“Prayer is the vital breath of the Jesus believer.” Oswald Chambers

Spoken words start with air from the lungs. This air can have tremendous power either for good or bad.

God spoke the first words when He brought forth creation and life (Gen. 1). Satan, however, spoke words that brought death when followed (Gen. 3).

Jesus’ words will last for eternity (Matt. 24:35). Whereas, Satan’s will not (Rev. 20).

While in prison. The church spoke words for Peter’s release, which happened supernaturally while they were speaking those words (Acts 12).

Daniel’s warfare words lasted three weeks. His words moved Michael to help an angel defeat a demonic prince so the angel could give Daniel God’s answer (Daniel 10).

Prayer is not tack on verse to spiritual warfare. Paul calls it a vital warfare tool (Eph. 6:10-20). We are asked to pray in the Spirit, which means before you utter a word, ask, “Spirit show and guide me to what You want said in this battle.”

Don’t expect a certain formula. Because there isn’t one! No, these words are warfare words given by the Spirit to achieve His results.

Because of this, we are told to be on alert. We are to be ready to pray at any time, day or night. Why? Our words can be used to bring about spiritual freedom from bondage to past thoughts and hurts and/or physical freedom from current challenges and battles.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you know who the Spirit asks you to pray for. He simply wants His people ready to fight in prayer.

Our words can have eternal value. Will we make them so?

God is perfection. Trust Him to produce it.

Every now and then I watch a reel of a person removing someone’s completely overgrown vegetation free of charge. Like this picture, you know something is there. You just can’t see or enjoy it.

Once the work began on removing the weeds and mowing the lawns, however, a porch that didn’t “exist” all of a sudden comes into view. Sidewalks, which were not there, can now be walked upon. This transformation quite literally takes place right before your very eyes.

I recently said to Jesus, “Lord, I know what You are asking. Yet, all my life I’ve made choices a certain way. And now You want me to choose differently? Seriously, I can’t see it.”

Jesus’ men literally saw perfection staring them in the face and didn’t see it either! Why? They only knew what they knew at the moment; and, a perfect man was not something they knew.

We only know what we know. So, are we seeing flowers/perfection or weeds? Weeds must come out to enjoy the roses. The Spirit will show us the weed thoughts (lies) that need to be replaced with the rose thoughts (truths).

Yet, we still have no idea what perfection actually looks like. I know, Jesus. But I’ve never actually seen Him in the flesh making the choices He is asking me to make.

This is when faith steps in. When we can’t picture what the choice He is asking us to make looks like, but have the truth the Spirit gave us, we must choose to act on the truth. And then we’ll see Him clear the path to enjoy all the wonderful walkways and porches He made.

Simple? Yes. Hard? Yes. Will it work? In this I have put my hope (Titus 2:13).

The Father can’t use anyone until He removes the I.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a brother in Christ, who lost his life in following Jesus only to gain it back, nailed it.

“When we have completely renounced trying to make something of ourselves – be it a saint or a converted sinner, a righteous or unrighteous person, sick or healthy in the here and now, which is living in the fullness of tasks, questions, successes, failures, experiences and feelings, when we have done this, then we can completely throw ourselves into God’s arms, take God’s own suffering in the world seriously rather than our own, and keep watch with Christ in Gethsemane.”

Keep watch. Pretty simple task, right? Apparently not.

Jesus brought His disciples, minus Judas, to Mt. Olivet. He tells eight to sit tight while taking three others to another spot. It was here they saw Jesus, who probably for the first time as a man, fully understand the gravity of what was about to come His way – the Cross.

The three saw intense grieving/sadness. What did He tell them to do? Sit tight and stay awake. However, no matter how hard they might have tried to obey a very simple request, they failed.

The answer to this fa lure? Nail the i to the cross. How often do we think about our feelings, ourselves, our needs, our wants, our desires, rather than stop. Sit. And ask, “Lord, what do You want?”

Tired? Keep watch. Satisfied? Keep watch. Why? So, you won’t fall into the temptation that puts your eyes on I/self – self-preservation, self-confidence, self-promotion.

Run into the Father’s arms, who will use suffering to rid us of the i. As He does, Christlike transformation takes place, which makes one useful for the Kingdom of God as people will see Jesus – the giver and sustainer of life – in us.

Without the right choices, nothing grows but weeds.

Weeds. I’m sure they have their purpose, just not in my garden!

Due to a schedule that’s been crammed with higher priorities, weeds took over my backyard, including my raised vegetable garden. It wasn’t intentional neglect, just life’s attention drew me elsewhere. Ugh.

A task that should have taken only a few hours, now took me a few hours times three days! Ugh. I was able to get some out, including the roots, merely by grabbing the full weed and pulling up. Yes, it took effort, but it was rather easy.

This method, however, didn’t always work. In some cases, only the top came off! Ugh. The root was staring me right in the face letting me know it’s still there despite my efforts to eradicate it. Yeah, I couldn’t see the root from the patio. But it was still in the ground laughing at me. It knew it would grow back.

Now, I could let it win by ignoring it. I don’t see it. Life’s good…until it grows back. Ugh, Or, I could break out the tool to dig under the root and then pull it completely out. More work. Ugh.

Weeds take up valuable space, nutrients, water and sun needed for life building vegetables. They are like the areas of our lives the Spirit wants to kill in order for us to experience more of the life Jesus came to give.

I can still visualize the root left and then taken out with a victory smile spreading over my face and peace in my person.

You can enjoy both by keep going through life’s ughs! It doesn’t matter whether or not you intentionally didn’t weed. They are still there!

Continue choosing to keep applying the life-giving truth the Spirit gives you until that area is killed and replaced with Jesus. Smiles of victory and peace will come.

Hope is based on what God has already said in Scripture and done in your life.

Tu Bishvat, the festival of trees, was recently celebrated in Israel. Although it is not mentioned in Scripture, it is based on the biblical truth of tithing from your harvest. In this case, it was fruit from your trees.

Yet, this festival takes place in winter when there is no fruit on the trees! As one author put it, “We are not receiving everything here and now. We are investing in what will be.”

Pictured are my recently pruned apricot tree and grapevines. At this point, I am to take care of them through watering, protecting from insects that want to destroy them (I’ve lost trees because I didn’t recognize the signs soon enough!), fertilizing and rejoicing in the LORD.

Huh? Listen to what the LORD said through Habakkuk. “Though there is no fruit on the vines…I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on my high places” (3:17-19).

The context of this passage is you have absolutely nothing physically, but you have everything – the LORD.

We all want results…yesterday. Life doesn’t work that way. It’s called deferred gratification, which the Father illustrates through fruit trees and grapevines.

Often times, when we believe our faith steps lead to nothing, we quit doing what we need to do to see the Spirit bring about Jesus like character in us. Instead of quitting, though, the Father tells us to rejoice and keep going.

God is faithful to the process He created. He is also faithful to the words He wrote. Therefore, rejoice over what He has already done (i.e. our Jesus story) and keep going despite seeing what appears to be only dead branches.

Our Father will change your life. He’s done it before and will do it again. So, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.”

Hope leads to rejoicing in Who God is and what only God can do. So, be still and get to know your God while waiting to eat tasty apricots and grapes.