Telecast Now On Pod-cast Page At Acts 26:18 Ministries Site.

This is just a blog to inform you that I have placed a couple of our tv programs on the pod-cast at www.acts2618.com for you to view. The Lord has really been blessing these programs and the testimonys that we are receiving as to how God is using the programs in peoples lives are amazing to me. If you could pray for the program, I would really appreciate it. I cannot do it without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

If you have problems watching the videos, back out of the page and then try again. If you still have problems, go off the internet briefly and then retry. Also, if you hit play on audio or video and you see a faded quick-time symbol with a question mark, do the same as stated above, back out and retry. It will work. Sometimes things get a bit overloaded thats all.

We pray that all of our audio/video selections will be a blessing to you. I encourage you to join us often and study with us.
Also, please e-mail us with your thoughts and prayer requests as often as you like. We also need for some of you to prayerfully consider partnering with us. Let us take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
In His service,
Bro. Len

PRAYING WITH POWER part 5

There is no doubt that we are living in very difficult times. The coming of the Lord is near, and Jesus said that there would be an increase of all things difficult. { see Matthew 24}
Jesus had a concern, that as sorrows and difficult times increased, many people would lose their love for the Lord, many would stop praying and persisting in their walks with God. As a result, many would weaken in faith. Jesus asked this question,"when the Son of man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"[ Luke 18:8]

I find that when people go through crisis situations they call out to God. Its too bad that people do not practice a life of prayer, so when the crisis comes they are well grounded in trust and thereby better equipped to handle any crisis that comes. When the crisis comes, we still pray; of course. But in the midst of a crisis emotions are high, bodies are weaker and the voices of advice are many. It is harder to sift out the godly path if we are in the middle of a mess and unprepared in prayer.
If we are walking and talking with God daily, God can give us warnings about which person to receive counsel from-- when to say no to a child-- when to say yes to a business deal, etc. In fact, God may have been trying to get you alone for awhile. God knows the road ahead and He wants you to make it through. But hear me now, THERE IS NO WAY TO MAKE IT THROUGH APART FROM GOD'S PLAN. We must hear from God. We must be in daily prayer. Not when we feel like it, Daily Prayer...

Many people I know are just plain lazy. They have plenty of time to run around town and even convince themselves they need to.
They have plenty of time to gossip on the phone and watch tv. They have plenty of time for fishing and sports. But the poor souls just don't have time to pray and study the word of God. I feel sorry for them because the days we are coming into will demand more than that from true believers. The scripture tells us, " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."[ 1 Peter 5:8] Satan is our enemy and he is on the prowl. He is after our faith. He wants to destroy our lives in every capacity. The weapon he will often use to work against us is deception. We must draw close to God in these last days. Scripture goes on to say, " Whom[satan] resist steadfast in the faith." [1 Peter 5:9a] I will ask you, how can you resist the devil and how can you have growing faith if you are too busy for God?

The importance of praying with power cannot be taken lightly. Now, as we close this teaching, lets recap what we have said.
1- Pray daily. Practice praying without ceasing, in other words be constantly in an attitude of prayer.
2- Pray until you touch God. This is "praying through"
3- Do not be concerned about time-- just learn to walk with God in communion. Build a close relationship with Him.
4- Pray not only for your needs but pray also for the things that God desires. Pray for others also.
5- Include worship, praise, and thanksgiving with your daily needs and requests.
6- When you don't know what to pray, allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you.
7- Pray in faith. Faith is built through spending time in the Word of God and praying.
8- Your life of prayer will be a great source of strength and deliverance in the midst of crisis.

God, put in all of us a heart that is easily wooed to your presence. Help us to pray through all our trials to completion... to listen closely to Your Spirit in our secret time of communion with You.... and to put all our confidence in Your revealed Word. In these ways we can know that our prayers will be pleasing to you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

PRAYING WITH POWER part 4

To pray with power we must be certain that we have the mind of the Lord. We cannot receive if we are double minded.
If we try and function with partly our mind and partly the mind of Christ; we will be unstable in all our ways including our praying. Lets look at a verse from James Chapter 1: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.[ James 1:5-8]

The Lord does not just give the believer any old thing that they may want. The Holy Spirit will give birth to the desires of a believers heart. In other words, The Holy Spirit will give the right desires to the believer. God does not grant every thoughtless and selfish request. To ask in faith we must first have ascertained what is the mind of the Lord. Faith cannot go beyond the known will of God. Faith is trusting God. Faith is knowing and believing in the benefits Jesus provided for us by His death upon the Cross. Faith reaches out to God for the answer of God, and then, faith trusts God whatever His answer.

