Prayer Can Help Ministries

Here you are at the end, thank you so much for sticking with it, hopefully and prayerfully this will bless you as much as you have just blessed us, go one finish it up, and give yourself a pat on the back, YOU DESERVE IT!

1. Prayer in Faith
2. Bible study and reading
3. Effectual fasting
4. Praising of God
5. Worship to God

Section 6: Fellowship with Believers

This is the one Discipline that cannot be done in private and this fulfills the teaching of the Lord,

Matthew 18:20 (NIV) 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

            The other disciplines have a private time and a public time, this one however requires at least one other participant. This is essential to the purpose of the Spirit in our lives. We were not saved only for ourselves, but that we might also save others by showing them Jesus,

1 Corinthians 9:19-22 (NLT) 19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. 22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.

            For some this will come naturally, and yet for others this will be a hard and arduous part of their relationship with God. God is perfect and all loving, He is able to be all things to all men. As humans we aren't. We stand in stark contrast to our God,

Isaiah 64:6 (NLT) 6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

            God is intrinsically good, we are birthed in sin. His good is in us, but buried beneath our sin,

Psalm 51:4-5 (NLT) 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

            God is like a archaeologist, who sifts and brushes off the layers our spirit is buried under. There are times when dynamite and huge digging tools are required, and there are times when a gentle touch and a skilled hand are needed. God can and will also use others to hold us accountable and to build us up. This discipline must be understood to be with those who can add to you, this is not evangelism, it is edification. The two are different, because one takes what you have to give to those who don't know, evangelism, and the other is seeking to join together with like minded people who want growth and change, if you try to present the one to the wrong crowd you can get hurt,

Matthew 7:6 (NLT) 6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

            Many times in our walk with God we find ourselves hand in hand with someone who can minister to us or that we can minister to,

Philemon 1:7 (NLT) 7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.

             We find upon close examination that the situations and circumstances that we have gone through are very similar and this gives the ability to minister from experience rather than rhetoric. It is much easier to lean on and take counsel from someone who has gone through what we are going through, rather than a learned observer who has no firsthand knowledge of our pain and issues, 

2 Timothy 2:3-4 (NLT) 3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

            This can be and is frightening to some. To find in our lives by “coincidence” people whose life and times stand as witness to how we can and should overcome. We tend to pull away from those whose lives convict us, not even by word, but by the fact that they have overcome the very thing which we ourselves have not yet been able to. Many will often say, ”thats just the way I am,” or ”I am doing my best,” or ”God knows my heart.” The problem with this mentality is that, Yes God does know your heart and He warns us that the Heart is deceitful above all things. When we think we have a good heart we are lying to ourselves and being prideful. God has to give us a heart transplant, to remove the heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.

            When we come into fellowship with others who have, by God's grace power and love, overcome; then we some times can become jealous or feel that it is impossible for us because they have something we don't. But the truth of the matter is that God is the one who did it, and we all have the same access to God, because God is no respecter of persons. God impartially equips us all with the grace of repentance, the gift of forgiveness, the infilling of the Holy Spirit. God set us up to be in fellowship with those people who need us, or we are in need of, so that through His Spirit all needs may be met and covered, for in the bible He teaches,

Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) 17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

            In the body of Christ, the Church, God has also given gifts to different members, so that we do need one another. One may have the gift of speaking in tongues, but another interpretation of tongues. One may be able to heal, but lacks wisdom, one may be able to encourage but lacks in financial areas, one may have the gift to give, but needs help in miraculous prayer.

            God has made us interdependent so that the scripture is fulfilled:

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 (NLT) 12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. 27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. 29 Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? 30 Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

            God has clearly outlined for us the reason for unity and fellowship in the body,

Hebrews 10:19-25 (NLT) 19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

            God's expectation of us as His children, are to be met with gratefulness and obedience, many times however we second guess His laws instructions and precepts. As men and women we tend to second guess our God given moral compass, we make excuses for our misdeeds and misbehavior. To the point that we get so far of track, that we know if we walked into fellowship with that on us, we would be out of place, we know that we would feel the conviction on us like a stain, and so instead we flee from the very fellowship that can save us from ourselves. For within the confines of fellowship we find we are to restore others,

Galatians 6:1-3 (NLT) 1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

            God also tells us healing comes within the Church and it's fellowship,

James 5:14-16 (NLT) 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Fellowship is a powerful way to encourage and be encouraged, do not be fearful of the contact your heart and spirit yearn for! 

Final thoughts on the Six Spiritual Disciplines

            Time, all things take time, and the greater the investment the greater the dividend. God has given the keys to victorious living,

Matthew 16:19 (NLT) 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

            The bible outlines these 6 principles, not as a cure all or the final word on Christian Discipleship, but they are keys to widening and deepening our walk with Jesus Christ, who is not only to be our savior, but first and foremost our Lord. If He is our lord, we need to learn to walk in submission, realizing He has the authority to tell us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it,

Matthew 28:20 (NLT) 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

            Remember that we have the freedom to choose, but choose we must,

Joshua 24:15 (NLT) 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

           Like it or not the wrong choice comes with a heavy price,

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT) 19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

            We must choose God or choose the other, there is no middle ground,

1 Kings 18:21 (NLT) 21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.

            Now let us see how the Armor God supplies is comparable to the six disciplines. Fasting clears the spiritual arteries that have become clogged and laden with the fat of the world, it helps to put us in right standing with the one who said to worship the creator not the creation, the breast plate of righteousness. When we pray we communicate to God admitting our need for God, and give to Him our burdens and desires, when we incorporate scripture into our prayer we can fight and take back what the enemy has stolen, the sword. When we praise God we are acknowledging and sharing God with others, thanking Him for His power and greatness, we increase our faith by praising the one who is able to defend and win, the shield. When we worship we are coming into a intimate relationship with God, living in the truth of the matter that there is only One God, and One Lord, and he is worthy to be worshiped in spirit and truth, the belt of truth. Reading and studying our bible enables us to guard our minds and hearts from the attacks of the enemy, it reveals to us the character of God as the spirit within us reveals His heart to us, it keeps our minds on the salvation we have achieved in Christ Jesus, that His crucifixion was pivotal to our future, the helmet. When we fellowship with others we build relationships, and help to strengthen them, we are held accountable and can combine our strengths to cover weaknesses, we go forth in fellowship as the first disciples did sharing the Gospel of Peace and of the Cross, feet wearing the preparation of the gospel of peace.

            Walking and practicing and living all the disciplines allows us to commune with God in a deeper way that other wise might not be possible. Just as the fruit of the Spirit  are interdependent on one another, the six spiritual disciplines are also. As we push through each of these disciplines some overlapping one another, we can find where we lack and need the covering of others,

Colossians 3:13-14 (NLT) 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

            We also see most importantly that we can find and live in the strength of the Lord,

2 Corinthians 12:9 (AMP) 9 But He said to me, “My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

Thank you so much for reading this, please share with everyone you feel it will bless and encourage and be sure to let us know if you would like a hard copy emailed or sent to you. Jesus bless you now and forever.

Your brother and servant,

Ben