Teachings on the Heart of the Father
Eutha Scholl
Teachings on the Heart of the Father
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Copyright © 2021 by Eutha Scholl
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Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Isaiah 35:5:
Let the eyes of the spiritually blind be open,
Let the ears of the spiritually deaf hear.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my husband, William Scholl, who has spent countless hours listening to my thoughts, ideas, and teachings as I wrote this book. He truly does have a listening heart, to me and to the Father.
Foreword
When a person begins a journey into unfamiliar territory, it is important that he takes special care to find a reliable guide to lead him on the best path, so that he avoids the many pitfalls and dead ends that can occur along the way. Eutha Scholl is an excellent guide into the unfamiliar territory of God’s heart of love. She abides deeply with God, and she has spent much intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ.
In this little book, packed with the rare gems of wisdom, she describes only what she has seen, felt, and heard from God. And she does so in a humble and childlike manner, so that even the hardest of hearts will melt in the flame of love she brings to the reader who seeks to be with the Savior in intimate union. Eutha sees God in every precious soul, every created thing, and she reports the joy she experiences as she leads us into the Father’s Heart.
The words in this book are simple, yet profound. They contain the wisdom of all who, in the history of Christianity, have taken the time and made an earnest effort to see the fingerprints of God in all things. Trust this able guide to lead you on a journey that will surprise you by its simplicity and challenge you in the immensity of the God of all creation meeting you in the pages of this rare collection of eternal truths.
Pastor William Smith
Preface
I have written this book from classes I have taught and with thoughts and experiences from my heart. I have kept you, the reader, in mind to encourage you in your prayer life and in your relationship with the Father. My ultimate goal would be that you, too, will learn to listen to the heart of the Father.
Eutha
How to Grow a Butterfly
Through nature, we find many parallels to our spiritual life. If we look and listen to the Father’s heart, He will open the door for us to see how to grow from a caterpillar into a butterfly.
Changing from a caterpillar into a butterfly is called a metamorphosis. The word “metamorphosis,” in Greek, is defined as a transformation. “When the young look different than the old.” A young caterpillar must change several times before it becomes a mature butterfly.
Let’s look at the parallels spiritually between the caterpillar, “a new Christian,” who walks on the ground, seeking food to grow, and the beautiful butterfly, “the mature Christian,” who spreads its wings and soars.
We, as adults, must begin to see those who are less mature as going through a process as they learn and grow. We must , for some, the transformation can be drastically hard to do. Sometimes, all we see is the immaturity of those younger than us. In the church and in life, this can cause a great conflict between the young and old. The older set rules, while the younger don’t see the reason for the rules. The list goes on in the conflict. The young cry change, and the old respond to leave things as they are. But we must all let it go through the process.
An incomplete metamorphosis is when the young look like a smaller version of the mature version, yet they haven’t grown internally. They lack the spiritual maturity to see beyond themselves. They haven’t been through the process of growing in their spirits. They want to have microwave solutions instead of letting things marinate in their lives.
We, as adults, must teach the younger generation coming behind us to learn the ways of spiritual things—to ground them in the Word of God, to feed them, teaching them to be renewed in the spirit of their minds, and how to put on the new self that is created in the likeness of God, so that He may grant them strength with power through His Spirit. That they may be grounded and rooted in love. Teaching them how to draw near to God, and He will draw near to them (James 4:8).
Abiding
Before we start on our journey, I would like to explain what an intercessor is: “An intercessor is a person who intervenes on behalf of another, especially in prayer. Intersession creates a meeting, it is a partnership with Jesus.” Isaiah 53:12 tells us Jesus is the ultimate intercessor. “Yet he bore the sins of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
One of the most essential elements of the intercessor is to have an abiding relationship with the Father by getting to know the Father’s heart. We need to linger in His presence. Webster’s Dictionary defines “linger” as “lasting for a long time or slow to end.” Those who develop an intimate relationship with the Father on a daily basis will be equipped to sustain life’s greatest storms. In Exodus 33:11 (AMP), we read, “When Moses returned to the camp, Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ aid, would not depart from the tent.” He lingered before the Lord. Author Christian Cain tells us, “When you do slip, you will only fall to the point of your relationship with the Father.” Whether the storms originate from hell’s fury or the world’s distractions, so many things can pull us away from spending time with the Father. Psalms 46:10 reminds us, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We exalt Him when we spend time with Him, lingering, and listening to His heart.
Listening to Hearts
Lord, teach us to listen. Teach us to say, as the elder Priest Eli taught young Samuel to say in 1 Samuel 3:8-10 (AMP), “Speak, LORD, for your servant listens.” Teach us to open our spiritual ears to listen to the sound of the broken, hurting hearts around us. The hearts that are surrounded by darkness. Help them hear the gentle whispers of Your love through Your Spirit that is within us. Help them to be able to see through the shadowed cobwebs of darkness in their hearts Your Spirit. Speak into their souls, where the shame, guilt, anger, abuse, depression—the things that are covered by the chains of darkness, the things they deal with that are seen only by You and them. As the past threatens to overcome them, send Your Holy Spirit to blow away the cobwebs. Shine Your light, sometimes like a pen light and sometimes like a flood light. Illuminate the darkness within them. You love every one of these lost souls, Father.
Jesus stands beyond the darkness, waiting for you to listen, to make a choice between darkness and light. The choice is yours. Jesus offers freedom in your spirit. He offers love, joy, and peace. Come home to the Father, let Him chase away the darkness. The cobwebs, the wounds of the past known only to you and Him. Let Him open your spirit to His Word, bringing you into His light as you listen to His heart. “Incline your ear, and come to me. Hear that your soul may live” (Isaiah 55:3).
The Key to Listening
We draw close to listen. We seek, as King David did, Your presence. We desire to live this day with Your Spirit within us. We do not desire simply the knowledge of You, we want Your anointing. Open our spiritual ears so that we can listen to Your heart.
We’re commanded to listen. In Isaiah 55:3, God says to us, “Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live.” In the book of Genesis, we find recorded seven times, “And God spoke.” Just as God spoke in times past, He speaks to us today and will continue to speak in the future. Listening to God speak is not about a hearing a new doctrine. The doctrine never changes. Bill Hubble tells us, “God listens when we speak, we must learn to listen, when He speaks whispers to our heart.” The same way we hear theme music running through a movie, we must listen for God’s voice running through our lives. In Mathew 13:9, Jesus cries out, “He who has ears to hear let him hear.” In Matthew 17:2-5, Jesus is transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes become white as the light. A voice from the cloud says, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” It does not say, “This is my Son, talk to him,” nor does it read, “This is my Son, ask him for things,” nor does it encourage, “This is my son, tell him what you need.” It reads this is my Son, listen to him. The monk, Saint s of Assisi, prayed, “Help me to listen, to understand, before I seek to be understood.” We need to listen with our spiritual ears, not just our physical hearing. We must learn to listen with our hearts. Hearing with our minds reaches our heads, listening with open spiritual ears reaches our hearts. Webster’s Dictionary defines hearing as, “the facility of hearing noise.” Webster’s Dictionary defines listening as, “The ability to take notice of, and act upon what someone says.”
1 Samuel 3:8-10 says,
The LORD called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up and said to Eli [the priest], “Here I am; you called me.’ Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy. Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down; if he calls you again say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening!’”
Oh, Lord, grant us Samuel’s ear, that we, too, may hear Your voice and listen with our hearts.
Five times in the book of Revelation, there is a persistent drumbeat repeated: “If you have ears, then listen to what the Spirit says.”
We want God to understand us, but do we seek to be understood without first listening to His heart?
We jump up and down in prayer, saying, “Hear me, please hear me!” Don’t call God and tell Him your troubles, then hang up before He has a chance to respond. He’s asking us to listen for His voice in our hearts. Psalms 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” In order to listen, you must lower the white noise of your life. Then, the very atmosphere around you will change. You will begin to hear the whispers of your Father. When people hear the whispers of God, they are rarely the same again.
Elijah was in a state of depression when he went into a dark cave. We all have found ourselves, at some time, in a dark cave during life, thinking God does not care, or at least that He isn’t listening. As Elijah waited in the cave, God was not in the fire; He was not in the earthquake, nor did he find Him in the mighty wind. But then, in a still small voice, Elijah heard the whisper of God, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God’s whispers can be life-changing if we let them. Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way, “Be silent and hear the whispers of God.”
We need to get rid of the distractions, the white noise of our lives in order to listen. We have preconceived ideas about religion, prayer, even about God’s plans for our lives. We need to open our spiritual ears to hear His anointing for our lives. John 10:27 (AMP) says, “The sheep that are my own hear my voice, and listen to me; I know them, and they follow me.”
Mark 1:35 states, “Ri very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus departed and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus knew that prayer is the vital link to us listening to God. The human side of Jesus had to take time to pray and listen to His Father before the day began. To take the time to become one with the Father. Even though He was filled with the Holy Spirit, He knew He needed to take time to listen to the voice of His Father.
We should guarantee God an intimate time each day. This time should be spent in a lingering, abiding manner. This is where you are waiting upon the Father, listening for His heartbeat, and listening for His whispers.
In today’s fast-paced culture, people are looking for an emotional experience. God is calling us to a deeper place, beyond our emotions. He calls us into an abiding place, into a relationship with Him.
Deuteronomy 4:35-36: “To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord is God, that there is no other besides him out of heaven. He let you hear his voice.” Before a performance, there must be much practice that goes into it in order to prepare. The same is true for us spiritually. We have to engage in the practice of listening. We need learn the perseverance of prayer. We need to finetune our hearing, our listening skills.
