Father, in Deut 7: 17 You ask the Israelites how You can dispossess the "-kites" in the promised land if they, the Israelites say, "These nations are greater than us".
Oh Lord, forgive me for the many times I looked on a situation with my natural eyes and confessed unbelief - about a promise You had clearly given me in the
Word.
May I know Your Word well with both my head and my heart so that the enemy knows it's a waste of time to try his old "Did God really say...?" on me. May the spiritual revelations of Your covenant promises grow deep roots in my spirit so that I can stand firm when standing is required.
May I desist from looking at myself and my strength, my previous achievements or connections (Ps 20: 7). I choose to listen to the Spirit and commit to walk in faith, because You fight my battles for me.
Promised future of mine, irrespective of how impossible you may seem to the natural eye ito required finances, skills, clients, cooperation from others, etc. I will trust in the name that is above every other name. Even when I'm small in comparison to a promise, an enemy, a vision, even when there is not logical or reasonable way for me to hold on to a promise from the Word, I will remember that He Who promised, committed Himself to His Word (Ps 138: 2) and cannot lie (Rom 3: 4).
I will no longer confess doubt and unbelief and thereby limit You, Father.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
11. The desire to want
Father, thank You for Your Word which declares that You will not break Your covenant, nor lather the Word that has gone out of Your lips (Ps 89: 34). May I become more and more hooked on Your Word to read it and delight in at as it satisfies my spirit with revelation and breakthroughs. Cause my hunger and thirst for Your Word to increase that I may know all Your instructions, commitments and blessings.
Oh Father, thank You that it is even You who causes me to want to and to do Your will (Phil 2: 13). How amazing that You would plant the desire in my being to have the will to do things for Your good pleasure, such as love and obey Your Word.
From now on I will declare these words over my life, especially when emotions try and convince me otherwise. I want to love God, I want to love the Word, I want to love my neighbor, I want to do what I understand the Word teaches. I want to do these things and by the Spirit of God I am able to do these things.
Amen and amen.
Oh Father, thank You that it is even You who causes me to want to and to do Your will (Phil 2: 13). How amazing that You would plant the desire in my being to have the will to do things for Your good pleasure, such as love and obey Your Word.
From now on I will declare these words over my life, especially when emotions try and convince me otherwise. I want to love God, I want to love the Word, I want to love my neighbor, I want to do what I understand the Word teaches. I want to do these things and by the Spirit of God I am able to do these things.
Amen and amen.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
10. More keys to God's presence
Thank You, Father for the Holy Spirit Who reveals the Word to us. Thank You for showing me how to invite Your Presence and dwell in it.
My Lord, You are a God Whose thoughts are truly out of this world (Is 55: 8-9, 1 Cor 1: 25). You choose things that seem foolish, weak and simple to accomplish Your deep things. But I thank You, for that makes things possible for me.
Father, You make it so easy to dwell in Your presence. Thank You for the key of Praise. Praising the God of the universe brings His manifest presence, for You dwell in the praises of Your people (Ps 22: 3). Jesus, Jesus, keep me from hearing these words of life and neglecting to pursue Your presence. Here I am to worship You in spirit and turn (John 4: 24). I choose to praise You at all times - when things are challenging, when I want to give up, when I want to give in to pressures, when things are not so great.
Reveal to me all the possible ways of worship that extend beyond signing songs. And teach me what it means to worship the Father in Spirit and truth for I would not simply want to mindlessly sing songs without the revelation of the truths I voice.
And thank You, Father, for the promise in 1 John 4: 16b that "He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him". So another "ticket" to You is by being patient, kind, long-suffering, etc (1 Cor 13). You don't care for offerings and sacrifices, You care that we have faith in You, walk in purity and love our neighbour.
Father, the future promises great things. The presence of God is mine for the taking. Thank You, Jesus. Amen and amen.
My Lord, You are a God Whose thoughts are truly out of this world (Is 55: 8-9, 1 Cor 1: 25). You choose things that seem foolish, weak and simple to accomplish Your deep things. But I thank You, for that makes things possible for me.
Father, You make it so easy to dwell in Your presence. Thank You for the key of Praise. Praising the God of the universe brings His manifest presence, for You dwell in the praises of Your people (Ps 22: 3). Jesus, Jesus, keep me from hearing these words of life and neglecting to pursue Your presence. Here I am to worship You in spirit and turn (John 4: 24). I choose to praise You at all times - when things are challenging, when I want to give up, when I want to give in to pressures, when things are not so great.
Reveal to me all the possible ways of worship that extend beyond signing songs. And teach me what it means to worship the Father in Spirit and truth for I would not simply want to mindlessly sing songs without the revelation of the truths I voice.
And thank You, Father, for the promise in 1 John 4: 16b that "He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him". So another "ticket" to You is by being patient, kind, long-suffering, etc (1 Cor 13). You don't care for offerings and sacrifices, You care that we have faith in You, walk in purity and love our neighbour.
Father, the future promises great things. The presence of God is mine for the taking. Thank You, Jesus. Amen and amen.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
9. A key to Your presence
2 Chron 16: 9 says Your eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Yourself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to You. Father, looking at the first part, I say glory to Your name that You search out those whom You can show Yourself to.
Forgive me for always only having seen the promise and invitation of Your strength and blessing on my behalf in this verse. Thank You Father for having opened my eyes to see that You want to show YOURSELF to me first. You offer me Yourself, Your presence, Your person. Thank You, thank You.
Thank You Father for giving me the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2: 16b) and the Spirit of Christ (Rom 5: 5) and therefore the heart of Christ, which is loyal to You.
Thank You for giving me clear directions on how I can experience Your manifest presence - by keeping Your commandments, which testify that I love You (John 14: 21). Mat 5: 8 says the pure in heart shall see God.
How blessed, how blessed to know You see my every move that chooses to obey Your Word, for it declares my love for You and keeps my heart pure - that I may see You. Halleluja.
Every time I want to be negative, gossip, give in to temptation, be selfish with my time, money or resources, every time I want to hurt another - even if the root is my own pain - I can choose to do what I see as Christlike in Your Word. And thereby I declare my love for You. More than speaking the words, 'I love You, Jesus' I can show You by choosing not to sin against You. Every thought, every desire, every secret act is clearly known to You. And therefore every act that honours You is also known to You and blesses You.
I praise Your name for making it so easy to know You more and more. Amen and amen.
Forgive me for always only having seen the promise and invitation of Your strength and blessing on my behalf in this verse. Thank You Father for having opened my eyes to see that You want to show YOURSELF to me first. You offer me Yourself, Your presence, Your person. Thank You, thank You.
Thank You Father for giving me the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2: 16b) and the Spirit of Christ (Rom 5: 5) and therefore the heart of Christ, which is loyal to You.
Thank You for giving me clear directions on how I can experience Your manifest presence - by keeping Your commandments, which testify that I love You (John 14: 21). Mat 5: 8 says the pure in heart shall see God.
How blessed, how blessed to know You see my every move that chooses to obey Your Word, for it declares my love for You and keeps my heart pure - that I may see You. Halleluja.
Every time I want to be negative, gossip, give in to temptation, be selfish with my time, money or resources, every time I want to hurt another - even if the root is my own pain - I can choose to do what I see as Christlike in Your Word. And thereby I declare my love for You. More than speaking the words, 'I love You, Jesus' I can show You by choosing not to sin against You. Every thought, every desire, every secret act is clearly known to You. And therefore every act that honours You is also known to You and blesses You.
I praise Your name for making it so easy to know You more and more. Amen and amen.
8. We are precious
Father, You call me precious in Your sight, You say You created me for Your glory and pleasure. What tenderness and gentle care I find resonating in my heart when I hear these words of Yours (Is 43: 4, 7). How comforting, how humbling that You call me Yours (Is 43: 1).
