Faith attracts divine favor, opening doors and bringing miracles

 The discourse emphasizes the power of faith in invoking divine provision, encouraging believers to actively speak their needs into existence rather than waiting passively for assistance. 

Let us begin with praise for God and the acknowledgment of the effectiveness of faith, noting that true faith does not merely comfort in times of need but actively calls forth abundance from God's limitless resources. 

The pivotal scripture referenced is Mark 11:23-24, reinforcing the idea that one's desires, empowered by unwavering faith, can manifest physical realities (move mountain). 

The contrast is drawn between need, which does not compel God to act, and faith, which drives divine response. A key point is made about the necessity of vocalizing beliefs rather than merely holding them internally. I assert that prayer alone is insufficient; faith must be articulated to effect change. 

 I relay instances of proclaiming financial needs and witnessing miraculous provision, further asserting that faith operates similarly in all areas, including health and prosperity. Philippians 4:19 is cited to affirm God's commitment to meeting needs through faith, illustrating the belief that faith acts as a 'withdrawal slip' from God’s reservoir of resources. 

The importance of maintaining a positive confession about financial provisions is emphasized, and a practical approach is recommended: declaring expected resources aloud and refusing to entertain doubt. I also warn against the pitfalls of blame and the mindset of lack, insisting that one’s words have the power to shape reality, whether in terms of wealth or health. 

The overarching message communicates that faith is not just a passive state of being; it is an active law that operates through the spoken word. I encourage believers to shift from a perspective of scarcity to one of abundance, where words of faith bring blessings and opportunities. Let us leverage the power of our tongue to shape our destiny, aligning their speech with God’s promises to invite divine provision and abundance into their lives. Through faith, believers are called to not just wait for blessings, but to actively proclaim and receive them.

I would like to emphasize the power of faith in relation to finances, paralleling the authority that Jesus exercised over various elements of life, suggesting that believers can command their financial situations likewise. Drawing on biblical references, particularly Luke 6:38, the message advocates for giving as a means of receiving blessings and financial provision. 

It encourages readers to confidently declare their needs and maintain a consistent faith-oriented confession, asserting that God waits for individuals to exercise faith to unlock divine provisions. Faith manifested tangible financial results, indicating that mindset and verbal affirmations can influence financial outcomes. 

I stress the importance of consistency in affirmations, asserting that faith should remain unwavering regardless of circumstances. It includes practical advice for organizing finances with faith-driven actions such as tithing, budgeting, and preparation for opportunities. I also warn against double-mindedness (James 1:6-8), suggesting that contradictory beliefs and statements can hinder God's response. 

Notably, it urges believers to verbally declare God as their source and to anticipate abundance rather than living in lack. The summary culminates in a call to actively engage with one's financial situation through bold declarations, suggesting that speaking positively about one's financial state is crucial for attracting blessings and opportunities. The conclusion reinforces that faith not only pertains to material needs but also embodies a spiritual assurance of receiving what has not yet manifested physically. Overall, the central theme revolves around the principle that the strength of one’s confession and faith directly influences one’s financial reality.

Faith attracts divine favor, opening doors and bringing miracles. Romans 1:17 states, "The just shall live by faith," emphasizing that faith should pervade every aspect of life. By declaring positive affirmations and believing in abundance, individuals can experience God's provision in various forms, beyond merely financial means. 

Faith requires patience and acts as a catalyst for unseen changes, releasing resources and favor in response to spoken confessions. It is crucial to maintain a perspective that recognizes God as the ultimate source of supply, inviting blessings through belief and declarations.

The Holy Spirit and The Believer

A. THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPS THE BELIEVER

Salvation (being born again) is the first work of the Spirit in our lives. Power for holy living and service is the Spirit's second purpose for being in us.

1. He Brings Conviction (John 16:8-11). An important aspect of the

Holy Spirit's work is to convict, reprove and convince unconverted people about sin, righteousness and judgment. Without the Spirit's work of conviction, we would remain ignorant of our sinful and lost condition.

He makes us aware of the sinfulness of sin, of how far short we come of God's standard of righteousness, and of the awful judgment which awaits every sinner.

2. He Produces Conversion and Regeneration. Regeneration means

spiritual rebirth, spiritual renovation and restoration.

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).

"And you hath he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1).

"It is the Spirit that makes alive" (John 6:63).

3. He Liberates Us from The Power of Sin and Death, So We Can Be

Holy. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom 8:2).