Listen with your heart. We should always remain teachable and humble in order to be able to listen. When we become teachable and learn to listen with an open heart that is fine-tuned like an instrument, God is able to trust us in our obedience to listen.
In the quietness of the solitude, away from the turmoil of the day, we praise You for Your peace, Lord. In the quietness, we hear Your voice. Teach us, through spiritual listening not to listen to the chaos surrounding us. In the stillness of the night, teach us to be still and listen, instead of listening to the media firestorms. It’s not even in the mighty winds of religion that we will hear You. In the stillness of the night, with a quiet heart, we seek You. Teach us to listen for Your whispers. A quietness surrounds the morning as we seek Your voice. Lord, sometimes You speak to us in the anointing of Your Word, sometimes we hear You speak in a giant clap of thunder. You seem to speak to me the most in the quietness of a solitary place.
Growing an Oak Tree
A mighty oak tree starts out as an acorn, the same as how the Word of God is a seed planted in someone’s heart. When we get saved, we don’t become mighty oaks or spiritual giants overnight. As the oak sprouts, it encounters many difficulties: being stepped on, being eaten, being ravaged by winter storms, being burnt by scorching summer heat, being overtaken by disease. Yet each season makes it a little stronger. Without the trials or the seasoning, it would not become a strong, mighty oak.
It’s not from the seed of the Word, the acceptance of Christ, or the beginning of salvation that makes us a spiritual giant. To make us strong and grow, we must endure trials, storms, freezing cold, and scorching heat. We must experience the trials of life. Some persecuted Christians believe that persecution is God’s Word fulfilled (Voice of the Martyrs). 1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trials when they come up on you to test your faith.” 1 Peter 3:14 says, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’s sake you will be blessed.” Each storm, each trial, each lesson learned adds to our growth and makes us stronger Christians. “What strengthens us in life will become our story” (Voice of the Martyrs). What is your story?
The taproot of the mighty oak tree must grow deep into the ground. As the tree grows outwardly, its roots grow deep, searching for water and nutrients. As we grow spiritually inwardly, we must outwardly sink our spirit deep into the Word. We must search for the springs of living water. We must take the time to search the Word for nutrients to feed our spirits, searching daily for words of wisdom. Then, and only then, can we grow and bear fruit. Matthew 7:17 says, “So every healthy tree bears good fruit.” Just as the mighty oak tree bears acorns that grow into beautiful oak trees, so should we bear the fruit of new Christians in our lives.
Just as the oak tree shelters the new oaks, we need to disciple and shepherd the new Christians. “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. being an example to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2).
New Christians need nurturing in the ways of spiritual authority. It’s very much lacking in our culture. So much anger exists toward the older generation that the newer generation fails to learn the insights given to the aged.
In the Word of God, we can find, hidden away under the shade of more mature leaders, those who God protected. Moses lived in the very house of Pharoah while he learned to be a leader. He then served under Jethro, his father-in-law, for forty years, learning how to live in the very desert that he would later bring the Jews through.
Read about the young King Josiah, or about David the shepherd boy, who served under King Saul learning battle strategies. So many of God’s leaders served under authority until God’s timing was fulfilled.
This is called seasoning. It is a time of listening, a time of learning, a time of submission.
“Then they became oaks of righteousness, strong, magnificent, distinguished, planted by the Lord for his glory” (Isaiah 61:3).
I realize more, as I get older, that God does not open our minds and spirits and pour His gifts into our lives. We must be like the oak tree, which seeks to put down roots into the ground to find nourishment and water.
We must spiritually put our roots deep into Your living water, Your Word, before we can bear fruit. You walk with us, and You teach us that some gifts are not revealed to us until we are mature enough to receive them. As we grow and mature, we need to seek godly mentors that will feed us with their gifts, their fruit, that You’ve matured in their lives. Teach us submission in our spirits to the spiritual authorities over us, so we will not seek to become spiritual giants with only an intellectual theology but without a relationship, without roots in You. We need spiritual roots to us to grow and mature, so that the doctrines of the world would not blow us over and destroy what God would build into our lives. So that we can turn and help those You’ve given us to also mature into a relationship with You and bear much fruit in their lives.
Relationship Vs. Independence
A question comes to mind: Do we battle so we don’t have to listen? Are we so full of plans and busyness that consume us that we don’t have time to “Be silent and hear the whispers of God” (Ralph Waldo Emmerson)? Think of God this morning as your spouse or your family member. How did you talk to them? Did you listen, or were you so busy with your plans for the day that you ignored their hearts’ cry? Which is to just have a cup of coffee before the demands of the day and listen to their thoughts and their plans for the day. Have you asked God what His plans for the day are?
Like in a good marriage, our relationship with the Father takes time and effort on our part to get and keep the communication flowing. It cannot be formed in a few hurried, fleeting moments of time. How do you think your spouse or family would feel if the only time we listened was in an emergency or required conversation? Maybe you don’t understand God’s ways of thinking. How could
you, if you don’t spend time in His love letters to you, His Word. It’s all there: what excites Him, what breaks His heart. As the bride of Christ, do you even begin to understand His deity?
With unspoken mistrust, our families fail us. But God will never fail you; He’s always there to hear the cry of your heart. Always there to listen. But He will not shout over the busyness of your plans. His heart’s cry is “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).
I whisper a whisper from my soul. Father, can you hear me? I desire Your presence, to abide in Your presence as Joshua did in the tent of the meeting, and to linger before You. Just to soak in Your holiness. What kind of sacrifice must I bring as I draw close? What must I give up? My time becomes a sacrifice, Father, spending time with You, setting aside the things of the flesh. Your presence becomes my one desire. Let my spirit become sensitive, Father, to the things of Your Spirit. Teach me to listen, so that my heart breaks over the things that break Yours, such as the cry of a small child. Do I hear them, Your children crying in the night from loneliness and hunger? The lonely, the cold, the prisoner in the dark cell that cries out to You. Do I hear them, or do I turn a deaf ear? My time, Father, so fleeting, I give it to You. Order my day. Teach me to hear Your whispers from heaven in people around me. Teach me to listen, not to just words, but to hearts, hearts that need You. Let me be Your hands, Your feet, Your voice to those You place in my life. Less of me and more of You. Teach me to speak less and listen more to the people around me. Teach me to leave footprints of love on the hearts that I encounter in my daily walk with You, so that others may see Your heart reaching out into the darkness, bringing light. For You do not dwell in a tent anymore as in the day of Moses. It is in my heart where I find You. Acts 17:28 says, “In him we live and move and have our being.” As even some of the poets have said, “We are indeed his offspring.” Send Your anointing, Your peace, Your love through me into this dark place, where people are lonely, cold, and afraid. Come into my heart. Love them through me, so that Your Spirit can reach out to the hearts of Your people.
Holy Anger
Don’t let fear grip your heart. In 1 Samuel 17:48, we read about David the shepherd boy. When David ran toward the battle line between him and Goliath, I’m sure his heart was afraid. He had only five smooth stones physically, but the anointing of the Spirit was upon him. The same righteous anger that came upon Jesus when He cleansed the temple in Luke 2:13-15, causing Him to say, “How dare you defy the Living God. The God of Israel.” Are you taking a stand in your life? Or are you, like the soldiers, standing, quaking in fear before Goliath? Does fear rise up within you as you look at the giants in your life, of finances, sickness, family, or political issues? David ran quickly toward the battle line. When the lion of the world roars within you, don’t run away, run toward the roar bringing the Spirit, the anointing of the living God with you. Do you have to stop and think through the consequences in your life? We need to move quickly when the anointing comes upon us. Are you looking for a cave to hide in from the coming storm? Or are you letting the Spirit of the living God rise up within you?
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Light Vs. Darkness
I arise while darkness covers the sky, but I am not afraid, for darkness cannot withstand the light that is coming to the place where evil deeds are done in secret. John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it.” The light of the Son rises as the morning star. I see the light of the morning star spreading over our land as darkness flees from the coming light. Do you find yourself discouraged, so tired you can’t seem to see beyond the darkness of your current circumstance? We need to keep moving to not become stagnant, but to press in, bringing the Spirit of light into our current situation. Don’t turn and run from it. We need to stand up as David did to Goliath in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Are you angry? Does the Holy Spirit rise up within you in righteous anger when you see the deeds of darkness?
How, then, shall we live? We must live as a light to the darkness. We must become as God with skin on, reaching out with God’s light to those society would tell us are throwaways. Read Judges 6, the call of Gideon. We are not called to curse those living in darkness, but to bring God’s light into their lives. As you arise at dawn, when the morning light begins to move back the darkness, are there cobwebs of dreams blocking God’s light from coming into your heart? Or would you rather sleep while the darkness seeks to block the coming light as the morning star arises? God needs watchmen on the wall calling His people to awaken, to warn His people of the coming darkness. Ezekiel 3:17 says, “Son of man I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.”
The Heart of the Tin Man
Tonight, I read in a children’s book The Wizard of Oz where the Tin Man wants a new heart, so that he could become real. I asked myself, do I want to be real? Do I, too, crave a new heart? Tear out my heart of hardness, full of rage and anger. Even Your people, Father, their hearts are full of sin. Their hearts are black and broken, full of pride and bitterness toward each other. Some people don’t even know another way because their hearts have been darkened for so long that they can’t see the light. They struggle to control the darkness to the point others are afraid of their darkness and their angry hearts. They cry out in pain, yet they are afraid to let go of their old ways. They have been independent for so long that it has become who they think they are.
