Dave Jones > Recent Status Updates

Reading through the Bible. This time, I'm not reading it a few verses each day but like a book. Normally I read the ESV but this time I thought I'd mix it up.

Reading for 2nd time.

Reading again.

Day 40: Prayer Alphabet; Luke 11:1 If we change the way we pray everything changes. Prayer changes everything from the inside out. Don't condemn yourself re: your prayer life. Ask Jesus to help you. Use your own words vs slogans. God can speak through the Bible. Verses may jump off the page. Then, read & stop & pray when prompted. Keep going. Prayer is the difference between the best we can do & the best God can do.

Day 39: Holy Ground Ex 3:5; You never know when or where or how God will invade the routine of your life. God is here, there, & everywhere. He can meet you anywhere. Moses wasn't asked to take off his sandals in the promised land. It was where he was standing. Don't wait till you're at the Promised Land to worship God. You've got to worship Him along the way. This is holy ground & a holy moment. Receive God's orders.

Day 38 Climb the Watchtower; Zech. 2:1 Intercessors are watchmen. From their watchtower of prayer, they see sooner and farther into the spiritual realm. Geography & spiritualality are not unrelated. In scripture, memorials were often built in places of spiritual significance. Returning to such places should be part of our natural rhythm. We need to pray in places that are distraction-free and maximize our focus.

Day 37 Prayer Contacts; Matt 18:18 The goal of prayer is not to get what we want but to discern what God wants. We tend to view the goal as the goal but the process is the goal. It's not about what we're doing but who we're becoming in the process. There is power when we agree in prayer. Faith is multiplied - not added. It's like getting our prayer contracts notarized. We are one with God and chained to His promises.

Day 36 Senior Partner; Matt 6:20 One of the mistakes we make in reading history is thinking that those who lived before us are different than us. If God did it for them, He can do it for us. God wants to renew His deeds in our day. The Bible is not a book to be explained but, rather, to be believed (and obeyed). Every prayer, gift, sacrifice we do is an inheritance for the next generation. We can't outgive God.

Day 35 The Longest Lever; Zech. 4:10 Do not despise small beginnings. Like parents that rejoice in a child's first steps, our heavenly Father rejoices when we start taking steps in the right direction. Those small steps become giant leaps in God's Kingdom. 'Give me a place to kneel on and I will move Earth.' If we kneel in humble prayer, God will extend His mighty hand on our behalf. Inbred in us is Godly potential.

Day 34: Raise Up a Remnant; 2 Kings 19:30 At critical junctures in history, God raises up a remnant to reestablish His reign & rule. It's almost always a small minority. It just takes a faithful few to begin reformation. If we are determined to pray as long as it takes, revival will come. When the prayer meeting is the most important meeting, revival is around the corner. Start focusing on exponential potential.

Day 33: Prayer Covering; Ex. 17:12 If we are going to intercede for others, we should make sure others are interceding for us. When we pray, we pick a fight with the enemy; and he will fight back. Intercession is spiritual warfare. It is hard & not for the faint or feeble. There may be labor pains because the Holy Spirit is birthing something new in us. That's when we stand firm and pray through. Pray & Praise!

Day 32: Get a Testimony; Rev. 12:11 When God answers a prayer, we need to share it. It's a matter of stewardship. If we don't turn the answer into praise, it may turn into pride. Others need to hear so that they may know God is working. A 1st-person testimony holds more weight than 2nd person (hearsay). Personal testimonies are powerful because we cannot argue with it. They are irrefutable. Testimonies > education.

Day 31: Spell It Out; Matt. 20:32, If Jesus asks "What do you want me to do for you?", would we be able to spell out those things he's placed in our ❤️? Most of us don't get what we want because we don't know what we want. "God does not answer vague prayers." Don't let lack of faith stop you from going out on a limb and laying your true request on the line. More faith -> greater specificity in prayer -> God's glory.

Day 30: Abide in Me; John 15:7 A sure way to get into God's presence is to get into His Word. It will then get into us. Abide: To stay overnight, hold fast, stay still, be moved, & tarry. Make scripture personal. Reading without meditation is like eating without digesting. Studying scripture & engaging in prayer aren't two separate disciplines. One is key to the other. Our life is a unique translation of scripture.

Day 29:A New Prayer Ps. 96:1 Spiritual growth requires discipline. Once the habits become too routine, they become bad routines. When we learn how but forget why, we start going through the motions. The psalmist tells us to sing a new song. God gets tired of old songs. As love grows, you need new lyrics & melodies to express new dimensions of love. Don't just use your memory, use your imagination too. Love s/b fresh.