I will delight myself in these words and allow them to continually satisfy my spirit, washing over me like anointing oil that restores and strengthens, that grows more firm my trust in You. For You love me. You adore me. You think of me constantly (PS 139: 17-18).
Father, thank You for the deepening revelation that You love my neighbor as You love me. By Your grace cause me to see every person I meet through Your kind and loving eyes. You also catch their tears in Your bottle (Ps 56: 8), their names are also engraved on the palm of Your hand (Is 49: 16). They are as precious to You as I am.
I bless Your name, Jesus. Amen.
I will delight myself in these words and allow them to continually satisfy my spirit, washing over me like anointing oil that restores and strengthens, that grows more firm my trust in You. For You love me. You adore me. You think of me constantly (PS 139: 17-18).
Father, thank You for the deepening revelation that You love my neighbor as You love me. By Your grace cause me to see every person I meet through Your kind and loving eyes. You also catch their tears in Your bottle (Ps 56: 8), their names are also engraved on the palm of Your hand (Is 49: 16). They are as precious to You as I am.
I bless Your name, Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
7. Isaiah 61: 1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted
to proclaim liberty to the captives
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound
Is 61: 1
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
Luke 4: 18
Let us pray
Father, thank You that the prayer I now lift to You is as sweet smelling incense (Ps 141: 2; Rev 8: 4). In the spirit of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, I bring this prayer to You on behalf of all Your children who still live impoverished, with broken hearts, as captives, blind and oppressed. Above all I pray for those who don't know that they are bound. I pray for those who don't know You as the balm of Gilead Who can and have healed their broken hearts. Jesus, may they know You did more than win their salvation and save them from hell when they die. You saved them from the hell they may live in here on earth. You did not only bring good tidings, You made all things new.
Oh my Lord, how easily we accept our status quo. Did life in Egypt as slaves become the norm for the Jews? The forty years in the wilderness must have become the norm for that generation that died there - because nothing changed until they died! Father of Mercy, open our eyes for all the things that have become the norm in our lives - that do not testify of the good tidings Christ came to earth for. Father, may the things we accept in our lives and of who we are become aligned with the standard of Christ. And may we understand that it is our right to reject! the things that keep us in emotional bondage and mental torment.
The devil only comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10a). Anything that kills good and healthy things is from him - the father of lies. Anything that steals our joy, our peace, our confidence, our faith, our trust, etc. is from him. Anything that destroys our relationships, our self-image, our love for Your Word, etc. is from him.
But we tolerate so much of it!!!!!!!! We think it is "just who we are" to live and feel in a way which we find no recommendation for in the Word. 2 Cor 3:18 says we should behold the glory of Jesus that we may be transformed into His image. Where do we behold Jesus? In the Word. What is His image like? One of wholeness, humility, faith, servanthood, love, obedience. Do we strive for those things? Father, cause us to hunger and thirst for the life and peace You gave the spiritually minded. Father, cause our spirit man to rise up with the knowledge that Jesus came to give us life, and life in abundance (John 10: 10). May our spirit man awaken to the truth that Christ came to set us free from all our bondage, be it drug addiction, anger, bitterness, sexual perversion, fear, the inclination to cheat, pride, an appetite that is detrimental to our health, lacking willpower - ANYTHING that causes us to live inferior lives compared to the healthy and blessed inheritance we have in Christ.
Father, forgive us for our willful blindness. For comfort's sake and out of fear, we hold on to an identity bestowed on us by our brokenness. Prov 21: 2 says every man's way is right in his own way, but You judge the heart. By defending our imprisonment, our blindness, our brokenheartedness and embracing its crippling effect in our lives we in fact REJECT You. We reject what our spirit man already knows - that Your Word says, for the joy set before Christ He came to die on the cross for us (Heb 12: 2) to heal us, set us free, break the yoke of oppression (Is 61: 1; Luke 4: 18 ). We say, "Jesus, as much as You think You got a special talent from the Father to heal my broken heart or cause me to walk in freedom from anything that kills, steal or destroys in my life - Your special powers have no effect on healing my hurt and transforming me (Rom 12: 2). By holding on to our hurt, by giving our power of self-determination to our past - we are making You a liar (Rom 3: 4) because You say You came to set us free, but clearly Your Word is of no effect in our lives. Oh Jesus.... We are living lives that testify that the price on the cross was not high enough, the grace of Christ is not strong enough. We have not only been crippled, we have also given that initial blow aimed at killing, destroying and stealing the power to have ETERNAL power over our lives to keep us in that bondage - because we do not reject it in the name of Jesus. Forgive us for not opening Your Word to discover that the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, dwells in us (Rom 8: 11) to give us life and peace (Rom 8: 6). Forgive us for rejecting the Spirit and continuing to live according to the flesh ( Rom 8: 13). Forgive us for accepting death when we can be led by the Spirit of God as Your sons and daughters (Rom 8: 14).
My God, my God.... forgive us and cause our souls - mind, will and emotions - to see what our spirits already know (1 John 2: 20, 27). Our spirit man understands the liberty Christ bought us, but our souls don't want to put our faith in Christ that as we spend time in the Word it will cause it's light to drive out the darkness that has become our norm.
Father, thank You, thank You that You heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds (Ps 147: 3). Thank You that You are near to those with a broken heart (Ps 34: 18). Like we do not know how a seed grows, we only know that it grows, may we similarly speak these words to You over and over again, that the comfort You aimed to bestow on us through them, may ignite in our hearts, may become revelation to our broken hearts. When we remain carnally minded, by insisting on accepting our prisons and our brokenness, we do not give You a chance to spiritually transform us. By allowing this to be our norm and insisting that we are wiser than You to handle our situation, we nullify the cross (Gal 2: 21).
Father, may we pursue our inheritance in You. Like You removed the chains around Paul and Silas's feet AND opened the prison doors for them (Acts 16: 24 - 31) - so You have done it for each of us. But You did not translate them from within the prison to outside of it; they had to walk out themselves. Jesus, Jesus, nothing is holding us in those prisons for Your work here on earth was done (John 19: 30). When we continue to live in bitterness, unforgiveness, self-pity, the memory of that sexual violation, the shame of the abject poverty we were raised in, the emotional abuse of an ex-husband, etc. etc. we reject what You have done for us. Oh we don't mean to, but sometimes we don't know how not to live stuck in our bondage and brokenness.
I declare that we will come to Your powerful and living Word, which separates that which is dead, false, and deception in us from that which is true, alive and eternal (Heb 4: 12). Father, thank You that You have drawn us with gentle chords of love and taken the yoke from our necks (Hosea 11: 4). Thank You for having set us free and showing us in Your Word how to walk in this liberty. Thank You, thank You that You watch over Your Word to perform it (Jer 1: 12). Like the Spirit hovered over the waters and performed when You spoke the earth into existence (Gen 1: 2-3) , so Your ministering angels watch to perform (Heb 1: 14; Ps 103: 20) Is 61: 1 and Luke 4: 18 when we believe it and confess it.
I praise Your name. Amen.
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted
to proclaim liberty to the captives
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound
Is 61: 1
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
Luke 4: 18
Let us pray
Father, thank You that the prayer I now lift to You is as sweet smelling incense (Ps 141: 2; Rev 8: 4). In the spirit of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, I bring this prayer to You on behalf of all Your children who still live impoverished, with broken hearts, as captives, blind and oppressed. Above all I pray for those who don't know that they are bound. I pray for those who don't know You as the balm of Gilead Who can and have healed their broken hearts. Jesus, may they know You did more than win their salvation and save them from hell when they die. You saved them from the hell they may live in here on earth. You did not only bring good tidings, You made all things new.
Oh my Lord, how easily we accept our status quo. Did life in Egypt as slaves become the norm for the Jews? The forty years in the wilderness must have become the norm for that generation that died there - because nothing changed until they died! Father of Mercy, open our eyes for all the things that have become the norm in our lives - that do not testify of the good tidings Christ came to earth for. Father, may the things we accept in our lives and of who we are become aligned with the standard of Christ. And may we understand that it is our right to reject! the things that keep us in emotional bondage and mental torment.
The devil only comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10a). Anything that kills good and healthy things is from him - the father of lies. Anything that steals our joy, our peace, our confidence, our faith, our trust, etc. is from him. Anything that destroys our relationships, our self-image, our love for Your Word, etc. is from him.
But we tolerate so much of it!!!!!!!! We think it is "just who we are" to live and feel in a way which we find no recommendation for in the Word. 2 Cor 3:18 says we should behold the glory of Jesus that we may be transformed into His image. Where do we behold Jesus? In the Word. What is His image like? One of wholeness, humility, faith, servanthood, love, obedience. Do we strive for those things? Father, cause us to hunger and thirst for the life and peace You gave the spiritually minded. Father, cause our spirit man to rise up with the knowledge that Jesus came to give us life, and life in abundance (John 10: 10). May our spirit man awaken to the truth that Christ came to set us free from all our bondage, be it drug addiction, anger, bitterness, sexual perversion, fear, the inclination to cheat, pride, an appetite that is detrimental to our health, lacking willpower - ANYTHING that causes us to live inferior lives compared to the healthy and blessed inheritance we have in Christ.
Father, forgive us for our willful blindness. For comfort's sake and out of fear, we hold on to an identity bestowed on us by our brokenness. Prov 21: 2 says every man's way is right in his own way, but You judge the heart. By defending our imprisonment, our blindness, our brokenheartedness and embracing its crippling effect in our lives we in fact REJECT You. We reject what our spirit man already knows - that Your Word says, for the joy set before Christ He came to die on the cross for us (Heb 12: 2) to heal us, set us free, break the yoke of oppression (Is 61: 1; Luke 4: 18 ). We say, "Jesus, as much as You think You got a special talent from the Father to heal my broken heart or cause me to walk in freedom from anything that kills, steal or destroys in my life - Your special powers have no effect on healing my hurt and transforming me (Rom 12: 2). By holding on to our hurt, by giving our power of self-determination to our past - we are making You a liar (Rom 3: 4) because You say You came to set us free, but clearly Your Word is of no effect in our lives. Oh Jesus.... We are living lives that testify that the price on the cross was not high enough, the grace of Christ is not strong enough. We have not only been crippled, we have also given that initial blow aimed at killing, destroying and stealing the power to have ETERNAL power over our lives to keep us in that bondage - because we do not reject it in the name of Jesus. Forgive us for not opening Your Word to discover that the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, dwells in us (Rom 8: 11) to give us life and peace (Rom 8: 6). Forgive us for rejecting the Spirit and continuing to live according to the flesh ( Rom 8: 13). Forgive us for accepting death when we can be led by the Spirit of God as Your sons and daughters (Rom 8: 14).
My God, my God.... forgive us and cause our souls - mind, will and emotions - to see what our spirits already know (1 John 2: 20, 27). Our spirit man understands the liberty Christ bought us, but our souls don't want to put our faith in Christ that as we spend time in the Word it will cause it's light to drive out the darkness that has become our norm.
Father, thank You, thank You that You heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds (Ps 147: 3). Thank You that You are near to those with a broken heart (Ps 34: 18). Like we do not know how a seed grows, we only know that it grows, may we similarly speak these words to You over and over again, that the comfort You aimed to bestow on us through them, may ignite in our hearts, may become revelation to our broken hearts. When we remain carnally minded, by insisting on accepting our prisons and our brokenness, we do not give You a chance to spiritually transform us. By allowing this to be our norm and insisting that we are wiser than You to handle our situation, we nullify the cross (Gal 2: 21).
Father, may we pursue our inheritance in You. Like You removed the chains around Paul and Silas's feet AND opened the prison doors for them (Acts 16: 24 - 31) - so You have done it for each of us. But You did not translate them from within the prison to outside of it; they had to walk out themselves. Jesus, Jesus, nothing is holding us in those prisons for Your work here on earth was done (John 19: 30). When we continue to live in bitterness, unforgiveness, self-pity, the memory of that sexual violation, the shame of the abject poverty we were raised in, the emotional abuse of an ex-husband, etc. etc. we reject what You have done for us. Oh we don't mean to, but sometimes we don't know how not to live stuck in our bondage and brokenness.
I declare that we will come to Your powerful and living Word, which separates that which is dead, false, and deception in us from that which is true, alive and eternal (Heb 4: 12). Father, thank You that You have drawn us with gentle chords of love and taken the yoke from our necks (Hosea 11: 4). Thank You for having set us free and showing us in Your Word how to walk in this liberty. Thank You, thank You that You watch over Your Word to perform it (Jer 1: 12). Like the Spirit hovered over the waters and performed when You spoke the earth into existence (Gen 1: 2-3) , so Your ministering angels watch to perform (Heb 1: 14; Ps 103: 20) Is 61: 1 and Luke 4: 18 when we believe it and confess it.
I praise Your name. Amen.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
6. Destiny is a tree
Oh Lord, oh Lord, how wonderful You are. How wonderful You are to me for blessing me as You do.
A scarlet thread runs through the Bible of Jesus our Redeemer. Like an intricate 3D puzzle You have compacted the Word with the same truths over and over again: truths of Your love, Your everlasting covenant for Your presence, protection and provision. Like a master-mind in chess, a maestro jazz player, a tantalizing poet, a painter who reveals by hiding in shades and dimensions, God... the diversity in Your Word comes together like an array of light waves to give us one white light truth: You love us, You love us, You love us and You've destined us to know You and to be with you forever.
In Hosea 2: 19-20 You declare:
A scarlet thread runs through the Bible of Jesus our Redeemer. Like an intricate 3D puzzle You have compacted the Word with the same truths over and over again: truths of Your love, Your everlasting covenant for Your presence, protection and provision. Like a master-mind in chess, a maestro jazz player, a tantalizing poet, a painter who reveals by hiding in shades and dimensions, God... the diversity in Your Word comes together like an array of light waves to give us one white light truth: You love us, You love us, You love us and You've destined us to know You and to be with you forever.
In Hosea 2: 19-20 You declare:
"I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord."
Father, by Your ordinance You say "You shall know the Lord forever as husband". The church and I, the bride of Jesus, will live in intimate fellowship with You forever. Because You spoke it, it is a done deal. You do not love me as one loves a pet, a favorite sport, a treasured possession. You love me forever, a million times more intense, more sacrificially, more tenderly than a bridegroom his bride. You are more interested in me, more fascinated by me, You delight in me more, You want to make me more happy than a husband ever can. And this is not only a promise. It is already true.
No matter my prostitute-like unfaithfulness, You are faithful. No matter, no matter, You want to be known by me. Wow... the privilege. Father, You have availed Yourself to be KNOWN and UNDERSTOOD by me (Jer 9: 24). How absolutely mind-blowing. You are not aloof and distant though You are God. You are kind, gentle, long-suffering. And because You are just You sent Christ the Righteous to pay the penalty for our unrighteousness (Jer 9: 24).
Like You provided Christ for our atonement, so You have given us the seeds to know You. It is my destiny, my certain future to know and understand the living God. Ahhhhh!!! You said that You Yourself will write Your laws on my heart (Heb 8: 10, 10: 16 and Jer 31: 33). You will not only write them on my heart, but also in my mind that I may consciously know them. And by Your grace I will obey them that You may increase Your living Word in me.
Proverbs 4: 22 says Your words are life and health to those who find them. Moreover, Your Words are seeds that have my sure destiny written in their DNA. I can choose which seed I will take and plant. Seeds for financial blessings, seeds for artistic ability, seeds for servanthood, seeds for giving, seeds for operating in the gifts of the Spirit, seeds for knowledge, etc? And once I do so, You take over and allow the mystery of growth. Like a pear farmer cannot determine the shape or sweetness of the pears that will grow in his grove, so I can also but plant the seed for You have taken care of the engineered perfection of how that hard pip will develop and become the phenomenon called a pear. Hallelujah, hallelujah. My part is so minute, but without it the potential will lie within my reach, but it will remain seemingly life-less. Oh Jesus.
The centurion's logic is here to help us that You may also call our faith great. PLANT THE INCORRUPTIBLE SEED OF THE WORD. In the natural it is such a straightforward thing, forgive me for having missed it so often in the spiritual. And the best part is, the seed I plant can include everything from the most mundane natural need to the most privileged spiritual truth.
Father, I am greedy for the best in You, I hunger to know the mysteries of Your heart, of heaven, of Your will. Oh, I know this is a scary thing to desire. For it will mean death to my flesh, denial and sacrifice of my self-interests and comforts, staying on top of that stormy lake, entering fires, lions' dens and prisons, yet remaining unmoved in the knowledge of You. But we talk about this another time.
I rejoice over the revelation that "it has been given to me to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (Mat 13: 11), and it is up to me how I will be faithful in these gifts that You can give me more (Mat 13: 12). You have blessed my spiritual eyes and ears to receive the hidden truths of the spiritual realm (Mat 13: 16). Hidden truths from the throne room of God, hidden truths from the heart of God.
Father, like a tree, I abide in You and Your Word that my roots may grow deep and strong, that I may be able to withstand storms and spiritually feed and provide the comfort of shade for many. Father, I pray that my prosperity and good success (Josh 1: 8)be for Your glory to love and nurture others.
The biggest mystery to be mulled over is that Christ is the hope of glory in us who believe in Him (Col 1: 27). And because Jesus, Your Spirit lives in me (Rom 8:9) and I abide in You, I will bear the fruits You have destined for my life (John 15: 4-5).
Father, thank You for having blessed me with eyes and ears that see and hear. Thank You for the parable of the landlord who gave his servants talents. Father, even if You gave me only one talent, the Faithful One lives in me and I abide in Him, therefore I know I will be so very faithful - because I know You are good and You are a rewarder of those who live by faith (Heb 11: 6).
Forgive me please for the times I hid my talents out of fear that You are a hard man, thus out of a lack of believing in Your goodness and wisdom. Please forgive me for the times I hid my talents out of laziness and the wickedness of my heart which would blind my eyes and deafen my ears.
Thank You Father for Your mercies that are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23) and that You have given me Your Word by which my natural man can be transformed from day to day (Rom 12: 2).
Father, thank You for this exciting journey with You.
Monday, December 10, 2012
5. Mathematical faith
By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. (Heb 11: 11)
A gentile centurion asked Jesus, "only speak a word, and my servant will be healed" and Jesus replied, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel". (Mat 8: 8, 10)
A gentile centurion asked Jesus, "only speak a word, and my servant will be healed" and Jesus replied, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel". (Mat 8: 8, 10)
A storm arose on the sea while Jesus was asleep. The disciples came to Jesus and said, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to the, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Mat 8: 26)
Jesus sent the disciples ahead on a boat after feeding five thousand. The wind was going crazy on the water, but Jesus walked to the disciples. When they see each other, Jesus tells them not to worry, it's Him. Our Peter says, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You in the water". "Come". Peter does that world-record thing and becomes the first human-human man to walk on water. "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Mat 14: 22 - 31)
A man brought his epileptic son to the disciples to cure, but they could not. When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration the father brought the boy to Him and He cured him. Before He did so, He said (to the disciples), "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?" (Mat 17: 17)
Let us pray.
Father, the topic of faith is so vast. Thank You for the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Who teaches me all things (John 14: 26). Jesus, as the author and finisher of my faith (Heb 12:2), I thank You for leading me so well in this faith walk. Thank You that it is Your delight to perfect my faith. By Your grace I pray that I will be faithful in the little I do understand and can walk in, that You may entrust me with more opportunities to please You (Heb 11: 6).
Oh Jesus...On the one hand faith seems so simple, on the other hand You seem so strict about it. Sarah's faith was firmly in Who You are and how she knows You: faithful. Is it because there was nothing loud and scary, pulling and pushing at her that she could stay calm and wait and wait? Physically she knew women did not have children at her age, but what could she do but wait? But her faith could not have been mere resignation, for faith is active (James 2: 18). Previously she had done something about it with the help of Hagar - so that showed a lack of faith. But this time...there was nothing left but to take You at Your Word. More than that, Sarah must have grown in the assurance of Your personhood. And having experienced You, she must have discovered a peace that slightly surprised her for its firmness.
Father, like Sarah, may my faith not be in how favourable circumstances seem, may it be in You and Your Word. And when I do not have my prayers answered, may I not find consolation in the lie that You failed me. May I not discredit Your character when I experience unanswered or delayed prayers. And Father, please give give me discernment to know when to wait and when to hear that You are directing me to act. Open my spiritual ears to hear "wait" or "step out". And by Your grace may I not mistake the one for the other.
Father, the centurion's faith didn't seem so "wow". He seems to simply have used deductive reasoning and taken a natural principle and applied it to the spiritual realm. In fact, it doesn't even seem like faith. And yet what he did so excited Jesus that He praised the guy for his GREAT faith. Father, may we also see the engineered and mathematical accuracy about Your Word and Your character. May our faith become "every-day logical" in this that we have it firmly settled in us that Your Word is incorruptible (1 Peter 1: 23), that You Who promised is unchanging (Heb 13: 8) and faithful (Heb 11: 11), that everything contrary to Your Word is a lie (Rom 3: 4) and it is settled in us that when Your Word goes forth it surely accomplishes what it was sent for (Is 55: 11). Thank you, Mr Centurion for showing us that faith need not feel like a painful, burdensome gritting of our teeth. It can be simple if we recognize that Jesus has authority over EVERYTHING and we can simply speak to mountains by the authority of Christ (Mat 28: 18).
Okay. Now we get to the part that throws me a little. Peter does something nobody has ever done before or since. You didn't tell him to do it, but he was clearly excited to see You do it and figured if You can, You can make him do it too. I see two elements of uncertainty: "If it is You, Lord" and "I want to do it, but You tell me to do it; You make me do it". So Peter goes out slightly uncertain that it is Jesus, but he's probably thinking who else could do something like this, so it has to be Jesus. Also, Peter gives the responsibility for his stepping out of the boat and walking on water to Jesus. He, Peter, simply acts in obedience to "Come". Peter's commitment to this endeavor is thus doubtful. Sidenote: Peter forgive me for analyzing you like this. The thrill of being able to walk on water pushes aside any whisper of doubt that he is about to step into something mankind had not even wrapped their minds around yet. He did not stop to consider that he was about to step into an arena where all his senses would acutely feel the impossibility and unrealness of his action.
What he however briefly accomplished was mind-blowing and exciting. But then that physical reality slapped him on his back and said "whooza! are you sure of what you are doing?" And Peter snapped to reality and his mind and senses screamed: "Am I stupid? What the heck was I thinking? I'm busy committing suicide! HELP!"
And Jesus, You are disappointed in Peter. From Your perspective, You expected Peter not to doubt despite the elements. Because You are Jesus, I must see this expectation as legitimate and fair. Show me how, Lord.
The same thing happened earlier, in Mat 8 when You guys were in the boat and a storm broke out. When they came running to You, You rebuked them for being fearful and having little faith. This rebuke must have been legitimate as well.
As humans, we feel justified in giving a wrong answer when our teacher had not taught us that specific fact before. Peter did not have training in walking on water, so to fail the first time he tries, seems a little strict. So too the disciples may not have been in a storm with You before, so instead of crying and saying their last prayers before the inevitable end, they did what they thought was the best thing to do, to see if you can't do something about it. From our narrow-minded human perspective, I would probably have done the same thing Peter and the disciples did. But from Your perspective, You are saying, "how long must I still struggle with you, when will you get it?"
