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.
(References: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, 1861, 1035)
• What do we do if a loved one is in mortal sin?
If we truly love family and friends, we will not make excuses for their lifestyles in order to be liked or to keep from being rejected by them. We must speak the truth, but in gentleness and love. We must also be equipped spiritually, for our battle is not with flesh but with “principalities and powers” (Eph 6:12).
The Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet are powerful tools to combat the forces of darkness–make no mistake about this. Fasting also avails us or the situation with tremendous graces. Jesus highlighted that some spiritual battles simply can’t be won without it. Fast, pray, and give everything to God.
NEW!
Now available in pamphlet form. Go to:
http://www.markmallett.com/mortalsinpamphlet.html
Published in: DAILY JOURNAL, TIME OF GRACE | on June 10th, 2008 |
Welcome Holy Spirit
E A
Welcome Holy Spirit, We are in Your presence
B E
Fill us with Your power, Live inside of me…
(Repeat)
A E
We lift our hands to worship You, Holy Spirit, Holy One
A B
Come into this temple, Hold us in Your arms
A E
You're the living water, Never dying fountain
A B
Comforter and Counselor, Take complete control…
"Lord Jesus, I praise You and I thank You for the gift of salvation.
I thank You that your life and Your nature are within me. Thank you for the grace that enables me to respond from my heart, "I belong to You."
I come to you now, Lord, and ask for a deeper surrender to the management of Your Holy Spirit. Give me a teachable spirit. Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, and You are my Saviour, give the grace to make a perfect Act of contrition and a holy confession as I prepare for the Baptism of the Spirit.
I need a Saviour. I need my life to be daily submitted to the work of Your Spirit. Come Lord Jesus, melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Melt away my self will, my stubbornness, my desire to be served instead of serving. Mold me into the image of You. I want to reflect Your miraculous nature and enter into my spiritual heritage.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Use me to bring Your life and healing to others. Lord, give me a heart of a servant. Amen"
FORGIVENESS PRAYER OF FR. DE GRANDES
Lord Jesus Christ, I ask today to forgive everyone in my life. I know that you will give me the strength to forgive. I thank you that you love me more then I love myself and want my happiness more then I desire it for myself.
Father, I forgive you for the times death has come into our family, hard times, financial difficulties, or what I thought were punishments sent by you. When people said, “It is God’s Will” I became bitter and resentful towards you. Purify my heart and mind today.
Lord Jesus Christ, I ask today to forgive everyone in my life. I know that you will give me the strength to forgive. I thank you that you love me more then I love myself and want my happiness more then I desire it for myself.
I further forgive myself, for taking your name in vain, using drugs, not worshipping you by attending church, for hurting my parents, getting drunk, for sins against purity, bad books, bad movies, fornication, adultery, homosexuality. Also for abortion, stealing, lying, defrauding, hurting people’s reputations. You have forgiven me. Today I forgive myself.
I truly forgive my Mother, I forgive her for all the times she hurt me, resented me, was angry with me, and for all the times she punished me. I forgive her for all the times she told me I was dumb, ugly, stupid, the worst of children or that I cost the family a lot of money. Also for the times she told me I was unwanted, an accident, a mistake or not what she expected, I forgive her.
I forgive my Father, I forgive him for any non-support, any lack of love, affection or attention. I forgive him for any lack of time, for not giving me his companionship, for his drinking, arguing and fighting with my mother or the children. For his severe punishments, for desertion for being away from home, for divorcing my mother, or for running around, I do forgive him.
Lord, I extend forgiveness to my Sisters and Brothers, I forgive those who rejected me, lied about me, hated me, resented me, competed for my parents love, those who hurt me, who physically harmed me. For those who were too severe on me, punished me, or made my life unpleasant in any way, I do forgive them.
Lord, I forgive my spouse, for any lack of love, affection, consideration, support, attention, communication, for faults, failings, weaknesses, and those other acts or words that hurt or disturb me.
Jesus, I forgive my children for their lack of respect, obedience, love, attention, support, warmth, understanding, for their bad habits, falling away from the Church, any bad actions which disturb me.
My God, I forgive my IN-Laws, my Mother –in-Law, Father-in Law, son/daughter-In-Law and other relatives by marriage who treat my family with a lack of love. For all their words, thoughts and actions or omissions, which injure and cause pain, I forgive them.
Please help me forgive my Relatives, my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins who have interfered in our family, been possessive of my parents, who may have caused confusion or turned one parent against the other.
