By Maria Fontaine
Audio length: 6:58
Download Audio (6.3MB)
Download Audio (6.3MB)
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”—2 Corinthians 5:18–20
These verses are expressed in “The Message” as follows: “All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.”
Thank You, dear Jesus, for the exciting vision You’ve given us of reaching out to those in the world who have yet to hear about You, those who will want to help Your work in some way and help to win the world for You. Help us to soak ourselves in Your Word about our commission on this earth, so that it’ll be deeply ingrained in our hearts, and the desire to win souls, disciples, and laborers will be part of the very fiber of our being.
We depend on the Spirit’s power to help us to have a heart for the lost. Give us an anointing of love and sacrifice, so that we’ll be motivated to reach out to those who have yet to know You or to grow in their faith. Help us to be willing to forsake anything in our lives that would be a hindrance to our witness to others—any worldliness or bad habits that may have crept in.
Help us, Jesus, to have soul-winning mindsets, so that when we go out and about in our work, ministries, studies, and business, we’ll be attuned to the checks of Your Spirit and we’ll be instant witnesses. Direct us to those who are searching for Your truth. Give us a burden and love for the people of the community, neighborhood, and country we live in, so that we can become one with them and lead them to You. Help us always to be looking for new ways to witness and share our faith with the people You place in our path each day.
We pray that even now You will prepare the hearts of those who each of us will meet in the future who will be so excited that they will want to share that great love with everyone they meet. Please work in their lives today, in whatever way You know is best, so that they’ll be ready for what You have planned for them in the future. Help each potential new believer and disciple to be yielded to Your Spirit and influence in their life, even if they don’t presently know You personally. Help them to learn and experience things in their lives now that will aid them in their future service to You.
Help those that we reach and lead to You to develop a love for Your Word and Spirit. Please put that desire within them even now—a desire for the truth that can only be found in You, the source of truth. Help them to desire and feel the hunger for more of Your truth, spiritual realities, and godly things.
Please do prepare these people today, so that when the time comes, they’ll be able to make the right decisions to receive salvation and grow in their faith. Give them the faith to receive the spiritual truths in Your Word, even though they may not have had much or any experience with them. We claim the gifts of boldness and faith for them even now, so that they’ll be able to use these gifts in their witnessing and winning souls and disciples when the time comes.
Dear Lord, we ask that You’ll open their minds to Your Word, and that they will take on the mind of Christ.1 We pray that You will strengthen the faith of these who will one day be our brethren, one in heart and spirit with us. Please give them the training and experience they need, so that when we meet them, they’ll be at a point in their lives where they’ll be prepared to use their skills for Your glory.
We pray for the anointing to fulfill the Great Commission You have given us. Help us to be diligent to study and review the Bible and the many other devotional materials that You have blessed us with‚ so we’ll always be ready to give an answer to those who ask us.2 We don’t know everything that we need in order to do the job, because we don’t know Your plan for each situation. But You do, so we depend on You to do whatever is needed behind the scenes even now, so that we’ll be prepared to do our part to help reap the great harvest.
Help each of us to be open to Your Spirit and willing to make any changes needed so we can continue to fulfill the Great Commission. Help us not to get complacent; please help us to continue to be proactive in our personal relations with those around us, so that we can be prepared in season and out of season to share our faith “with great patience and careful instruction.”3
Help us, Lord, to always be striving for ways to improve and to learn and grow, so we will not get stuck in a rut. We know that as we follow You step by step, You’ll never fail to guide us in Your will. It seems too big a job‚ too monumental for any of us, but we know it’s not too big for You. You have begun the work, and we know that what You start, You have promised to complete.
Help us to have the faith, initiative, fortitude, inspiration‚ and dedication to stand on the promises in Your Word and to trust in You to answer our fervent prayers in the ways You know best. We thank You in advance for Your answers to our prayers in the immediate future, and for those that You’re going to perform further down the road.
The future for all who love You is indeed a bright one! We have so much to look forward to as we pave the way through prayer for the new souls we will reach and the disciples that will be won by faith in the days ahead! Amen.
Originally published July 2007. Adapted and republished March 2020.
Read by Carol Andrews.
Read by Carol Andrews.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment