Jesus, teach me that there are eight power-attitudes of God that You want me submitting to. Help me learn the list that is found in Matthew 5:3-12; they are poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, being merciful, being pure in heart, being a peacemaker, and being willing to be persecuted for You. Show me that the reason they all start with blessed are is because these power-attitudes bring great blessings. Show me that each individual power-attitude has its own special, eternal blessing that comes out of it. However, make it clear to me that even though these blessings bring incredible eternal results, they are all achieved through my time here on earth; I NEED THEM NOW!

Jesus, in Matthew chapters five through seven, You preached a sermon while sitting on a mountainside. The first thing You presented is eight power-attitudes of God; make it clear to me that if they are missing, that will keep me from being able to hear, understand, and live those things You presented in that sermon and in the Bible. Without them, I will be distracted, uninterested, lack comprehension, and even resist hearing You and the Bible’s truths for life. Teach me that my attitudes are my doors that allow some things in and keep others out of me. Help me see that with these power-attitudes of God, I will be able to open the doors of my heart to start RECEIVING the powerful, wonderful, and eternal things God has to offer.

Mat 5:3 (NIV) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus, teach me that if I have a know-it-all attitude, everything I think I already know keeps me from learning things from Jesus. But, if I have the attitude of a young child who knows they need to learn a lot of things, that opens me to being taught by You. You said in Matthew 18:3 (NIV): “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Help me see that I can’t learn Your truths unless I listen to them, understand them, learn how to apply them, and are willing to submit to them. Make it clear to me that having God’s power-attitude of being poor in spirit helps me BE WILLING or opens the door to the wonderful truths of God. Show me that once that happens I get blessed with the kingdom of heaven belonging to me.

Mat 5:4 (NIV) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Jesus, I have given my heart the instructions to help me avoid pain as much as is possible. If I yield to God’s power-attitude of mourning, it will cause me to think about some things that make me sad. Mourning will probably cause me to feel guilt, regret, remorse, and a need to repent. If I have done or am doing things that are hurting me, I need to be made aware of them. But, my heart knows that as I go over these things with God through mourning, I will experience some painful emotions. So, it resists me joining God and thinking about them.

Jesus, teach me that mourning is a healing process for my heart; help me see that repression is a procedure my heart uses to bury painful issues. My heart has repressed a lot of painful issues. Show me that repression or the burying process has created heart wounds, walls, and negative reactions that are hurting me and my relationships with others. Make it clear to me that if I will go ahead and let You work with me about these painful issues, You will bring healing to my heart. Teach me that some of these painful issues are things I thought, felt, said, or did that were wrong, bad, or evil. Mouring, in these cases, will consist of me repenting by telling You that I am sorry. I will feel bad about them, see that they were wrong, then allow my heart to mourn, grieve, and ask You for forgiveness and healing for them. Help me believe that once that happens I will be comforted.

Mat 5:5 (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Jesus, if I have a plumbing problem in my house and I don’t know anything about plumbing, teach me that if I am properly meek, I will call a plumber and not try to solve the problem myself. Teach me that meekness is when I need to get a professional, a teacher, a mentor, or someone who knows more than I do to help me with an issue. Teach me that in this case, I am being meek enough to allow God to be the leader, mentor, professional, Lord, God, and final authority in my life. Once that happens, help me believe I will inherit the earth. My success in life will excel to an incredible level here on earth.

Mat 5:6 (NIV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Jesus, teach me that God has labeled ALL those things as sins that will eventually hurt me and those around me. He has labeled ALL those things as righteousness that will eventually work out as good for me and those around me. Show me that if I am craving, desiring, wanting, or hungering and thirsting for sin, then I am pursuing things that will EVENTUALLY hurt me and those around me. But, if I am craving, desiring, wanting, or hungering and thirsting for righteousness, then I am pursuing things that will EVENTUALLY bless me and those around me. Once that happens help me believe that I will be filled with all those things that will bless me.

Mat 5:7 (NIV) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Jesus, make it clear to me that the ONLY way I can be merciful to someone is to not do something to them that they deserve being punished or held accountable for. You said in Luke 6:27-28 (NIV) “But I tell you who hear Me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Show me that once I start doing that, I will be shown mercy. Once mercy starts flowing into me and my life, I will DESERVE a lot of bad things happening to me. BUT, they won’t BECAUSE I know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).

Mat 5:8 (NIV) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Jesus, as You work on helping me submit my emotions, my attitudes, and my character to You, my heart gets cleansed of those emotions, attitudes, and character that are harmful to me and others. Help me understand that You are using the previous course and this course to purify my heart. Once that happens, help me believe that I will see God in some very special ways.

Mat 5:9 (NIV) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.Jesus, teach me that as I submit to these power-attitudes of God, I will learn from You and the Bible how to have peace in my own heart. Teach me that, that will train me and empower me to pass this peace on to those around me. I will be able to help people who are fighting, arguing, competing, and hurting one another. Once that happens, help me believe that I will be called a son of God.

Mat 5:10-12 (NIV) Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Jesus, make it clear to me that as I start to share Your Biblical principles, I will be talking to people who are ignoring them, breaking them, disagreeing with them, and some will even hate them. Help me see that Your principles are the right way to treat myself and others; but, there are those who want to hurt others. They want to cheat them, take advantage of them, sell them things they don’t need, and take things from them by lying to them. Help me understand that these people will persecute me. But, once that happens, help me believe that mine is the kingdom of heaven. And, also great is my reward in heaven.

Jesus, teach me that for every power-attitude in this list, there is a human attitude that resists and blocks it off. I have attitudes about those things around me. Show me that all my attitudes aren’t evil; they are just not good for me and those around me. For example, if I have a know-it-all attitude, it may help me with self-confidece and self-esteem. But, help me see that a know-it-all attitude will keep me from Your knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, and wisdom. That will cause me to make decisions and take actions without adequate information. Help me see that submitting to God’s power-attitudes means I have to be willing to trade my attitudes for His attitudes. BUT, help me understand the benefits, blessings, and miracles that will come from God’s power-attitudes; then help me be willing to make the trade. I pray that You will give me the DESIRE to receive these power-attitudes into me.