Day 28: Quit Praying; Matt. 25:23 God isn't honored by prayers within human possibility. He is honored when we ask for the impossible. That way, He gets the glory. There comes a time when prayer becomes spiritual procrastination. It's time to stop praying & start acting. Christianity should be an action verb & not a noun. It's a mistake when we ask God to do something for us when God wants us to do something for Him.

Day 27: Double Circle Matt. 25:23; In the same way we open a lock with 2 keys, we need 2 pray AND fast 2 unlock a miracle. No matter the fast, we need 2 establish a timeframe & an objective. Fasting makes us sensitive 2 the Holy Spirit. 2B filled with the Holy Spirit, we must empty ourself 1st. Fasting is a great way 2 do this. To break a sin habit, establish a prayer habit. Phys. discipline => spiritual discipline.

Day 26 Game with Minutes; 1 Th 5:17 Turn everything into a prayer. Every thought, action, & moment. Make worries prayer alarms. Redeem thoughts as prayer triggers. Intimacy with God requires a prayer rhythm. Experiment with different prayer actions. If we want God to do something new we should stop doing the same thing. Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. Let Him share our every waking minute.

Day 25: Num. 11:29 A Prophetic Voice; Prayer isn't just to cultivate our potential but also to see potential in others. God gives us the supernatural insight to see with prophetic eyes. The more we grow in grace, the more prophetic we become. Prayer is how we write the future. When we speak prophetic words into someone, we give them a new lease on life. Prayer is the difference between letting & seeing things happen.

Day 24 Find Your Voice; Jer. 1:4 God may fulfill His calling 2 us without our knowing it. All of us have a unique voiceprint. Spiritually as well. God wants 2 speak thru us differently than others. Our life is a unique translation of scripture. The key 2 discovering our prophetic voice is to cultivate our prophetic ear. Fasting can help. Have no unconfessed sin. Thru our discipline, we can be sensitive to His voice.

Day 23 Not Now; Acts 1:4 When God says "no," it may really mean "not yet." Could be the right request at the wrong time. Sometimes we need to give something to God in order to get it back from God. Is the God-given gift/dream > the Giver? God may take things away to give them back so that we realize that they are to be stewarded for His glory. Don't try to get ahead of God. If we go, our efforts won't work. Trust God

Day 22: Prayer Fleece; Judges 6:37 Ps. 37:4 give = conceive; in God's Presence old desires die & new ones are birthed. These become dreams when nurtured in prayer. It's ok to ask for a fleece to confirm a God dream. Caution: signs don't preceed our faith, signs FOLLOW. Shouldn't ask often or haphazardly. When God gives you a vision, He always makes provision. Don't seek answers, seek God & the answers will seek you

Day 22: Set Your Foot; Joshua 1:3 Circling something in prayer is biblical. Prayer circles = praying until God answers. It starts with what God wants & wills. Until His will is your wish, your prayer life is unplugged from its power supply. The goal is to glorify God until claiming what He wants for you. When Israel circled Jericho, they had no idea how God would give them the city. They didn't let that stop them.

Day 20: Go Set Ready; Heb 11:8 You'll never be ready for anything God calls you to do. If you wait till you're ready, you'll be waiting the rest of your life. God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. God usually doesn't give us the full plan. If you take the 1st step, he'll reveal the 2nd. He gives us just enough grace, strength, revelation. He wants us to depend wholly on Him. Not Why? But Why Not?

Day 19: Memorial Offerings; Acts 10:4 Our prayers never die. When we pray, our prayers move beyond space-time dimensions because God operates outside those realms. Don't understand His ability to answer anytime, anyplace, anyhow. He can answer our finite prayers infinitely. He can answer >once & forever. God loves our prayers. Each are a keepsake. When we pray, our prayers build a monument to God that lasts forever.

Day 18: Keep Circling; Some fights can't be won without prayer. Prayer can be difference between us fighting 4 God & Him fighting 4 us. Don't lose heart, hope faith, or patience. Keep asking, seeking, & knocking. God rarely does things in ways we expect & it leads us 2 question His ways. God may push us to our absolute limits. That is how he stretches our faith & build character. Get out of the boat to walk on water.

Day 17: Do Not Delay; Dan 9:19 Praying hard is often the path of most resistance because we're in spiritual warfare. Prayers made when you feel like quitting can bring huge breakthroughs. When we pray promises of God we can have holy confidence. Don't look 4 least resistance but greatest glory! Rarely do our first prayers perfect, they need to be refined. Don't pray ASAP prayers but ALAT. God's timing is perfect.

Day 16: Lord, Surprise Me; John 3:8 When we pray, God throws surprise parties. God is predictably unpredictable. Every move of God has a genealogy - a genesis prayer. God works thru people. Prayer adds an element of surprise to your life; more than the fun of a surprise party, gift, it romance. The Holy Spirit, like the wind, is uncontrollable & unpredictable. God always has a holy surprise up His sovereign sleeve.