Category: christian counseling

Welcome to September, the month of the PROVEN

Scripture Anchor:

“The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.” Proverbs 17:3 KJV

Have you ever been surprised by your own reaction to something? You thought you had grown past it, you knew the right Scripture, had even advised somebody else about the same thing.

Then pressure came and something unexpected came out of you. That is one reason testing is important. It reveals what knowledge alone cannot.

There are things we believe about ourselves that have never been tested: 

■ We say we are patient until somebody keeps us waiting.

■ We assume we have forgiven until the person’s name comes up again.

■ We declare  we trust God until His timing interferes with ours.

■ We say we have convictions until keeping them costs us something.

The Lord does not examine us because He lacks information about us. Oftentimes the examination is for our benefit, for It reveals what has become established and what still needs attention.

September brings us to the final month of our third-quarter emphasis:

REFINEMENT.

And our question this month is simple:

Can what God has developed in me stand when it is tested in real life?

Not only in church, or when everything is going well, and not only when people agree with us. But in our conversations, relationships, decisions, disappointments, responsibilities, private choices, and responses under pressure.

This month, don’t be afraid of what the test reveals: 

● If something good has become established, thank God for the growth.

● If weakness is exposed, deal with it. 

● If an old pattern resurfaces, don’t excuse it.

● If your convictions stand, strengthen them.

Remember: 

Testing does not only expose weakness. It also reveals what has become strong.

Once again, Welcome to September, the month of the PROVEN.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly

#TheSpiritualWarrior

#SWATS

COMING IN SEPTEMBER

REFINED FOR PURPOSE

“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God…”  Acts 13:36 KJV

The Refiner does not prepare vessels merely to place them on display.He prepares them for use.

September begins there.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly
#TheSpiritualWarrior

MONTH-END PRAYER

Carry the Fruit Forward

Scripture Anchor:

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined… they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” Zechariah 13:9 KJV

As August closes, we do not simply turn another page on the calendar. We pause, remember, and pray.

This month we have walked through the refining process together. We learned the following:

▪︎ Remain teachable

▪︎ Acccept pruning

▪︎ Choose grace

▪︎ Strengthen weary hands

▪︎ Refuse shortcuts.

▪︎ Speak with wisdom.

▪︎ Make room for others.

▪︎ Use what God has already placed in our hands.

▪︎ Serve quietly.

▪︎ Stand courageously.

▪︎ And most importantly, we learned that God’s refining work is not intended merely to change our circumstances.He is shaping us.

These things should not follow us into September.

  • Old reactions.
  • Unnecessary striving.
  • Comparison.
  • Fear of correction.
  • The need to prove ourselves.
  • Habits God has been pruning.

 We must carry these forward:

☆ Wisdom gained through experience.

☆ Discernment sharpened through testing.

☆ Humility developed through correction.

☆Compassion born through pain.

☆ Strength discovered in weakness.

☆ A deeper confidence in God.

Refinement has purpose. And September will take us there.

End of Month Declaration

 I will not leave behind the fruit God produced through my refining. I carry forward wisdom, discernment, humility, obedience, and spiritual strength.

I come forth refined, strengthened, and prepared for His purpose.

 PRAYER OF AGREEMENT

Father, we thank You for carrying us through another month, and for loving us enough not to leave us unchanged.

Thank You for  revealing wrong attitudes, and for the transformation of our hearts. 

When disappointment wounded us, you healed us without allowing bitterness to take root.

You corrected, pruned, and exposed weaknesses, 

The lessons learned will remain, healthier fruit will emerge, and strength is established. 

We release every weight that belonged to the refining process.

As we cross into September, order our steps according to Your purpose.

We receive discernment to recognize what You are doing, courage to obey when You call, and humility to remember that everything we accomplish is by Your grace.

Now, Father help us become more useful for Your purpose. And above everything else, let Christ be seen in us.

We enter September Available, prepared, and yielded.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly #TheSpiritualWarrior 

MONTH-END REVIEW

What Has Changed?

Scripture Anchor

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”  James 1:22 KJV

Knowing better should eventually show up in how we live.

We have spent this month talking about freedom. But before we move on, I want to ask you something:

What has actually changed?

It is possible to agree with truth and never apply it, to recognize an unhealthy pattern and continue practicing it, and to pray for freedom while repeatedly giving access to what keeps us bound.

At some point, what we know must affect how we live. So before September begins, take an honest inventory.

