It's like I'm watching a movie...

Yeah, he sure wasnt beating into the air they were both pounding on each others faces/

Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

I dont mind spoilers, but I will look for it, thanks

God bless you

Father thank you for giving him peace and doing a quick work in this situation, turn it all around, in Jesus name. All for your glory! Thank you that you have heard these prayers and it is done.

In all honesty, I don't watch "Rocky" primarily for the fight scene at the end (I have to explain the same to my wife and children whenever I do watch it). Rather, I honestly do relate to the storyline which leads up to the fight. It's the same thing with "The Cinderella Man". I don't mean for this next comment to sound "sexist", but it very well may be a man thing. IOW, men have different burdens/responsibilities than women have in certain areas and I just find that both of the movies speak to me in relation to some of those burdens/responsibilities. In fact, in "The Cinderella Man", two of the wives of the men have a conversation in which they mention the burdens which their husbands carry.

Anyhow, I don't want to give anybody the wrong impression that I sit around watching secular movies all of the time because I don't. It's a very rare thing and carefully hand-picked at that. Quite frankly, during normal circumstances, I don't even have time to sleep, let alone watch a movie.

I am praying you will have wisdom and persevere though these trials you are going through.
Stay strong and fight the good fight.
God bless you.

Thank you.

Amen (and Amen...10 letter post minimum).

Abba,

I pray for JITC on the issue of his marriage, LORD. Restore this man's union with his wife. Remove the seeds of bitterness from their lips and the cloud of confusion in their minds.

Jesus, reveal the root causes of their resentments and disagreement and tear it out of this family, LORD. Raise a hedge of protection around this couple and separate them from all the spirits of oppression and resentment. Create a situation for them for them to be able to resolve their differences that they may learn to live their marriage as a reflection of Your love for the church, LORD.

LORD, only You can change their hearts and only You can restore it all to fullness, remind us not to give this up for a lost cause. Remind us that Your hand is still in this! Remind us of every Victory and remind us that it was Your blood that bought us this Victory!

I thank You for Your great restoration in JITC's marriage, LORD.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Believe me, I haven't given up on my marriage. There's no quit in me...

Thanks for the prayer.

Hello, everybody.

I just wanted to give you all the following update...

Last night, THE HOLY FEAR OF GOD came upon me. I mean, I was just sitting around with my wife and children and it was literally as if God showed up and I trembled in His Holy Presence. I believe that this happened for two reasons:

1. As a direct result of our (mine and yours) prayers.
2. To offset some of the garbage that's recently been suggested in relation to "the fear of God" only meaning "respect" on the "What does it mean to fear God?" thread.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be praying with a renewed fervency today and to thank you all again for your prayers. My situation in the natural hasn't gotten any better YET (in fact, it's gotten worse), but I'm confident that God didn't just manifest Himself unto me in the manner in which He did last night for nothing.

I'm heading up the mountain:

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." (Exodus 20:20-21)

God at work. . .keep praying.

Well, the "bottomless pit" has a bottom after all and I'm set to crash into it, full force, beginning Monday (Tuesday, the lastest) barring any last minute/second Divine intervention and then a whole host of other events are set to immediately follow over the next week/week and a half which are all basically devastating. I could give you all plenty of gory details, some which would further explain some of the things which I've already mentioned here and some which would introduce several other things which have happened which have brought me to this place, but I'm simply going to say the following instead...

Of this, I am sure:

1. God is Holy and Just. In my mind, this is indisputable. As such, I have no quarrel with God's dealings whatsoever and I know better than to ever even consider exalting my own desires to be righteous over God's Infinite Righteousness. IOW, God is Righteous and if anybody is unrighteous in this situation, then it is me (and/or my family members).

