After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
(Revelation 4:1)
One reason our prayers are so ineffective is because we often perform them as a token obligation. A vibrant prayer life comes from carving out a significant block of time and expecting a prophetic interface to occur. Prayer should be dynamic and interactive; simply put, God will open a door and invite us to peek ahead at the events which will shortly occur, so that we know how to pray, or what to ask for.
The invitation stands: come up here. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me...[to] sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelation 3:20-21)
There are many things to overcome, many doubts and distractions, in order to ascend to this level of prayer. Have you ever tasted it?
God longs for us to come up.
If you are tired of token prayers, tired and listless religion, and a powerless life, then persue it with everything in you!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
I Have Purpose
In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it. (Mark 11:14)
According to Mark’s gospel, when Jesus cursed the fig tree He never technically pronounced barrenness over the tree, he only removed its purpose for being. According to Jesus’ pronouncement, there may even still be fruit, but for one reason or another people would not gather and eat it, or carry it to their table.
From that moment the tree became insignificant. There was no reason for it to take up space. Within 24 hours it had withered from the roots up.
If not having a purpose is a curse, then discovering one’s purpose for existence is the beginning of walking in the blessing. A person who has heard God’s call, maybe not an audible voice, but the assurance of knowing “I was made for this reason,” is beginning to move into living the blessed life.
All schooling should have as its goal to bring young people to the place where, after having examined all the letters and numbers, theories and histories, there begins to stir an inner resonance that moves them into the work that has been prepared for them by the One who knows them and made them.
To attempt to educate children in an institution that wants to avoid any mention of God, and make every attempt to explain away Creation, is to plunge them into a culture of insignificance. All the humanistic refrains to “believe in yourself” and “you can do anything you want to” are meaningless until the question of origin is answered. “Where did I come from? and Why am I here?” are too basic to be brushed away or satisfied with scientific conjectures about random cells morphing over millions of years.
The youngest have a love of learning because the world carries with it a certain fascination, but when preadolescence is undirected toward spiritual and moral Truth, restlessness begins to develop that soon matures into rebellion against a world that has no obvious place for them.
Christian in your daily prayers, proclaim that Jesus is Lord over our education system, and pray for your child’s teachers, and for your school administrator and board of education.
According to Mark’s gospel, when Jesus cursed the fig tree He never technically pronounced barrenness over the tree, he only removed its purpose for being. According to Jesus’ pronouncement, there may even still be fruit, but for one reason or another people would not gather and eat it, or carry it to their table.
From that moment the tree became insignificant. There was no reason for it to take up space. Within 24 hours it had withered from the roots up.
If not having a purpose is a curse, then discovering one’s purpose for existence is the beginning of walking in the blessing. A person who has heard God’s call, maybe not an audible voice, but the assurance of knowing “I was made for this reason,” is beginning to move into living the blessed life.
All schooling should have as its goal to bring young people to the place where, after having examined all the letters and numbers, theories and histories, there begins to stir an inner resonance that moves them into the work that has been prepared for them by the One who knows them and made them.
To attempt to educate children in an institution that wants to avoid any mention of God, and make every attempt to explain away Creation, is to plunge them into a culture of insignificance. All the humanistic refrains to “believe in yourself” and “you can do anything you want to” are meaningless until the question of origin is answered. “Where did I come from? and Why am I here?” are too basic to be brushed away or satisfied with scientific conjectures about random cells morphing over millions of years.
The youngest have a love of learning because the world carries with it a certain fascination, but when preadolescence is undirected toward spiritual and moral Truth, restlessness begins to develop that soon matures into rebellion against a world that has no obvious place for them.
Christian in your daily prayers, proclaim that Jesus is Lord over our education system, and pray for your child’s teachers, and for your school administrator and board of education.
Friday, April 22, 2011
A SPIRITUAL TSUNAMI
So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. (2 Samuel 5:20)
Recently more than a few homes in our town experienced destruction and loss because the Olentangy River, which normally resembles a creek, overflowed into yards and basements along its winding path through Galion. More of my readers will remember the tidal wave that devastated the nation of Japan, now over a month ago. What was so remarkable about this disaster is the amount of video documentation, which I found difficult to watch. Whole buildings crumbling and rolling out to sea, and a thousand vehicles being tossed like Matchbox cars across the landscape/seascape.
This is the kind of destruction that is described in the verse above, depicting David’s victory over the Philistine army. I imagine that the battle went on for some time and then just as David was growing weary, there was a sudden surge of God's favor, like dammed up water being released, or a tidal wave, creating a huge slaughter of Philistines.
In nature, a tsunami is the result of a great shifting of the plates that make up the crust of the earth. Jesus predicted an increase of earthquakes and tsunamis as indicators that His return would be near (see Luke 21:11,15). The Bible likens these events of earth in upheaval to a woman in labor as if all nature can sense that it is about to enter into a new age.
