Shout a little louder

Do you tire waiting for your prayers to be answered? I confess, I do. In reading about the account of blind Bartimeaus, I learned something.

We read where Jesus and his disciples are arriving at Jericho, and encounter a great multitude. One particular guy stands out, named Bartimeaus.

When Bartimaeus heard Jesus was in town, he began to shout: ¨ Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.¨ He was asking to be healed.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

Bartimeaus was ignored and told to be quiet, he then began to shout even louder.

Jesus then asked for Bartimeaus and made his way towards him. In front of Jesus, he was asked a simple question. ¨What do you want me to do for you?¨ He answered to receive his sight, and he did so.

I noticed a few things. Bartimeaus father´s name is Timaeus, which means the unclean. His father was unclean, and he was a blind beggar. It did not look good for him.

He knew Jesus was in town because he heard people around him talking, and he did not stop shouting for Jesus and shouted even more when told to be quiet. Maybe there are times I need to get a little loud in my prayers, what do you think?

Bartimaeus threw off his garment, or his beggars cloak. It was most likely very worn out and smelled. I see it as ridding himself of his past identity and walking into the future that awaited him. Get of rid of the smelly past.

He walked toward Jesus, Jesus did not go to him. Now remember he is blind, and only had the sound of the voice to guide him, and on top of that, there was a multitude. Am I hearing the right voice when it comes to my prayers? I want to go directly to the source and ignore the other voices around me.

When he asked for his healing, