Jesus, help me understand this spiritual parallel; it is showing me that it isn’t enough to get a baby down the birth canal. If they aren’t going to be “born dead,” they must immediately start breathing. They have been connected to an umbilical cord; and, their mother has been doing most of the work for them. Now, they are going to have to start doing some of these things on their own. This is the case with me; You have been taking care of all my spiritual oxygen, food, waste removal, heat, and protection. It is now time for me to take on some responsibility.

Jesus, help me understand that if my new birth is going to be a CONTINUING success, then I will have to use my new spiritual equipment so I can STAY alive. Help me accept my first two life-continuing assignments: Rom 10:8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That

1. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” Jesus, I confess right now that You are Lord and that You are my Lord.


2. If you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, Jesus, I believe God raised You from the dead.

you WILL be saved. Jesus, I believe that You have forgiven me of all my past, present, and future sins. I am now a new creation in You.

You WILL be saved: Jesus, this verse in Romans 10:9 means that I WILL be born again! But, didn’t I already get born again, when I prayed Your prayer? Help me see that it is a two part birth. Show me that praying Your prayer was like a baby coming alive in the womb and being formed into a baby ready to be born. Help me be aware that healthy babies don’t come alive at birth; they must become a living being before birth. They are being taken care of and kept alive while in the womb; then they have to go down the birth canal and “be born.”

Your prayer made me alive, formed me into a new child of God, and then got me ready for the second stage of my being born again. It was like when a baby comes down the birth canal, we call it being born and act like that was the moment they came alive; but, help me understand that it was actually alive in the womb; but, it was being kept alive through an umbilical cord; however, at birth, that umbilical cord gets cut. Help me be ready for this spiritual birth that is similar to a natural, human birth.

Jesus, when a baby is born, it loses its vital supply from its mother through the umbilical cord. So, one of the first things we have to do after birth is get the baby breathing. Help me see that this is true of me being born again. When I do what Romans 10:9-10 tells me to do and I use my mouth to say, out loud, that “Jesus is Lord” and that I accept You as my Lord, that is me breathing IN my first breath of spiritual air.

Make it clear to me that if I hadn’t prayed all of those parts of Your prayer, I wouldn’t be alive and formed into a child of God. And, I wouldn’t pass down the spiritual birth canal ready to BE SAVED or born again through Romans 10:9-10. But, if I don’t yield to it, I will fail to continue to live. Help me understand that now that I am born again, I must start “breathing” as a spirit being in the spirit realm.

Jesus, once You get my spiritual lungs working by taking IN spiritual air, You must get me “breathing” OUT. So to do this, God requires me to not only confess that You are Lord (breathing in), I must BELIEVE He raised You from the dead (breathing out). It is like me breathing in air and breathing out carbon dioxide rather than using my mother’s umbilical cord to get my physical needs met.

Help me realize that with all illustrations, the example breaks down at some point. As a spiritual baby, I will be given much more time learning how to breath, eat, cry, get my spiritual organs, limbs, and muscles working than a physical baby gets. Help me accept the fact that my spiritual umbilical cord stays connected much longer. I will actually be taken into an example of a grape vine with its branches. In John 15:1-17, You will show me how to stay connected to You. So, I don’t want to over work this baby-birth illustration. But, help me use it as much as is possible so I can understand what is happening to me.

Jesus, explain to me how these two aspects work (Matthew 6:9-13 and Romans 10:9-10) in my spiritual birth. Show me that I had to first pray all the parts of Your prayer; show me that I had to do this as I was being taught what each part of the prayer meant; and, show me that it had to be explained to me what it was I was asking for. Teach me that, that first process made me alive, formed me, and got me down the spiritual birth canal into the spirit realm.

Teach me that, the Matthew 6:9-13 process has made it where I am NOW “existing” in the spirit realm; but, You must get me “functioning” in the spirit realm through Romans 10:9-10. Just like a doctor or birth attendant has to do what it takes to get the new “born” baby to start breathing and functioning on its own, You must do this for me through this next process.

Jesus, teach me how to breath in and out as my first spiritual breaths; AND, help me take in my first spiritual power (nourishment). Teach me that I breath in and out as I confess with my mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead (Rom 10:9), AND, that I take in spiritual food by continuing these studies.

If a human baby gets born but doesn’t start breathing it is said to be “born dead.” And, if it doesn’t start taking in nourishment in its new environment, it dies. Teach me that Romans 10:9-10 keeps me from being “born dead” in my spiritual birth process.

Teach me that Second Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15 (2 Tim 2:15) helps me start taking in nourishment on my own. Help me obey 2 Tim 2:15 (AKJV): Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Show me that I am NOW to start allowing You to help me read (eat) and understand (digest) those things in the Bible. But, for now, help me continue learning about my responsibility to breath.