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God… because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
According to Romans 8:19-22, it should actually be a hopeful time for believers because the Sons of God are about to manifest. Many other scriptures speak of a time of restoration just before the return of Christ for the Church, His Bride.
With an increase of sin and rebellion against God like we see in the world, increased pressure is placed on the earth itself. Earth was not created to bear the weight of sin. It was sin abounding on every hand during the time of Noah that resulted in a sudden shifting of the earth, a tearing of the firmament above the earth, and the resultant worldwide "tsunami."
Another earth upheaval occured when the weight of all of the world's sin converged on that one Man near Jerusalem. The result was not only did Jesus become hideously disfigured, but the heavens and earth were shaken as well. “The sun was darkened..” (Luke 23:45) and “the earth quaked and the rocks were split and the graves were opened…” (Matthew 27:51-52) Similarly, intense, unified prayer can result in a literal earthquake, as depicted in separate incidents in the Bible (see Acts 4:31; 16:25-26). In the spiritual realm, this kind of prayer creates a disturbance, a shifting of the “plates” of this world’s system reigning in a certain area, shaking the strongholds of darkness and releasing a sudden pent up flood of God’s very presence there.
"For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-7)
All Your waves and billows have gone over me. (Psalms 42:7)
Believer, continue to press in prayer. When the wave of God’s glory descends in your locale, the destruction and loss in the enemy’s camp will result in waves of people descending upon the Desire of All Nations, the only remaining hope, Jesus Christ. Many of those who previously seemed disinterested in spiritual things will be needing discipleship. Prepare yourself. It is coming.
Recently more than a few homes in our town experienced destruction and loss because the Olentangy River, which normally resembles a creek, overflowed into yards and basements along its winding path through Galion. More of my readers will remember the tidal wave that devastated the nation of Japan, now over a month ago. What was so remarkable about this disaster is the amount of video documentation, which I found difficult to watch. Whole buildings crumbling and rolling out to sea, and a thousand vehicles being tossed like Matchbox cars across the landscape/seascape.
This is the kind of destruction that is described in the verse above, depicting David’s victory over the Philistine army. I imagine that the battle went on for some time and then just as David was growing weary, there was a sudden surge of God's favor, like dammed up water being released, or a tidal wave, creating a huge slaughter of Philistines.
In nature, a tsunami is the result of a great shifting of the plates that make up the crust of the earth. Jesus predicted an increase of earthquakes and tsunamis as indicators that His return would be near (see Luke 21:11,15). The Bible likens these events of earth in upheaval to a woman in labor as if all nature can sense that it is about to enter into a new age.
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God… because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
According to Romans 8:19-22, it should actually be a hopeful time for believers because the Sons of God are about to manifest. Many other scriptures speak of a time of restoration just before the return of Christ for the Church, His Bride.
With an increase of sin and rebellion against God like we see in the world, increased pressure is placed on the earth itself. Earth was not created to bear the weight of sin. It was sin abounding on every hand during the time of Noah that resulted in a sudden shifting of the earth, a tearing of the firmament above the earth, and the resultant worldwide "tsunami."
Another earth upheaval occured when the weight of all of the world's sin converged on that one Man near Jerusalem. The result was not only did Jesus become hideously disfigured, but the heavens and earth were shaken as well. “The sun was darkened..” (Luke 23:45) and “the earth quaked and the rocks were split and the graves were opened…” (Matthew 27:51-52) Similarly, intense, unified prayer can result in a literal earthquake, as depicted in separate incidents in the Bible (see Acts 4:31; 16:25-26). In the spiritual realm, this kind of prayer creates a disturbance, a shifting of the “plates” of this world’s system reigning in a certain area, shaking the strongholds of darkness and releasing a sudden pent up flood of God’s very presence there.
"For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-7)
All Your waves and billows have gone over me. (Psalms 42:7)
Believer, continue to press in prayer. When the wave of God’s glory descends in your locale, the destruction and loss in the enemy’s camp will result in waves of people descending upon the Desire of All Nations, the only remaining hope, Jesus Christ. Many of those who previously seemed disinterested in spiritual things will be needing discipleship. Prepare yourself. It is coming.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sweet Hour of Prayer
“Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41)
Can you hear the frustration in Jesus’ voice? “Could you not watch [even] one hour?” No one would dispute that the secret of Jesus’ power came from His extended prayer time with the Father. Yet, like the sleepy disciples, many of us see time in prayer as a burden or an option. We do not hunger and thirst for the Jesus kind of power. The majority of believers perhaps do not spend close to an hour a day in unbroken fellowship with the Father, yet for Jesus, this is place to start!
