CHALLENGES OF LIFE

Peter Collins

Mentor ~ Coach ~ Acclaimed Author ~ Sales Strategist ~ Closing Specialist - High End Sales Trainer

Published Sep 16, 2017

CHALLENGES OF LIFE

Copy and distribute this content as often as you want. You are encouraged to share it. © Copyright Peter Collins, Sydney, Australia, 2007

The worship of the Lord God and the respect and gratitude of Him as our hearer of prayers, is not just the purpose and foundation of life, but the reality and underlying principle of lives in the first place.

Conversely, prayer also deals with the equally persistent challenges of life of the believer through a surrendered heart and soul.

How often as believers have we asked, “Where are you God?” “Why don’t You help me?” “Rescue me,” “Hear my prayer, Oh Lord,” and so on. Yet this has been the cry of believers throughout history.

Their cries to the Lord, reveal that despite their deep love for the Lord and a deep rooted desire to come closer to His presence and to love Him more, they often felt victimized, betrayed, violated and abandoned. None found any guarantee of safety from an angry enemy despite their closeness to God. Mostly, they grew in the knowledge that they were marked men, because they were close to Him.

God is a God of provision. There will always be a means He provides you with, or a way out that once you look back was either more than obvious – or nothing short of a miracle. Either way, it was He that gave you the means of a way through and the ability to overcome once you saw your way clear.

How you deal with things once the door has been open is just as vital as when it was opened in the first place.

So if today you feel you’ve been placed under a spiritual microscope, pushed from pillar to post, discouraged and hemmed in by the frustrations of life, or just weary from the constant attack of the enemy - welcome to God’s best. You have been allowed an insight into the power and the victory of prayer. Because that is God’s best for you - and always will be.

Acknowledge the Uniqueness of God in All your Circumstances - 1Hannah prayed: I'm bursting with God-news! I'm walking on air. I'm laughing at my rivals. I'm dancing my salvation. 2Nothing and no one is holy like GOD, no rock mountain like our God. 3Don't dare talk pretentiously -- not a word of boasting, ever! For GOD knows what's going on. He takes the measure of everything that happens. 4The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. 5The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts, while the hungry are getting second helpings. The barren woman has a houseful of children, while the mother of many is bereft. 6GOD brings death and GOD brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up.7GOD brings poverty and GOD brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. 8He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives -- a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are GOD's; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. 9He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle! 10GOD's enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. GOD will set things right all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world! 1 Samuel 2:1-10 – Message

Agreement With God Gives Peace - 21"Stop quarrelling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you. 22Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. 23If you return to the Almighty and clean up your life, you will be restored. 24Give up your lust for money, and throw your precious gold into the river. 25Then the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver!26"Then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and look up to God. 27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him. 28Whatever you decide to do will be accomplished, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. Job 22:21-28 - NLT

Believe, Hope and Pray - 24For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees? 25But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure. 26So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.27And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will. Romans 8:24-27 – Amplified

Benefits of Seeking God - 5And now I'm doing it to you: You'll summon nations you've never heard of, and nations who've never heard of you will come running to you because of me, your GOD, because The Holy of Israel has honored you." 6Seek GOD while he's here to be found, pray to him while he's close at hand. 7Let the wicked abandon their way of life and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to GOD, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness. Isaiah 55:5-7 – Message

Be Truly Dependant - 7The more I lean on the Lord for help, the more He helps. And the more I count on Him, the more I appreciative Him. I joyfully praise Him from the depths of my heart. 8The Lord protects all those who rely on Him. He’s the citadel of protection for every one of His anointed. 9Save Your people and bless Your ancestry. Shepherd them, so they may be truly dependant on You, forever Lord. Psalm 27:7-9 – Peter Collins

Be Wise in All Things - The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. Proverbs 15:7 – 21st Century KJV

Call Upon The Lord - 16I call to God; GOD will help me. 17At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh deep sighs -- he hears, he rescues. Psalm 55:16-17 – Message

Can You Pass God’s Test Today – If not, Repent First - 10But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. 11My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food. Job 23:10-12

