Philippians 4 - "Confidence"

The Lord woke me up twice during the night to pray for pastors. Both times He had the song He woke me up to yesterday going through my mind. "Confidence" is what He had me praying for all pastors to have. He had me prayed they would be reminded of how He is always with them and will never let them down but they must stay in communication with Him. He had me pray for those who are too busy 'doing church' to remember that is not what He desires. He desires relationship with Him so we can show others the same. These words kept going through my mind as I prayed...

Give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den
Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness
Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense
So I can face my giants with confidence

I prayed for those...

• who feel like the enemy is ready to eat them up to have faith as Daniel did when he was facing the hungry lions.
• who are dealing with hopeless situations to think about how God was with Moses every step of the way in the wilderness.
• who are being attacked to believe as David that He will defend them to the end; they do not have to succumb to the attacks.

We all have 'giants' in our lives but it seems like those doing the Lord's work face more of them. Some people ask why. The answer is very simple. 'Giants' grow our faith. 'Giants' make us rely on God instead of ourselves. 'Giants' are what brings more of God's love out in us. Last night I read Philippians 4 as I prepared for today. This is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. God gave me Philippians 4:13 almost twenty-five years ago as I laid in bed not able to function on my own. He continually brings verses from this chapter to my mind. Paul's closing words to the Church of Philippi are encouraging to me. He encourages them to rejoice no matter what is happening in their lives (vs 4). Paul reminds them the Lord will return and we need to be loving on people so they will be ready (vs 5). The way to do this is found in verse six. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Plain and simple. All we have to do is live in God's will. The result will be His peace (vs 7). Verse eight explains that we need to watch what we put in our minds. I like to call this verse the 'junk-in/junk-out' verse. If we watch trashy TV, movies, etc; listen to trashy music; surround ourselves with people who cuss; etc. that is what will eventually come out of us. We need to stand in God's love to have His peace. We need to allow Him to not only be the Lord of Lords of our lives but the King of Kings who we walk in obedience to. Too many times I have seen pastors who have caved to the world to keep people happy with them. People are not who we need to answer to. God is the Only One for that.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You once again for the privilege to pray for pastors. I pray especially for my pastor who is dealing with cold/fever. I ask for healing upon his body. He has had a tough week with the car window breaking, passing a kidney stone, and now dealing with this. Father, be his Encourager. I also pray for myself as I bring the message this morning. May You speak through me. Lord, cleanse and fill me so that is possible. Lord, be with pastors who are facing 'giants' who need to rely more on You. May they seek and feel Your empowerment today. Thank You Jesus for being My Peace! Amen.