2. To the best of my sincere, very prayerful knowledge, unless I'm extremely deceived and/or deluded, my heart truly is after God. IOW, I recognize that I am not my own, but that I've been bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and my heartfelt prayer for years has truly been "Not my will, but Thine be done". Aside from the fact that it's only by God's mercy and grace that I've lived long enough to come to the place of repentance unto salvation to begin with, since then I've always been introspective before the Lord and much of my personal communion/fellowship with Him has come in the form of PERSONAL CORRECTION which, to the best of my knowledge (and I always pray for Him to show me otherwise), I've always submitted to in that I'm quick to repent. He is the Potter and I am the clay and I truly desire to live for both Him and others as He conforms me to the image of Jesus Christ.

Beyond the above, here's where I'm at:

After 26+ years of truly seeking the Lord and truly seeking to live for Him and His purposes, I'm about to be evicted (soon), basically flat broke (now), my business is basically done and I have just enough merchandise to continue for just a few more days (literally) and I owe all sorts of different people money and some are even suing me (and this in only minutely addressing some of my financial problems, but, again, my problems extend way beyond the financial realm). Here's the thing, though...

I've honestly worked like A DOG for years (my typical work day begins with my commute at 2:30 a.m. and I generally don't get home until about 6:30 p.m...IOW, 16 hour work days) and I've honestly sought to do everything heartily as unto to the Lord as scripture admonishes us to. I've also always sought to responsibly prepare for the future, but, with God Himself as my Witness, I've had SETBACK, AFTER SETBACK, AFTER SETBACK, AFTER SETBACK, AFTER SETBACK, AFTER SETBACK come against me, all which were out of my control (which is why I described my ordeal as a "free fall" in my OP and myself as one who is just "watching it" and seemingly unable to stop it), and which have hindered me from even being able to take responsible action at times and I honestly simply cannot believe that there are not spiritual forces at work behind the same. IOW, I don't believe that this onslaught that I've been facing is merely natural or coincidental in nature, but rather that both God and Satan are involved in the same even as they were in the Biblical account of Job. In Job's case, he needed to repent in sackcloth in ashes and place his own hand over his mouth for speaking foolishly when the Lord finally answered Him from out of the whirlwind and, believe me, I'm more than familiar with the same having prayerfully/carefully studied the book of Job many times myself for years. As such, to the best of my knowledge, I've always sought to maintain a place of introspective repentance before the Lord lest I should find myself to be like Job. That being said, here I am...and I'm confused...very confused. Again, I am NOT questioning God's Righteousness in any of this in that I'm beyond convinced that He is Perfect in Judgment. I am, however, seeking to figure out just what the heck I'm supposed to do.

Again, basically, here's where I'm at:

After 26+ years of truly seeking the Lord, I'm a couple of days away from being homeless, jobless and even further clueless. Seriously, am I THE BIGGEST REPROACH EVER or what? That's not me "beating myself up", but such a possibility has to be considered.

I'm hoping that it's the "or what", but, again, I am presently very confused, yet not really scared. My hope, even at this dark time, is still this:

That the God Whom I serve knows the end from the beginning and that this will eventually turn out to be for my own good. IOW, I simply cannot believe that the God Who has maintained and sustained me for this long is now going to just turn me over to complete and utter destruction.

Please pray for me...things really are much worse than I could ever explain. I'm normally not the type to cry out for help to others like this, but I've even considered that I need to possibly be abased in this area, so here I am, spilling my guts to people who don't even know me (except for one of you).

Anyhow, please pray that God upholds me and mine throughout what is seemingly inevitably going to come up me/us beginning in just a couple of days or so. I know and believe that His grace is sufficient...as long as I'm not so much of A REPROACH that I'm beyond help, that is.

Thank you.

I have to attend a memorial service today for a friend of mine who recently died and as sad as that is, I cannot help but to think that I'm in such bad shape that I LITERALLY couldn't even afford to die. That's sad...and after 26+ of sincerely, as far as I know, seeking after God. Again, am I THE BIGGEST REPROACH EVER or what? In scripture, the wicked weren't even afforded a proper burial, but their dead bodies just laid upon the ground like dung...and so would mine, if I were to die now, so I cannot help but to wonder whether or not I'm A REPROACH.