4. He Gives Us an Inward Assurance of Salvation. "The Spirit itself

beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom 8:16).

"And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth" (I Jn 5:6).

"For there are three that bear witness... The Spirit, and the water, and the blood:and these three agree in one" (I Jn 5:8).

5. He Guides Us into Truth. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he

will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself: but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come " (John 16:13).

6. He Teaches Us All Things. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you'' (John 14:26).

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him" (I Jn2:27).

7.He Gives Life to Our Physical Bodies. "But if the Spirit of him that raised up

Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you'' (Rom 8:11).

The word "mortal" means "bound to die" and refers to our physical bodies. The Spirit imparts life. Therefore, the promise of this Scripture is this: When the Spirit dwells within us. He will impart life, strength, health and vigor to our bodies. Living in the Spirit is a health-promoting exercise. It will increase our physical strength and our life-span.

8. He Gives Us Power for Service. "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me..." (Acts 1:8).

Jesus used the Greek word "dunamis" (translated "power"), from which we derive our word "dynamo." A dynamo is a machine which generates a consistent and continuing supply of power.

Thus the power of the Spirit within us generates power to enable us to be

witnesses (martyrs) for Christ. Not only are we enabled to bear witness of Jesus, we actually become witnesses unto Him.

9. He Empowers Our Prayers. "Praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20).

"Praying always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Eph 6:18).

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will" (Rom8:26,27niv).

10. He Inspires Praise and Worship to God. "We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11).

"For we heard them speak with tongues and magnify God"'(Acts 10:46).

"We who worship God, by the Spirit of God" (Phil 3:3 niv).

"Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord'' (Eph 5:18,19).

“God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in

truth" (John 4:24).

11. He Produces the Fruit of The Spirit in The Believer's Life. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law" (Gal 5:22,23).

The Fruit of the Spirit cannot be produced by the natural man— no matter how refined or educated he may be. God's character is seen in us, only when God the Holy Spirit lives in us who believe.

How to completely surrender to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit to lead the way.

You say you trust God, but why are you still holding on so tightly?

You pray for his will, yet you hesitate to release control. You ask for guidance, but when the Holy Spirit leads, you resist.

Why is it so hard to fully surrender to Jesus? This is the battle that every believer faces—the fight between control and surrender, between trusting God completely or trying to figure things out on your own.

The truth is you cannot be fully led by the Holy Spirit if you are still holding on to control. God is not asking for partial surrender. He is asking for all of you. If you don't fully surrender, you will always live beneath your true calling. You will experience moments of faith, but not a life of faith. You will feel God's presence, but never walk in his power. You will always wonder why his promises seem distant, why his voice seems unclear, why your heart never feels completely at peace.

By the end of this message, you will know exactly how to walk in the Holy Spirit's guidance without fear or hesitation. You will understand why surrender is not losing control, but stepping into a greater purpose. You will discover how to stop resisting, how to recognize his voice, and how to fully yield to the Holy Spirit's leading.

A). But first, you need to understand why so many people never experience true surrender to God.

1.But here's the truth: the moment you fully surrender is the moment everything changes. When you stop wrestling with God, when you finally lay down your fears, your doubts, your own plans, that is when you step into a life that is truly led by the Holy Spirit.

2.Why most people struggle to surrender to the Holy Spirit: - Surrender is not natural to the human heart. From the moment we are born, we are taught to fight for control, to rely on our own strength, to make our own decisions. The world tells us that surrender means weakness, that giving up control is foolish, that we should always have a plan. But the kingdom of God operates differently.

True strength is found in surrender. True wisdom is trusting God above your own understanding. True power comes when you let go of control and allow the Holy Spirit to lead.

3.So why do so many people struggle to surrender: -

i). Fear of losing control. Deep down people don't trust that if they release their grip, God will take care of them. They fear that surrendering means losing their dreams, their comfort, their security. But in reality, holding on to control is what leads to anxiety, worry, and frustration. The more you try to control, the more you realize you are not in control.

II) Fear of the unknown. The human heart longs for certainty. People want to know every step before they take it. But the Holy Spirit does not work that way. He leads one step at a time, and you can only move forward when you obey his voice in faith. If you demand to see the whole picture before you obey, you will never experience the fullness of God's guidance.

