Start with the Word of God.

     When you pray about the matter, the circumstances are absolutely not the issue.  The issue is, Who are you talking to?

     If you are a Soldier of The Cross, that means that you are committed to the death of the flesh.  It means you are bent on following Him, no matter where He goes.  It means that you will pray for Him to have His way, rather than praying for the result you think would be the best thing.

     This doesn't mean you can't pray for specifics, it only means that when you stand before Him, you acknowledge that He alone knows what needs to happen.

     It's not always easy.  Is your home under foreclosure?  Of course you will ask Him for a rescue.  The bottom line?  Will you trust Him?

     Are you ill?  Husband or child ill?  We would all pray desperately, and we should.  The bottom line is, He knows and He is in control.

     The church is falling apart?  Don't catch the falling ark - take it to Him.

     When I interview old missionaries who have faithfully served the Lord, they all report that they asked Him for what they thought was needed, but always knew He could b e trusted for the eternal solution, not the temporal solution.

     Soldier, stand before Him, make your request and then say the thing that reflects your understanding of Him according to His Word.

     Tell Him aloud.  It's very important to tell Him aloud.
     Do it today.

     What has He said about tomorrow?

     Soldier of The Cross, if He cares about the sparrow and feeds each one and knows when one falls, He certainly cares about each thing you lack and need.

     So interesting how things have been set up for us.  Why faith?  Why can't we just get some kind of assurance that tomorrow the bills will be paid and we will be fine?

     We have that assurance:
                    "So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble."
                     Matthew 6:34 (Amplified Bible)

     The issue is, is His Word enough for you?  Or will you fret through the night?  Will you need to call several people and pass on your worries?

     Oh, Soldier, He is your God, and He will take care of you.

     Tell Him you will trust Him and tell Him aloud.
     Sleep well.

     Lord, as I stand before you tonight, it seems I know less than I did twenty years ago.

     Yet, I have come to know you far better.  I know you will not withhold any good thing.  I know you see the beginning from the end.  I know you have a design that is beyond my comprehension.

     So, Lord and Love of My Soul, I eagerly declare that I want you to do whatever you will with the days and hours that are left for me.

     Anything, Lord, anything.

     After all that has happened, and after reviewing the rubble and destruction, I am more than ever convinced that you are in control and that you have designed this situation.

     Oh, Lord, the children.  It's so hard.  Can you take this pain?  Please, please Lord, reveal yourself to these children and lead them into Kingdom of Light. 

     I stand before you and declare that I trust you and call on you to cover the ground and redeem the time.

     Again, whatever you will, my Lord and my God.

     I love you, Lord.  There is none other.

     Soldier of The Cross,  The Lord can restore things in a matter of seconds.

     The issue is, His Will in His Way in His time.   And, that's the way you must pray.

     You are confronted with a mystery, an unfair situation and hurt all over the place.  It looks like nothing can ever be right again.

     Of course that is contrary to His Word. 
     He is not limited by time. 
     He is not limited by the sin of other folks. 
     He is not limited by blindness.
     He is not limited by gossip damage.

     Look at Him.  He is Lord. 

     Soldier, you have no alternative.  You have crossed The Line, and you are His.  Things look bad and feel worse.  What is real?
 
     His Word is real.
     He is able and He is listening.

     Oh, Soldier.  Pour out  to Him in the cathedral of your heart.

     He will hold out His Hand to you and you will never be the same. You will see the restoration.

     It's coming.

     Look up and move on!

     What does it mean to have a Lord?

     You have someone who is all powerful and can do absolutely anything.

     He listens attentively to you.
     He loves you to the extent that He who holds the stars in place also died for you.
     He is never tired of you.
     He is never distracted.
     He knows your children better than you do.
     He understands the things you can't articulate.

     Soldier of The Cross, what has He asked of you?  He has asked to you to trust Him,  wait for Him, take up The Cross and follow Him, and feed His sheep.

     Are you feeling insignificant?  It's a lie.

     The One Who is The Beginning and The End has called you and wants to pour out His Life through you.

     Tell Him you are available.  The enemy will flee.
     Tell Him aloud.

     We need to be reminded that we must walk in Love.

     What does that mean?

     It needs to be revealed. 

     There is no Love Walk if there is unforgiveness anywhere. 
     There is no Love Walk if you are easily irritated.
     There is no Love Walk if you are gossiping.
     There is no Love Walk if you are not tithing.
     There is no Love Walk if you are complaining about the church all the time.
     There is no Love Walk if you are missing lots of meetings.
     There is no Love Walk if there is little prayer.

