A Life of Acts

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July 2020 Fasting and Prayer Notes – Saturday PM

This is a write up of the notes from the July 2020 fasting and prayer weekend led by Pastor Praveen and held at our church. We had four sessions, Friday morning and evening and Saturday morning and evening (posted here). During our fasting and prayer sessions, it is usual for the Holy Spirit to speak to us through Pastor Praveen.

Pastor Praveen’s Message – Meditation of the Word of God

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8).

Pastor Praveen continued the theme that he had introduced during the Friday evening session. If you meditate day and night on the word of God, then you will do everything carefully. The result will be that you are prosperous and successful – spiritually, financially, and in whatever you do. When you go out, you will come back with a great testimony and with a joyful heart. The LORD is in you. He has promised – He will never leave you nor forsake you. You must remember, the LORD of heaven, the victorious God, is in you. 

If you go to a meeting you will come back successful. If you go to an interview, you will come back with a new job. You will not come back with an empty hand. You will never experience failure in your spiritual life, family life, or your generations. This is why Joshua was a successful leader. He said, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15). He served his miracle working, promise keeping God.

Example from 1 Samuel

David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. (1 Samuel 22:1-2).

Beginning with this passage of scripture, Pastor Praveen made several points:

  • Samuel had anointed David as the next king, so King Saul was following him to kill him. Four hundred hopeless, below zero people with anxiety, depression, and financial problems went to David. In the eyes of the world, they were useless; good for nothing. But they were David’s first church people. They gathered around David because they saw his anointing on him. He became the commander of these poor people. If you are anointed by God, the enemy will follow you as Saul followed David. You will have a battle, but do not be afraid. God, the one who anointed you is stronger. He is ready to protect you. Be patient for His timing – He will use you beyond your imagination. 

  • David always meditated on the word of God and kept singing to the LORD and praising God. He trusted his God and he trusted his anointing. David wrote in Psalm 39:3, “My heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.” He wasn’t looking at his situation. He was always looking to his God, the One who can change all situations, who can change times and seasons.

  • “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12). The word of God becomes active and alive through our prayer and our meditations. You are God’s child. When you meditate on His word, He is ready to do anything for you, for your generations, community, city, or country. The enemy cannot escape the sword of God.

  • Meditate on God’s word, and without your knowing it the word will sanctify, cleanse, and protect you. The darkness will flee, the light will be in you, and you will be filled with joy and peace. Bad thoughts will be removed. Jesus told His disciples, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3). The word sanctifies and cleanses you whenever you read the bible. That is the key. Healing and deliverance for your thousand generations are in His word. 

Don’t sleep during church – listen, receive, and process the message. The word of God will automatically cleanse us when we are hearing with all our hearts. God is molding us to prepare us for His purpose. God told Joshua, “no one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life.” (Joshua 1:5). This will be true for us if we listen to and meditate on the word of God. Whatever chains the enemy is making for us, God will break the chains and will make us prosperous and successful. 

  • The Word is God, God is Spirit, the Spirit is blazing fire: Before the throne of God, seven lamps are blazing – the seven spirits of the LORD. (Revelation 4:5). When we meditate on God’s word and praise Him, He will clothe us with spiritual fire. That is why David’s heart grew hot within him while he meditated on God’s word. It is why Jesus told His disciples, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49).

David said, “I saw the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8; also Acts 2:25). Why was he always seeing the LORD? Because he was meditating on the word of God. Those who meditate on the word will see God. Then the fire of God will grow hot and fear will flee from them. 

  • When you meditate on God’s word, He will strengthen you. You will not fear the enemy. You can say, “I have a powerful anointing. I will not be shaken.” Darkness will turn to light because the light of the World is in you. Psalm 18:28 says, “You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

  • David said of the one who anointed him, “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” (Psalm 18:29). He didn’t worry about what the enemy was doing against him, and we should not either. Don’t worry about Jericho, Jordan River, or Red Sea situations. The waters will automatically divide before you.

The enemy is always looking at your eyes and will see fire there because the one who anointed you is in you. That is the key. David was a shepherd. Bears and lions were subdued before him because the one who anointed him was in him and the fire of God was in his eyes. Likewise, God will subdue lions and bears before you. Rebuke the enemy from your city and community. The enemy doesn’t know the strength of your anointing. You need to release your anointing by faith. Forget about your past failures. 

Pastor Praveen has dreams and revelations when he meditates. Then he stands at the pulpit and people are healed and delivered by God. Because the fire is in him.

Concluding Comments

The 400 good-for-nothing men who rallied to David, God’s anointed, became mighty warriors. They came with an empty hand but became rich because they were with the anointed one. How much more will God use us if we follow Jesus, pray to Him, and meditate on His word. 

At Pentecost, God clothed the disciples with fire, then they began to perform signs, wonders, healings, and deliverances. They plundered the souls from the enemy. God loves everybody – no favoritism. The key is to always meditate on His word. You may start with an empty hand but will become prosperous and successful. God said, “I am the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jerimiah 32:27). Remember Him, praise Him, and meditate on His word. 

Pastor Praveen compared God’s power in us to a power station. You are not walking with a “sub-station” – the “main station” is in you. That supernatural power is the source of healing. The light is in you. You need to release the light by faith. The light will shine on your path and show you the way, because He is the way, the truth, and the life.