You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. John 14:13 (New Living Translation)

You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. John 15:16 (New Living Translation)

At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. John 16:23 (New Living Translation)

What does it mean to ask “in Jesus Name”? It means praying with His authority because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name essentially means the same thing as praying according to the will of God,

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. 1 John 5:14-15 (New Living Translation)

Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus. Genuinely praying in Jesus’ name and for His glory is what is important, not attaching certain words to the end of a prayer. It is not the words in the prayer that matter, but the purpose behind the prayer. Praying for things that are in agreement with God’s will is the essence of praying in Jesus’ name.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

How do we use the authority we have in Christ? It comes from two phrases that need to be more than words. These aren’t a magic incantation to ward off evil. They are truth whose implication needs to be worked out into every area of our lives.

We enforce Christ’s victory by His name and by His blood.

We’ll start by looking at what it means to pray in the name of Jesus next post. Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

It is really amazing to consider what was accomplished at the cross. It’s even more amazing to work it out in every area of your life. Here’s a quick overview of some of the highlights for me. I can’t say this is an exhaustive list, but I see 7 things changed at the cross.

At the Cross:

1. Guilt was removed

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:23-24 (New Living Translation)

2. The price of sin was paid.

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. Romans 3:25 (New Living Translation)

3. Our sins were washed.

Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 (New Living Translation)

4. We were made friends again with God

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19 (New Living Translation)

5. We are no longer fallen.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6 (New Living Translation)

6. Satan’s Rule Was Ended.

In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. Colossians 2:15 (New Living Translation)

7. The curse of the law was canceled.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Galatians 3:13 (New Living Translation)

What part of “finished” don’t we understand? The battle is over. All that’s left is the mop up operation. We’re on the winning side. We have His power and authority. We don’t attack on our own merit or passion, we’ve waited for the commander’s instructions and we obey what the commander says. When it’s time to fight for hope, fight knowing the battle is already won.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (New International Version)

We live in a world that was once the enemies. Jesus won the battle at the cross and made friends again with everything that was fallen. He redeemed us and reconciled us to himself. But while the battle is won. Think of it in-terms-of what’s happened in Afghanistan after 9/11. The Taliban fell in an instant. They no longer rule Afghanistan.

Are they still a threat? Do they still have power? Yes. A pastor friend of mine in Pakistan was just threatened by them with death if he didn’t take down a video of them beheading children and raping women in the streets.

Do they have authority? No.

The same is true with our enemy. He no longer rules the world. He has no authority.

Are there still casualties? Yes.

I think the best illustration of the power of the enemy comes from the analogy of a pebble in a shoe. I pebble can slow your walk. It can cause you pain. If it’s not looked after it can cause a festering wound. If the wound isn’t looked after blood poisoning can occur. In a way, a pebble in your shoe can conceivably kill you.

But it’s a pebble. It doesn’t have to be there. Get rid of it and toss it under your feet. Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

Let me give you an overview of the lay of the land as you battle for hope:

• Our battle is not against flesh and blood.
• Our war was finished at the cross.
• Our job is to enforce Christ’s victory.

I need some time to draw these out for you. Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 1 Samuel 30:16 (NIV)

David and his men met up with an Egyptian slave who led them to the Almalekites. They saw them partying up because of the plunder they took. David attacked and slaughtered almost all of them.

You’re going to need to fight a similar battle. The battle for hope is the battle for identity. It’s not a fight someone else can win on your behalf. You’re going to need to stand up and face the enemy. The battle for hope is a spiritual battle. It’s a battle you need to fight. I’ll let you in on the secret – we’re on the winning side.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

How many of you know it’s in the DNA of every man to be the one who comes to the rescue? We need to be the one who saves the day. Especially in the eyes of our wives and kids, we must be the hero.

So what happens when all we can do is watch the baggage? We do what we can and wait patiently for hope to be actualized.

Paul says us we have to be patient with hope:

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25 (New International Version)

I know it’s not easy. But don’t give up being patient.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

Wouldn’t it make more sense for David to wait for his fighting force to recover? The Amalakites where a larger force and they were slowed down with all the plunder. Every man had a stake in the fight and every extra sword would undoubtably be appreciated.