Jesus, help me to forgive my co-workers, who are disagreeable or make life miserable for me, for those who push their work off on me, gossip about me, won’t co-operate with me, try to take my job, I do forgive them.
My Neighbors need to be forgiven, Lord. For all their noise, letting their property run down, not tying up their dogs who run through my yard, not taking out their trash barrels, being prejudiced and running down the
neighborhood, I do forgive them.
I forgive all Priests, Nuns, Parish members, Parish Council Members, Parish Organization Heads, my Pastor, the Bishop, the Pope, and the Roman Catholic Church for their lack of support, affirmation, leadership, bad sermons, pettiness, lack of friendliness, for any hurts they have inflicted on me or my family – even in the distant past – I forgive them today.
Lord, I forgive all those of different persuasions, those of opposite political views who have attacked me, ridiculed me, discriminated against me, made fun of me, and economically hurt me.
I forgive those of different religious denominations who have tried to convert me, harassed me, attacked me,argued with me, and forced their views on me. Those who have harmed me Ethnically, have discriminated against me, mocked me, made jokes about my race, or nationality, hurt my family physically, emotionally, or economically, I do forgive them today.
Lord, I forgive my Employer for not paying me enough money, for not appreciating my work, for being unkind and unreasonable with me, for being angry or unfriendly, for not promoting me, and for not complimenting me on my work.
Lord, I forgive School teachers and Instructors of the past as well as the present. For those who punished me, humiliated me, insulted me, treated me unjustly, made fun of me, called me dumb or stupid, made me stay after school, I truly forgive them today.
Lord, I forgive my friends who have let me down, lost contact with me, did not support me, were not available when I needed help, borrowed money and did not return it, gossiped about me.
Lord Jesus, I especially ask for the grace of forgiveness for that one person in life who has hurt me the most I ask to forgive anyone whom I consider my greatest enemy, the one who is hardest to forgive or the one I said I would never forgive.
Lord, I beg pardon of all these people for the hurt I have inflicted on them, especially my mother and father, and my marriage partner. I am especially sorry for the three greatest hurts I have inflicted on each.
Thank you, Jesus that I am being set free of the evil of unforgiveness. Let your Holy Spirit fill me with light and let every dark area of my mind be enlightened. Amen
WHO I AM IN CHRIST
WHO GOD SAYS 1 AM: These things I accept by faith.
I am Accepted In Christ: In Christ Jesus I find my acceptance: Amen
JOHN 1:12 says I am God’s Child: Amen
JOHN 15:15 says I am Christ friend: Amen
ROMANS 5:1 says I have been justified: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 says I have been made righteous: Amen
I CORINTHIANS 6:17 says I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit: Amen
1 CORINTHIANS 6:20 says I have been bought with a price; I belong to God: Amen
1 CORINTHIANS 12:27 says I am a member of Christ’s body: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:1 says I am a saint: Amen
COLOSSIANS 3:12 says I am dearly loved: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:5 says I have been adopted as God’s child: Amen
ROMANS 5:1 says I have peace with God: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:18 says I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit: Amen
COLOSSIANS 1:14 says I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins: Amen
COLOSSIANS 2:10 says I am complete in Christ: Amen
ROMANS 8:17 says I am a joint-heir with Christ: Amen
I am Secure in Christ: In Christ Jesus I have a new start: Amen
ROMANS 6:1-6 says I died with Christ to the power of sin to rule over my life: Amen
ROMANS 6:4-10 says I have been raised with Christ to a new life: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 says I am a new creation: Amen
ROMANS 8:1-2 says I am free forever from condemnation: Amen
ROMANS 8:28 says I am assured that all things work together for good: Amen
ROMANS 8:33,34 says I am free from any condemning charges against me: Amen
ROMANS 8:35 says I cannot be separated from the love of God: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 1:21 says I have been established, anointed and sealed by God: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:3 says I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing: Amen
COLOSSIANS 3:3 says I am hidden with Christ in God: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 1:6 says I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 3:20 says I am a citizen of heaven: Amen
2 TIMOTHY 1:7 says I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power. love and a sound mind: Amen
HEBREWS 4:16 says I can find grace and mercy in time of need: Amen
1JOHN 5:18 says I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me: Amen
I am Significant in Christ: In Christ Jesus I find my purpose: Amen
MATHEW 5:13,14 says I am the salt and light of the earth: Amen
JOHN 15:1,5 says I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life: Amen
JOHN 1 5:16 says I have been chosen and appointed to bear good and lasting fruit: Amen
ACTS (:8 says I am a personal witness of Christ: Amen
I CORINTHIANS 3:16 says I am God’s temple: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-20 says I am a minister of reconciliation: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1 says I am God’s coworker: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:6 says I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:10 says I am God’s workmanship, created to do good works: Amen
EPHESIANS 3:12 says I may approach God with freedom and confidence: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me: Amen
+++++++++++++++++++++
BINDING AND LOOSING PRAYER
1) In the name of Jesus, I bind my will to Gods will which produces an incredible steadiness in my
spiritual walk with the Lord.