III). Fear of failure. We think, what if I surrender and things don't work out? What if I make the wrong choice? But surrendering to God is never failure. Failure is trying to do life without him. Peter walked on water when he trusted Jesus, but the moment he focused on the storm, he sank. His faith led him to step out, but his fear made him fall.

iv). Struggle with trust. Some have been hurt in the past by people, by experiences, by disappointments, and without realizing it, they project that distrust onto God. They assume he will let them down the way others have. But God is not like people. He is faithful. He never fails. And his plans are always good. Surrendering to him is not a risk—it is the safest decision you could ever make.

V). The comfort of self-sufficiency. Some people resist surrender because they believe they can figure things out on their own. They depend on their logic, their abilities, their experience. But the Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Prov.3:5." Your wisdom is limited. God's wisdom is eternal. You can either rely on yourself and live with stress or you can trust God and live in supernatural peace.

What you are trying to control is actually what is controlling you. The things you refuse to surrender are the very things that have power over you. But when you finally let go, when you choose to trust, when you stop resisting, that is when true freedom begins.

4.The subtle ways we resist the Holy Spirit without realizing it: -The Holy Spirit is always speaking, always leading, always calling you deeper. But many people resist him without realizing it. Resistance is not always rebellion—it hides in excuses, delays, distractions.

People ignore the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudges. They dismiss conviction. They hesitate when he prompts them to act. They wait for dramatic signs instead of obeying the quiet whisper in their heart.

5.Another way people resist him is delayed obedience:  Delayed obedience is disobedience. When the Holy Spirit tells you to pray, forgive, release something, or take a step of faith, and you postpone it, you are resisting.

6.Others resist by trying to negotiate with God: - “I will obey, but let me do it my way." But the Holy Spirit does not operate on partial surrender.

7.Many resists through distraction: - Filling time/mind with everything except God. As long as your mind stays busy, you won't hear his voice.

8.And the greatest resistance of all is holding on to what God already told you to release: - Like the rich young ruler, many want God's will and their own will at the same time. The more you resist, the harder it becomes to hear his voice. But it does not have to stay that way.

B). How to recognize when the Holy Spirit is leading you:- The Holy Spirit leads with clarity, peace, and conviction. He guides through:

• Deep conviction
• Supernatural peace
• Confirmation through scripture or counsel
• Open or closed doors
• A sense of divine urgency

When he leads, the direction becomes unmistakable.

C). The number one barrier: self-sufficiency:- Self-sufficiency convinces people they can handle life on their own. It gives the illusion of control, but it robs them of surrender. King Saul lost everything because he trusted himself more than God. Many believers do the same without realizing it.Full surrender means releasing your plan and embracing God's plan—even when you don't understand.

D). How the Holy Spirit transforms your life when you surrender:-When you fully surrender:

• Your mind becomes clear.
• Peace replaces anxiety.
• Your prayers grow powerful.
• Your desires change.
• Divine acceleration begins.
• Your identity becomes unshakable.

Surrender reveals who you truly are in Christ.

E) What it truly means to be led by the Spirit: - It means relying on God's voice over emotions, logic, or fear. It means walking in step with him in daily decisions. It means trusting even when you don't have all the answers. It means obedience that leads to supernatural encounters.

F).The most dangerous prayer: “Lord, have Your way.” --- This prayer demands surrender—not partial, but total. It means trusting God when nothing looks like you expected. Jesus prayed it in Gethsemane, and that prayer changed the world.

 May God bless you. If you are blessed share/preach this message.

 

You have the Holy Spirit but still have no power (Acts 1:8)

Have you ever wondered how you can be filled with the Spirit of God yet still feel spiritually powerless? Like something inside you is not connecting to heaven's current? 

How is it possible to have the Holy Spirit living inside of you and yet still feel powerless?

You pray, you worship, you read the Word, and you know you are saved, but deep down you sense that something is missing.

You see, there is a difference between carrying the presence of God and activating His authority. Let us uncover some hidden blockages that keep so many Spirit-filled believers from living Spirit-powered lives.

What drains your spiritual voltage, what silences your inner fire, and what stands between you and the fullness of God’s strength working in and through you. So read this to the end to understand what has ben blocking the current of heaven from flowing freely through your life. 

1.Lack of surrender: - You have the Spirit, but He does not have you. “Do not quench the Spirit.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:19. The Holy Spirit is not limited by power. He is limited by permission. Many believers have received the indwelling presence of the Spirit but have never allowed Him full ownership of their lives.

You cannot have the fullness of God while still clinging to fragments of self. The Spirit does not force His way through your will; He flows through your surrender. Power does not come through possession. It comes through permission. You may carry the Spirit. But does the Spirit carry you? 