Father, what must we get? That we are Yours and You have given us all power and authority over everything? And that like You, we can simply speak to storms, mountains, barrenness, etc.? That You have taught us 0-9 and shown us the principle calculations and formulas. You need not have shown us 4x4=16 for us to know it, "without knowing it" and get the answer correct. We know we must go: 4+4+4+4 and count them all.
John 14: 12-14 says that when we believe in You and ask for things in Your name we will be able to do the same things You did and even greater things. In Mat 28: 28 Jesus, You says all authority has been given to You and therefore to us as well. When You sent out the 12 disciples (Mark 6: 7)and later the 72 (Luke 10: 17), You also gave them power over unclean spirit and they saw the natural order of things change by them proclaiming things in Your name. So they were given the "training". You had equipped them to have the type of faith to be victorious in novel situations.
When the same father, mentioned in Mat 17, asked You to have compassion on his son, You told him "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9: 23). He replied, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!" So believing means to have faith, to trust in Your character and Your sure Word. But unbelief and doubt, comes as a result of the physical realities or our deceived or false thinking that only prayer and fasting can destroy. Thank You Father, for Andrew Wommack's teaching that fasting strengthens our spirits as we subject our physical nature to this spiritual discipline. So when the demons cause the boy to go crazy or the storm to be more fierce, our spirit man can silence our natural man who wants to waver amidst this intimidation.
Father, we want to please You by living by faith, by speaking with authority in the name of Jesus to mountains, troubles, diseases, strongholds, fear, sin, etc. etc. Father, thank You that You have given me everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3) that I can live a life of faith that pleases You. I won't need to ask You to please deal with the issues in my life, I can rebuke and command and speak life into things. I can take responsibility for walking into unchartered territory in all areas of my life. Father, thank You for Your Word that is clear about Your will for my life (1 John 5: 15). I can pray according to Your will and speak forth that life. Father, grow in my the deep and strong roots that faith can be emotionless and not influenced by my senses, faith can be mathematical. You said it, that settles it.
Father, I commit myself to become a disciple of fasting. I understand that fasting does not always have to be food, but anything I may legitimately have, which I choose to abstain from in order to exercise my spirit over my screaming flesh. Thank You Father for giving me clear direction in increasing the strength of my spirit so that I may walk by faith that will continually please You.
In the name of Jesus, I thank You, Father for the light of Your Word. Thank You, Holy Spirit for teaching me all things.
Jesus sent the disciples ahead on a boat after feeding five thousand. The wind was going crazy on the water, but Jesus walked to the disciples. When they see each other, Jesus tells them not to worry, it's Him. Our Peter says, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You in the water". "Come". Peter does that world-record thing and becomes the first human-human man to walk on water. "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Mat 14: 22 - 31)
A man brought his epileptic son to the disciples to cure, but they could not. When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration the father brought the boy to Him and He cured him. Before He did so, He said (to the disciples), "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?" (Mat 17: 17)
The disciples seem surprised and sincere that they could not heal the boy - in Mat 10: 1 we see Jesus had given them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Verse 19 reads, Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" I sense genuine confusion here. But Jesus replied, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Jesus also adds, "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
Let us pray.
Father, the topic of faith is so vast. Thank You for the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Who teaches me all things (John 14: 26). Jesus, as the author and finisher of my faith (Heb 12:2), I thank You for leading me so well in this faith walk. Thank You that it is Your delight to perfect my faith. By Your grace I pray that I will be faithful in the little I do understand and can walk in, that You may entrust me with more opportunities to please You (Heb 11: 6).
Oh Jesus...On the one hand faith seems so simple, on the other hand You seem so strict about it. Sarah's faith was firmly in Who You are and how she knows You: faithful. Is it because there was nothing loud and scary, pulling and pushing at her that she could stay calm and wait and wait? Physically she knew women did not have children at her age, but what could she do but wait? But her faith could not have been mere resignation, for faith is active (James 2: 18). Previously she had done something about it with the help of Hagar - so that showed a lack of faith. But this time...there was nothing left but to take You at Your Word. More than that, Sarah must have grown in the assurance of Your personhood. And having experienced You, she must have discovered a peace that slightly surprised her for its firmness.
Father, like Sarah, may my faith not be in how favourable circumstances seem, may it be in You and Your Word. And when I do not have my prayers answered, may I not find consolation in the lie that You failed me. May I not discredit Your character when I experience unanswered or delayed prayers. And Father, please give give me discernment to know when to wait and when to hear that You are directing me to act. Open my spiritual ears to hear "wait" or "step out". And by Your grace may I not mistake the one for the other.
Father, the centurion's faith didn't seem so "wow". He seems to simply have used deductive reasoning and taken a natural principle and applied it to the spiritual realm. In fact, it doesn't even seem like faith. And yet what he did so excited Jesus that He praised the guy for his GREAT faith. Father, may we also see the engineered and mathematical accuracy about Your Word and Your character. May our faith become "every-day logical" in this that we have it firmly settled in us that Your Word is incorruptible (1 Peter 1: 23), that You Who promised is unchanging (Heb 13: 8) and faithful (Heb 11: 11), that everything contrary to Your Word is a lie (Rom 3: 4) and it is settled in us that when Your Word goes forth it surely accomplishes what it was sent for (Is 55: 11). Thank you, Mr Centurion for showing us that faith need not feel like a painful, burdensome gritting of our teeth. It can be simple if we recognize that Jesus has authority over EVERYTHING and we can simply speak to mountains by the authority of Christ (Mat 28: 18).
Okay. Now we get to the part that throws me a little. Peter does something nobody has ever done before or since. You didn't tell him to do it, but he was clearly excited to see You do it and figured if You can, You can make him do it too. I see two elements of uncertainty: "If it is You, Lord" and "I want to do it, but You tell me to do it; You make me do it". So Peter goes out slightly uncertain that it is Jesus, but he's probably thinking who else could do something like this, so it has to be Jesus. Also, Peter gives the responsibility for his stepping out of the boat and walking on water to Jesus. He, Peter, simply acts in obedience to "Come". Peter's commitment to this endeavor is thus doubtful. Sidenote: Peter forgive me for analyzing you like this. The thrill of being able to walk on water pushes aside any whisper of doubt that he is about to step into something mankind had not even wrapped their minds around yet. He did not stop to consider that he was about to step into an arena where all his senses would acutely feel the impossibility and unrealness of his action.
What he however briefly accomplished was mind-blowing and exciting. But then that physical reality slapped him on his back and said "whooza! are you sure of what you are doing?" And Peter snapped to reality and his mind and senses screamed: "Am I stupid? What the heck was I thinking? I'm busy committing suicide! HELP!"
And Jesus, You are disappointed in Peter. From Your perspective, You expected Peter not to doubt despite the elements. Because You are Jesus, I must see this expectation as legitimate and fair. Show me how, Lord.
The same thing happened earlier, in Mat 8 when You guys were in the boat and a storm broke out. When they came running to You, You rebuked them for being fearful and having little faith. This rebuke must have been legitimate as well.
As humans, we feel justified in giving a wrong answer when our teacher had not taught us that specific fact before. Peter did not have training in walking on water, so to fail the first time he tries, seems a little strict. So too the disciples may not have been in a storm with You before, so instead of crying and saying their last prayers before the inevitable end, they did what they thought was the best thing to do, to see if you can't do something about it. From our narrow-minded human perspective, I would probably have done the same thing Peter and the disciples did. But from Your perspective, You are saying, "how long must I still struggle with you, when will you get it?"