Take our heart of flesh and replace it. Cleanse it from a heart of hardness as our prayers rise like the smoke of sacrifice before You, replace it with a new heart of Your Spirit. Grant us a heart of faith. Renew in us a heart of love for You, for Your people, and for others around us.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10).
“And I will give them one heart, a new heart, and a new spirit within them. I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh that is responsive to My touch” (Ezekiel 11:19 [AMP]).
The Body of Christ
We need to share with non-Christians the Spirit of Christ, the reason for the hope that is within us, and for their safety from the coming storm. We must bring them out of the storm into the body of Christ, which has walls invisible to the naked eye. Yet we see it spiritually. It is not a wall built by human hands. It is a wall of righteousness, of love and not hate, a spiritual wall built by God Himself to protect His people. God is calling the watchmen to take arms on the wall. He is waking His people to the sound of the shofar, releasing its sound into the atmosphere. Setting the stage for revival.
The church is not the building as we know it, for we are the temple. The Holy Spirit lives within each of us. We battle not with plastic swords. We stand on the Word of God, which is our sword. In these last days, we must have unity within the body, with the Holy Spirit within us. God needs flames of fire in each heart, each spirit. The hot coals are the intercessors that begin to attract others, pulling them into the flame of the Holy Spirit. We must continually be adding more wood to the fire by training new intercessors. God needs teachable people, people with a pliable heart. Who would reach out beyond themselves and draw others into the Spirit, so they, too, will be a people of hope.
“Son of man I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 3:17).
“The voice of the watchmen. They lift up their voice. Together they sing for joy; for eye to eye, they shall see the return of the LORD” (Isaiah 52:8).
Good Morning, Father
We come before the Father as darkness flees before the sound of the shofar (the ram’s horn), and the watchmen take their places on the wall. The sound is awakening Your people, calling them out of slumber. With sleep still in their eyes, they rise up to take their place on the wall. They ascend first into Your throne room to worship, to be filled with Your Spirit. Awaken them in power and strength as they descend to do battle. Guarding Your people, Your cities, Your nations. For, the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of wisdom, power, and prayer.
“The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Our refuge, our high tower” (Psalm 46:7 [AMP]).
“God is in the midst of her; God will help his people as the morning dawns” (Psalm 46:5).
As a new day begins, listen for the sound of the shofar.
Watchmen on the Wall
In Hebrew, the word for intercession is “PAGA.” It means to meet. It is not simply a prayer, praise, or something a person does. It can only be done through deep prayer. Intercession is defined as carrying a spiritual burden for an individual or situation. It can include cities, states, or nations. Bringing it closer to home, our families need us to intercede for those closest to our hearts. Intersession entails praying until God’s plan is fulfilled.
When God calls you to intersession, it is often in a hidden place with little or no credit that will be seen. Consider the giant Sequoia trees with a height of over 350 feet. Their root system is only 5-8 feet deep. The thing that keeps the Redwoods standing straight and tall is that their root system is intwined for hundreds of feet in all directions. So intertwined that you cannot even dig through it. Walking on it is like walking on rocks. The roots are so interconnected that they the giant trees. Sometimes, like these roots, we as intercessors must remain hidden away. Hidden away from the eyes of the world. We must become unified, interconnected with each other. Together, as a body, we become the system for the Body of Christ. We become the special ops team that goes in before the physical battle.
Intercession creates a meeting; Intersession is a partnership with Jesus, who is the ultimate intercessor working hand in hand with God toward His redemptive purposes on Earth. Romans 8:34 (AMP) says, “Who sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us.” Our intercessory prayers will always be an extension of Christ’s intercessory work. This is crucial to .
As we intercede, we meet with the Holy Spirit to make a meeting on behalf of someone else. To create a reconciliation between them and God. Through the Holy Spirit, we become advocates for other people. We intercede for them as
Jesus does for us. Isaiah 53:12 says, “Yet he bore the sins of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
As the eagle rises to meet the morning sun, may my prayers rise as incense before You. With Your Spirit in me, I feel I can touch the very edge of heaven. Oh, that I may touch the hem of Your garment, Lord, to bring back healing to this hurting world. For only through Your Spirit can people survive the coming storm. Come Holy Spirit, as I intercede for Your people. Fill this day with Your glory. “That my soul may sing your praises and not be silent” (Psalms 30:12).
Watch the Road
Watch the road for the holy One to come. Before He comes, a tide of evil threatens to wash away the road home. God is bringing a call to arms. Stand on the rampart and watch as the tide of evil is turned by the deep prayer of God’s intercessors. Don’t stand down in fear, run toward the evil that defies the living God. As David did with Goliath, stand your ground. Sometimes it feels like we are nose to nose with the evil that we face across the battle line. Just as sand on a beach is built from the crashing of the tides and waves, so our character is shaped by the pain and difficulties we endure as we take a stand against the tide of evil that threatens to overcome us. Whatever is happening in your life today will by tomorrow. The struggles that we learn and grow from strengthens us in life. It becomes our story. What is your story? How can you use your wounds to help other people to heal?
“The reason the Son of God came was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
We are in a time when the Lion of Judah will roar louder than the paper lion who has sought to destroy us.
Slaying Giants
In the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 16-17, David faced the giant Goliath across the battle line drawn in the sand between two armies. As Goliath taunted David the shepherd boy, do you have giants in your life that are taunting you? Telling you there’s no way you’re going to win? Is Satan whispering in your ear, “It’s no use. You’re never going to win this battle. It’s bigger than you.” Do the giants of political, physical, or financial problems threaten you in your spirit? Are you afraid? How do you respond to the giants keeping you awake at night? How are you reacting to the political chaos around you? Are you cowering in fear? Or do you, like David, see hard, rebellious men taunting the army of the living God? What should our response be? Are you running with courage toward the battle line being drawn in the sand between good and evil? David said to Goliath, “I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, whom you have defied.” Do you, like David, have a holy, righteous anger that someone is defying the Lord God of Israel? Or do you think you should let someone else with better spiritual armor take on these giants? David physically only had five smooth stones, yet spiritually, he walked in the anointing of the Spirit. Has God called you, as He did David, to take a stand, to stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord? When men walk in the anointing of obedience to the Spirit, mighty things happen.
Starting a Revival
The fire of intercessors can be an awesome thing. But how do you go from a spark to a roaring spiritual fire? Lighting a fire when it’s cold is a hard thing. It’s really difficult to get such a fire going. You seem to get a spark, but the winds of change blow it out. If you use damp, unseasoned wood, all you get is smoke. The key to a successful fire, physically or spiritually, is to get the right spark. Spiritually speaking, someone with the anointing of the Spirit can start a spark. Someone who begins to fan the flames of the heart with the Word of God can turn a spark of the Spirit into a roaring fire. First opening the door to worship, leading others to a deeper knowledge of a relationship with Christ. Using God’s Word, they begin to teach about prayer and worship. It all begins with a spark of praise and worship, rising like smoke (incense) to the great throne room of the Father. Uniting with the Holy Spirit by igniting the flames in each heart and in each spirit. Spirits begins to burn in unity. Like hot coals, each separate, but need each other to keep the flames going by adding new intercessors with the seasoned intercessors. New intercessors are people who are teachable, that have a pliable heart. God needs people whose desire is to go forth from praise and worship to draw in others though the Spirit, praying for and teaching them the art of intersession.
That is called revival!
A Secret Place
This morning, I enter a secret place, a place deep inside. I meet You there, my Creator. Where the cares of the world slip away as the quiet consumes me. A secret place in my soul, where You shake away the darkness. No explanations are needed, for You understand my heart, my deepest desires. Deep within the darkness, we cry, “Mercy, Lord.” While we are bound in our sins, our addictions, You, offer us mercy. Webster’s Dictionary defines mercy as, “Forgiveness shown toward someone when it is within your power to punish or harm them.” My sins drop away in response to Your mercy. Ephesians 2:4 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he has loved us.” As I drop to my knees at the foot of the cross, Your Word tells us in Colossians 1:19, “For in Him all fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Him, to make peace by the blood of the cross.”
Jesus died on the cross of Calvary to show us mercy, to forgive our sins, to open a door for us to come home to the Father. Covered by the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice, we now have access to a relationship with the Father. Come as you are, He will show mercy as you meet Him there in the secret place deep within your soul.
The Joy of Intercession
Sometimes, people will tell you that their prayer life is only between themselves and God. This is important; however, we do not live in a spiritual vacuum. We are all God’s family. We need to pray with and for each other. There are people around us that smile at us, yet have pain tucked away in their hearts. They are seeking someone to pray for them or with them, but the hurt is too great. They think in their hearts, “If I let go, the tears will never stop.” They feel that others might think differently of them if others know the pain they feel. Our family of believers has times of great stress in these trying times. So much so, that the god of this age has convinced them no one cares and no one would understand. This is where the family of believers needs to step in to lift them up before God. This is known as intercessory prayer when we step in and pray with people as the Spirit leads. One of my favorite authors, Andrew Murry, writes about intersession: “As participation in Jesus’s ministry of praying for each other. To release God’s Spirit so that God may begin to work in a specific area of someone’s life.” In the book of John 17:9, we read that Jesus prayed for His disciple’s; however, the prayer also includes us today. “I pray for them; I do not pray for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.” We, through Jesus’ death on the cross, belong to the Father.
Father, help us to see beyond our own pain. To see the silent wounds of others that run deep inside their spirits. Help us to pray for them as Jesus did His disciples. As Christians, we are united with each other through His death on the cross. We belong to Jesus and each other as a family of believers.
Footprints
There are people who come into our lives who leave footprints on our hearts. Some come and stay only for a while. As they come into our lives, we can learn from them the things God would share with us if we would only listen to their footprints. They leave us better for having known them.
Some people come into our lives for a lifetime, sharing our joys, our tears, our loves, and our griefs. Leaving footprints, they hold our hand as we walk through the valley, as we find our way home.
Do you try to leave behind a footprint of love on the hearts around you? We always leave a footprint of some kind on other people’s lives. Good or bad, that’s how we are created, our lives influence others around us.
The people who come to us for ministry are sometimes so wrapped up in their problems that they fail to see the most obvious truth, which is that both those receiving and giving in prayer ministry is a gift from God. Prayer and the Word must never be shelved during the course of ministry in favor for what we think are more spiritual resources.
We must be careful to seek and work under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is no step-by-step formula to be followed each time we minister with someone. The Holy Spirit deals differently with each person. We must avoid our tendency to simply do what we did before. We need to be listening for God’s direction in each separate, particular situation. What worked for one person may not work for another.
There are general principles to be followed to facilitate healing. There’s the need to discover the leading of the Holy Spirit. Learning to listen carefully to Him and to obey Him is the most important principle before anything else. Commit the session to the Holy Spirit and listen for His voice with one ear throughout the session. Ezekiel 3:10 says, “Son of man all my words that I speak to you, receive in your heart and hear with your ears.” Ask Him to bring to light whatever needs to be addressed. Insight often comes in the form of a word of knowledge. Jeremiah 33:3 states, “Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and mighty things that you have not known.” Which is when the Holy Spirit leads a person or the situation in a way that you had no way of knowing unless He revealed it. , God doesn’t show us the whole staircase; sometimes we only see the first step.
God has the power to not only create and sustain but the power to fix whoever has been damaged and to free those who have been imprisoned by darkness. Jeremiah 23:23 says, “Am I a God at hand, and not a God far away.” By ourselves, we can heal no one. We can only draw on the One who is all powerful and deeply concerned for the one who is hurting.
The very act of the person coming for counseling is a step in the right direction. But many people have misconceptions about what deep level healing means. They may be looking for a quick fix and not expect to put much effort into it themselves.
Our authority is maintained through our intimacy with Jesus. Just as Jesus’ authority was maintained through His intimacy with the Father, so we as intercessors need to maintain a relationship with Jesus. The engine that powers our public ministry is our private time with God. Jesus did not depend on His Sonship to maintain His relationship with the Father. He constantly fed that relationship by spending time with the Father, obeying what the Father told Him to do. In John 8:28, Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be. I do nothing on my own but speak
just what the Father has taught me.” It is not because we are gifted that people are freed, it is because our spirits are lined up with God’s in such a way that we can claim what He desires. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (AMP) says, “Do not quench, subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
Many people think that, if they get the phrasing right, then the desired answer will follow. Praying in Jesus’ name means living in Jesus’ name. The desires of our hearts should be more closely associated with the desires of Jesus. Powerful prayers are initiated by those who live and pray in Jesus’ name.
People often need to be reminded that we do not have any special power in ourselves to solve the problem. Rather, we are coming alongside them as partners with the Holy Spirit in a team effort. Their commitment and willingness to work with the Holy Spirit and the ministry team are crucial. God will not violate the human will. He stands ready to take our hands and lead us when we hold our hands out to Him.
It is important that we who minister to others be clean ourselves. 1 John 1:9 (AMP): “If we freely it that we have sinned and confess our sins, he will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from anything that does not conform to his will.” The healing we seek to bring about in others, depends on us confessing and ridding ourselves of all sin between us and God.
As we intercede, we enter into battle against the forces of darkness on behalf of those to whom we minister. Intercession is a consecrated prayer to God for any given person or cause.
As the Father sent Him, so He sends us to do the same. John 20:21-22: “Then Jesus said to them ‘Peace to you; as the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
What do you want to leave as a footprint? Will people see enough of the Spirit’s love, joy, and peace in your life that they would want to turn and leave a footprint on the hearts of others around them?
Sanctuary
Sanctuary in Hebrew: “A Holy Place.”
The word “Sanctuary,” was first used in the Old Testament for a place to commune with God. Exodus 25:8 says, “And let them build me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”
In the sanctuary, we gain a proper perspective of God.
In the sanctuary, we receive strength to go on.
In the sanctuary, we discover beauty: the beauty of His presence, the beauty of His person, the beauty of His purpose for our lives.
In His sanctuary, we gain assurance of his sovereignty and unconditional love (Kay Arthur).
Oh, how we need to see that “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary” (Psalm 77:13 KJV).
Today, where do you find yourself? Do you respect the holiness of His sanctuary within you? Or has it become an auditorium, like a convention center: noisy, full
of confusion and underlying chaos instead of peace?
What about our hearts? Is it peaceful in our sanctuary, where God lives in us? Or is it, too, a place of chaos and confusion as we awaken to start our day? Or do we choose to move quietly into our day with His presence giving us a quiet, peaceful heart within as we give Him the problems lying before us? Do we lift our hands in the beauty of His holiness?
We worship You, our God, in the sanctuary of our heart. Webster’s Dictionary defines sanctuary as “A place of safety and refuge.” It is there that we find You, deep within, in the sanctuary of our heart.
“Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, sing his praises in the assembly of the godly!” (Psalm 149:1).
God’s Glory
I would like to take you on a journey to talk to you about the glory of God moving down through time. Starting in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, down to this present day. God’s glory resided in the Ark of the Covenant, which was built in the early part of Exodus in the Old Testament. In Exodus 25:8, God said to Moses, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst.” Moses did all that God had commanded him. When he was done, Moses was not able to enter the tent because the clouds settled, and the glory of the Lord filled the sanctuary. God’s glory resided in the Ark of the Covenant in the tent of the meeting throughout the Israelites forty-year journey in the wilderness.
Looking further back in time, to 1 Kings 8:10, where we read about Solomon’s Temple. The high priest put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord in its place in the inner sanctuary of Solomon’s Temple in the most holy place, which was called the “Holy of Holies.” It was underneath the wings of the cherubim. “When the priest came out of the holy place a cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the temple so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud.”
Let’s move closer in time to find God’s glory in the New Testament.
If we follow this train of thought, we have followed God’s glory from the tent of the meeting in Exodus to a physical place in Solomon’s Temple, Now, in the present day, we move to a physical place within us. We find in John 20:22 that Jesus prayed that God’s glory be in us: “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Through the breath of Jesus, God imparted spiritual life, His glory, His Holy Spirit into the disciples. This was a special filling, a personal foretaste of what all the disciples would receive on the day of Pentecost. With this intimate inbreathing, came the power to do God’s will.
In Acts 2:17, the day of Pentecost, “In the last days it shall be that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” Earlier it says, in Acts 2:1-4, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind. It filled the house where they were sitting. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
This is an awesome thing. That the Spirit of God can dwell in these, our bodies, these simple earthen vessels. I believe that this can happen only through the blood of Jesus. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” Only through His death on the cross can this happen. Jesus’ blood cleanses us just as Moses cleansed the tent in Exodus 40:33. Just as the priests cleansed the temple before God’s glory came in 1 Kings 8:10. Jesus’ blood cleanses us through salvation before God so that the Holy Spirit can enter into us. We are now in this present day the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are now God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells within you?” We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit!
Jeremiah 3:16 (AMP) says, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD shall not be missed or ed no more. It shall not be made again. For instead of the ark, which symbolized my presence, I will be present.” Some people think that they can stamp out Christianity, by destroying the physical temple, the building they think God lives in.
Yet His Spirit lives on.
Some people think they can oppress the spirit, of the people of his temple.
Yet His Spirit lives on.
Some people think they can, by human hands, destroy the faith of the people of His temple.
Yet His Spirit lives on.
“The God who made the world, and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24).
Yet His Spirit lives on.
His Spirit lives on, for we are His temple, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
His Spirit lives on in us.
Fill This Temple
Our spirits arise, alone and empty. Come, Holy Spirit. Fill this temple with Your Spirit. Let it overflow with Your glory. Let the windows of heaven rain down, filling this temple with Your holy presence. Let Your Spirit rise within us. Father, do you hear? Do You see? Is Your heart broken over Your people who You created to be Your temple? People created to shine with Your light. Do You see the darkness, do You see the windows with no light? Rain down from heaven the glory of Your presence, pushing back the darkness in this, Your temple, so the light of Your power and majesty can shine through. Let Your Holy Spirit come into this, Your temple. Let us worship You as You rain down Your Spirit. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain. Let Your Holy Spirit speak into the depths of our soul, Your love, Your holy rain. May our praises rise up as incense before You as our hearts cry out in worship, for Your glory is within us.
His Peace
Your peace, I seek, for the world’s peace does not satisfy. It is, at best, fleeting and beyond our grasp. In abundance, it flees at the first shaking of the wind rattling in the trees. In John 14:27, Jesus tells us “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives give I to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Let His perfect peace calm you in every circumstance, granting you courage, strength for every challenge. His peace, a quiet heart within, you will find in the deep recesses of your soul as you quiet your heart before Him. As a newborn baby is at rest on its mother’s breast, listening to her heartbeat, so am I at rest in You. Psalm 4:8 (AMP) says, “In peace with a tranquil heart I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.”