But David had inquired of the Lord and asked what he was to do. He set off to do what he could with the resources he had.

The path of peace is moving the direction you know God has told you to go, using the resources you have available.

That may mean staying back patiently with the baggage, it may mean attacking with even worse odds.

The key here is to get momentum on your side. Hope works well with momentum and a little step can start that momentum. When I pray for someone with pain, I ask them to put a number to that pain. “If 1 is no pain and 10 is the worst you’ve ever felt, what would you say it is right now?”

Once they tell me a number, we can use that to see how they respond to ministry. I pray short prayers and give short commands. After each one I ask “What’s the pain doing? Is it better or worse? What number would you say?” As soon as they notice the pain go down – let’s say from a six to a five – it only takes a few minutes for them to say the pain is at zero!

Why is that? There’s a few things going on that aren’t the topic for this post, but momentum is a big part. Faith builds faith. You only need a mustard seed amount of faith to move a mountain.

Hope doesn’t say, “I can’t do anything.” Hope does what it can and sees greater things done in the future.

What that means is after you’ve heard from God, and refocused – take whatever step you can and don’t be upset if it can’t be bigger.

Step by step by step, impossible situations can change. Hope needs momentum, so get going in the right direction.

To have hope at the end of the rope you need to do what you can. What step can you take today in the direction you know the Father wants you to go?

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind, for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit. 1 Samuel 30:9-10

One third of David’s men were too tired to continue on. Does that mean they didn’t have hope? No. They did what they could.

Once you’ve cried, avoided bitterness, inquired of God, refocused on the promise, you need to do what God has told you to do.

You’ve got to do what you can.

The key to doing what you can is following the path of peace. We’ll examine what that is in the next post

You can jump ahead at HopeInTransition.com

There is something about agreeing with God’s will with our words and actions. Some people will say, “It creates a convergence in the quantum field.” That may be true, but there may be another more Biblical explanation.

Consider the role of angels:

Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation. Hebrews 1:14 (New Living Translation)

These Spirit-beings are hear to help us. And the exciting thing is, they listen for the commands of the Lord:

Praise the Lord, you angels,
you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
listening for each of his commands.
Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
who serve him and do his will! Psalm 103:20-21 (New Living Translation)

When our words agree with the thoughts God has for us, it releases the angels to carry out His plans. Good things happen when a good God’s plans get carried out.

On our end, declaring the promises of God refocuses us from our problem to His promise – and His promise makes us agree:

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14 (New International Version)

To hope at the end of the rope, you need to refocus on His promises. So remember prophetic promises and declare the promises of Scripture.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

The second key to refocusing when you need to hope at the end of the rope is to declare the promises of Scripture.

Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 (The Message)

Let the Spirit lead you to the promises from Scripture that speak to you on a particular topic. Then personalize them, write them out, and regularly declare them out loud.

For example:

Ask for increased favor with God and with man.

According to Psalms 5:12, 45:12; Proverbs 3:4, 8:35, 11:27, 14:15.

I declare in Jesus’ name that I am blessed with the favor of the Lord. His favor is a shield and protection around me. I grow in favor every day with God and man. I am favored in everything I put my hands to and everywhere I go. The blessing of the Lord’s favor opens doors for me that no one can shut. I am blessed beyond measure because of the undeserved, unmerited favor of the Lord.

I am constantly filled with goodness, because the favor of the Lord blesses me. I have favor everywhere I go because I seek good and because I love wisdom. I am favored at home, in my church, in the work place, marketplace and everywhere I connect with people. The rich among the people entreat my favor. Those in authority favor me. I am favored in all my dealings because of the blessing of Christ over my life

Study the Bible for promises to agree with. Don’t just choose the ones that you feel comfortable with. Don’t avoid the ones you don’t experience in your life right now. Those are the ones you should focus on. I’ll give you some reasons why in the next post.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

The other way is to look back on your life and see the places you’ve been beaten up. Look to see where the stressors have been strongest. The enemy sees the glory that God has deposited in you and does everything they can to steal, kill and destroy it.