Prayer can be mechanical and weak, or prayer can be powerful and effective. Prayer cannot be powerful without faith.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." [Heb. 11:6]
Faith believes that God rewards our diligence in prayer. Why? Because the Word says so, thats Why!
If we know God's nature and character then we can pray with bold confidence. We learn about God through His word. Yes, the object of our faith is always Jesus Christ and Him Crucified but we still must read the Word and pray. The Holy Spirit responding to our faith in what Jesus did at the Cross will always produce in us the desires of prayer and Bible study.

Satan loves to fill our hearts and minds with doubts. He loves to weaken our faith. A weak, powerless Christian is no threat to the enemy's domain. That old liar, the devil will put doubts about your salvation, doubts about other believers, doubts about God's faithfulness into your mind and heart. Sometimes these doubts take on the form of worry. How do you gain power in prayer that will defeat worry and doubt and unbelief? You must build your faith. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."[Romans 10:17]

The more you spend time in God's presence, touching Him, and receiving comfort from Him, the stronger your faith will grow. The stronger your trust will grow. But it all starts with the Word. Remember, faith can only go as far as the known will of God.
Remember also that our desires in prayer must be according to the will of God. The only way to insure that is for our desires to be birthed in us by the Holy Spirit. The only way for that to occur is for the believer to properly place his/her faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross. That will bring about the help of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian which will always produce proper desires. Again, it all goes back to the message heard and received. It all goes back to the Word of God. " And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us." [1 John 5:14]

It is time to get alone with God. Start meeting God daily for prayer and you will see your faith increased. You will begin to pray with power. When we come to you again, we will continue this teaching.

PRAYING WITH POWER part 3

Dear friends, the church will never truly understand how important prayer is until we understand one foundational truth: Prayer is not just for our own welfare and benefit-- but for the delight of the Lord.

When we pray we are not only to ask for things we need but also, we must ask for things that God desires.
Christians can be very self-centered and selfish when it comes to prayer. So many times we only go to the Lord to unburden our troubles and sorrows to Him. We seek a supply of strength for our next battle. These things are legitimate and of course we should seek Him for our benefit. But, our praying will not be complete if we do not share His heart.
We are told to come boldly to the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need. [Heb. 4:16]
The Lord tells us to cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us.[1 Peter 5:7]
God certainly does care about all of our needs. But whereas we seek relief and help from the Lord, He desires fellowship with us-intimacy and communion.

Our primary purpose in praying should always be to fellowship with the Lord. He has already made provision for our every need. We are told that we have not because we ask not. [James 4:2] But we are also told that we ask and receive not, because we ask amiss in order to consume it on our own lusts. [James 4:3] And we are also instructed to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever. [1 John 2:15-17]

Our heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask and if God will provide for the birds and flowers, He will certainly take care of us. [ Matthew 6:8,25-33] As we fellowship with the Lord and get to know Him better, and as we seek His kingdom first, our needs will be provided for. God is saying to us:" When you come into My presence, focus your attention on fellowship with Me-- on getting to know Me. Don't let your focus be on material things. I know what your needs are. Seek Me first."

We know that the Lord delights in His people. David said,...He delivered me, because He delighteth in me. [Psalm 18:19]
In Psalm 37:4 the Bible says,"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
"I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste." [Song of Solomon 2:3]
As He delights in us, He wants us to delight ourselves in Him..

Coming to the Lord with delight does not mean we cannot come to Him with sadness and grief. You see, delighting in the Lord means preferring to be with Him above all others. This gives new meaning to our times of being sad, downcast, heavyhearted, or confused. Who do we run to in such times? Whose company do we prefer in such times?

Read the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel for an excellent example of this.
Don't hide from the Lord. Don't run anywhere else. Run straight into His presence and weep out all of your hearts troubles to Him. Tell Him everything you are going through. Let Him have all your saddness. I like the old song that says, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

The strength you receive from the times of being shut in with the Lord will see you through the hard times you will face in life. In our next article, we will continue looking at "Praying with power".