Father, what must we get? That we are Yours and You have given us all power and authority over everything? And that like You, we can simply speak to storms, mountains, barrenness, etc.? That You have taught us 0-9 and shown us the principle calculations and formulas. You need not have shown us 4x4=16 for us to know it, "without knowing it" and get the answer correct. We know we must go: 4+4+4+4 and count them all.
John 14: 12-14 says that when we believe in You and ask for things in Your name we will be able to do the same things You did and even greater things. In Mat 28: 28 Jesus, You says all authority has been given to You and therefore to us as well. When You sent out the 12 disciples (Mark 6: 7)and later the 72 (Luke 10: 17), You also gave them power over unclean spirit and they saw the natural order of things change by them proclaiming things in Your name. So they were given the "training". You had equipped them to have the type of faith to be victorious in novel situations.
When the same father, mentioned in Mat 17, asked You to have compassion on his son, You told him "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9: 23). He replied, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!" So believing means to have faith, to trust in Your character and Your sure Word. But unbelief and doubt, comes as a result of the physical realities or our deceived or false thinking that only prayer and fasting can destroy. Thank You Father, for Andrew Wommack's teaching that fasting strengthens our spirits as we subject our physical nature to this spiritual discipline. So when the demons cause the boy to go crazy or the storm to be more fierce, our spirit man can silence our natural man who wants to waver amidst this intimidation.
Father, we want to please You by living by faith, by speaking with authority in the name of Jesus to mountains, troubles, diseases, strongholds, fear, sin, etc. etc. Father, thank You that You have given me everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3) that I can live a life of faith that pleases You. I won't need to ask You to please deal with the issues in my life, I can rebuke and command and speak life into things. I can take responsibility for walking into unchartered territory in all areas of my life. Father, thank You for Your Word that is clear about Your will for my life (1 John 5: 15). I can pray according to Your will and speak forth that life. Father, grow in my the deep and strong roots that faith can be emotionless and not influenced by my senses, faith can be mathematical. You said it, that settles it.
Father, I commit myself to become a disciple of fasting. I understand that fasting does not always have to be food, but anything I may legitimately have, which I choose to abstain from in order to exercise my spirit over my screaming flesh. Thank You Father for giving me clear direction in increasing the strength of my spirit so that I may walk by faith that will continually please You.
In the name of Jesus, I thank You, Father for the light of Your Word. Thank You, Holy Spirit for teaching me all things.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
4. Fact: God loves me
In Eph 1: 16-17 Paul says he continually prayed that God will give the believers wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
Eph 3: 17-19 says that we may be rooted in the depth, breadth, height and width of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. Wowawee.
Rom 8: 35-39 declares that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities - nothing present nor to come.
In John 15: 9 Jesus says, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love" and in 17: 23 Jesus says, "...that they may know that You have loved them as You have loved Me..."
Let us pray.
Father, thank You that You have given me Jesus through whose perfect righteousness I can come to You and bring you my petitions.
Father, I understand if I'm ever to have wisdom and revelation of Who You are it must come from You. It must come from Your Spirit to my spirit (1 Cor 2: 13-16). So too, if I am ever to know Your love, I must ask you to give me revelation of it. James 1: 5 says I only need to ask and You will give me wisdom liberally and without reproach. Father, thank You that You want to liberally give me wisdom in the knowledge of Who You are. I open my heart and mind, I open my spirit to receive the knowledge that makes wise the mind, matures the spirit and anchors the person.
Father,as I seek to know You - searching for You in the Scriptures that testify of You (John 5: 39) - I will come to see Your beauty, Your passion, Your faithfulness, Your kindness, Your love. I pray You cause my hunger for You to remain consistent. Thank You that I do not simply read the Word for the knowledge it relates, but I understand Your Spirit can make the Word come alive in my Spirit and cause the living Word to grow in revelational dimensions.
Father... You love me like You love Jesus... and Jesus loves me like He loves You... The God Who sits on the throne in heaven loves me the way He loves the Son with Whom He lay the foundations of the earth... The holy and glorious, uncreated and eternal Father of light loves me like He loves the sinless Lamb before Whom the four living creatures cry night and day "holy, holy, holy". Father, when I see Who You are, I am silenced that You should love me with the same intensity as You love Yourself.
Father forgive me for the many times I read or heard John 15: 9 and 17:23 with a blind and deaf spirit. Open my spiritual eyes and my spiritual ears. Father I pray that these words will continually be on my lips. May I meditate on them day and night. Father, thank You for Your covenant with me that says You Yourself will put Your law in my mind and write it on my heart (Jer 31: 33, Heb 8: 10, Heb 10: 16). Father, where my mind has a understand only a tip-of-the-iceberg chunk of these verses, I pray You give me revelation on the bounty of this promise - that You Yourself will transform me.
Oh YHWH... You love me... You have always loved me... You will always love me... Jacob said,"Surely the Lord is in this place, and i did not know it" (Gen 28: 16). So too Father I must confess, surely You have loved me always and I did not plummet the depths, width, height or length of it. Forgive me for my satisfaction with my spiritual poverty, forgive me for my negligence and my attitude of "I have heard, but I did recognize the invitation to pursue the life-transforming revelation of these words." Father, please forgive me for my slack attitude about the things of God by settling for mental awareness.
And like you can never be separated from Yourself, so Your love for me cannot be separated by anything. No stress at work, no civil war, no rejection in business, no poverty of environment, no shame, no moral attack, no slander, no abusive husband, no criticizing boss, no future social arrangement, no future president or law, no demonic oppression, no disease, no frustration, no joblessness, no natural catastrophe, no economic crisis, no death of a loved one, no loneliness, no heartache, no sin of my own, no addiction, no depression, no fear, nothing, nothing, nothing can separate me from You loving me. If Your love is always with me, it means I can have joy and contentment in the knowledge of God's love for me even if there is nothing else in my life to be grateful for. Father, I choose to always have Your love first and foremost as my strength and my joy. And though these things in the natural will be strong competitors to determine how I feel about You and myself, how I conduct myself, how I view life, Father, may my foundational reality be: God ALWAYS loves me and it is impossible for Him to love me less. Though I love you less or reject you, You will be unfaithful to Yourself by not loving me to the extent You love Christ. And so You cannot love me more than You already do and You've never loved me less than You always have. Who You are and that You are for me - always - should give me peace and keep my faith alive despite the ruins around me or within me. Your love towards me is firm and strong, deep and wide. Until today, my sin may have caused me to hide from You, as Adam and Eve did and my ignorance or apathy may have caused me to go through life missing out on the firm truth that You love me. But Father thank You for Your redeeming love, these two life stealers of darkness have been driven out by the perfect light of Your Word.
Father, the Word speaks of the dimensions of Your love for us. It is multi-dimensional and it exceeds the dimensions known to man, for your love surpasses understanding. And there is certainly more than one way to understand this depth, height, width and length of Your love. Thank You Father, that we can know because You are love (1 John 4:8), Your love is limitless. As Your love surpasses understanding I acknowledge that I'm only scraping on the dimensions of Your love and therefore I pray for revelation beyond this prayer.
Eph 4: 8-10 reveals that Jesus descended to hell to lead captivity captive and ascended to heaven to give us gifts - every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph 1:3). Thank You that the depth of Your love came to rescue us from hell and eternal separation from You. Even now, as born-again Christians the depth of Your love means to have no separation between us, but for us to have daily fellowship. The depth of Your love aims to cover every sin that causes our hearts to want to hide from You like Adam and Eve did. Christ humbled Himself, left heaven and came down to earth before He descended into hell that we may be reconciled to You to live in the knowledge and love of You - a love You had predestined us for (Eph 1:5). Oh Lord, and the reverse of having saved us from everlasting hell is to give us every spiritual blessing in heaven - demonstrating the height of Your love. Every spiritual blessing... Atkinson and Rice identified 54 spiritual blessings in Christ. Father thank you for salvation, for freedom, for faith, for grace, for rest, for revelation, for strength, for confidence, for wisdom, for sanctification, for love, for acceptance, for power, for favour, for riches, for hope, for forgiveness, for success, for purpose, for new life, for mercy, and on and on. The height of Your love bestows these marvelous blessings on me.