Seeking Peace
As we walk through life, there is much we can stress about. Are you looking for a cave to hide in from the coming storm, or are you letting the peace of the Spirit of God rise up within you? Are you willing to stand firm? Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand in the evil day. And having done all, stand firm.” In Ephesians 6:15, we read about the gospel of the shoes of peace. In the Roman days, the soldiers wore sandals with hobnails on the bottom of their shoes to give their footing stability on the battlefield in times of war to help them stand firm. The question that comes to mind is, in what sense would the shoes of the gospel of peace provide the Christian with a firm stance in spiritual warfare?
First, let’s look at the biblical definition of peace which addresses our inner self, our heart health. True biblical peace refers to an inward sense of completeness and wholeness. Where we find a quiet heart within. Philippians 4:7 says, “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” The definition of western peace is defined as “an absence of war outwardly.” As Christians, we are not to live outwardly but to concentrate on our inner self, our spirit. There are several verses we can look to for this.
1 Peter 3:11: “Let him turn from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” (Pursue means to go after or continue on a path after something.)
Romans 8:6: “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” According to this verse, peace is something we must strive for in an active way.
1 Peter 3:11 (AMP): “We must search for peace, with God, with self, and others.”
Proverbs 14:30: “A heart of peace gives life to the body. But ion and envy make the bones rot.”
In our fast-paced, frenzied world, peace, a quiet heart within, is not something we can obtain on our own. We must seek the Holy Spirit within us. What comes at us from the outside is less important than what is happening on the inside in our spirit. To lose our inner peace, our footing, leaves us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.
How would this apply to us? In what sense does the gospel of peace provide the Christian with the ability to stand firm in warfare? The Hebrew word “Salome” is to be at peace in body and mind. Our inward spiritual stability is in our peace. Luke 1:79 says, “Jesus came “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
In Numbers 25:12, the Lord spoke to Moses, “Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.” Covenants are about binding two parties together in such a way as to create a new identity, two becoming one. God’s covenant with us is rooted in a promise of peace. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace. Not as the world gives, give I to you.”
Romans 8:6: “By the Spirit is life and peace.”
Isaiah 32:17: “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”
1 Peter 3:4 (AMP): “Let it be the inner beauty of the hidden person of the heart. A gentle peaceful spirit. Which is very precious in the sight of the LORD.”
Warfare versus peace. There is ongoing warfare in the earthly realm, where spiritual battles rage. As we ascend into the heavens with the sound of worship, where worship is imparted into our spirits, we go above the sounds of the raging battles of life, above the things that threaten to overcome us. We move into the quiet Covenant of Peace, deep above the battle. Deep within the Spirit is where we find rest from our weary battling. This is where we behold the Father’s heart, where we behold His Holy Son in His presence through worship. Only there will we find rest for our souls. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.”
If we release everything, every wrong motive, every fleshly ion, every prideful ambition, everything that separates us from Him, a peace will come and settle deep within us. It will feel like the oil of healing, the oil of the Spirit, being poured over us. As the peace settles, it will take our very breath away.
In the Quiet
It’s into the quiet that God speaks. It is in the quiet that He nourishes our soul. There, He speaks to our spirits. In the quiet of the morning, before the demands of the day, we must seek Him. We must move into His presence with praise and worship. Let it be not just a fleeting moment, before rushing into the chaos of our day. We must spend time abiding, lingering, in His presence. Spending time with Him, soaking in the gentle rain of His Spirit.
Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”
We find, in Mark 1:35, that Jesus sought His Father before the demands of the day, in the quiet of the dawn as was His custom slipping away into the night to pray.
Zechariah 13:9 (AMP): “They will call on My name, and I will listen and answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
Come, Sit Awhile
Do you ever feel that your prayer time, your ministry, your giftings are a burden? It seems like it has become a chore to spend time with the Father. After all, it’s more of a hard choice than pulling the covers over your head, saying, “Maybe I’ll have more time later.” God doesn’t want spending time with Him to be a burden, a chore best left undone. He wants to spend time with you listening to each other’s hearts. Where’s your heart today? Is it feeling scattered, torn with many burdens? Come into a quiet place, a place of abiding, a sacred place with the Father. A place of peace. Jesus says in Mathew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.” Come sit with me awhile. Let me lift your burdens of life, ministry, relationships. Come sit with me awhile.
We find, in bringing our burdens to You, that Your burdens are not heavy, they are carried by the Spirit within us. You lift us up, You carry us on eagles’ wings. The joy of the Lord becomes our strength. The reason we can do what we do in joy and laughter is that we have spent time with You. We came and sat with You awhile.
Heartbeat of Heaven
I want to walk so close to You that I can feel Your heartbeat within me. Who am I that You would consider worthy, to let me be Your hands reaching out with just a cup of water to a thirsty soul? Worthy to be Your feet, bringing footsteps of peace to someone who feels hopeless. To be worthy to be Your voice, speaking words of comfort to those who are grieving.
My heart’s desire is to be like Moses, to be called Your friend. To walk with You as You did with Adam so many years ago in the garden in the cool of the evening. My heart aches to hear the heartbeat of heaven.
Circumcision of the Heart
Just as the legal-written contract of marriage makes a marriage legal, it is the commitment of the heart that matters to God. Not the letter of the law. We see this over and over in the study of circumcision. Where physical versus the spiritual. Jeremiah 4:4 (AMP) says, “Circumcision, to dedicate, sanctify, remove the foreskin, the sins of your heart.”
We first find circumcision in Genesis 17:9-11, where God says to Abraham,
As for you, you must keep my covenant and your descendants after you for generations to come. This is my covenant with you, my promise. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo physical circumcision. It will be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Why did God require circumcision? (1) As a sign of obedience to Him in all matters, as a sign of belonging to His people. Once circumcised, there is no turning back. (2) The man would then be identified as a Jew forever. (3) Spiritual circumcision is given as a symbol of cutting off of the old life of sin. Purifying one’s heart and dedicating one’s self to God. (4) As a health measure for males from diseases of the flesh. (5) More than any other practice, it separated God’s people as a physical symbol from their pagan neighbors. In Abraham’s day, this was essential to develop the pure worship of the one true God.
What is the spiritual significance of circumcision? The Jews could not stand before their enemies with physical sin in their lives. In the Spirit, we cannot stand before our enemy without spiritual circumcision. It identifies us with Christ. Today, in our gender world of identity crisis, it sets us apart spiritually. So that we can stand in the full authority of the Spirit of God. Our identity is in
Jesus Christ, it is who we are as Christians. It becomes a relationship not a religion.
It was a symbol to obedience to the law. The law in the Old Testament was that Jewish men would as a rite age, undergo physical circumcision, as a sign of being separated unto God. In the New Testament, the kingdom of God is a fellowship of believers. The rite of age for us is the circumcision of the heart. Circumcision is a matter of the heart, written upon our hearts by the Spirit, not by the letter of the law. Colossians 2:11 says, “In him also you were circumcised with spiritual circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”
“Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-4).
Spiritual circumcision is a pure heart, separated unto God; it then becomes not a religion but a relationship. Physical circumcision cannot make our hearts right with God. A spiritual change is needed. A person’s heart must change.
Circumcise your heart. Dedicate, sanctify, remove the foreskin of sins of your heart. In the book of Ephesians, Paul tells us that true circumcision of the heart is a matter of a heart change inwardly, performed by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual circumcision, like physical circumcision, is going to hurt. It’s a cutting away of the old. Cutting away the old ways, old circumstances. People and things will be cut from your life. Old influences will be cut away, old sins will be spoken about. Sins of the flesh, rebellion, and pride. Have you ever been stubborn about something and felt the hardness of your neck? God called the Israelites stiff-necked people, because they were full of rebellion and pride. We must submit ourselves to abide in Him. Submit to the Creator to let Him cut
away the things that are not pleasing to Him. The actual letting go, or yielding of something, hurts more than the cutting away itself. It is a process. God works through the law of gradual growth. He will not cut away more than you can bear at the moment.
A lot of new pastors use the word pruning, a cutting away. In the book Flourishing under the Shears, a horticultural bulletin explains why winegrowers prune vineyards more intensively as the vines age. The vine’s ability to produce growth increases each year. Without intensive pruning, the plant weakens and its crop diminishes. Mature branches must be pruned hard to achieve maximum yield.
Attending church or church hip are outward signs of the law. Church hip is not enough, just as submitting to physical circumcision was not enough for the Jews. God desires our hearts be made pure through obedience. The law does not give a circumcision of the heart, only the Holy Spirit can set us apart. “Nor is circumcision outward and merely physical” (Romans 2:28). Inwardly, circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter of the law.
“The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).
Sins of the flesh, rebellion, and pride have to be given to the master surgeon, to let Him cut away the things that are not pleasing to Him. God does not look upon the outward. He looks upon the heart. No matter what your outward circumstances are, circumcise yourself to the Lord and let Him cut away the old ways. Circumcise your heart.
Joyce Meyer tells us “God can bring beauty from ashes.” Which is to say, God will remove the old and put something new in its place. In Corinthians, it tells us that “We are a new creation, a new creature in Christ.” God cleansing your heart is reconciling you in repentance. Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live.”
Circumcise Our Hearts
Circumcise our hearts, Lord. Cut away the things in our hearts that are not pleasing to You, lest we get prideful, thinking we’ve accomplished this ourselves. Let Your Holy Spirit humble us before You. You allow brokenness to come into our lives, to bring us to complete surrender to You. We release everything, every wrong motive, every fleshly ion and pride. Anything that separates us from You. Your peace will come and settle deep within us. It will feel like the oil of healing, the anointing oil of the Spirit being poured over us. Your peace will take away the very brokenness of our lives.
