[00:00:03] Welcome, you are now tuned into the prayer is breathing podcast. My name is Latoya and I want to thank you so much for listening and be sure to subscribe. Listen, if this podcast bless
[00:00:16] you in any way, please be sure to share it with the friend, have them go ahead and subscribe. Alright today we're going to jump right in. Our topic is going to be called Preparing By Faith
[00:00:28] Okay, and so Faith of course we have talked about so much faith is what pleases God and I just want to encourage you to prepare by Faith for the things that are coming. Okay
[00:00:42] And we see this a lot in the Bible and it's just very fascinating to me The Word of God, the Power of God, the Presence of God, God is so amazing. Amen
[00:00:52] He's so amazing. He's so good and so there's a scripture in Proverbs that really, really stands out And it refers to I know for many of us is summertime wherever you are and there are tons of creatures
[00:01:07] That God has made right and we see a lot of bugs and different things depending on what area you live in And what's interesting to me is in the Bible and Proverbs the Word of God tells us to look to this one particular animal
[00:01:21] And it's so, so tiny and listen if you are someone where you struggle with Discipline and consistency and preparing and what have you this is what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter six Okay, Proverbs chapter six verse six. It says go to the aunt you sluggered
[00:01:42] Consider her ways and be wise So it's pretty much saying that you can look to the aunt Yes, and aunt before you go step on it. I want you to think about this scripture Go to the aunt you sluggered consider her ways and be wise
[00:01:57] Listen to what it says now verse seven which having no captain over see or ruler Provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest
[00:02:09] Verse nine says how long will you slumber or sluggered when will you rise from your sleep and then verse 10 is so powerful? It says a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep
[00:02:21] So shall this is verse 11 now so show your poverty come on you like a prowler and you're need like an armed man Okay, and so this gives a direct connection to
[00:02:35] Sleeping not putting your hands to the plow and poverty and so we're saying if you just think of it as a little sleep a little slumber A little folding of the hands so show your poverty come on you like a prowler and you're need like an armed man
[00:02:49] But I want us to look at this verse that talks about going to the aunt and really look at the aunt Because when God is speaking and we've got to speak in things to our hearts He often will send a word of warning
[00:03:01] He will also send a word of a prophetic word for things that are to come and so what we have to do is prepare by faith One of the biggest examples obviously is Noah when he built the arc
[00:03:14] God spoke a word to him and we see his faith not just because he kept walking around saying hey guys, it's gonna rain You know I declare in the crey is gonna rain no what he actually did was put his hands to the plow
[00:03:27] Oh, babe God and begin to prepare for the rain that was going to come and This is where he begins to build the art and so it's not enough for you to just declare in the crey right
[00:03:39] Because James tells us that faith without works is dead and so if we look back at this aunt It says consider her way So I want you to consider the ways of an aunt
[00:03:51] I want you to consider her ways and verse seven tells us a little bit about the ways of an aunt It says which having no captain over see or ruler and This just really speaks to my heart when it goes to self discipline because we all want accountability
[00:04:08] A captain over see or ruler right, but it says that the aunt doesn't even have a captain There's no overseer. There's nobody that this aunt reports to however this speaks to our level of self discipline And so when you are disciplined by the grace of God
[00:04:24] You will keep the promises that you made to yourself, amen You will say if you say hey, I'm going to the gym Then you will go to the gym just because that's something that you spoke to yourself
[00:04:35] Right, so we're all there definitely something I'm working on and so when it says in verse seven Which having no captain over see or ruler provides her supplies in the summer and Gathers her food in the harvest So I don't know where you are in your faith
[00:04:52] I know there's a lot of things happening in 2024 at the beginning of this year my apostle He declared that 2024 was the year of war and I began to see a lot of different
[00:05:04] Prefitted people declaring that and saying and since and that something is coming and I want you to just think about You know Preparing just preparing seat in the Lord asking God how can you prepare for things that are to come?