Continually Seek The Lord - 2Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. 3Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. 4Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. 5Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth, 6O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! Psalm 105:2-6 – NAS

Delight Him - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. Proverbs 15:8 – 21st Century KJV

Don’t Boast About What You Pray For to Others - 5"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? 6"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. 7"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Matthew 6:5-7 – Message

Don’t Worry - Be Happy - 6Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life. 8Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:6-8 – Message

Enquire of Him - Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6 - Amplified

God Loves Righteousness - The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD, but He loveth him that followeth after righteousness. Proverbs 15:9 – 21st Century KJV

God’s Word – Your Most Powerful Tool - 12For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:12-16 – NKJV

Hear me Lord - 7Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me! 8You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].9Hide not Your face from me; turn not Your servant away in anger, You Who have been my help! Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation! Psalm 27:7-9 – Amplified

He Will Hear Your Cry - 17The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works. 18The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. 19He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them. Psalm 145:17-19 – Amplified

Humble Yourself and Pray - 13When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:13-15 – NKJV

If it’s not Godly Counsel – Don’t Accept It - 18"In the last days there will be people who don't take these things seriously anymore. They'll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts."19These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There's nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit! 20But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit,21staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life! Jude 1:18-21 – Message

Just Keep On Praying - 14Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. 16Always be joyful. 17Keep on praying. 18No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.19Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:14-19 – NLT

Pray - He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. Psalm 102:17 - NIV

Pray All The Time - 16Be cheerful no matter what; 17pray all the time; 18thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 – Message

Pray to Him - Seek GOD while he's here to be found, pray to him while he's close at hand. Isaiah 55:6 – Message

Praying In Secret Gets the Best Results - But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6:6 – NKJV

Pray With Thanksgiving - Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2 – ESV

Pray With Surrendered Hands - 4He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we've learned: 5that there's one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us --Jesus, 6who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. 8Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray -- not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. 1 Timothy 2:4-6, 8 – Message

Pray Without Ceasing - Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1 – NIV

Search and Keep On Searching - 10 Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice! 11 Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching. 12 Think of the wonderful works he has done, the miracles, and the judgments he handed down. 1 Chronicles 16:10 -13 – NLT

Stay Alert - 16In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.17Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. Ephesians 6:16-18 – NLT

Waiting is a Key to Prayer - 24That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. 25But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. 26Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. 27He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. Romans 8:24-27 – Message

Worry is a Sin – So Don’t Worry - 6Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8And now, fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:6-8 – NLT

You Can Be Happy - 20He looked at His followers and said, 'Those of you who are poor are happy, because the holy nation of God is yours. 21Those of you who are hungry now are happy, because you will be filled. Those of you who have sorrow now are happy, because you will laugh. 22You are happy when men hate you and do not want you around and put shame on you be-cause you trust in Me. Luke 6:20-22 – NLV

Your Focus Comes from the Word of God - 7Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. 8And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. 9Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take." Joshua 1:7-9 - Message

Your Steps can be God Ordained - The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23-24 - NKJ

When You Pray – Be as Jesus was when He was tempted by the devil during His 40 day fast and pray quoting the scripture as often as possible. When you do that, you call upon the angels of God - they can help bring your prayers to reality.

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This Article is by Peter Collins - In a sales career spanning more than 50 years, Peter Collins has focused on helping and bringing out the best in others - whether it involves training or mentoring salespeople, managers, business consulting to SME’s. Since the 1970’s Peter has built a reputation as a Nationally and Internationally Published author, and of the 130 books he has written over the past 48 years, Peter has 65 Business Books to his credit, (but he is mainly known for one book based on the Audio Tape series of the same name, Over 50 Ways of Closing the Sale). Peter also has written 23 Christian books. One of Peter's books, sold almost 2 million copies in the late 1970's and is still selling well through second hand online marketers worldwide. In his personal life, Peter has been sought after as an encourager and motivator that has given of his time and talents freely despite his busy schedule. Subsequently, he has assisted churches, pastors, community and charity groups, as well as individuals through his teaching, training, development and on-going mentoring.

Peter can be contacted through his website – profitmakersales.com

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