Step into the Power of Words
Step into My presence. Take My hand, and step into My power. Step into My peace. I will grant you a quiet heart within, that will overrule the chaos around you. Listen for My whispers of love. “Be silent and hear the whispers of God” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Listen for My mighty words of power, as I come thundering as the Lion of Judea from on high.
Sometimes, God speaks to us through others. His words can come from the most unexpected sources. Do I receive the wisdom of words spoken to me? Or do I deny them because of who spoke them? Do I push and pull my own way, denying the gifts of the Spirit, that God could use others to direct my path? In the Old Testament, God spoke to the kings through the mighty prophets. Sometimes we find them saying, “Thus saith the Lord.” Some of the kings in Old Testament hated the prophets with their words from the Lord. Because of pride and self-reliance, they choked out the very voice of God. In 2 Chronicles 35:20, Neco, the King of Egypt, went up to fight on the Euphrates. King Josiah went out to meet him. King Neco said to him, “What do we have to do with each other, King of Judea? Cease opposing God who is with me lest he destroy you.” Josiah did not listen to the words of King Neco, which came from the mouth of God, but came out to fight against King Neco. Josiah did not turn away from him but disguised himself in order to fight. The archers shot and killed King Josiah, who did not listen to the words of the Lord spoken through King Neco.
Where, today, do find yourself? Do you have a heart of rebellion, a heart of independence? You have striven to live your life your way for so long that you can’t imagine someone else giving you advise. You believe, if God had something to say, He would say it to you directly, not through other people. I have found God uses other people as lamp posts in our lives. Guiding and
directing us. Watch for people who become a lamp post in your life. Welcome them with their words of wisdom. The words may come from the most unexpected sources.
Map for the Journey Home
A man went on a journey to a far country. He left his family and friends behind. He wanted them to be able to him. He knew the journey to where he was would be long and hard, so he left behind a book. Written inside were instructions to come to where he was. A map of sorts written out in full. This book is called the Bible. It’s our map for our journey home to the Father. We need to pour over it, to learn His words of how to climb the hills and go through the valleys of life. It will get us home, if we learn and pay attention to its wisdom.
If you had a such a map, you would not leave it on a shelf, gathering dust. You would consider it a book of great value. As you read it, you would mark places, underline certain words. You would memorize scriptures that point to the road home. Memorizing it so that it gets into your heart, your very being. You need to marinate upon it. Spending time studying it so you can apply it to situations in your life. You must invite others to go with you, explaining the map as you go, as you journey toward home. For there are multitudes in the valley of decision who do not know this map exists. Reach out beyond yourself. Let the Spirit lead you. Share the words of this book, so that others also may journey with you and find their way home.
“For whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
Forgiving Others
“For if you forgive others their treses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their treses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your treses” (Matthew 6:14-15).
This is a twofold verse. For our prayers to be heard, we must have a pure heart and hold nothing against anyone. We should not let ourselves become so angry or bitter that we choke out the promises of God. Anger or unforgiveness is like a thorn bush that chokes out the Spirit in us, causing doubt and unbelief (unbelief being the opposite of believe; to disbelieve, or to be unfaithful), leaving us with a heart full of contention instead of a quiet heart within. The question becomes: If anyone sins or treses against us, what should we, as Christians, do? We all have an invisible fence around us. When someone climbs our fence, comes in, treses, or sins against us, hurts us, wounds us through sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or verbal abuse, we must forgive them, according to the Word of God. Forgiveness doesn’t mean the pain will go away. But it does mean we give it to God, we let Him be the judge. Freeing us to have a quiet heart in His peace.
“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness” (Daniel 9:9).
The question that we need to ask as Christians is, how do we tres against others? Webster’s Dictionary defines tres as, “To commit an offense against someone.” So how do we tres against others? We gossip, we talk badly about them, we hurt them physically. Emotionally, we use verbal abuse or namecalling. We call curses down upon them for our own control and benefit. We manipulate them to our own interests. This is a two-sided coin. Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and Romans 13:10: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” If we love
someone, we will not tres or hurt them. We will respect their boundaries. We will respect their fence.
Praying God’s Word
The Hebrew word Rhema is interpreted (the word). We find in the Word of God, which guides us in life, situations that convict us, like a light it reflects, making God’s Word clear, a light unto our path. Would you like your prayers to be more powerful? Hebrews 4:12 (AMP) tells us, “God’s word is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword.” When we speak and pray the Scriptures, we are coming into agreement with God. His power through His Word is released to answer prayers in our lives.
Maybe you feel God doesn’t answer your prayers, or maybe you don’t know what to pray in certain situations. Not only does He hear our prayers, but He promises to answer them when we pray in line with His will. 1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
Praying the Scriptures will increase your spiritual growth. You will actually learn what God says about certain situations. Praying scripture is a great way to memorize and to hide the Word of God in your heart. Praying the Word means reading scripture in the spirit of prayer and letting the meaning of the verse become our prayer and inspire our thoughts. This will bring visions and anointing.
Begin with a brief prayer, such as Psalm 119:18: “Oh Lord, I need you, I come seeking you, needing help. Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy word.”
As you read, if anything seems especially relevant to you, dwell on it, let it
inspire and shape your prayers. Go back and read one sentence at a time. Spend time absorbing the many spices of the Word. Slowly marinate on it, let it steep like a cup of tea. Don’t microwave it for instant answers. So that you can share it in prayer with other intercessors and people you pray for with confidence.
Read a chapter of an Epistle quickly to get the gist of it. Then, go back and reread it slowly. The reason for this is the meaning of the individual sentences are controlled by their context. We must not make a verse mean anything we like.
Now, go back to the first sentence and read it with the question; if this sentence were to become a prayer about my life, what would it be. The Scripture may convict you and lead you to a prayer of confession and repentance. It may inspire you to pursue a new active obedience, or it could lead to a prayer for power and enablement.
“The words of the LORD are pure words like silver refined in a furnace purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).
Reasons to Search out the Words of the Bible:
Jeremiah 31:21 says, “Set up road markers for yourself, make yourself a guidepost, consider well the highway, the road by which you went.” Then, Jeremiah 6:16: “Thus saith the LORD ‘Stand by the road and look and ask for the ancient paths.’” Jesus quoted the Old Testament many times. The Scriptures are very clearly marked with connected signposts. Therefore, we must stay in the Word, so that it will be in our hearts and in our mouths, so that our first reaction to pray for someone would be to pray Scripture. When counseling someone, begin by praying the Scriptures for each prayer need. You can use the book Prayers that Availeth Much or the book Sword of the Spirit. Both are handbooks
for praying God’s Word. Sometimes at first it may not seem to fit, but God knows the heart. God knows the need and will lead you to the right scriptures. A written prayer is a guideline for people who don’t feel eloquent in prayer. Always let the Spirit lead when to pray and what to pray, and it becomes a guideline for all situations. For the Word pierces, compels, convicts, directs, renews, redirects, changes, and transforms the body, soul, and spirit.
Praying God’s Word is simply speaking God’s Spirit into the situation. God’s Word has the answer. The right words. God will pull them out as you pray, He’ll quicken the verse to your heart, mind, and eyes. Jeremiah 1:12 says, “Then the LORD said, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.’”
Thanksgiving and Adoration
To fully understand thanksgiving and adoration, we must look at what is worship. The Webster’s Dictionary definition of worship is, “A feeling of reverence and adoration to a deity.” True worship is defined by the priority we place on who God is. It’s actually a matter of the heart. When we express ourselves in worship, the very air around us vibrates with the Spirit. It actually causes our environment and our circumstances to change. Worship causes us to move humbly, thankfully with our bodies toward God, our creator, in thanksgiving and adoration. When we lift our hands in thanksgiving, we declare the glory of God and we adore Him for everything He has put into our hands. David danced naked before the altar of the Lord in the anointing of the Spirit. Many of the Psalms penned by David have been made into music. In 1000 B.C., praise music exploded in the tent that David pitched to house the Ark of the Covenant.
Thanksgiving is about our need to praise our creator. Adoration is about Him and all He has done in creation and in our lives. Both thanksgiving and adoration are included in 1 Chronicles 29:11: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.”
So, what happened? Why do people not worship God, their creator? We, who were created in His image; we, who were created to worship. John 9:31 says, “If anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” God inhabits the praise of His people. Satan knows full well the power of worship. He uses our built-in need to worship against us, getting us to worship the created instead of the creator. One of Satan’s primary objectives is to prevent God from being glorified. Satan wants to take worship, thanksgiving, and adoration out of
the church.
Thanksgiving and adoration are the opposite of worry. One of our greatest worries is, “Will our needs be met?” God wants us to worship Him even when things are not going well. He desires praise, adoration, and thanksgiving that come in the midst of great trial, great difficulty, grief, sickness, in relational difficulties, even in the midst of these, including financial problems, He desires praise. When we find ourselves in times such as these, it means all the more to Him that we seek His face and not His hand, that we don’t praise Him for what He does, but for who He is: God, our creator. Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that he is the Lord God. He who made us and we are His creation.” True worship is defined by the priority we place on who God is to us. It’s a matter of the heart.
Thanksgiving and adoration must take its preeminence within our lives, our churches, our cities, states, and our nations. There is power in lifting our voices in worship to the one true God. We can speak, we can sing, we can play instruments, and we can lift our hands in thanksgiving and adoration. Just as when God releases His voice and creation responds, when we worship, the spirit world must respond to the sounds of praise we release unto the living God.