Time will tell...and the clock is ticking. I've never wanted to bring A REPROACH upon God or His Name nor have I ever desired to bring shame upon my own children...and here I am. How I got here, again, seems orchestrated by supernatural forces and I'm just hoping that God delivers me/mine in the end. If not, then I honestly wish that I had never even been born.

Psalm 39

[1] I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
[2] I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
[3] My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
[4] LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
[5] Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
[6] Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
[7] And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
[8] Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
[9] I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
[10] Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
[11] When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
[12] Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
[13] O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

God is answering your heartfelt prayer.

And I know you are aware that repentance is not just being sorry,
it is changing your mind about, turning away from, what you are sorry about,
judging/condemning it (1Co 11:31) and dealing with it in a thoroughgoing manner (Mk 9:43-48).

Do not worry about being a reproach.
God is in the business of redeeming reproaches--that is our ground for trusting him.
There is no running from God but by running to him,
no fleeing from his justice but by fleeing to his mercy.

God is in the business of choosing the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised,
and the things that are not to make/transform them into his own.

We are all just clay pots, in which are the grace and glory of Christ.

David was as big a reproach as the next man.
But he was, nevertheless, a man after God's own heart.
He likewise was thoroughly drubbed.

Do the best and the responsible things you know to do each day, trusting God for the rest.
Leave the outcome to him.

It appears that God is in the refining process in your life now.
And you won't know until it is over, what/who he is refining.
It may be one, it may be some, it may be all of you.

There are agencies in place to help you.
The Salvation Army in particular will shelter, feed and clothe
your family while you look for a job.

And I will pray.

The Psalms are a good place to be now--6, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 42, 43,

62, 63, 69, 86, 88, 102, 119:97-105, 123, 130, 139, 143.

Loving Jesus,

prayer is not us persuading You to lay your favour on us, it is persuading ourselves of Your highest willingness to bless us. Because in Your Bible, You have told us that You came to show us the Father's will and we all know that in Your walk on this earth, all the miracles You did was of healing, restoration and provision.

O LORD, I believe that You came only to show us life more abundant and I claim those promises in Your Word for this brother, LORD. Remind him to look only to You and Your Work, that whatever self justification and effort that we do comes to naught in the face of Your unyielding grace and goodness.

Remind him that it is Your righteousness that matters, that whatever righteousness we have comes only from You and nothing else. Remind him that as humans we could never fulfil the law and that if not for Your sacrifice on the cross, we would all be condemned to die for all our sins.

Only then, boasting in Your righteousness, basking in the light of Your good works, can we come boldly to Your throne and freely receive the blessings of healing, restoration and provision that You have purchased with Your blood!

O LORD, thank You for Your goodness, thank You for Your mercy and favour upon us. Give this brother faith, that he may move the mountains in his life in Your name.

Gracious Father, let not his mind depart from Your word and Your work, so that he may learn to lean on You and only You.

I pray this in the name of Jesus, our Precious Saviour and Kinsman- Redeemer,
Amen

Hey brother, I dont know how/what exactly to pray for you at this point but just letting you know your troubles are not forgotten! Asking the Holy Spirit to use me and intercede for you with His perfect prayers according to the promise we have from Romans 8:26! amen

Thank you.

You changed your avatar...

It's probably that simple. Thanks.

I like changing avatars often according to the personal "season" I'm in. It helps me stay on track

This may sound totally off base in the light of the fact that you're praying for me, but I'm fully aware that I can only approach the Father through Christ my merciful and faithful High Priest. That being said, as a born again Christian, I am called to "abide in Christ" and those who abide in Christ DO RIGHTEOUSNESS via the power of the indwelling Spirit of God.

Anyhow, your prayer didn't sit fully right with me, so I needed to say that.

I just changed mine recently, too, so I hear you...

I am praying for you also. When I was going through a really difficult time, my mother - who is a pastor - said, "Ask God for a reprieve. Tell Him you do not feel you can take anymore and to give you a break from it." I did as she instructed and read scripture she gave me, and the next day things started slipping back into place. King David did this often, and he was always a mess, but God did help him when He called out (most of the time, sometimes he had to go through the trial).