As for the length and breadth of Your love. The Word says You have loved me with an everlasting love (Jer 31: 3) and that You have removed my sins as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12). My God, You have loved me before the foundations of the earth (Eph 1: 4) and You will love me into all eternity, Your love for me began in infinity gone by and will last into the unfathomable tomorrow of tomorrows. You not only remove my sin, you remove an array of sins that could stretch from East to West, and You cover the sin of people as diverse as found from West to East. The breadth of Your love embraces all of mankind and remove every colour and flavour of our sins.
What can I thus want as there is nothing lacking in the love You make available to me? And what can separate me from Your love as You deal with every possible shade of sin? Your love makes provision for every past, present, and future need. Your love has given only the best and continues to do so. Thank You Father for the revelation and privilege of walking in the knowledge of the love of God.
Father, may every breath I take be a reminder that confirms and confirms Your love for me. And may every confirmation bring about exponential growth in the revelation of Your love for me.
As such I rebuke every lie that I'm unloved, I bind every action and behaviour pattern which has its root in a lie of rejection, not being lovely, being unwanted, being worthless. Father, Your love makes me whole. Your love accepts me and wants me.
Amen and amen in the name of Jesus.
3. A peek into the blogger's life
Before I share a little about myself, I want to make clear that "this public living" makes me cringe a little. I don't really like Facebook; I don't like my life shared with many people. I talk a great deal, but I'm actually super private.
As mentioned in the blog on "Acknowledgements and..." my insight into the reality of praying Scripture hit home as a result of the teachings of Mike and Andrew. Because living in relationship with the Word of God as alive in me had always been a pursuit of mine, when it crystalized, I wanted to write a book to bring others into the same revelation. I however recognized it could take some time. Instead of doing so privately and only blessing people when this project is finally done, I may as well open it up to the www community as the project progresses. And hopefully readers will be blessed.
I would like to give credibility to this blog by sharing a little about my background as it relates to the content of this blog.
So I'm going to share a little without divulging specifics.
From a very young age I was intrigued by God, I wanted to know Him like David, Moses, and Paul. These guys HEARD God. What a privilege. I wanted to hear Him. There was a deep desire for God's presence and to hear His voice. In my way I pursued God. At university I joined a wonderful Bible School, which I attended on Tuesday nights for two years. It was blessed, blessed. But somehow the presence of God - and the powerful love I imagined would accompany His presence - never visited. Also, I didn't recognize hearing God's voice. I prayed for direction for a number of things, amongst others what to study - and what to do when I failed! Nothing, nothing, nothing!!!!!! Also, why didn't He answer me when I was desperate for answers in a number of areas in my life? And where was He when bad things happened to me? With time my heart grew bitter towards this silent God Who surely hides. I fell into sin and my heart grew callous towards this God Who only fills me with hunger for Him, but no satisfaction. I would find my satisfaction elsewhere and stop wasting my time on Him.
Three significant incidents however stand out before my rejection of God. In my first year at university I found we went back to the roots of all the subjects I studied. I began asking myself why I am a Christian. And what makes me think we are right and others are either wrong, or perhaps also hold part of the truth. Oh, it was a long and hard struggle of about 9 months. I wanted to believe but I simply could not. I was 18 at the time and did not know how to hear God's voice. With time there were Bible verses that started making sense to me and gave me peace. At the end of it I "returned to Christ." I was probably in my fourth year when I discovered a small book, I think it was by Josh McDowell. In this little book the author addresses the question of "what about believers of other faiths?" If he gave 12 responses from the Word for that, God had given me 9 in my first year. Only that day did I recognize that God had in fact spoken to me and I had heard His voice. A second experience came when I was once again groping with the idea of hearing God's voice. Someone asked me to read John 10: 27. And then he asked very matter-of-factly if I hear God's voice. I wanted to say "No!" because it felt like that, but I believed in Christ so I was one of His sheep. And if He says I hear His voice and follow Him, then it means I do. But it did not feel like it. What a few intense moments those were for me. So I don't know it, but I do hear Him? How whack is that, it doesn't help me at all. But the Word said it, so somehow it was true. And maybe one day I would understand how it could be true. If I was introduced to that concept that day, I have moved greatly beyond that 0 start on a graph. I praise God. A third revelation deeply answered this cry for hearing God's voice. I stumbled upon 1 Cor 2: 14 at a time I wanted to change my studies to pursue Theology - for then I would know! This verse did that same thing - it became rhema for me in that moment. Out of nowhere I understood in a way that brought peace, that there are things I can only know through my spirit. Where is my spirit, how does it work, go! more questions. But in some "unarticulable" way I knew, I can know without grasping this knowledge with my carnal mind. So God has been speaking to me all along, I just did not always recognize it and I was not aware of how to consciously pursue hearing His voice.
Back to my rejection of God. Man... life lost its meaning. Oh, I did great things, I saw New York, drove from Las Vegas to Hollywood, bought cool things, met interesting people. Note, I'm Namibian, so to do these things are pretty high up on the list of "living it up". But oh... when you look at life and see the existence of mankind and imagine eternity, then it is all as Solomon said: futile chasing of the wind. Then I met Mike Bickle.
Mike's teaching on Song of Songs showed me that the Word is fuuuuullll of God's love for me. It broke into my hardened heart. From then on I understood that even if I NEVER felt the love of God flooding my emotions, by faith I can KNOW that God loves me because His Word makes it 100% clear. In the same way I began understanding, as I mentioned in the blog on God's presence that the Bible IS God speaking to us clearly. If I understand the language and words in the Bible, I have clearly heard God's voice. It need not happen as it did for the friend of God, Moses, whom He spoke to face to face, nor as to Paul on the Damascus Road or the disciples.
I had come home. The Word says God is always present. The Word says God loves me. See 1 Cor 2:14. When this was settled, the Word could come alive to me again and my spirit could be alive again. This blog is testimony to an alive and maturing spirit.
As mentioned in the blog on "Acknowledgements and..." my insight into the reality of praying Scripture hit home as a result of the teachings of Mike and Andrew. Because living in relationship with the Word of God as alive in me had always been a pursuit of mine, when it crystalized, I wanted to write a book to bring others into the same revelation. I however recognized it could take some time. Instead of doing so privately and only blessing people when this project is finally done, I may as well open it up to the www community as the project progresses. And hopefully readers will be blessed.
I would like to give credibility to this blog by sharing a little about my background as it relates to the content of this blog.
So I'm going to share a little without divulging specifics.
From a very young age I was intrigued by God, I wanted to know Him like David, Moses, and Paul. These guys HEARD God. What a privilege. I wanted to hear Him. There was a deep desire for God's presence and to hear His voice. In my way I pursued God. At university I joined a wonderful Bible School, which I attended on Tuesday nights for two years. It was blessed, blessed. But somehow the presence of God - and the powerful love I imagined would accompany His presence - never visited. Also, I didn't recognize hearing God's voice. I prayed for direction for a number of things, amongst others what to study - and what to do when I failed! Nothing, nothing, nothing!!!!!! Also, why didn't He answer me when I was desperate for answers in a number of areas in my life? And where was He when bad things happened to me? With time my heart grew bitter towards this silent God Who surely hides. I fell into sin and my heart grew callous towards this God Who only fills me with hunger for Him, but no satisfaction. I would find my satisfaction elsewhere and stop wasting my time on Him.