■ KNOWLEDGE
What do you know now that you did not understand before?

■ DELIVERANCE
What no longer has permission to control your thoughts, choices, responses, or behavior?

■ WISDOM
What are you doing differently because you know better?

■ VICTORY
Where is your faith producing evidence that you are overcoming rather than merely surviving?

Don’t rush through these questions. Growth is not measured by how much truth we hear. It is revealed by what truth changes.

Remember:

 When God gives you light, He expects you to walk in it.

#PrayerofAgreement

Father, thank You for every truth You have brought to our understanding and every area where that truth has produced freedom.

Thank You for wisdom that has redirected our steps and faith that has enabled us to overcome.

We reject knowledge without application, freedom without responsibility, wisdom without obedience, and profession without evidence.

We declare that Your Word will produce visible fruit in our thinking, decisions, relationships, conduct, and spiritual lives.

What we know, we will practice. Where You have delivered us, we will not willingly return.

As wisdom has instructed us, we will adjust. And when opposition arises, we will overcome by faith.

We enter the next month carrying more than information. We carry evidence of transformation.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Shalom,
Hephzibah Christly

#TheSpiritualWarrior

Come Forth as Gold

Today’s #Snippet

Scripture Anchor:

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”  Job 23:10 KJV

Apostolic Insight:

The fire was never meant to become your identity. God had something greater in view.

We began this month talking about walking worthy of refining.

Now we end with Job.

Job did not understand everything happening around him.

He could not see the conversations in heaven, could not explain the sudden losses, did not know how or when his circumstances would change.

But in the middle of what he could not understand, he knew something about God: “He knoweth the way that I take.”

There is tremendous comfort in those words. God knows the road. He knows the heat: He knows what has been removed. what has survived, and what He is producing.

Refinement was never about leaving us scorched by the fire. God the Refiner intends that something purer emerges.

So as August closes, we do not glorify difficult seasons. We glorify God who remains faithful within them.

We carry forward the lessons.

■The wisdom.

■ The restraint.

■ The humility.

■ The discernment, and

■ The deeper dependence upon Christ.

God has the final word. And by His grace, we come forth as gold.

Ponder This:

What has God developed in me that I intend to carry beyond this season?

Declaration:

My season of refinement is not wasted in the hands of God. I come forth strengthened, purified, wiser, and more deeply established in Christ. What God has developed within me will bear lasting fruit.

Prayer of Agreement:

Father, thank You for remaining faithful through every stage of my refinement.

I release what belonged to the process and carry forward what You have produced through it.

Wisdom, humility, discernment and obedience remains.

Christ will be increasingly revealed through my life. I enter the next season strengthened by Your grace and confident in Your continuing work.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly
#TheSpiritualWarrior

Launch The Week With Prayer:

Father, let somebody else be better because our lives touched theirs.

Scripture Anchor

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another…”  1 Peter 4:10 KJV

Prayer

Father, thank You for every gift, lesson, testimony, opportunity, and measure of grace You have placed in our lives.

Thank You that Your work in us was never intended to stop us from being useful in the lives of others.

Let our knowledge bring light where there is ignorance, and our freedom should point others toward deliverance.

Govern our counsel, correction, relationships, and our service with wisdom.

And let our faith strengthen those who are struggling to believe again.

We reject selfish Christianity, empty profession, and influence without responsibility.

We declare that our hands will serve, our words will strengthen, our lives will demonstrate truth, and our testimonies will glorify Jesus Christ.

Send us where our experience can become encouragement, and position us where our wisdom can prevent unnecessary wounds.

We receive the grace to discern when to speak, when to listen, when to help, and when to step aside.

We will not bury but use what You have entrusted to us.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Remember: 

What God develops in you can become His answer to someone praying for help.

Shalom,
Hephzibah Christly
#TheSpiritualWarrior

Examine the Fruit

Today’s #Snippet

Scripture Anchor:

“Then I consulted with myself…”  Nehemiah 5:7 KJV

Apostolic Insight:

Growth becomes easier to recognize when we stop measuring ourselves only by what still needs changing.

I love that little sentence.

Nehemiah discovered that some of his own people were exploiting their fellow Jews. He was angry and rightly so.

But before confronting anyone, Scripture says: “Then I consulted with myself.” He examined the matter before he acted.

There is wisdom here for us.

After a month of talking about refinement, perhaps we should do the same.

Pause, Look within. 

What has changed?

● Am I responding differently than I once did?

Am I quicker to listen, slower to react, and more willing to admit when I am wrong?

Am I more discerning about what deserves my attention, more comfortable celebrating someone else’s success, or more faithful in quiet places?

Sometimes growth happens so gradually that we fail to recognize it.

We are still looking at what God needs to change while He is saying, “Look at what I have already changed.”

Self-examination is not self-condemnation. It is an opportunity to recognize the evidence of grace.

Ponder This:

Where can I honestly see evidence of God’s refining work in my life?

Declaration:

I declare that God’s work in me is producing visible fruit. I acknowledge His progress without becoming complacent about continued growth.

Prayer of Agreement:

Father, thank You for the grace to examine my life honestly.

Reveal to me where I have grown and where I still need Your transforming work.

I reject condemnation and complacency alike. Continue shaping my character until my life increasingly reflects Christ.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly
#TheSpiritualWarrior

REMEMBER GOD’S FAITHFULNESS 

SCRIPTURE ANCHOR

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”  Psalm 77:11 KJV

#PrayerFocus 

Pray for answered prayers: Thank God specifically for provision, protection, healing, direction, reconciliation, open doors, and other answers received.

Pray  For unseen mercies: Give thanks for dangers prevented, strength supplied, timely help, daily provision, and ways God sustained us that we may have overlooked.

Pray For those with testimonies: Pray that answered prayer will deepen their gratitude, strengthen their faith, and encourage others rather than becoming something quickly forgotten.

Pray for those still waiting: Pray for renewed strength, wisdom, provision, patience, and protection from discouragement while circumstances remain unresolved.

Pray for our prayer community: Pray that we will continue bearing one another’s burdens, celebrating testimonies without comparison, and faithfully interceding beyond this month’s Prayer Watch.

🤝 JOIN TODAY’S PRAYER WATCH

Today, our comments become a thanksgiving and testimony circle.

If you have seen God’s hand at work this month, share your testimony, as much as you are comfortable sharing and write:

“I remember His faithfulness.”

If your answer has not yet come, simply write:

“I’m still standing.”

When you see those words, stand with that person in prayer.

We rejoice with those rejoicing, and we continue praying with those waiting.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly #TheSpiritualWarrior

Stand for Someone

Today’s #Snippet

Scripture Anchor:

“So Ebed-melech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet…” Jeremiah 38:8–9 KJV

Apostolic Insight:

Courage is sometimes using your voice when someone else’s voice is not being heard.

Jeremiah had been thrown into a dungeon and left to die.Then Ebed-melech stepped forward. He was an Ethiopian servant in the king’s house;not the person we might expect to challenge powerful officials.

But he saw injustice and spoke.

His intervention helped save Jeremiah’s life. Later, God sent a personal word to Ebed-melech promising his own preservation because he had trusted in Him.

What a hidden treasure.

Courage is not always standing before crowds. Most times it is standing against what is wrong.

Refinement develops a conscience that is not governed by convenience. It teaches us that silence is not always neutrality. There are moments when love, truth, and justice require a voice.

Ebed-melech used his.

Ponder This:

When God gives me an opportunity to defend what is right, am I willing to use my voice wisely and courageously?

Declaration:

Fear will not silence conviction. God gives me wisdom, courage, and grace to stand for what is right.

#PrayerofAgreement:

Father, thank You for giving me courage without arrogance and conviction without cruelty.

Help me recognize moments when silence would abandon someone who needs a voice.

Let truth, compassion, and wisdom govern every stand I take.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Shalom,

Hephzibah Christly
#TheSpiritualWarrior

Free Enough To Serve

Scripture Anchor

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty… but by love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13 KJV

If your freedom only benefits you, something is missing.

Christian liberty was never intended to produce self-centered believers. Christ frees us from bondage, but He does not free us from responsibility toward one another.

Freedom gives us room to love without manipulation, to serve without needing recognition, to help without controlling, and to give without keeping score.

It is mature freedom when you no longer need every interaction to revolve around you.

Remember:

Freedom reaches maturity when love determines how we use it.

Warfare Prayer

Father, thank You for calling us into liberty through Christ.

Thank You that freedom has enlarged our capacity to love, serve, and strengthen others.

We reject selfishness, manipulation, and the need for recognition.

We declare that our liberty will become service, our influence will become encouragement, and our lives will make Christ visible to others.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amein.

Shalom,
Hephzibah Christly
#TheSpiritualWarrior