The difference between the powerless Christian and the powerful one is not who has the Spirit but who has yielded to Him. You cannot walk in authority when your flesh (self life) is still on the throne. Surrender is the gate that power walks through. 

As long as you're negotiating obedience, you're blocking flow. The Spirit will fill whatever you yield, but He cannot fill what you withhold. You cannot be full of the Spirit and full of yourself at the same time. Until you die to your own agenda, the Spirit will remain silent in areas where you are still in charge. True surrender is not lip service. It is lifestyle.

It is saying, “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done.” Even when His will interrupts your comfort. Some have prayed for power but have not released control. They want the Spirit to move, but they won’t move out of His way.

The Holy Spirit is not a guest to be visited. He is a Master to be obeyed. If you want His power, give Him permission. Let Him rearrange your plans, rewrite your expectations, and redefine your comfort zones. The place where you lose control is the place where He gains access. And when He gains access, power begins to manifest.

The anointing does not rest on ability; it rests on availability. The question is not whether you have the Holy Spirit—does the Holy Spirit have you?

2.Ignorance of spiritual identity: - Power requires awareness. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” — Hosea 4:6 You cannot walk in what you do not understand. The Holy Spirit does not only empower you—He defines you. But when you do not know who you are, you live beneath your inheritance.

Many believers pray for what they already possess because they do not understand what they already carry. You are not just saved; you are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). You are not merely human; you are a carrier of divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The Holy Spirit is not beside you. He dwells within you.

Yet too many Christians live like tenants instead of owners, renting the presence of God through occasional experiences instead of living as hosts of His glory. You cannot manifest what you have not realized. Until revelation becomes realization, your power remains potential. Ignorance will make a king live like a slave.

A believer who does not know who they are in Christ will always beg for what heaven already approved. Power flows through identity because authority is always tied to awareness. When Jesus faced temptation, He did not panic—He responded from identity. "It is written," He said, because He knew who He was and whose He was. When you forget that you are a child of the King, you begin to live like an orphan. When you forget that your words carry weight, you speak doubt instead of faith.

The Spirit gives power, but the mind must agree with the Spirit for that power to manifest.

You cannot have a Spirit-led life with a self-limited mindset. Many pray for fire but walk in forgetfulness. Before you ask for more power, ask for more revelation of who you already are in Christ.

Power begins where identity is remembered.

3.Disconnection from the Word: - The Spirit operates within the Scripture. “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” — John 6:63. The Word of God is not just text. It is the transportation of the Spirit. Wherever the Word is absent, the Spirit is silent. Many desire the move of the Spirit but neglect the foundation of the Word. You cannot claim to walk in power when your lamp has no oil. And oil flows through intimacy with the Word. The Holy Spirit rides on the rails of Scripture. If you connect from the Word, you disconnect from His voice.

Emotional worship may stir you, but the Word stabilizes you. The Spirit and the Word are not competitors—they are collaborators. The Word reveals the will of God, and the Spirit gives you power to walk it out. Without the Word, emotion is mistaken for encounter. Power without truth becomes noise without impact. Scripture is the conduit through which the Spirit expresses Himself. Just as electricity needs wires to flow, the Spirit needs the Word to conduct His power.

The more Scripture lives in you, the more heaven can flow through you. Jesus defeated the enemy through Scripture. “It is written” was His weapon, and it must be ours. When the Word fills your mind, the Spirit fills your life.

4.Unforgiveness and inner pollution:- The Spirit cannot flow through a clogged heart. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10. Power doesn’t flow through polluted pipelines. You can be anointed but still hindered, gifted but still limited. The Spirit of God is like a river—pure, living, life-giving. But when the channels of your soul are blocked with bitterness, offense, jealousy, pride, or unforgiveness, that river cannot flow freely. A stagnant river breeds death, not life. The Spirit cannot empower what is imprisoned by pain. Many do not lack the Spirit—they lack spiritual circulation.

Forgiveness unclogs the flow. It is not emotional; it is spiritual. It is saying, “God, I trust You to handle what hurt me.” And when you forgive, the flow returns. You cannot host heaven while holding hell in your heart.

5.Neglecting prayer:- Power dies where communication fades. “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.” — Luke 18:1. Prayer is not religious activity. It is spiritual breathing. When prayer fades, power fades.

You cannot live disconnected and still expect current. Prayer is oxygen. The Holy Spirit moves relationally, not randomly. When prayer becomes your lifestyle, power becomes your nature.