When we express ourselves in worship, the very air around us vibrates with holiness. This causes our environment to change, and our very circumstances change when we worship. Are you feeling stressed or depressed? Is there strife in your life? Put on some praise and worship music, and let it move into your very soul. It will change the very atmosphere of your environment. At the sound of worship to the living God, demons tremble and flee.
So how do we move into an attitude of thanksgiving and adoration? Chuck Pierce’s comment is, “The first thing we must do is not check our weapons but check our hearts.” We need to be like the one leper out of ten in the book of Mark, who went back and thanked Jesus for His healing. His thankfulness produced not just healing but wholeness in body, soul, and spirit. God wants us
to be whole. As we praise God first in thanksgiving and adoration without stretched hands, as we worship God in such a manner, then our daily needs can be met by God, our creator.
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name.” What is your attitude toward worship? Do you worship with an open heart joyfully and willingly? Or are you just going through the motions? Do you find you have a religion not a relationship? This Psalm tells us to God’s goodness. To worship Him with praise, thanksgiving, and adoration: “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the LORD” (Psalm 116:17).
In the Quiet
It’s into the quiet that God speaks. It is in the quiet that He nourishes our souls. There, He speaks to our spirit. In the quiet of the morning, before the demands of the day, we must seek Him. We must move into His presence with praise and worship. Not just a fleeting moment before rushing into the chaos of the day. We must spend time abiding in His presence. Spend time with Him soaking in the gentle rain of His Spirit.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Be silent and hear the whispers of God.”
We find in Mark 1:35 that Jesus sought His Father before the demands of the day, in the quiet of the dawn, as was His custom slipping away into the night to pray.
Do you find yourself waking in the small hours of the morning, when others are asleep? Do you reach for your cell phone to communicate with the world around you, or do you reach for your Bible? Do you ever wonder what God would have to say if you just listen for His whisper in the quiet of the dawn? In Proverbs 22:17, He tells us, “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply to your heart my knowledge.” It’s in His Word that we should find ourselves in the early dawn. Let Him speak to your heart through His Word. Verse 18 continues, “For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. That your trust may be in the LORD, I have made them known to you today, even to you.” The next time you can’t sleep, listen for the whispers of His heart. You might be surprised by what you hear!
Heartbreak and Loss
Heartbreak and loss happen to all of us, none of us are immune. A loss of a family member, the death of a lifetime friend, even the loss of a beloved pet can send us into a tail spin. Loss can wash over us without warning like a flood, a river swollen by heavy pain. It leaves emptiness that cannot be put into words. Mending a broken heart can seem like a monumental journey, sometimes the journey seems impossible. The most repeated saying to people who are hurting is, “Time heals all wounds.” Sometimes in life, we experience the pain that runs deep. We don’t get over it, we walk through it. Each person’s journey through pain is different and difficult. To recover, we need to let it out in creative ways. One way could be to write a letter to the loved one, light it with a match, and let the smoke carry our pain to the loved one. Saying that we miss them. Or you could plant a tree in memory of their lives, rejoicing in new beginnings for you and them. To move forward from denial to acceptance takes time. We gradually move away from the heaviness, away from the pain. To gain a new perspective, we must walk through our grief, through the valley of the shadow of death. While understanding our Savior walks with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. 2 Corinthians 6:18 says, “And I will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”
Dreams and Visions
My future dreams and visions with the doctor’s diagnosis all run together in a stream of confusion. Where do I go from here? Dreams of life as I know it are in shattered, broken pieces on the floor. Yet, no matter what the illness, I must try to find peace within. A quiet heart before God, knowing He has control. I must lay the pieces of my heart at the foot of the cross. Psalm 56:9-11 says, “This I know God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalm 57:10 says, “For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” I cried out in my pain, “Lord save me.” Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of me drawing me past the doctor’s diagnosis into a world of His peace. Into a place of His salvation. Into a world of His healing.
“Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer. You shall cry and he will say ‘Here I am’” (Isaiah 58:9).
“Am I not a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God faraway?” (Jeremiah 23:23).
Tear Drops of Pain
I find my heart broken this morning, shattered on the floor in many pieces. I bring it before You, knowing You are the only one who would understand the pain. The cracks in my heart are full of the water of my tears. I need Your healing touch. I give You the pieces of my heart in faith, knowing You alone can put them back together. As the rain comes over the mountain top, so the rain s the tears falling in my heart that fall quietly before You. Then, as the rain begins to move out, my tears begin to cease. The sun begins to shine on the mountain as Your Son arises in my heart. I feel at peace as Your Spirit begins to rub the oil of the Balm Gilead into the cracks of pain in my heart. The oil that is used to heal cuts and wounds of the Spirit.
“Let us thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderous works to the children of man” (Psalm 107:8).
Corporate Prayer
We are not an island unto ourselves. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “For just as the body is one and yet has many parts though many, forms only one body, so it is with Christ.”
Holy Spirit, teach us how to agree, how to harmonize together. To become a symphony of prayer, so that whatever we ask will come to , and will be done according to Your will (Prayers that Availeth Much).
“Now you are collectively and individually Christ’s body, each with his own special purpose and anointing” (1 Corinthians 12:27 AMP).
Prayer, like a single drop of rain, can’t quench the thirst of people spiritually, but many prayers together can move mountains in our cities, counties, and our nation. This is corporate prayer. Corporate is defined as, “A large company or group.”
Through corporate prayer, what you are doing is you’re becoming a part of the vine of prayer intercessors. Learning to pray together, letting the Spirit flow through you. Whatever the Father wants to pour out into the world, He can do so through your united prayers.
There is an analogy of the Redwood tree. The roots of the Redwood trees only go 5-8 feet deep. They are intertwined so much you can’t dig through them. Yet intertwined they will over a 300-foot tree. Intertwined so much it is like walking on rocks over 100 feet in all directions from the trees. It becomes not
the height that matters, but the of the root system. How we need as intercessors, to be intertwined with one another, how much so do we need to our voices together in corporate prayer.
Intercessors are sometimes hidden away, hidden away from the eyes of the world, but are known to God. We are the system of the church. How humbling it is to be a part of the root system unseen, then to be the tree that’s always seen, but which cannot live without the system of the hidden roots of the intercessors. All the prophecies that are coming out about wonderful things that are happening are because of years of intercession, that has been hidden away now being brought to fruition. We are like the special ops troops going in before the physical battle. We prepare the way through intercession.
At first in my life, I neglected to pray with others, thinking my praying alone was fine, my relationship with God was fine, and my prayer time seemed fruitful to me. After much prompting from the Spirit, I begin to see how private prayer and shared prayer overlap each other. We affect and feed each other through prayers, music, and worship. God wants us to use our leaven from our private prayers to help feed others. To help raise up prayer warriors into their potential before God.
The key is to learn each other’s spiritual giftings and embrace the diversity while still praying in unison. There are many types of intercessors, each with a different gifting. Just like spiritual gifts, we each have different intercessory gifts. Corporate prayer can become ineffective when we expect everyone to pray like us, as though we all have the same intercessory gifts. As we come to understand teamwork and unity, we find that there are different ways of praying which will come together like a well-oiled machine. We each have a voice, a unique voice that God wants to be heard. We need every piece of an orchestra to make music. Christians can, in unity, become a symphony unto God.
Don’t try to pray like someone else. It then becomes a rule of law, the way we
have to pray, which then becomes an obligation without joy. Especially if it’s not your gifting. Corporate praying is not a solo sport, but a team united for the purpose of partnering with God. When we accept each other’s style of prayer, and that we all have different giftings in the way we pray, God will be blessed. The Spirit will flow as each individual adds further revelation to what the Spirit is speaking.
“I appeal to you brothers by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree that there be no divisions among you. But that you be united in the same mind as the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Each person has a voice, a unique voice. God wants us to release and use our voices. If everyone prayed the same, there would be no flavor or variety. Just as there no two snowflakes made alike, we enjoy their beauty. As in a symphony, we enjoy the diversity of the musicians. We need to it’s about a corporate setting, not a setting geared toward individual preferences or performances. Don’t be awed by on the prayer team that God uses in a dynamic gifted way. Realize that God can and will use you in His time as you learn and submit to the ways of the Spirit. Be expectant and catch the flow of the Holy Spirit.
When we engage in corporate prayer, we become history makers. We will see change in our churches, our cities, our nation. Schools, laws, and much more will be moved into God’s plan. Rees Howells’ school prayed against Hitler in 1940. Who knows but that it changed the course of history? God listens when we pray.
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are open to his prayer” (1 Peter 3:12).
Tips for Praying in a Group:
Recognize that the person leading the time of prayer has a spiritual authority to do so. Leaders and teachers should always remain teachable and humble.
Extend your grace and enjoy learning, growing, and praying together. It’s also important to keep a unity of heart and mind. Psalms 13:31 says, “Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.”
Pray with the flow of the meeting. The Holy Spirit will flow each time in a different way such as rejoicing, weeping, stillness, quiet, and warfare. It’s out of order to shift the focus of the prayer to fit your personal needs. If the group is praying about warfare for a nation, it’s wrong to insert a prayer for Uncle Joe, who is not feeling well. It changes the focus of everyone on the team. It breaks up the unity of the Spirit.
Listen to what the Holy Spirit is leading others to pray. Some people use Bible verses, some people use ages from books they’ve read, some people read poems, some people want to lead forth in song.
Be sensitive to new people in the group. Leaders should include them with questions. Such as, do you have anything to add? Would you like to read a age or Bible verse?