Jesus,

1. It is with my heart that I believed and was justified, and


2. It is with my mouth that I confessed and was saved.

Help me completely understand that these ARE the two main things that ARE keeping me alive in the spirit realm. I am a new born again baby as a child of God; it is up to me to start functioning as one. My assignments are few and simple; but, to a certain degree, like a new born baby, there ARE some things I MUST start doing to continue to live.

Jesus, teach me that, as I continue to take these spiritual steps, I will be able to start interacting with my new way of life. I will be using my spiritual equipment like a baby uses it new body to breath, eat, cry, digest food, and start using its muscles. Show me that just like all these things are VITAL for the new born baby, Romans 10:9-10 and 2 Timothy 2:15 are VITAL to my new birth.

It is with your heart that you believe and are justified: Jesus, make it clear to me that it is impossible to be a Christian, if I don’t believe that God raised You from the dead. It was much simpler for me to say with my mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and say, “He is my Lord.” But, it is a little harder for me to believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. So, help me spend some time on that.

Jesus, show me that all of my power and success in the Christian life are going to come through You. My ability to resist my difficulties with life, all my hope for eternal life, and my citizenship in the Kingdom of God are based on life after death. If God didn’t raise You from the dead, then I have no reason whatsoever to believe that I will be raised from the dead. To me, death would mean I cease to exist; and, that is NOT what happens.

Jesus, help me understand that I can’t call on a dead God. Your Word, the Bible says: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10:13).” That means that when I call on You, You will answer me. You will also empower me to live the life of one of God’s children and a citizen of His Kingdom. Help me know that later it will be easy for me to know that You have been raised from the dead. I will experience all kinds of miracles from You that will PROVE You are alive. But, for now, I just need to allow You to teach me a few truths about human life.

Jesus, let me be very clear about the fact that I going to live forever somewhere. My body dies; but the spirit person, which is the real me, is going to keep on living. You never ceased to exist; even though Your body died on a cross, You, as a Spirit being, continued to live; because a spirit can’t be killed once it comes into existence. Help me see that I am not being asked to believe that You ceased to exist and the Father made You exist again. Show me that all I am being asked to believe is that my heavenly Father put Your Spirit back in Your body. Help me believe this for the rest of my life.

Since I can now believe this, I am like a new born baby breathing OUT. These two requirements in Romans 10:9-10 are HOW I breath IN spiritual air and breath OUT those things that are hurting me. Help me keep breathing IN and OUT these two spiritual principles all day long, everyday of my life.

Jesus, help me to become one who believes that God can do anything; make it be an easy concept for me to believe. Since I know You created the universe and everything in it, help never doubt Your resurrection ever again. Let me experience so many miracles and have such an intimate, close relationship with You that I KNOW You are alive and doing You powerful work in me.

Jesus, teach me that for me to eventually become a permanent Christian, I have to be confessing with my mouth that You are my Lord; and I have to keep believing that God raised You from the dead. I must do this as a normal routine in order for me to be and stay saved for eternity.

If I find myself struggling with the two concepts in Romans 10:9-10, help me never give up. Help me keep growing spiritually; Help me do this so I will be able to experience miracles in my issues with drugs. As I experience these miracles, I will grow in my knowledge that You are alive because God raised You from the dead. Help me realize I will soon KNOW for a fact that You are my living Savior and are hearing and answering my prayers.

Jesus, now that I am a new BORN again Christian, help me keep applying myself to study and making changes in my relationships. Help me be healed from my problems with drugs. Keep feeding me so I can be powerful and have the necessary building blocks from that food so I am helped to grow spiritually. Help me cooperate with Your objective to keep parenting me until I grow into a mature, adult child of God.

Jesus,

• Just like a baby can’t just breath once and has to accept the responsibility of continuing to breath, so do I have to continue to breath IN spiritually by telling people that Jesus is Lord and that He is my Lord, and, breath OUT by believing that God raised You from the dead.
• And, if that baby becomes aware that something is going wrong in their life, it is their responsibility to let us know about it (cry); I am responsible for crying out to You in prayer.
• If food is presented to them, they are responsible to do what it takes to take advantage of it (eat); I am responsible to study (spiritual food) and understand (spiritual application).
• It is the baby’s responsibility to start using their muscles to move the various parts of their body; I am to start living the Christian life in the best way I possibly can.

Jesus, as a new born again child of God, I accept these as my responsibilities. I accept that I am to keep “breathing” by obeying Romans 10:9-10, keep “eating” by obeying 2 Timothy 2:15, which is me continuing to study, and start obeying many more Scriptures that will help me use all my spiritual muscles.

Jesus, You have caused spiritual growth classes to be prepared for me. But, it is my responsibility to use the power I now have through salvation to take advantage of them (eat). It will be my responsibility to let the people around me know that I am now a Christian (spiritual breathing). There will be things You will help me be willing to give up; and, those around me will need to know why. There will be things You will help me be willing to start living; and, those around me will need to know that I am now following Your teaching.