6.Spiritual complacency: - Power cannot thrive in comfort zones. “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” — Amos 6:1. The Holy Spirit thrives where hunger lives. He fills what is empty, not what is full of self. You want the supernatural? Step out of the shallow. Power begins where comfort ends. Revival does not visit the passive—it visits the persistent.

7.Lack of obedience: - The Spirit empowers those who follow His lead. “And the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” — Acts 5:32. Power follows instruction. Some ask for new revelation while ignoring their last instruction. Obedience is the bridge between potential and power. Each time you obey, power flows. The miracles you want are often waiting on the other side of obedience.

This message is learnt from the sermon of  Dr, David Yonggi Cho

The change that occurs when you begin to trust instead of trying

How many times have you tried to change something in your spiritual life by sheer effort only to find yourself more frustrated than before? What if you discovered that the secret isn't about trying harder, but about trusting better? Your reading of this message here is not a coincidence but this message can today completely change your understanding of the Christian life.

Watchman Nee in his profound wisdom taught that there is a huge difference between trying to live the Christian life and allowing Christ to live through us. Think about this for a moment. The harder you try to be good, the more you discover your inability. The more you strive to please God, the more aware you become of your shortcomings. This is not a coincidence. It is the divine design to show us a fundamental truth that is articulated so clearly. We are not called to imitate Christ, but to express him.

In Galatians 2:20, Paul declares, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." This verse is not just beautiful spiritual poetry. It is the exact description of how the Christian life works.

You see, when you try to live for Christ through your own effort, you deny the very essence of the cross. The cross exists not only to forgive your sins. It exists to replace your life with the life of Christ. God is not interested in improving your natural life. He desires to completely replace it.

Have you noticed how an orange tree produces oranges? The tree does not try to produce fruit. It simply manifests what is already in its nature. Likewise, you do not need to try to produce the fruit of the spirit. You just need to allow the life of Christ to flow through you naturally.

Many of us live as if Christianity were a self-improvement system. We read books on how to get better, attend motivational talks, and create spiritual checklists. But true Christian life is not about self-improvement. It's about self-denial.

When you try on your own effort, you are essentially saying, "I can do this. I just need to try harder." This is the voice of pride disguised as dedication. True humility says, "I cannot do this, but Christ in me can. I trust him to live his life through me."

"God never asked us to do what only Christ can do." Think about that. Have you been trying to do what only Christ can accomplish? Have you been carrying burdens that were not meant for your shoulders?

When we understand this truth, our entire approach to the Christian life changes. We stop focusing on trying and start focusing on trusting. We cease to rely on our willpower and begin to depend on the presence of Christ in us.

Romans 8:2 says, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death." Note that Paul does not say you free yourself through moral effort or discipline. You have been freed by the law of the spirit of life. It is a divine operation, not a human one.

We need to understood that Christianity is not a code of conduct but a life exchange. Christ did not come to give you a set of rules to follow. He came to give his own life in exchange for yours.

So why do we continue trying on our own? Why do we resist this liberating truth? Because trusting seems passive. It seems like inaction. Our nature wants to do something, to achieve something, to prove something. But God calls us to an active rest — one that is not laziness, but deliberate trust.

In Hebrews 4:10–11, we read, "For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his own works, as God did from his." Notice the apparent contradiction: we must strive to enter that rest. This means that trusting requires a decision — a conscious choice to stop trying and start trusting.

Watchman Nee frequently used the example of swimming to illustrate this truth: -

“When you are drowning, the more you fight, the faster you sink. Only when you stop struggling and yield to the water can you float.” 

Similarly, the more we struggle in our own strength, the more we spiritually sink. When we stop fighting and surrender to Christ, we find that his life sustains us. All this I have been learning and that I am sharing with you all.

May God bless you all

Pt. Ramesh C. Koundal

The triune nature of a person

 Christian theology commonly teaches that humans are made in the image of God, who is also a Trinity of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Following this logic, humans are said to have a triune nature, consisting of the following parts: 

• Body: The physical, mortal part that interacts with the material world through the five senses.
• Soul: This encompasses a person's mind, will, and emotions. It is the seat of the affections, intellect, and worldly desires. The soul, left to its own, is focused on the self and earthly matters means human being was before saved by grace.
• Spirit: The innermost part of a person, created for communion and fellowship with God. For a born-again Christian, this is the part of their being that has been made new in Christ. 

