100 Days Of Favor (7 page)

DAY 13

Practice Jesus’ Presence And See His Power

Today’s Scripture

But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail…
—
Jeremiah 20:11

D
O YOU KNOW
that the best time to thank Jesus for His presence is when you don’t “feel” His presence? When it comes to the presence of Jesus, don’t go by your feelings. Feelings can be deceptive. Go by His promise that He is Immanuel—God with us!

Feelings aren’t based on truth. God’s Word is truth!

Have you heard the story of a groom who approached his pastor almost immediately after his wedding ceremony? He went up to his pastor and said, “Pastor, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” the pastor replied.

The groom said, “You know what, I don’t
feel
married.”

The pastor grabbed him by the collar and growled, “Listen, boy. You ARE married whether you feel it or not, understand? Just take it by faith that you are married!”

You see, my friend, you can’t go by your feelings. You go by the truth and the truth is this: God promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So the best time to practice His presence is precisely when you
feel
like Jesus is 100,000 miles away. Remember that feelings aren’t based on truth. God’s Word is truth!

Soon after I graduated from high school, I took on a part-time job to teach in an elementary school where I was placed in charge of a class of 10-year-olds. I remember one day, when I was practicing His presence, I knelt down in my living room and prayed, “Lord, I just thank You that You are always with me.” As I was on my knees, the Lord told me to pray specifically for one of the girls in my class who had been absent from school that day.

Now, it is very common for kids to miss class now and then for various reasons, and I had never been led by the Lord to pray specifically for any of them. This girl was the first! The Lord told me very clearly to pray for His protection to be over this girl and to cover her with His precious blood.

The next day, there was a big commotion in the school and I found out that the girl had been kidnapped by a notorious serial killer that very afternoon when the Lord had told me to pray for her. The killer, Adrian Lim, had kidnapped several children to be offered up as sacrifices to the devil. He believed that Satan would give him power when he offered the blood of these children to him.

Over the next couple of days, this girl from my class was all over our national media because she had been miraculously released. Sadly, she was the only girl released. All the other kidnapped children had been brutally murdered.

When she returned to class, I asked her how she came to be freed. She told me that her kidnapper was “praying” over her when suddenly he stopped and told her, “The gods do not want you.” She was quickly released that evening. Of course, you and I know why the “gods” didn’t want her—she was covered and protected by Jesus’ blood!

Listen to what I am saying here. In America today and around the world, the devil is trying to destroy a new generation because he is afraid that the young people of the new millennium are going to take over the world for Jesus. That is why we have to cover our children with Jesus’ protection.

I am sharing all this with you because I want you to see the importance and power of practicing His presence. As a teacher during that time, my class was my responsibility, just like my congregation is my responsibility today. Think with me: How in the world, with my finite knowledge and intelligence, could I have known that one of my students was in grave danger? It is not possible! But because the Lord, who knows all things, was with me, He enabled me to make a difference in my student’s life.

Similarly, whatever role or vocation you are in, whether you are a schoolteacher, business leader or homemaker, I want you to know that Jesus is with you and He wants to make you a success. Now, remember, all this happened to me before I became a full-time pastor, so please don’t think that this unmerited favor from Jesus is only for pastors. Beloved, His unmerited favor is for you. The Lord Immanuel is
with you.

Today’s Prayer

Father, I thank You that You are always with me. You will never leave me nor forsake me. And because Your presence is always with me, I am always protected, blessed, accurate and effective in all that I need to do and in every place and role I find myself in.

Today’s Thought

Whether I feel it or not, the Lord Immanuel is with me right now.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 14

Your Fears And Anxieties Dissipate In God’s Presence

Today’s Scripture

The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord… —Psalm 97:5

N
O MATTER WHERE
you are, the Lord is with you. Even in the midst of your fears, while you are alone in your room, He is there with you. The moment you begin to be aware of His presence and cultivate His presence, all your fears, anxieties and worries will melt like butter on a hot day, or as the psalmist David puts it, “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord… ”

It takes the presence of the Lord to keep you free from worry.

You cannot psych yourself out of fear nor can you psych yourself out of worry. You can’t just tell yourself, “Come on, stop worrying. There is nothing to worry about.” It just doesn’t work. The debt will still be staring you in your face and your problems will still be as insurmountable as ever no matter how hard you try to psych yourself up. That is what the world is trying to do, but it does not work. It takes the presence of the Lord to keep you free from worry.

Jesus is not asking you to psych yourself up and live in a state of denial. No way! He is saying to you, “In the midst of your affliction, I am your shield. I am your defender. I am your fortress. I am your refuge. I am your supply. I am your healing. I am your provider. I am your peace. I am your joy. I am your wisdom. I am your strength. I am the glory and the lifter of your head!” (Psalm 3:3). Amen! He is not asking you to pretend that the facts are not there. He wants you to realize that
HE IS THERE WITH YOU!

When you know that He is with you and for you, and you put your problems in His mighty hands, you will begin to get a more accurate evaluation of just how “big” your problems are. When they were in your hands, the weight and burden of your problems may have crushed you. But when you involve Jesus, the once-monumental problems become microscopic against the largeness of His love and goodness toward you!

Today, as you consider all that you need to do and the expectations placed on you, see Jesus there with you. He is your supply, wisdom, peace and strength.

Today’s Prayer

Father, I acknowledge the fact that I cannot psych away my fears and worries. Therefore, I cast all my cares into Your hands, to the one who is my shield, my fortress, my healing, my provision, my peace, my wisdom and my strength. Thank You for Your grace and for taking care of all my problems today.

Today’s Thought

Once you cast your monumental problems to Jesus, they become microscopic in His mighty hands.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 15

God Is On Your Side Today!

Today’s Scripture

If God is for us, who can be against us? —Romans 8:31

R
OMANS
8:31
CONTAINS
a powerful rhetorical question and I encourage you to memorize it. Unfortunately, there are still some believers today wondering, “Is God really for me?” Well, my friend, the Word of God does NOT say “
maybe
God is for us” or “
hopefully,
God is for us.” It simply says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Indeed, when God is for you, what opposition can succeed against you? When God Himself fights for you, defends you and vindicates you, what adversity or adversary can stand against you? There are none! Hallelujah!

God is for you today because of the blood of the perfect Lamb—Jesus Christ.

“
But Pastor Prince, how did God come to be on our side? Even though I am a Christian today, I still fail and fall short of God’s holy standards. I still lose my temper on the road now and then, and from time to time, I still get angry with my wife and kids. Why should God be on my side when I fail? Don’t you know that God’s holy?
”

All great questions. Let me tell you why God is on our side. The answer is found at the cross. The blood that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shed on the cross put God on your side. Today, God can be for you even when you fail because Jesus’ blood has washed you whiter than snow!