2) In the name of Jesus, I bind my mind to the mind of Christ.
3) In the name of Jesus, I bind my emotions to the Spirit of Life who is the Holy Spirit.
4) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the authority and power of God.
5) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the Truth which is the Word of God.
6) In the name of Jesus. I bind myself to an awareness of the blood of Jesus Christ.
7) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the working of the Cross of Jesus at Calvary because there is
where I receive mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, power, healing, deliverance and authority into my life.
8) In the name of Jesus, I bind my feet to the path that God has ordained for me to walk.
9) In the name of Jesus, I bind my hands to the work God has meant for me to do so that I will prosper
in His will and Kingdom.
10) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to God’s grace, mercy and favour, His love and peace.
11) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the Cross of Jesus at Calvary and I carry my cross daily.
12) In the name of Jesus, I bind my heart to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is full of love, mercy and
compassion.
13) In the name of Jesus, I bind my flesh to the crucified flesh of Christ and subject all my fleshy desires
to the Cross and to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life.
14) In the name of Jesus, I loose the strongholds protecting the source or the reason for my……………..
(rebelliousness, disobedience, unforgiveness, drinking, smoking, bad habits etc).
15) In the name of Jesus, I loose all strongholds and wrong agreements and I close any and all doors
which I might have opened to the world of darkness.
16) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of word curses spoken by me, to me. for me or by any other
person.
17) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of physic/soulish prayers and witchcraft prayers prayed over
me or against me.
18) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of all negative influences that comes from the media, the
world around me and my peers.
19) In the name of Jesus, I keep loosing and rejecting old thought patterns, old memory tapes, wrong
beliefs, wrong attitudes, wrong prophecies. from every and all ungodly soulish ties while binding my
mind, will and emotions to God’s greater purpose.
20) In the name of Jesus, I loose myself from every deception, pain, fear, anxiety, worry, care of the world
and I bind myself and my timing to God’s timing.
21) In the name of Jesus, I loose myself from strongholds, stripping layer over layer to all my unmet
needs, unhealed hurts and unresolved issues and I bind myself to the working of the Holy Spirit in my
life.
22) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the will of God and His Truth and to the mind of Christ. In the
name of Jesus, I loose wrong pattern of thinking, attitudes, behavior, habits and strongholds from
myself. Amen
PRAYER FOR ALL OCCATION
ROM 8:28 “And we are assured and know that all things and in everything God works together for
good to them who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.”
PHIL 1:6 “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you
will continue until the day of Jesus Christ - right up to the tim– of His return developing that good
work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
PHIL 2:13 “For it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you, energizing and creating in
you the power and desire, both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and
delight.”
T T T T T T T T
2 Cor 4:6 Father God, You commanded light to shine out of darkness. I ask and thank
You, Father, that for You will cause that same light to shine into (Name) heart and Jesus
the Savior will be revealed to (him/her). As (he/she) receives the light of the knowledge of the
glory of You, God, in the face of Jesus Christ.
Col 1:9-11 I do not cease to pray for my (husband/wife/son/daughter/friend) (Name)
and desire that (he/she) be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual
understanding. That (Name) might walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Strengthened with all
might according to Christ’s glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness.
Thank You, Lord, that You are able to save (Name) and that You will rescue (him/her)
from the hand of the enemy (Dn 3:17). Father, I ask You to shine Your light in (Name)
heart to give (him/her) the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ
(2 Cor 4:6). Holy Spirit, turn (Name) heart to the Father, to walk in all His ways to keep
His commands (1 Kg 8:58). I pray that (he/she) will be delivered from wicked and evil
men, for the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect (Name) from the
evil one (2 Thes 3:2-3). For this is what the Sovereign Lord says “I myself will search for my
sheep and look after them. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind
up the injured and strengthen the weak” (Ez 34:11-16). I bind in the Name of Jesus the
lying spirits to leave (Name) right now and stop trying to prevent (his/her) heart from
turning to the Lord. Lord, place a hedge of protection around (him/her) as You did for Job
(Job 1:10). Lord, be a shield about (Name) be (his/her) glory and the lifter of (his/her)
head (Ps 3:3). I ask God to raise up intercessors to pray for (Name).
Satan, you can’t have (Name) I bind your activity in (him/her) in the Name of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Name I loose the ministering angels to minister to (Name) and protect (him/her).
Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord. AMEN
++++++++++++++++++++
PRAYER: PSALM 91 – CONFESS ALOUD
Because I dwell in the secret place of the most High, I abide in the shadow of the Almighty, in
the light of His glorious presence. I am a part of the family of God, those who are born again
of His spirit.
The Lord is my refuge and my fortress. He is my shelter and protection, my way of escape from
all danger and harm. I walk in His Word, clothed in His armor. He is my rock and my fortress,
my deliverer, my God, my strength and high tower.
My Lord delivers me from all snares, traps, test and temptation. In Him I turn away from evil
and rise up over sin. He has given me power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all
the power of the enemy.
My God covers me with His feathers, and in His image I trust. He hedges me in so that the evil
one cannot touch me. Because of my trust in Him, I walk boldly by faith and I know who I am in
Christ. By that I am not afraid of the terror at night, the pestilence in darkness or the
destruction at noon. I fear no evil, but my reverent fear is in the Lord.
Because I choose to walk in faith and in love, no harm will come to me. A thousand may fall at
my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. No weapon formed
against me will prosper.
With my eyes, I will behold the reward of the wicked, those who are terrified at night hit by
arrows, destroyed by pestilence, consumed by fear. Because I am a believer in Christ Jesus of
Nazareth the Head of the Church, I do not expect the horrible things that happen to others
to happen to me. Since I have made the Lord, the most High, my refuge and habitation, no evil
will befall me, no plague will come near my dwelling.
The Lord has given His angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways. They watch over me
and act in my behalf, just as they watched over, guided and protected the children of Israel and
the apostles. The angels of the Lord make up a hedge around me and my family. They bear
me up in the palm of their hands.
Therefore I will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon will I trample
underfoot. As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, all things — including Satan, the roaring lion are
under my feet.
Because the Lord has set His love on me — and I have set mine on Him — He delivers me and
sets me on high. I call upon Him and He answers me. Satan can no longer hold me hostage
because I have been delivered from Satan and his power.
With long life the Lord satisfies me, and He shows me His salvation. Before the foundation of
the world, He chose me and set me apart to fulfill His purpose on this earth. He has a reason
for me to live and not to die. I have no fear of my life ending prematurely for the Lord has
saved me from sin, sickness, fear, poverty and death and delivered me into righteousness,
health, peace, prosperity and life in all its fullness, joy satisfaction and abundance. Thanks be
to God. AMEN.
Psalm 91: Challenges you to live it everyday of your life.
WHO I AM IN CHRIST
WHO GOD SAYS I AM: These things I accept by faith.
I am Accepted In Christ: In Christ Jesus I find my acceptance: Amen
JOHN 1:12 says I am God’s Child: Amen
JOHN 15:15 says I am Christ friend: Amen
ROMANS 5:1 says I have been justified: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 says I have been made righteous: Amen
I CORINTHIANS 6:17 says I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit: Amen
1 CORINTHIANS 6:20 says I have been bought with a price; I belong to God: Amen
1 CORINTHIANS 12:27 says I am a member of Christ’s body: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:1 says I am a saint: Amen
COLOSSIANS 3:12 says I am dearly loved: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:5 says I have been adopted as God’s child: Amen
ROMANS 5:1 says I have peace with God: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:18 says I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit: Amen
COLOSSIANS 1:14 says I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins: Amen
COLOSSIANS 2:10 says I am complete in Christ: Amen
ROMANS 8:17 says I am a joint-heir with Christ: Amen
I am Secure in Christ: In Christ Jesus I have a new start: Amen
ROMANS 6:1-6 says I died with Christ to the power of sin to rule over my life: Amen
ROMANS 6:4-10 says I have been raised with Christ to a new life: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 says I am a new creation: Amen
ROMANS 8:1-2 says I am free forever from condemnation: Amen
ROMANS 8:28 says I am assured that all things work together for good: Amen
ROMANS 8:33,34 says I am free from any condemning charges against me: Amen
ROMANS 8:35 says I cannot be separated from the love of God: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 1:21 says I have been established, anointed and sealed by God: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:3 says I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing: Amen
COLOSSIANS 3:3 says I am hidden with Christ in God: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 1:6 says I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 3:20 says I am a citizen of heaven: Amen
2 TIMOTHY 1:7 says I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power. love and a sound mind: Amen
HEBREWS 4:16 says I can find grace and mercy in time of need: Amen
1JOHN 5:18 says I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me: Amen
I am Significant in Christ: In Christ Jesus I find my purpose: Amen
MATHEW 5:13,14 says I am the salt and light of the earth: Amen
JOHN 15:1,5 says I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life: Amen
JOHN 1 5:16 says I have been chosen and appointed to bear good and lasting fruit: Amen
ACTS (:8 says I am a personal witness of Christ: Amen
I CORINTHIANS 3:16 says I am God’s temple: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-20 says I am a minister of reconciliation: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1 says I am God’s coworker: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:6 says I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:10 says I am God’s workmanship, created to do good works: Amen
EPHESIANS 3:12 says I may approach God with freedom and confidence: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me: Amen
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BINDING AND LOOSING PRAYER
1) In the name of Jesus, I bind my will to Gods will which produces an incredible steadiness in my
spiritual walk with the Lord.