     Because He is Love, He is eager to lead us into this Walk.

     Tell Him you are available and  will take up the Cross.  Tell Him you want to be a Soldier of The Cross, no matter what.  He will respond bigtime.

     Tell Him aloud.
 
    
 

     Trust requires unanswered questions.

     So many want to know "Why?".

     The answer is not going to be forthcoming in this lifetime and that is because He has asked that you walk by faith;

     "For in Him we live and move and have our being. . ."  (Acts 17:28, Amplified Bible.)

     Oh, Soldier.  You have been through the mill, and no one has been able to console you.  Physical disaster?  Financial devastation?  Death?  Lies?  Pain?  Desertion?  Paralysis?

     He does understand.  You don't get to understand until we stand before Him in Glorified bodies and have all knowledge.  And, for whatever reason, He has determined that the best thing for you is to trust Him.  Lay it at His feet and move on according to the Light He gives.

     He never gives Light for more than the next move, although He often brings a vision of Himself in the matter.

     Soldier, Are you His?  Then make the daily commitment that is The Life decision.  It has to be made each day. 

     Tell Him you are His.  Tell Him aloud.  Tell Him that He can do anything with your life and tell Him that you do  not need to know the reason why.   Will you be a Living Sacrifice?

     Tell Him.
     Aloud.

     Today.

     His correction can come from the most unlikely places.

     One would think that it would always be in private, and from deep, sensitive and mature Christians.  Or, perhaps He could only speak to us through The Word or spectacular and interesting messages.

     The fact is, often He speaks in the middle of trials and sometimes through those who are insensitive and worse.

     If the Soldier of The Cross is eager to follow hard after Him and is praying to know Him, that Soldier will hear His voice, even from the most trying mouth, particularly if you are in ministry.

     How available are you? 

     Tell Him.  It takes the sting out of the circumstances and puts the emphasis on taking up The Cross.   It's not about the horrid person's arrogance.  It's about eternity.

     His Way is Love.  His correction is an expression of that Love, no matter how it comes. 

     This is not about accepting nasty, negativity.  This is about learning to hear Him, to bring everything to Him in prayer and to move on according to His Word.

     If it is from Him, there will be Light.

     Look up and move on!

     First, are you a Soldier of The Cross?

     Are you willing to be a Living Sacrifice? Is it beautiful to you?

     There is tremendous protection in the Body of Christ, but most Christians don't understand their own roles within the Church.

     It's not about meeting your expectation of what made you feel great before.  It's about where He has assigned you.

     The Lord will assign you to an assembly where you need to lay down your life , live before the Brothers and Sisters and pray for depth and revelation.   Of course, you can't stay where there is heresy.  Nonetheless,  history records numerous situations where a single Soldier has planted The Flag of prayer and brought revival.

    Have you a list that must be met, or are you available for the death of the flesh?  Do you need to have Roast Sermon for Sunday dinner, or are you willing to let the Lord grow the man up by prayer?   Is he allowed to make mistakes?   After all, He doesn't.

     What is your role?  Be there every time the door is open.  Today's large churches are divided into small groups.  A matter so, so hard for me.  But, can it be an assignment of the Lord?  Can you pray for and love ten people that might be assigned to you and you to them?  Whose to say the Lord didn't design this for today?

     I have a serious issue with the "worship" and the contemporary music.  I'm sixty-four.   I recognize I don't have a right or the where-with-all to change the system, but I do know I have been assigned to lay down my life for the Brethren and pray my brains out.

     What about you?

     Tell Him.  Aloud.
     Today

     Why can't He just do it the way you have asked?

     You can see impending disaster, or perhaps the worst has already happened.

     None of that is the issue.  The issue is, who is more able to eternally redeem the situation - you, or the One who holds the stars in place?

     We all need to be reminded of the basics, and we need it regularly. 

     We know nothing apart from Him.    That's why we are not to walk by sight.

     Oh, Soldier.  Learn to lean.

     He has already told you He is ahead of you.
     He has assured you He will not withhold any good thing.
     He has proven Himself by wooing and winning you.

     Resolution is not the most important thing.

     Faith is the most important thing. No one who has waited for Him has ever been disappointed.

     Agree with God, and aloud.
     Today.