The problem with praying from the soul: -

According to this view, prayers made only from the soul—from the mind, will, and emotions—are considered spiritually empty or insufficient for several reasons: 

• Based on worldly experience: Prayers from the soul are based on personal feelings, intellect, and desires, which are fallible and heavily influenced by the physical world.
• Lacks spiritual power: A "soulish" prayer relies on human understanding rather than on the power of the Holy Spirit. This is in contrast to praying from the spirit, which is guided by the Spirit of God.
• Vain repetition: Prayers that are merely repeated words or a formal exercise are seen as "lip-service" if not accompanied by a sincere and spiritual connection.
• Limited perspective: The soul's perspective is limited to the earthly realm. Prayers from this place can focus on selfish desires or worries rather than on God's divine purpose. This can result in a feeling of emptiness, as the prayer is focused on a flawed, temporary world instead of an eternal, divine one. 
• Such person whose has not crucified himself (his soul life) on the cross by faith and do not practice it daily is in danger of walking as per old life. We need to check ourselves. If we want to test ourselves then read carefully, 1 John 2:2-11.

The path to a fulfilling prayer life: -

The theological solution to the "emptiness" of soulish prayer is to pray from the spirit, or in the Holy Spirit. This is often explained in the following ways: 

• Align with God's will: Praying in the Spirit involves aligning your will and desires (mind will and emotion -soul life) with God's. This often requires listening for God's direction before speaking.
• Guided by the Holy Spirit: As described in Romans 8:26, "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words". A prayer life guided by the Holy Spirit moves beyond a limited human perspective.
• Honesty and intimacy: When feeling dry or empty, the most powerful prayer can be one of simple honesty, like "God, I feel nothing, but I am still here". This shifts the focus from performance to a genuine encounter with God.
• Transformation over transaction: Ultimately, prayer is not about getting selfish wants fulfilled but about being transformed to desire what God desires. This happens when the spirit, and not just the soul, is engaged. 

Let us desire that our soul life (mind will and emotions) are directed by the word God and not by our own soul (mind will and emotions). You will have constant joy in Lord even in trials and troubles.

 God bless you

Pt. Ramesh C. Koundal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the meaning of “Christ lives in me” in Galatians 2:20?

Galatians 2:20 is a well-known passage with profound implications: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 This declaration of identity underscores the reality of all who have placed their trust in the Son. We must understand what Paul meant in this passage and its relevance in the 21st century.

 First, let’s consider the context. The book of Galatians emphasizes salvation by grace through faith and rejects salvation by works. The argument extends beyond justification and addresses the Christian way of life. The early church faced a significant conflict as some Judaizers insisted that Gentile Christians must be circumcised to be fully accepted by God (see Acts 15). Apparently, some Gentile believers were succumbing to the pressure, prompting Paul to write this letter. In chapter 2, Paul recounts his visit to Jerusalem to meet with the church leaders. Following this, he confronts Peter for hypocrisy, and then comes Galatians 2:20.

 The statement “Christ lives in me” holds profound theological significance. When we are born again, we become united with Christ in His life, death, and resurrection. Understanding our union with Jesus eliminates the need to rebuild the old system of law-keeping. Paul describes this union in his letter to the Romans:

 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3–11)

 Our union with Christ resolves one objection people have to the concept of grace. If we are declared righteous through faith in Christ rather than through obedience to the law, does that mean we can cast off all moral restraints and live however we want? After all, where sin increased, grace abounded even more (Romans 5:20). The answer lies in our new identity, rooted in our union with Christ. We identify with Him and live as He does, which means we live for God.

 

Moreover, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Son, dwells within us. It is through the Spirit’s supernatural connection that we are bound to Christ. Our lives are no longer lived for ourselves; instead, we follow Christ under the influence of the Spirit, bringing glory to the Father.

 Our identity in Christ also carries personal implications. Believing that Christ lives in us means we represent Him here on earth, imperfect though we may be. The expected result is a transformed lifestyle, thoughts, desires, character, and goals. Even the way we approach daily activities like chores should change. Consider the example of a young man who gets married. His status as a married man naturally brings about changes in lifestyle, behavior, and attitude; otherwise, there would be a disconnect between his actions and his new situation. Similarly, a relationship with Jesus is transformative, affecting every aspect of our lives. We become His students, learning and applying His teachings. We love what He loves and hate what He hates. Becoming more like Jesus is our ultimate objective (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 2:6).

 Learn from bible sources presented as it…..

 Pt. Ramesh C koundal