Category Archives: Prayer

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It’s Not Over Yet

I feel like I could share a million different things particularly in the season that we are currently in. I could remind you of the disciples afraid in the boat because of the storm that surrounded them. I could remind you of Mary and Martha’s broken hearts over their brother Lazarus who was dead. I could share about blind Bartimaeus, the women suffering with the issue of blood for twelve long years and the disciples fishing all day and catching nothing.

I could share all these stories and so many more both from God’s Word and from today. These stories start out with a few things in common like difficulty, suffering and impossibility but the good news is that none of these stories end the same way they started! See Jesus woke up and calmed the storm, he raised Lazarus from the dead, he healed both blind Bartimaeus and the women with the issue of blood and he told the disciples to cast their net onto the other side and the disciples caught more than they could pull in!

I share these stories to stir up faith in our hearts! Many of us are facing things that we’ve never faced before, difficulties, suffering and problems that seem impossible to solve. And it is in this hour that it is vitally important that we remember who it is that we serve! We must remember who it is that we call God and all that he is capable of doing! Will you remember God’s faithfulness to you and countless generations that have gone before you? Will you allow his faithfulness to stir up faith in your heart to believe him to calm the storm, to bring dead things to life, to heal, to provide and to do the impossible?

Some of the most helpful things for me when it comes to stirring up my faith are prayer, worship, reading Scripture and recalling what God has already done for me over the years. So no matter what season of life you might be in right now or the difficulty that you may be facing I encourage you to spend some time with the Lord and allow Him to encourage your heart and fill you with faith!

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

“According to your faith let it be done to you.” Matthew 9:29

God is the God of miracles, let’s believe Him for the impossible!

Blessings,

John

PS I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the regular encouragement I send out each week. If you would like to be encouraged regularly then subscribe to receive my free devotionals via email @ http://www.johnsilkauskasministries.com/about/ Do it today & be encouraged tomorrow! SUBSCRIBE HERE

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Stay in Faith!

“The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17

We are the just, the righteous, the church, we are “the called out ones!” And we are called to live by faith! Life is all about seasons, some seasons it’s easy to live by faith others it’s rather difficult. But regardless of the season we may be in God wants us to stay in faith! More and more in recent years I’ve been able to easily sense when I’m “in faith” and when I’m not. When I find myself easily agitated, discontent, lacking peace or joy, sometimes feeling a lesser sense of purpose or simply feeling empty I know that in that moment I’m not in faith.

The best thing about this though is that I recognize it and simply get back to living in faith. How you might ask? By choosing to! Faith in the greek simply means, “firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing.” I come back to faith by remembering the things that God has already spoken to me. I remember His word, I think on His character, I thank Him for His faithfulness and my heart is stirred to believe! I choose to believe, I choose to live by faith!

If it’s impossible to please God without faith then I dare to believe that our greatest worship is simply to trust God. When we trust God it removes anxiety from our hearts and the areas of life in which we are ‘wanting’ begin to fade. See when the Lord is David’s shepherd David’s cup is overflowing. When our hearts are resting in God’s care for us and filled with thanksgiving rather than anxiety and complaints we are blessed and we are indeed living by faith.

You may be in a difficult season right now, you may find it hard to trust and give thanks nevertheless I speak to your faith even now and I say, “Rise up and believe!” For God is too good for us to complain, He is too faithful for us to be anxious and He is too powerful for us to live defeated lives. We are called to live by faith!

So, here are the things that help me stay in faith:

-A daily diet of God’s Word

-Times of prayer

-Worship

-Community

-Thanksgiving

-Reflecting on God’s faithfulness

-Remembering the things that God has already spoken to my heart

Let’s stay in faith!

Blessings,

John

PS I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the regular encouragement I send out each week. If you would like to be encouraged regularly then subscribe to receive my devotionals via email @ http://www.johnsilkauskasministries.com/about/

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Are You Listening?

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus says that, “Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Here Jesus is giving us insight as to how we’re called to live. Life is not merely about eating, drinking and being merry rather there is more to life! We’re called to live not just for the natural things of life, we’re called to live for a supernatural purpose. That word “super” simply means “above” so we’re called to live our lives above just the natural things. So if food is a natural source of strength and something we so often work for and pay sometimes a great amount of money for, then God’s words are our food and our source of strength in life and ought to be sought after regularly. See we are called to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. His words are spirit, they are life, He speaks through His written word and He speaks to our hearts through His Spirit and we are called to live by these words! Jesus said it again in John 4:34 like this, “My food is to do the will of He who sent me.”

God brings life, strength and encouragement to us through His word and He also gives us purpose and direction! He reveals to us the path of life in His presence! He shows us what we’re to do and why we’re here, along with also filling us with joy and peace. So, to bring encouragement to your hearts today I thought I would share some of what the Father has been speaking to me lately:

  • Be encouraged even when you don’t see my hand moving, be encouraged even when you don’t feel like you are doing anything for me and be encouraged when you question where you think you should be, just trust me.
  • I am with you and I am working all this (yes, even this) for your good!
  • I love you with an everlasting love and I am working behind the scenes to make wrong things right! Yes the money of the wicked will be laid up for the righteous, yes the wrong things will be made right. Continue to walk closely with me and you will see all things things take place.
  • Too many are distracted by their surroundings and the negative things in their lives but lo, I am at work in secret even behind the things that you can see. Behold you cannot see this great work but I promise you it will come to pass and it will happen soon. Continue to wait on me.
  • Don’t focus on the negative things you see, for I’ve called you to live by faith, set your eyes on me and rejoice in knowing that I am at work in the earth today.
  • Believe me for MORE!
  • Keep coming back to me, keep praying and believing for there is great power in prayer and I am calling you to a deeper place in prayer, I am calling you to get ready for the things that I am going to do in the earth, pray!
  • Rest in my love for you, do not worry about all these things, simply rest, seek me first and often and I will keep you in perfect peace.

I share these things with you as you most likely can identify with some or all of what God is speaking to me, simply because we are His Church and the Spirit of the Lord is often saying the same thing to different members of the body. For there is one body and there is one Spirit. I share these words in hopes that they will speak to you and encourage you to spend time listening to the words that proceed from the mouth of God this week. He loves you and yes he is speaking, are you listening?

 

(Other Scriptures Referenced: John 6:63, Psalm 16:11, Ephesians 4:4)

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the regular encouragement I send out each week. If you would like to be encouraged regularly then subscribe to receive my devotionals via email @http://www.johnsilkauskasministries.com/about/

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The Hour At Hand

This is what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the Church in this hour: “Don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.” Hebrews 10:35-37

We are living in very exciting times right now, the season that we are going into is going to be filled with joy and promise! Seriously filled! God’s presence is going to be greatly felt in the earth, an awakening is coming (even now I can sense His presence in powerful ways)! So, don’t give up or grow weary, you’re too close now! Great reward is coming for those who believe! Great favor is being poured out upon God’s children all over the world, receive it now by faith! Although the trials have been great and many they have produced things needed for the journey ahead. God is producing great endurance in the hearts of His children and as we endure we receive the promise!

Pray with me, “God, even now I say yes to you and all that you desire to do in me and in the earth today. Come Holy Spirit, fill me and send me where you desire, use me for your glory! Thank you for producing in me things needed for the journey, and now by faith I say yes to joy and promise! Surround me with favor as a shield, fill me with joy and laughter, let these things abound in me, my family and the Church! Come with promise Lord, all that you’ve promised and more! Let it be exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think in Jesus name, amen!”

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Guard Your Heart

You must guard your heart from becoming cold, cynical & jaded. This can be a very difficult thing to do especially in a world full cynics (see what I did there). It’s harder than you and I may think! In Matthew 24:12 Jesus said, “Because sin shall abound, the love of many will grow cold.” As you watch the news or read what people share on social media you can see the evidence of this. Sin is everywhere you turn and because of sin many have become offended and put up walls around their hearts. Many people have stopped loving others because of this and it’s caused very negative effects in the world today.

So how can we guard our hearts from the subtle lies the enemy attempts to whisper in our ears on a regular basis? Well, it’s impossible without God! If we’re left to our own effort we will miserably fail, we need the love of God to keep us! And although this has everything to do with God it also has a lot to do with us in that we are responsible for the thoughts that we think. We have to partner with God and think upon His love regularly. If you regularly think upon God’s love towards you – this will help you have love in your heart towards God, others & yourself. And this is so important! Proverbs 4:23 says, ”Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” EVERYTHING we do flows from our hearts. This is why it is so important to keep ourselves in the love of God, to regularly think upon His goodness and love towards us, less we become ensnared by the cares of this world and our hearts become cold and cynical.

So, be encouraged! Forget the negativity around you today and choose to dwell on God’s love for you and His love for the people around you. As you keep your heart in the love of God it will effect more than just you, it will effect your closest relationship in deep and powerful ways, it will effect your coworkers and even strangers that you encounter throughout your day. It matters more than you think, so guard your heart and think upon God’s great love for you today!

Blessings,

John

PS I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the regular encouragement I send out each week. If you would like to be encouraged regularly then subscribe to receive my devotionals via email @ http://www.johnsilkauskasministries.com/about/