While they’re doing that, God is allow it so that the glory He’s deposited in you will be refined and shined and made to reflect Him.

Malachi 3:3 tells us:

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;

When a silversmith, smiths silver he holds the silver in the hottest part of the flame. He won’t take it out of the flame too early. He won’t take it out of the flame too late. He watches it closely – very closely. He watches it closely because there is a moment when he knows the impurity has been separated and the dross has been cleared… it is the moment when He is closely watching the silver in the flame – that He sees His own reflection.

God keeps you in the hottest part of the flame because he sees the good in you that he needs to refine. He won’t take you out a moment too soon. He won’t take you out a moment too late. He’s going to see you reflect his face.

We may go through life unaware of the consistency of the flame. When we have the choice, we may withdraw from it and avoid it’s purification. Allow the Spirit to show you the patterns in your life when the enemy has attacked. You’ll see it’s also the Father wanting to purify. Those places most likely are where your destiny lies.

Have you checked out more at HopeInTransition.com?

You may have never had a spiritual father or mother speak words of promise over you. Does this mean you can’t use this key to refocus from the pain to the promise?

You can use this tool when you ask the Father to reveal the treasure He’s hidden in you. Invite Him to bring to your memory a passion from your childhood, or an encouragement from a teacher or pastor or friend.

It’s as simple as praying:

Father, I need direction and encouragement. I don’t know what to do as this point. Show me a glimpse of the treasure you’ve hidden in me that others have seen and encouraged me with. I know you said as I delight myself in you, you’ll give me the desires of my heart. Show me the desires you’ve put in my heart.

Now wait for Him to speak and show you a memory to encourage you. He will. He loves giving good gifts to His children.

There’s another place to look for clues. I’ll tell you an obvious place in the next post… it’s obvious but one we often overlook.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

In the garden the serpent asked “Did God really say…?” and that’s a question satan keeps asking us today. It is so easy for us to forget an encouraging word spoken to us. They are like to seed that falls in the rocky ground:

The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
Matthew 13:20-21 (New Living Translation)

As soon as problems come, the joy of the seed that’s planted is forgotten. You and I need to remember the prophetic promises given to us.

When we teach and release people to prophesy, we get them to record the prophecies. This is so people can remember what’s been said over them. My Bible is full of notes of prophetic words I’ve gotten from people or from a sermon that spoke to me. I get encouraged every time I read them.

The secret is 3 part -

1. We need to record the prophetic words entrusted to us.
2. We need to remember to remember them – make it part of our regular devotional time.
3. We need to agree with them, speak them into being, and work them out in our lives.

We may not know how they are going to come about, but the Father will show us the next step, and will open the right door at the proper time.

Prophetic promises are how God sees you, how He’s pleased with you, and what He’s entrusted to you. They should be the rudder for your course.

Hope is only as valuable as what you place it in. If we hope for our own dreams or plans, it can bring us determination to see them accomplished, but it can’t bring us assurance that it will be completed. Clinging to God’s promises brings faith and assurance. The enemy does everything to keep you from your destiny. Knowing your destiny prophetically and meditating on it in your mind and with your voice gives you determination and assurance.

Pull them out. Agree with them. Speak them into being. Work them out in your life. They will refocus you when you need to hope at the end of the rope.

…for as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7 (HCSB)

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, 1 Sam 30:9

David and his men went from mourning to action. They stopped missing what they lost and started thinking about what to do about it. They took the time to listen to the Lord and then made sure they were obedient to what He said.

When you’re at the end of the rope, you need to refocus from the pain to the promise. You need to know what the promise is and take the steps you can to move towards the promise.

There are two keys to help you refocus from the pain to promise. They are remembering prophetic promises and declaring the promises of Scripture.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

I’m not saying you’re infallible and I’m not suggesting I shouldn’t test and confirm what God is telling me. We’re told to test everything and hold to the good. Here’s how to test it:

1. By the Word of God

It can’t be contrary to the will of God in Scripture. (Hebrews 4:12; 1 Corinthians 14:37; Isaiah 8:19-20; 1 Timothy 6:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 John 1:7-11)

2. By the Witness of the Spirit

It needs to “seem good to us” and others. (1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 2:15)

3. By its Fruit

Does it edify? Does it produce life? Is it clear or confusing? ( 1 Corinthians 14:4; John 6:68; 1 Corinthians 14:33)

You test what you write against the cannon of Scripture and major decisions you come to should be confirmed by a spiritual father or mother.