[00:05:19] Okay, whatever that may mean to you of course We don't walk in fear we walk by faith and not by sight But there are things that God will prophetically have us to prepare for and so what I love about this where it says
[00:05:32] Verse eight provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest And so just because it's harvest time It doesn't mean that you don't gather so the aunt takes the food in the harvest time and still sets it aside for the future
[00:05:48] And in this you can see a lot of wisdom kind of like people that save money They don't splurves and don't spend it all at one time And so the aunt takes some of the food in harvest and stores up for the difficult days
[00:06:03] And sometimes we experience that an entrepreneurship if you own your own business Sometimes you can have very profitable seasons and other times they can see maloodoo dry
[00:06:11] But you learn how to balance out your funds and your income and your overhead and your cost and all those types of Things right and so also when it comes to you know having plenty Sometimes you can begin to save and hold on to things
[00:06:27] So that you'll have it in the future So the opposite of that will be similar to the Immorturity of the prodigal son in a Bible where he takes all of his inheritance and he begins to splend it
[00:06:39] to spend it and to go out and about and to be very careless and so a sign of maturity is that you actually consider Tomorrow you actually consider more than just today, right and a lot of young people will say oh
[00:06:52] You only live once know we need to live again right? We live for eternity as believers. So I don't believe that or subscribe to that doctrine I want us to think though about the fact that we should have a kingdom mindset a
[00:07:06] Prefetic mindset where we're not just living for today But God will begin to show us Things to prepare for prophetically and for tomorrow and so with the end again verse eight says Provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest
[00:07:23] So even when it's harvest time you can still gather and this can look like so many different things practically Where we try to look at disciplining our lives I'm doing things so that we can prepare and whatever you're believing God for
[00:07:39] Preparing for what you're saying that you're believing God for and we prepare in many different ways Maybe you've received prophetic words that God is going to make you great in the land or do some mighty things in your life
[00:07:52] Right? How you prepare for that is in prayer and fasting and humility and humbling yourself before God And going through deliverance and healing and whatever it is that you need to do
[00:08:03] Because you're not just thinking about today, but you're thinking about tomorrow and we see that with the ant the ant considers Tomorrow because the ant stores up food in the harvest and so even when it goes through certain things in your bloodline
[00:08:17] You have to think about your legacy You have to think about not just the decisions that you make for today But understanding the decisions that you make today will indeed affect who you are tomorrow should Jesus Terry, right? Amen
[00:08:32] And then verse nine says how long will you slumber or sluggard when will you rise from your sleep now? This passage is so important and it's so really kind of cool to me because I think about how in this life
[00:08:46] You know, we go to different motivational speakers and different conferences and different kind of TED talks with lack of better words But This scripture tells us it says hey you sluggard go to the ant go to the ant and I think about mentorship
[00:09:02] I think about training and it says to go look at the ant consider her ways study the ways of an ant and how they store up food and They prepare even in the good season they're preparing for the season
[00:09:16] That's not so great and then verse 10 again says a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep So show your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an arm man
[00:09:29] And so even when you think okay, I'll just sleep. I'll just you know Carelessly live for today all of a sudden the things that you did not prepare for begin to sneak up on you
[00:09:40] And so this is why you have to be prepared and also being prepared is a sign that you have faith Right and so when God speaks a word to you how you respond shows your level of faith And I'm gonna break this down in James chapter two
[00:09:59] And we'll go right here to verse 14 James chapter two verse 14 it says what does it profit my brethren if someone says that he has faith But does not have works can faith safe him if a brother or sister is naked and
[00:10:16] destitute of daily food and one of you says to them the part and peace be warm to feel But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works
[00:10:29] It's dead and so I want to ask you does your faith have a heartbeat today Do you really really believe God and if so you will see that by your actions You will see that by how you prepare and so some of the things you know
[00:10:44] When God is moving or when things are about to shift or things are about to happen you take action You take precaution. I think about Everything that happened in Jamaica and I was watching some things where they were preparing for the hurricane and beginning to put
[00:10:59] You know everything in Protection and just shielding up the windows and everything as much as possible And they were preparing for this hurricane that was coming and so part of preparing means that you have faith
[00:11:14] That something is about to happen and so we see this again with James and verse two verse 18 chapter two verse 18 It says but some will say you have faith and I have works show me your faith without your works
[00:11:27] And I will show you my faith by my works So your your works will always speak to the level of faith that you have and so if you are
[00:11:37] Truly believe in God there is some work or some action that goes behind the faith that you claim to have and so verse 19 Says you believe that there is one God. You do well even the demons believe in Trimbo somebody say Trimbo That's all right with me. Hallelujah
[00:11:55] Verse 20, but do you want to know old foolish man that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham I father justified by works with he offered Isaac and son on the altar
[00:12:07] Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect And the scripture was fulfilled which says Abraham believed God And it was accounted to him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God
[00:12:22] You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only Verse 25 likewise was not ray-half the heartlet also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way
[00:12:37] Verse 26 for as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also So I just want you to be reminded to prepare To prepare by faith whatever you feel or sense the Lord and staying to your heart putting on your heart
[00:12:54] Make sure that you posture yourself in faith and in faith You will have action to what God is saying you will have some works behind it The Bible gives us the example of ray-half also of Abraham
[00:13:07] And so we see that they worked their faith and also we see that with Noah that he built the whole art by faith Because he believed that he prepared for what God has spoke to his heart
[00:13:20] Hallelujah so let me just say a quick word of prayer with you Father, I pray that you will prepare each and every one of us for the things that are to come God the things that you have spoken
[00:13:31] And just in so many different areas and levels of our lives Look out I just pray that faith would arise I pray God that we would no longer sleep no longer slumber but awakened to everything that you're saying
[00:13:44] God that we would consider the ant and be wise that we would store up food in the harvest time That we oh God would be accountable and disciplined and walking whole heartedly after you in the mighty name of Jesus
[00:13:59] So God just continue to move on our hearts show us what to do give us instructions Teach us oh God how to prepare for the things that you are to come guys speak Perfectly to our hearts God and show us the way we pray in Jesus name
[00:14:16] Hallelujah listen if you are not saved if you have not given your life to Christ I really want to encourage you to invite Jesus Christ into your heart
[00:14:25] Ask him to wash you and to cleanse you and to forgive you for all of your sins and to come into your heart And confess that you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God that he died on the cross for our sins
[00:14:38] And he rose on a third day and he sees it at the right hand of God with all power with all authority And so we have forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ Whatever you've done, whatever you've been through Jesus is waiting with open arms
[00:14:53] He's the only way to the Father. He is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to God but through Jesus Christ And so I pray that you would give your heart to him Hallelujah So I want to thank you so much for listening today
[00:15:07] Also if you would like to join our women's Bible study every Monday night at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time You can go to Zoom. I'm sorry You can go to Eventbrite and register on Eventbrite with me virtually via Zoom And it's called the Equipping Women's Bible Study again
[00:15:24] That's the Equipping Women's Bible Study Monday nights at 8 p.m God bless you and have a great victorious week in Jesus name