2) In the name of Jesus, I bind my mind to the mind of Christ.
3) In the name of Jesus, I bind my emotions to the Spirit of Life who is the Holy Spirit.
4) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the authority and power of God.
5) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the Truth which is the Word of God.
6) In the name of Jesus. I bind myself to an awareness of the blood of Jesus Christ.
7) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the working of the Cross of Jesus at Calvary because there is
where I receive mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, power, healing, deliverance and authority into my life.
8) In the name of Jesus, I bind my feet to the path that God has ordained for me to walk.
9) In the name of Jesus, I bind my hands to the work God has meant for me to do so that I will prosper
in His will and Kingdom.
10) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to God’s grace, mercy and favour, His love and peace.
11) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the Cross of Jesus at Calvary and I carry my cross daily.
12) In the name of Jesus, I bind my heart to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is full of love, mercy and
compassion.
13) In the name of Jesus, I bind my flesh to the crucified flesh of Christ and subject all my fleshy desires
to the Cross and to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life.
14) In the name of Jesus, I loose the strongholds protecting the source or the reason for my……………..
(rebelliousness, disobedience, unforgiveness, drinking, smoking, bad habits etc).
15) In the name of Jesus, I loose all strongholds and wrong agreements and I close any and all doors
which I might have opened to the world of darkness.
16) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of word curses spoken by me, to me. for me or by any other
person.
17) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of physic/soulish prayers and witchcraft prayers prayed over
me or against me.
18) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of all negative influences that comes from the media, the
world around me and my peers.
19) In the name of Jesus, I keep loosing and rejecting old thought patterns, old memory tapes, wrong
beliefs, wrong attitudes, wrong prophecies. from every and all ungodly soulish ties while binding my
mind, will and emotions to God’s greater purpose.
20) In the name of Jesus, I loose myself from every deception, pain, fear, anxiety, worry, care of the world
and I bind myself and my timing to God’s timing.
21) In the name of Jesus, I loose myself from strongholds, stripping layer over layer to all my unmet
needs, unhealed hurts and unresolved issues and I bind myself to the working of the Holy Spirit in my
life.
22) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the will of God and His Truth and to the mind of Christ. In the
name of Jesus, I loose wrong pattern of thinking, attitudes, behavior, habits and strongholds from
myself. Amen
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRAYER FOR ALL OCCATION
ROM 8:28 “And we are assured and know that all things and in everything God works together for
good to them who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.”
PHIL 1:6 “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you
will continue until the day of Jesus Christ - right up to the time of His return developing that good
work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
PHIL 2:13 “For it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you, energizing and creating in
you the power and desire, both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and
delight.”
T T T T T T T T
2 Cor 4:6 Father God, You commanded light to shine out of darkness. I ask and thank
You, Father, that for You will cause that same light to shine into ( Name ) heart and Jesus
the Savior will be revealed to (him/her). As (he/she) receives the light of the knowledge of the
glory of You, God, in the face of Jesus Christ.
Col 1:9-11 I do not cease to pray for my (husband/wife/son/daughter/friend) ( Name )
and desire that (he/she) be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual
understanding. That I Name ) might walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Strengthened with all
might according to Christ’s glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness.
Thank You, Lord, that You are able to save ( Name ) and that You will rescue (him/her)
from the hand of the enemy (Dn 3:17). Father, I ask You to shine Your light in f Name )
heart to give (him/her) the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ
(2 Cor 4:6). Holy Spirit, turn L Name ) heart to the Father, to walk in all His ways to keep
His commands (1 Kg 8:58). I pray that (he/she) will be delivered from wicked and evil
men, for the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect ( Name ) from the
evil one (2 Thes 3:2-3). For this is what the Sovereign Lord says “I myself will search for my
sheep and look after them. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind
up the injured and strengthen the weak” (Ez 34:11-16). I bind in the Name of Jesus the
lying spirits to leave ( Name ) right now and stop trying to prevent (his/her) heart from
turning to the Lord. Lord, place a hedge of protection around (him/her) as You did for Job
(Job 1:10). Lord, be a shield about ( Name I be (his/her) glory and the lifter of (his/her)
head (Ps 3:3). I ask God to raise up intercessors to pray for ( Name ).
Satan, you can’t have ( Name ) I bind your activity in (him/her) in the Name of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Name I loose the ministering angels to minister to ( Name ) and protect (him/her).
Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord. AMEN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRAYER: PSALM 91 – CONFESS ALOUD
Because I dwell in the secret place of the most High, I abide in the shadow of the Almighty, in
the light of His glorious presence. I am a part of the family of God, those who are born again
of His spirit.
The Lord is my refuge and my fortress. He is my shelter and protection, my way of escape from
all danger and harm. I walk in His Word, clothed in His armor. He is my rock and my fortress,
my deliverer, my God, my strength and high tower.
My Lord delivers me from all snares, traps, test and temptation. In Him I turn away from evil
and rise up over sin. He has given me power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all
the power of the enemy.
My God covers me with His feathers, and in His image I trust. He hedges me in so that the evil
one cannot touch me. Because of my trust in Him, I walk boldly by faith and I know who I am in
Christ. By that I am not afraid of the terror at night, the pestilence in darkness or the
destruction at noon. I fear no evil, but my reverent fear is in the Lord.
Because I choose to walk in faith and in love, no harm will come to me. A thousand may fall at
my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. No weapon formed
against me will prosper.
With my eyes, I will behold the reward of the wicked, those who are terrified at night hit by
arrows, destroyed by pestilence, consumed by fear. Because I am a believer in Christ Jesus of
Nazareth the Head of the Church, I do not expect the horrible things that happen to others
to happen to me. Since I have made the Lord, the most High, my refuge and habitation, no evil
will befall me, no plague will come near my dwelling.
The Lord has given His angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways. They watch over me
and act in my behalf, just as they watched over, guided and protected the children of Israel and
the apostles. The angels of the Lord make up a hedge around me and my family. They bear
me up in the palm of their hands.
Therefore I will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon will I trample
underfoot. As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, all things — including Satan, the roaring lion are
under my feet.
Because the Lord has set His love on me — and I have set mine on Him — He delivers me and
sets me on high. I call upon Him and He answers me. Satan can no longer hold me hostage
because I have been delivered from Satan and his power.
With long life the Lord satisfies me, and He shows me His salvation. Before the foundation of
the world, He chose me and set me apart to fulfill His purpose on this earth. He has a reason
for me to live and not to die. I have no fear of my life ending prematurely for the Lord has
saved me from sin, sickness, fear, poverty and death and delivered me into righteousness,
health, peace, prosperity and life in all its fullness, joy satisfaction and abundance. Thanks be
to God. AMEN.
Psalm 91: Challenges you to live it everyday of your life.
WHO I AM IN CHRIST
WHO GOD SAYS 1 AM: These things I accept by faith.
I am Accepted In Christ: In Christ Jesus I find my acceptance: Amen
JOHN 1:12 says I am God’s Child: Amen
JOHN 15:15 says I am Christ friend: Amen
ROMANS 5:1 says I have been justified: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 says I have been made righteous: Amen
I CORINTHIANS 6:17 says I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit: Amen
1 CORINTHIANS 6:20 says I have been bought with a price; I belong to God: Amen
1 CORINTHIANS 12:27 says I am a member of Christ’s body: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:1 says I am a saint: Amen
COLOSSIANS 3:12 says I am dearly loved: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:5 says I have been adopted as God’s child: Amen
ROMANS 5:1 says I have peace with God: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:18 says I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit: Amen
COLOSSIANS 1:14 says I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins: Amen
COLOSSIANS 2:10 says I am complete in Christ: Amen
ROMANS 8:17 says I am a joint-heir with Christ: Amen
I am Secure in Christ: In Christ Jesus I have a new start: Amen
ROMANS 6:1-6 says I died with Christ to the power of sin to rule over my life: Amen
ROMANS 6:4-10 says I have been raised with Christ to a new life: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 says I am a new creation: Amen
ROMANS 8:1-2 says I am free forever from condemnation: Amen
ROMANS 8:28 says I am assured that all things work together for good: Amen
ROMANS 8:33,34 says I am free from any condemning charges against me: Amen
ROMANS 8:35 says I cannot be separated from the love of God: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 1:21 says I have been established, anointed and sealed by God: Amen
EPHESIANS 1:3 says I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing: Amen
COLOSSIANS 3:3 says I am hidden with Christ in God: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 1:6 says I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 3:20 says I am a citizen of heaven: Amen
2 TIMOTHY 1:7 says I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power. love and a sound mind: Amen
HEBREWS 4:16 says I can find grace and mercy in time of need: Amen
1JOHN 5:18 says I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me: Amen
I am Significant in Christ: In Christ Jesus I find my purpose: Amen
MATHEW 5:13,14 says I am the salt and light of the earth: Amen
JOHN 15:1,5 says I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life: Amen
JOHN 1 5:16 says I have been chosen and appointed to bear good and lasting fruit: Amen
ACTS (:8 says I am a personal witness of Christ: Amen
I CORINTHIANS 3:16 says I am God’s temple: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-20 says I am a minister of reconciliation: Amen
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1 says I am God’s coworker: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:6 says I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm: Amen
EPHESIANS 2:10 says I am God’s workmanship, created to do good works: Amen
EPHESIANS 3:12 says I may approach God with freedom and confidence: Amen
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me: Amen
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BINDING AND LOOSING PRAYER
1) In the name of Jesus, I bind my will to Gods will which produces an incredible steadiness in my
spiritual walk with the Lord.
2) In the name of Jesus, I bind my mind to the mind of Christ.
3) In the name of Jesus, I bind my emotions to the Spirit of Life who is the Holy Spirit.
4) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the authority and power of God.
5) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the Truth which is the Word of God.
6) In the name of Jesus. I bind myself to an awareness of the blood of Jesus Christ.
7) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the working of the Cross of Jesus at Calvary because there is
where I receive mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, power, healing, deliverance and authority into my life.
8) In the name of Jesus, I bind my feet to the path that God has ordained for me to walk.
9) In the name of Jesus, I bind my hands to the work God has meant for me to do so that I will prosper
in His will and Kingdom.
10) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to God’s grace, mercy and favour, His love and peace.
11) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the Cross of Jesus at Calvary and I carry my cross daily.
12) In the name of Jesus, I bind my heart to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is full of love, mercy and
compassion.
13) In the name of Jesus, I bind my flesh to the crucified flesh of Christ and subject all my fleshy desires
to the Cross and to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life.
14) In the name of Jesus, I loose the strongholds protecting the source or the reason for my……………..
(rebelliousness, disobedience, unforgiveness, drinking, smoking, bad habits etc).
15) In the name of Jesus, I loose all strongholds and wrong agreements and I close any and all doors
which I might have opened to the world of darkness.
16) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of word curses spoken by me, to me. for me or by any other
person.
17) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of physic/soulish prayers and witchcraft prayers prayed over
me or against me.
18) In the name of Jesus, I loose the effect of all negative influences that comes from the media, the
world around me and my peers.
19) In the name of Jesus, I keep loosing and rejecting old thought patterns, old memory tapes, wrong
beliefs, wrong attitudes, wrong prophecies. from every and all ungodly soulish ties while binding my
mind, will and emotions to God’s greater purpose.
20) In the name of Jesus, I loose myself from every deception, pain, fear, anxiety, worry, care of the world
and I bind myself and my timing to God’s timing.
21) In the name of Jesus, I loose myself from strongholds, stripping layer over layer to all my unmet
needs, unhealed hurts and unresolved issues and I bind myself to the working of the Holy Spirit in my
life.
22) In the name of Jesus, I bind myself to the will of God and His Truth and to the mind of Christ. In the
name of Jesus, I loose wrong pattern of thinking, attitudes, behavior, habits and strongholds from
myself. Amen
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRAYER FOR ALL OCCATION
ROM 8:28 “And we are assured and know that all things and in everything God works together for
good to them who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.”