In all fairness, the word translated “hour” in most Bibles can also be translated “time” or “season.” But no matter how you translate it, the sense of urgency for His disciples to tarry for an hour is just as real today. Yet realizing the pressing necessity to come away with Him for an hour, we should never allow it to translate into bondage. The hymn writer expresses what so many have found through the centuries, that this extended prayer time should be a “sweet hour of prayer.”
We would do well to make prayer a discipline by setting aside a pristine hour, or some designated period on a daily basis. The “spirit” in us longs for it and we will always feel unsettled without it. (“the spirit indeed is willing”) Begin with 15 minutes and be faithful to that time, and you will soon find that your spirit longs for more. Indeed, you will soon wonder how you ever succeeded in life without that “sweet hour.”
Our goal should not be to spend so much time in prayer, but rather, to come to the place where the Spirit man is transcendent and the Flesh subdued. There is a shifting that that takes place in the atmosphere around us as the mind begins to fixate on spiritual things. There becomes less of us and more of the Holy Spirit leading the prayer. There is more listening on our part. The petitions are Spirit-led, the intercession is deeper and more compassionate. Tarry a little longer and you may even find holy anger for injustices rising up. Proclamations and declarations against evils in the earth will find utterance. In short, your prayers become like the prayers of Elijah, “powerful and effective.”
Remember that Jesus has not completed His earthly ministry. Though He is in heaven, He is very much preoccupied with building His Church and completely overthrowing the principalities and powers that still rant against His right to rule. The expression of His concern is through His ministry of the Intercessor (Heb 7:25, Rom 8:34), and He still beckons us with an urgency to join Him in a daily “sweet hour of prayer.”
Monday, February 14, 2011
Obey the Heavenly Vision
“…I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” (Acts 26:19)
At the beginning of his life with Christ Paul received a dynamic vision of the Lord Jesus that transformed his life. In Acts 26 he is recounting the story of his conversion, which he loved to do, before King Agrippa.
Although St. Paul had a unique place in history as a writer of the New Testament, all believers will benefit by seeing him as a pattern for their own lives. While few of us have as dramatic a testimony of our conversion to Christ, it is just as true that God has a unique plan for each of us. Our Father desires to reveal His plan for us to us as He desired to reveal His plan for Paul to Paul.
It may involve a name change similar to Paul’s from Saul, which means to ask or demand (Saul, a Pharisee, was driven by the demands of the law) to Paul, meaning “little,” which not only reinforced the image that other people had of him (Paul was very small of stature, according to tradition) but was a reminder to him that he was the “least” of the apostles, entirely dependent upon the grace of God for his ministry. (see 1 Corinthians 15:9-10) The Holy Spirit years ago bestowed a secret affectionate name upon me that reminds me of what I am called to do.
It is important to spend extended time with God, early in our Christian life and from time to time on the journey, to hear His voice concerning this “heavenly vision.” If necessary skip a few meals or hole up with Him for a few days with your Bible to be quiet and listen. After you are sure that you have heard from Him, be sure to write it down. Recount it back to Him and be sure that every part of it is inspired. This is important because you will not understand every part of it, but as it unfolds in the years ahead, referring back to it, as Paul often did, can strengthen you in times of testing, delay, or persecution (see Habakkuk 2:1-3).
At the beginning of his life with Christ Paul received a dynamic vision of the Lord Jesus that transformed his life. In Acts 26 he is recounting the story of his conversion, which he loved to do, before King Agrippa.
Although St. Paul had a unique place in history as a writer of the New Testament, all believers will benefit by seeing him as a pattern for their own lives. While few of us have as dramatic a testimony of our conversion to Christ, it is just as true that God has a unique plan for each of us. Our Father desires to reveal His plan for us to us as He desired to reveal His plan for Paul to Paul.
It may involve a name change similar to Paul’s from Saul, which means to ask or demand (Saul, a Pharisee, was driven by the demands of the law) to Paul, meaning “little,” which not only reinforced the image that other people had of him (Paul was very small of stature, according to tradition) but was a reminder to him that he was the “least” of the apostles, entirely dependent upon the grace of God for his ministry. (see 1 Corinthians 15:9-10) The Holy Spirit years ago bestowed a secret affectionate name upon me that reminds me of what I am called to do.
It is important to spend extended time with God, early in our Christian life and from time to time on the journey, to hear His voice concerning this “heavenly vision.” If necessary skip a few meals or hole up with Him for a few days with your Bible to be quiet and listen. After you are sure that you have heard from Him, be sure to write it down. Recount it back to Him and be sure that every part of it is inspired. This is important because you will not understand every part of it, but as it unfolds in the years ahead, referring back to it, as Paul often did, can strengthen you in times of testing, delay, or persecution (see Habakkuk 2:1-3).
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