Conversational Journaling is a valuable tool to learn how to hear God for a specific situation. And to have hope at the end of the rope, you need to wait on God, expecting He’ll speak.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

Here’s a few simple steps to start conversational journaling.

• Take a Journal and write out a question.
• Fix your thoughts on Jesus and the love of the Father.
• Suddenly you’ll have a good thought.
• Write it down. Write free flow – whatever comes to your mind in response to your question write it down.
• Don’t edit it – what you write can be tested later to make sure it lines up with Scripture.
• Ask another question.
• Write down the good thought you have in response.

This is a two way conversation between a loving Father and child.

Don’t be afraid that all these good answers are coming from you. First, I’ll wager they’ll be better than you think you can come up with on your own. They still may be coming from you, but don’t worry – you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Kevin Deadmon in his book “The Ultimate Treasure Hunt” tells the story of a time he was teaching how to operate in the gift of words of knowledge. One of the key leaders of the church was asked to share. He replied he didn’t have a word of knowledge. Kevin told him “make one up.” He did, and five people got healed.

We are seated in heavenly places. We are sheep that know the shepherd’s voice. We have the Kingdom of God within us. We have the mind of Christ.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

Quiet yourself. The term for this in the circles we frequent is “soaking.” Soaking is:

• The other half of the conversation Jer 33:3
• Relaxing in His presence Ps. 46:10
• A quiet time Luke 4:22
• A time of Dedication Luke 6:12
• A time of Invitation 1 Samuel 3:10
• A time of Expectation James 1:5-6
• Rest and Restoration Ps. 23
• It’s a working out of Abiding in the vine John 15

The following information mainly comes from the “Step-by-step Guide to Soaking in God’s Presence” put out by CTF Ministries www.ctfministries.com

• Find a comfortable place.
• Listen to music that leads you to worship.
• Allow the busyness of your thoughts to quiet down and don’t fight them.
• Invite the Holy Spirit to soak you in His presence.
• Pray and surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit…mind, body and soul.
• Focus on the Lord’s presence within you.
• Rest in Faith, believing He’s working in you.
• Take as much time as you can. Try to give yourself at least 20 minutes to start to relax and receive.

After your busy thoughts have quietened down, and you start to feel relaxed, focus on Jesus and the love the Father has for you and follow the spontaneous thoughts that come to your mind. Record those thoughts. I’ll show you how I do that in the next post.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

God is almost always speaking. Here are 10 ways God speaks in Scripture and one that bows to his sovereignty. He speaks through:

1. His Word (Psalm 119:105),
2. other people (1 Peter 4:11),
3. our circumstances (Numbers 23:19),
4. creation (Psalm 19:1-3),
5. prayer (Romans 8:26-27),
6. the church (Ephesians 3:10-11),
7. still small voice (1 Kings 19:12),
8. an audible voice (1 Samuel 3:8),
9. in dreams (Job 33:14-15),
10. in visions (Numbers 12:6)
    

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11. in just about any other way it takes to get our attention when He wants our attention or we need His attention.

Yes, some times He will hide His voice. When the test is on, the teacher is silent. But He doesn’t hide it from us, He hides it for us.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings. ?Proverbs 25:2 (New International Version)

God has promised:

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Jeremiah 33:3 (New International Version)

When you’re at the end of the rope, you need to know how to hear God’s voice so you know what you need to obey. There are two keys to hearing God’s voice: Soaking and conversational journalling. We’ll look at both in the coming posts.

Do you know of other scriptural ways God speaks? Leave them in the comments.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com

We can be confident that God will speak… but we have a part to play. David says in Psalm 24:

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Psalm 24:3-6 (New International Version)

Take a moment and examine yourself for sin. I’m not saying sin is the cause of your situation. But we can sin in our circumstance and we need pure hands and pure hearts to see God.

Find out more at HopeInTransition.com