PRAYING WITH POWER part2

Sometimes we know exactly how to pray [ or at least we think we do] but at other times it seems we don't have a clue and that is when the baptism in the Holy Spirit becomes important in our prayer life.
During the times we feel hindered in our praying, the Holy Spirit begins to pray through us. The Spirit searches the heart and begins to pray according to the will of God. Look at Romans 8:26-27
" Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weakness. For 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. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

The important thing is what comes out of our hearts. Prayer is spending time with God. Do you remember when you first fell in love? You wanted to spend time with that person, but it seemed that you were very awkward every time you wanted to say that you loved them. The feelings were there but sometimes you just couldn't find the right words. People who love us don't care what words we always use, they just want to know that we love them enough to spend time with them and that we value them. It is no different in our relationship with God. God is most interested in knowing that you love Him and want to spend time with Him. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me". [Revelation 3:20]

As it regards prayer, remember that good relationships consist of 2 people giving and 2 people receiving. If you want a close relationship with God, make sure you know how to give as well as receive. It is true that we can never outgive the Lord, remember He longs for relationship--- and a key part of our giving to Him is our thanksgiving, our praise, our worship, and our love gifts.

Jesus taught His disciples to; Glorify God--- "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name."
Reverence God---"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Ask God---"give us this day our daily bread."
Repent to God---"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors".
Commit to God---"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".
Worship God--- "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen".

This example prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13. Jesus was here showing us how to enter prayer relationship with God. Much of the prayer involves praise, honoring God and worshipping Him.

When we come back to you again, we will look more at praying with power.

PRAYING WITH POWER part 1

Prayer is a very powerful key in the way we overcome the devil in the everyday battles we face.
The more time that you spend with God in prayer; the stronger you will become and the better you will understand the purposes of God for you in His kingdom. As we pray, we gain wisdom and courage to resist the devil in our lives.
Satan will do everything he can to fill up your life so as to make you believe that you don't have time to pray. Also, he will bring circumstances and crisis that eat up your time and keep you from your life of prayer and important time with the Lord.
All of us must begin to look for times in all of our busyness when we can retreat to the Lord in prayer and fellowship. Be driven to prayer by your desire.

If you are too busy to pray then you are on a pathway to spiritual and emotional collapse. You will be drained in your emotions, and the roller coaster of life will begin to speed out of control. Find time to pray. Make time to pray.
Put down the remote control; hang up the telephone; make the children settle down; unplug from the voices of our generation and make time to get alone with God. If you don't, you will be committing spiritual suicide.

Pray until you pray through!! Pray until the breakthrough comes.. Do not set a time limit on your time together with your sweetest friend. In the Bible, Daniel prayed 3 times a day. David rose up early in the morning to talk with God and communed with Him at night upon his bed. He praised the Lord all day long. Paul prayed without ceasing. Read Romans 1:9

These great men enjoyed relationship with God. For Daniel it was regimented and disciplined; for David it was a continual song all day long; and Paul was so active in the business of the Lord, his prayer life remained constant and regular because of the intensity of his ministry battles.
When you spend time with God; as you get to know Him, your hunger and desire to know Him more will increase.

Someone may ask "what should I pray for?" Well, look to Jesus as the example. Jesus prayed with regard to specific cases; He prayed for direction; He prayed for blessing; He prayed for emotional strength; He prayed for His disciples; and He prayed just to be in communion with the Heavenly Father. Whatever was on His heart, Jesus brought it to the Father. This is the way prayer should be for us too.
" Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" [Philippians 4:6-7].

This verse shows us the content of prayer--- "everything that concerns us"; and the goal of prayer---" peace and knowing that we have touched the living God."

The end result of a healthy prayer life is POWER. And in our next installment, we will look at that.

Pod-Cast update

First of all, let me say thanks to all of you who are making use of our Pod-Casts that are on our main web-site. It means alot to us simply to know that you are listening.

In March, we had 1,616 visits to our Pod-Casts alone. Again, thank you so very much. You need to avail yourself of the strong Gospel preaching that we have made available to you. Satan would very much like to make people believe that they don't have enough time to regularly listen to the Word of God. But we all need to make the time.

If you can plan to go on and listen even once a week, it would be of utmost blessing and benefit to you, I believe.
Please do all you can to join us at least once a week. There are titles on the front page as well as many titles archived.

Thank You and God bless,
Rev. Len Paxton