Have you allowed God to release your voice, your anointing? Begin to pray for boldness to let your voice be a part of the group. Keep your attention on God, the unity of the Spirit, and the Spirit anointed assignment of that particular hour of praying time.
Snowflakes
It’s not our personalities that separate us as intercessors, it’s our giftings. Each intercessor is unique and different. Just as David in the Old Testament couldn’t wear King Saul’s armor into battle, we can’t wear someone else’s giftings. We must be ourselves. When we fail, we find ourselves going into a tail spin. We try so hard to fit into the religious prayer group around us. We must understand that God doesn’t want cookie-cutter Christians. He has gifted us like snowflakes. No two are alike, yet each shine with its own beauty. Coming together, they can make a mighty storm. God needs each uniqueness, each intercessor. Which will bring to the group a different flavor, a different gifting. Romans 12:5 says, “We who are many, are one body in Christ. We are part of one another.” Collectively as intercessors, we are a force to be reckoned with if we come together in love with the flame of the Holy Spirit abiding as the flame in each of us.
Communion
“This is the bread that came down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:50-51).
Rabbi Joel Liberman says, “Those who eat His flesh and drink His blood, are those who see Jesus and believe in Him. It is they who have eternal life, it is they, who He will raise up on the last day.”
Moses imposed a ban on the drinking of blood. For the Jews, the idea of drinking the blood of the Son of Man was impossible. Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the physical altar to make atonement for your souls.” Contrast this with Hebrews 13:12, where we find that Jesus suffered outside the city walls to sanctify the people through His own blood. Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. Jesus wants us to feel, think, and act like Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. To drink His blood. Rabbi Joel tells us, “In Christian understanding, this would be to absorb His lifegiving maturation, His very life. Since the life of the flesh is in the blood.”
John 6:53-54 reads, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.’”
The Cross He Bears
Jesus carried more than the weight of the wood on His shoulders on that day long ago. He carried the weight of the world when He carried the cross down the Via Dela Rosa to His crucifixion. While the fury of hell taunted Him, His very disciples fled in fear. What did He do to deserve the fury of hell? He loved deeply. He cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours.” He took our sins, our burdens, past and present. They were nailed to the cross on that dark day on Golgotha. All He asks is that we love one another as He loves us.
His followers wanted to make Him king, to give Him earthly authority. His secret ambition was to the will of the Father and give His life away so that we could come into the light of His kingdom. He loves us that much. No greater love than this is to give up His life for His friends.
When it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, when your spirit is weighed down by earthly issues, Jesus took that weight when He carried the cross. He is not a God faraway but one who is near. Jesus says in Mathew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you.”
Bring to the foot of the cross the weight that chains you down. Christ broke those chains the day He broke the power of death, when He came out of the tomb as the Lion of Judea.
Hear Him roar, “I paid the price, let my people go.”
We are in a time when the Lion of Judea will roar louder than the lion who seeks to devour us.
The Third Day
Do you think God cried the day His Son Jesus died, or do you think He turned His back, with tears streaming down His face as He spoke thunder into the atmosphere? He couldn’t look upon His Son because of our sins that Jesus took upon Himself, the penalty for our sins is spiritual death. Jesus loved us so much, He didn’t want to live in heaven without us. He redeemed us that day on the cross from the king of darkness. He separated Himself from the glory of His Father in order to bring us home as rightful heirs to the throne. The answer, God doesn’t have human form. He didn’t cry, but He thundered to the king of darkness, “Enough!” Then He tore the temple veil in the Holy of Holies in two, allowing us access to Him through Jesus’ death on the cross. I now cry in deep repentance for my sins, for the love of the Father that day gave me spiritual life when His Son, on the third day, rose from the grave as the Lion of Judea. Bringing us with Him out of the darkness of the tomb of our lives into the light.
Prayer and Fasting
Definition of prayer and fasting is, “To enter into His presence.” Fasting is a sacrifice, a giving away, a drawing close. Rabbi Joel Liberman tells us, “God gave the Torah to Moses to make possible a restoration of fellowship with God. Under the Sinai Covenant with the covering of our sins through animal sacrifice, fellowship could be restored through ‘sin offerings.’” Pointing the way to the New Testament where God would permanently restore fellowship with us through Jesus’ death on the cross as the final sacrifice. So that we could once again draw close in fellowship to God our Father through prayer and fasting.
Chuck Pierce comments, “The world is changing so quickly; people are waking with renewed anxiety. Each day the very air seems to be in a constant state of earthquakes spiritually and physically. Without fellowship with our Father, we are destined for defeat.” With His presence in our lives, through praying and fasting, we can come under the shadow of His wings. The thing that comes to my mind is the prayer shawl Jesus wore. The outer edges of the shawl are called wings. I picture Him when we draw close to Him in fasting, wrapping those wings around us in His holiness as He listens to our hearts cry. When the Holy Spirit calls you to a fast, there is a peace. Fasting then becomes, not a physical struggle, but a spiritual drawing close between us and God.
Are you overcome with emotions, worries, fears? When your heart is overwhelmed, pray and fast. Sacrifice your time to draw close to the one who knows your heart, who hears your heart beat as you draw close.
When you have a specific burden or request, spend time in prayer and fasting. Daniel fasted for understanding and discernment because of the political climate of his day. Moses lay prostrate before the Lord fasting and praying for forty days because of the sins of the Israelites.
“Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).
“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
Fasting causes you to become humble, knowing it’s not you who fasts but the Spirit within you calling you to fast. Your heart submits. The Pharisees fasted twice a week with ashes on their heads to impress people with their holiness. Jesus said in Mathew 6:2, “I tell you the truth they have received their reward in full.” Let fasting in your life be an inward thing. Let be between you and God.
True fasting is more than a ritual going to the temple fasting and listening to scripture readings. Such people miss the point of fasting. Fasting is a drawing close where you come into a relationship with God. In Zechariah 7:5, God asks, “When you fast was it for me that you fasted?” For your Father knows that fasting is not going around with ashes on your head. Go into your prayer room and pray to your Father, who sees into your heart and sees what is done in secret. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. One reason we fast is for discernment and understanding. Author Rees Howells states that he never made a decision without praying and fasting.
A decision made without prayer is like the story of Jonah in the Old Testament, bringing storms and destruction into your life. Prayer and fasting are good when we need to make decisions. Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.”
Fasting and prayer changes you, your attitude, your situation, and your
circumstances. It opens up your spirit before God.
Fasting and prayer acknowledges that the answer is beyond our human abilities. When we submit, we are bowing our hearts before God. Malachi 3:16 tells us, “The LORD paid attention and heard them.” In fasting, the Holy Spirit probes down to the very root He wants to get at in our hearts. When we fast, we should try to spend time away from other people because it is hard to silence the voices around us.
Rees Howells tells us, if each fast is carried out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it enables our bodies to be more equipped to carry our burdens to the Lord.
The Holy Spirit will tell you how you should fast. There are different types of fasts, and you can look them up online. There are books written just for telling you how to fast. Discernment comes with fasting and prayer. When you sense God is speaking to you, begin to write it down. The instructions, direction, and the challenges. If you don’t like to write, use a voice recorder. Most phones have them. Then, check it out with someone you trust. Your creativity will flow. A prayer journal can also be used. During corporate prayer, speak out the thoughts as a prayer or scriptures that God quickens to your heart. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be eloquent, just begin to speak. God will do the rest. This is how you gain your confidence. Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Discernment will not happen overnight. The Spirit will begin to speak to you as you practice in fasting and prayer. He will bring scriptures, thoughts, and ideas to mind. Spiritual creativity will begin to flow. I liken it to being a toddler learning God’s ways. There will be excitement at each new scripture, new prayer, and new discernment that God quickens to your heart. Your heart and mind must be aligned with the Spirit. You will notice some intercessors, as they
pray, are more tuned in. They pray the Scriptures. They seek discernment in their spirits, then they pay attention to how they sense God is speaking.
What we’re doing is learning to fast and pray, learning to pray with boldness, and learning to pray God’s Word. We learn to sense discernment as we draw close to listen to what the Spirit of God is speaking.
Letting the Spirit of God speak to us is the highest form of the gift of prayer and fasting. To be able to discern and focus on what the enemy is doing. When God reveals to us His plans, we need to discern what God is doing about it by using prayer and fasting.
I have a prayer from the book Prayers that Availeth Much.
“We make a special request, asking that we be filled with the full deep and clear knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom, understanding the discernment of spiritual things. That we may walk, live, and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of you. Fully pleasing to you. Desiring to please you in all things. Steadily growing and increasing in wisdom and knowledge we have fuller deeper and clearer insight. Because Jesus has made and given us His wisdom we listen and add to our learning. We discern and get guidance understanding His will.”
Prayer Ministry
As I walked and prayed, I saw in my mind’s eye something that was confusing at first. I began to see pieces like a puzzle coming together over the prayer intercessors. God brought to mind a grandmother’s patchwork quilt. She took as her children grew, a special piece of their clothes, sewed them together, and she made a patchwork quilt. Special and unique. I began to see through the prayers of each intercessor, God putting together a patchwork quilt of prayers and requests. Each unique and special in its own way, binding it together with special threads of seasoned prayer warriors, intercessors with gifts of many kinds, and new prayer people, some for the first time ever learning to pray. Bringing a different flavor of intercession. There was acceptance of each other’s gifts and styles of praying, and it was all woven together to make a beautiful masterpiece. We need all the pieces to make God’s special quilt. As we come together and put our armor on, I believe the fabric of our armor is unity in prayer.
Eutha
Praying God’s Word
Thanksgiving and Adoration