PHIL 1:6 “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you
will continue until the day of Jesus Christ - right up to the time of His return developing that good
work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
PHIL 2:13 “For it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you, energizing and creating in
you the power and desire, both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and
delight.”
T T T T T T T T
2 Cor 4:6 Father God, You commanded light to shine out of darkness. I ask and thank
You, Father, that for You will cause that same light to shine into ( Name ) heart and Jesus
the Savior will be revealed to (him/her). As (he/she) receives the light of the knowledge of the
glory of You, God, in the face of Jesus Christ.
Col 1:9-11 I do not cease to pray for my (husband/wife/son/daughter/friend) ( Name )
and desire that (he/she) be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual
understanding. That I Name ) might walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Strengthened with all
might according to Christ’s glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness.
Thank You, Lord, that You are able to save ( Name ) and that You will rescue (him/her)
from the hand of the enemy (Dn 3:17). Father, I ask You to shine Your light in f Name )
heart to give (him/her) the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ
(2 Cor 4:6). Holy Spirit, turn L Name ) heart to the Father, to walk in all His ways to keep
His commands (1 Kg 8:58). I pray that (he/she) will be delivered from wicked and evil
men, for the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect ( Name ) from the
evil one (2 Thes 3:2-3). For this is what the Sovereign Lord says “I myself will search for my
sheep and look after them. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind
up the injured and strengthen the weak” (Ez 34:11-16). I bind in the Name of Jesus the
lying spirits to leave ( Name ) right now and stop trying to prevent (his/her) heart from
turning to the Lord. Lord, place a hedge of protection around (him/her) as You did for Job
(Job 1:10). Lord, be a shield about ( Name I be (his/her) glory and the lifter of (his/her)
head (Ps 3:3). I ask God to raise up intercessors to pray for ( Name ).
Satan, you can’t have ( Name ) I bind your activity in (him/her) in the Name of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Name I loose the ministering angels to minister to ( Name ) and protect (him/her).
Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord. AMEN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRAYER: PSALM 91 – CONFESS ALOUD
Because I dwell in the secret place of the most High, I abide in the shadow of the Almighty, in
the light of His glorious presence. I am a part of the family of God, those who are born again
of His spirit.
The Lord is my refuge and my fortress. He is my shelter and protection, my way of escape from
all danger and harm. I walk in His Word, clothed in His armor. He is my rock and my fortress,
my deliverer, my God, my strength and high tower.
My Lord delivers me from all snares, traps, test and temptation. In Him I turn away from evil
and rise up over sin. He has given me power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all
the power of the enemy.
My God covers me with His feathers, and in His image I trust. He hedges me in so that the evil
one cannot touch me. Because of my trust in Him, I walk boldly by faith and I know who I am in
Christ. By that I am not afraid of the terror at night, the pestilence in darkness or the
destruction at noon. I fear no evil, but my reverent fear is in the Lord.
Because I choose to walk in faith and in love, no harm will come to me. A thousand may fall at
my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. No weapon formed
against me will prosper.
With my eyes, I will behold the reward of the wicked, those who are terrified at night hit by
arrows, destroyed by pestilence, consumed by fear. Because I am a believer in Christ Jesus of
Nazareth the Head of the Church, I do not expect the horrible things that happen to others
to happen to me. Since I have made the Lord, the most High, my refuge and habitation, no evil
will befall me, no plague will come near my dwelling.
The Lord has given His angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways. They watch over me
and act in my behalf, just as they watched over, guided and protected the children of Israel and
the apostles. The angels of the Lord make up a hedge around me and my family. They bear
me up in the palm of their hands.
Therefore I will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon will I trample
underfoot. As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, all things — including Satan, the roaring lion are
under my feet.
Because the Lord has set His love on me — and I have set mine on Him — He delivers me and
sets me on high. I call upon Him and He answers me. Satan can no longer hold me hostage
because I have been delivered from Satan and his power.
With long life the Lord satisfies me, and He shows me His salvation. Before the foundation of
the world, He chose me and set me apart to fulfill His purpose on this earth. He has a reason
for me to live and not to die. I have no fear of my life ending prematurely for the Lord has
saved me from sin, sickness, fear, poverty and death and delivered me into righteousness,
health, peace, prosperity and life in all its fullness, joy satisfaction and abundance. Thanks be
to God. AMEN.
Psalm 91: Challenges you to live it everyday of your life.
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