* The Unrivaled Power of Prayer

Today marks the new devotional format. From time-to-time an article will be posted relating to recovery issues. When this takes place, I will make note of it in the devotion and the article can be found under Articles to the right of the site. If you have a need for a specific topic related to recovery, email me at the address to the right.

The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26

We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.

"He," the Holy Spirit in you, "makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" ( Romans 8:27 ). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.

The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. ". . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . ." (1 Corinthians 6:19 ). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, ". . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple" ( Mark 11:16 ). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ " (Mark 11:17 ).

Have we come to realize that our "body is the temple of the Holy Spirit"? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a "temple of the Holy Spirit." He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.

Praise God that Celebrate Recovery addresses these issues of defilement and lead us to Christ and new life in Him. We are new creatures in Christ, old things have passed away.

So much jargon in our culture is about self-esteem and self-image. Some of this is good, a lot of it is centered on the here and now. Take a moment and reflect on what happened when you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. You went from serving self, sin, and the evil one, to...

MY RELATIONSHIP

I am reconciled to God - 2 Cor 5:18

I'm a child of God - He is my Father - 1 Jn 3:1,2

I am a saint - Eph 1:1; 1 Cor 1:2; Phil 1:1

I am Christ's friend - Jn 15:15

I am a fellow citizen in God's kingdom - Eph 2:19

I am born of God - 1 Jn 4:7

I have been brought near to Christ - Eph 2:13

I have been adopted by God - Rom 8:15

I'm to be righteous and holy like God - Eph 4:24

I have direct access to God - Eph 2:18

MY INHERITANCE

I am a citizen of heaven - Phil 3:20

I am an heir of God - Rom 8:17

I've been rescued from Satan's domain - Col 1:13

I am a joint heir with Christ - Rom 8:17; Gal 4:7

I am hidden with Christ in God - Col 3:3

I am blessed with every spiritual blessing - Eph 1:3

I am chosen of God - holy, beloved - Col 3:12

I am a child of promise - Rom 9:8; Gal 3:14

I am a child of light, not darkness - 1 Thess 5:5

I've been given great promises - 2 Pet 1:4

I am a partaker of Christ - Heb 3:14

I'm one of God's living stones - 1 Pet 2:5

MY TRANSFORMATION

I'm a member of a royal priesthood - 1 Pet 2:9

I'm redeemed and forgiven - Eph 1:6-8

I'm to be a stranger to this world - 1 Pet 2:11

I've been justified - made righteous - Rom 5:1

I'm an enemy of the devil - 1 Pet 5:8

I have eternal life - Jn 5:24

I died w/Christ to the power of sin - Rom 6:1-6

MY CALLING

I am free from condemnation - Rom 8:1

I am to be salt on the earth - Mt 5:13

I have received the Spirit of God -1 Cor 2:12

I am to be light in the world - Mt 5:14

I have been given the mind of Christ - 1 Cor 2:16

I'm chosen and appointed to bear fruit - Jn 15:16

I have been crucified with Christ - Gal 2:20

I am called to do the works of Christ - Jn 14:12

I am a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17

I am to do what Christ commanded His disciples - Mt 28:20

I have been made alive with Christ - Eph 2:5

I have been given spiritual authority - Lk 10:19

I am God's workmanship - Eph 2:10

Signs should accompany my work - Mk 16:17-20

I have received fullness in Christ - Col 2:10

I am a minister of a new covenant - 2 Cor 3:6

I am a minister of reconciliation - 2 Cor 5:18,19

MY POSITION

I am to be an expression of life in Christ - Col 3:4

I am connected to the true vine - Jn 15:1,5

I am a partaker of a heavenly calling - Heb 3:1

I'm a willing slave of righeousness - Rom 6:18,22

I am a temple of God - 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19

I am one spirit with the Lord - 1 Cor 6:17

I am a member of Christ's body - 1 Cor 12:27