Three significant incidents however stand out before my rejection of God. In my first year at university I found we went back to the roots of all the subjects I studied. I began asking myself why I am a Christian. And what makes me think we are right and others are either wrong, or perhaps also hold part of the truth. Oh, it was a long and hard struggle of about 9 months. I wanted to believe but I simply could not. I was 18 at the time and did not know how to hear God's voice. With time there were Bible verses that started making sense to me and gave me peace. At the end of it I "returned to Christ." I was probably in my fourth year when I discovered a small book, I think it was by Josh McDowell. In this little book the author addresses the question of "what about believers of other faiths?" If he gave 12 responses from the Word for that, God had given me 9 in my first year. Only that day did I recognize that God had in fact spoken to me and I had heard His voice. A second experience came when I was once again groping with the idea of hearing God's voice. Someone asked me to read John 10: 27. And then he asked very matter-of-factly if I hear God's voice. I wanted to say "No!" because it felt like that, but I believed in Christ so I was one of His sheep. And if He says I hear His voice and follow Him, then it means I do. But it did not feel like it. What a few intense moments those were for me. So I don't know it, but I do hear Him? How whack is that, it doesn't help me at all. But the Word said it, so somehow it was true. And maybe one day I would understand how it could be true. If I was introduced to that concept that day, I have moved greatly beyond that 0 start on a graph. I praise God. A third revelation deeply answered this cry for hearing God's voice. I stumbled upon 1 Cor 2: 14 at a time I wanted to change my studies to pursue Theology - for then I would know! This verse did that same thing - it became rhema for me in that moment. Out of nowhere I understood in a way that brought peace, that there are things I can only know through my spirit. Where is my spirit, how does it work, go! more questions. But in some "unarticulable" way I knew, I can know without grasping this knowledge with my carnal mind. So God has been speaking to me all along, I just did not always recognize it and I was not aware of how to consciously pursue hearing His voice.
Back to my rejection of God. Man... life lost its meaning. Oh, I did great things, I saw New York, drove from Las Vegas to Hollywood, bought cool things, met interesting people. Note, I'm Namibian, so to do these things are pretty high up on the list of "living it up". But oh... when you look at life and see the existence of mankind and imagine eternity, then it is all as Solomon said: futile chasing of the wind. Then I met Mike Bickle.
Mike's teaching on Song of Songs showed me that the Word is fuuuuullll of God's love for me. It broke into my hardened heart. From then on I understood that even if I NEVER felt the love of God flooding my emotions, by faith I can KNOW that God loves me because His Word makes it 100% clear. In the same way I began understanding, as I mentioned in the blog on God's presence that the Bible IS God speaking to us clearly. If I understand the language and words in the Bible, I have clearly heard God's voice. It need not happen as it did for the friend of God, Moses, whom He spoke to face to face, nor as to Paul on the Damascus Road or the disciples.
I had come home. The Word says God is always present. The Word says God loves me. See 1 Cor 2:14. When this was settled, the Word could come alive to me again and my spirit could be alive again. This blog is testimony to an alive and maturing spirit.
2. Acknowledgments and foundational perspective
There are two men I need to thank for blessing my understanding of prayer: Mike Bickle and Andrew Wommack.
Mike Bickle (from International House of Prayer - Kansas City) teaches that one can pray Scripture. I never understood this until Mike opened that door in my mind. He teaches that there are Scriptures that (1) exhort us to believe God's Word and there are those that (2) exhort us to obey God's Word.
The first type declares that God loves us, forgives us, leads us, protects us, provides for us, etc. And we can pray prayers that thank God for this, praise God for it, ask God to remind us of these truths despite our circumstances or feelings. We can rejoice in these spiritual truths that are unshakable and eternally true.
The latter type of Scriptures require obedience, such as to serve one another, to humble ourselves, to bridle our tongues, to offer time and money to God, etc. They should give us confidence that as this is the will of God for us, He Himself will enable us to fulfill them. As such we can pledge our willingness to obey and ask God for His assistance to help us obey. How will we grow in these areas if we never consciously purpose to do so? If these Christian disciplines remain vague in our subconsciousness, our lack of focus will cause us to grow in these areas only by chance.
The lesson from Mike is thus to take Scripture in a deliberate and focused way so that it may shoot root in my heart and bear fruit.
As for Andrew Wommack. This man of God opened my spiritual eyes to how settled the truths in the Bible are. Andrew explains that when Christ died on the cross and said "it is finished" it truly was. In the spiritual realm things WERE SETTLED. The most perfect demonstration of this is Is 53: 5 and 1 Peter 2: 24. Isaiah prophesies that by the stripes of Christ we ARE healed by His stripes. Peter says we WERE healed by His wounds. Without going into the semantics of the present tense and the past tense of "is" in this blog - we can do so another time - it is clear that I have been healed "historically" when Christ was wounded at His crucifixion. Here I am, hundreds of years later, but the Word says my healing was effected then already. This means, the aches and pains that await me a week or years from this day, have already been healed in the spiritual. So too the diseases and pains my unborn children may suffer - they were already healed on Calvary. Similarly, every other thing Christ paid for, has historically and spiritually already been deposited: Jesus died to set captives free, to heal the brokenhearted (Is 61: 1) , to restore the barren ones (Joel 2: 25), He tore the veil and now we can enter the Holy of Holies (Mat 27: 51) and fellowship with Love, Joy, Wisdom, Kindness and Peace Himself. Oh Jesus, Jesus... Hallelujah for all You have done because You love me.
It is with this understanding that I pursue the prayers I will be praying in this blog. Thank you Mike and Andrew. Thank You Jesus for teaching me through these teachers.
Mike Bickle (from International House of Prayer - Kansas City) teaches that one can pray Scripture. I never understood this until Mike opened that door in my mind. He teaches that there are Scriptures that (1) exhort us to believe God's Word and there are those that (2) exhort us to obey God's Word.
The first type declares that God loves us, forgives us, leads us, protects us, provides for us, etc. And we can pray prayers that thank God for this, praise God for it, ask God to remind us of these truths despite our circumstances or feelings. We can rejoice in these spiritual truths that are unshakable and eternally true.
The latter type of Scriptures require obedience, such as to serve one another, to humble ourselves, to bridle our tongues, to offer time and money to God, etc. They should give us confidence that as this is the will of God for us, He Himself will enable us to fulfill them. As such we can pledge our willingness to obey and ask God for His assistance to help us obey. How will we grow in these areas if we never consciously purpose to do so? If these Christian disciplines remain vague in our subconsciousness, our lack of focus will cause us to grow in these areas only by chance.
The lesson from Mike is thus to take Scripture in a deliberate and focused way so that it may shoot root in my heart and bear fruit.
As for Andrew Wommack. This man of God opened my spiritual eyes to how settled the truths in the Bible are. Andrew explains that when Christ died on the cross and said "it is finished" it truly was. In the spiritual realm things WERE SETTLED. The most perfect demonstration of this is Is 53: 5 and 1 Peter 2: 24. Isaiah prophesies that by the stripes of Christ we ARE healed by His stripes. Peter says we WERE healed by His wounds. Without going into the semantics of the present tense and the past tense of "is" in this blog - we can do so another time - it is clear that I have been healed "historically" when Christ was wounded at His crucifixion. Here I am, hundreds of years later, but the Word says my healing was effected then already. This means, the aches and pains that await me a week or years from this day, have already been healed in the spiritual. So too the diseases and pains my unborn children may suffer - they were already healed on Calvary. Similarly, every other thing Christ paid for, has historically and spiritually already been deposited: Jesus died to set captives free, to heal the brokenhearted (Is 61: 1) , to restore the barren ones (Joel 2: 25), He tore the veil and now we can enter the Holy of Holies (Mat 27: 51) and fellowship with Love, Joy, Wisdom, Kindness and Peace Himself. Oh Jesus, Jesus... Hallelujah for all You have done because You love me.
It is with this understanding that I pursue the prayers I will be praying in this blog. Thank you Mike and Andrew. Thank You Jesus for teaching me through these teachers.
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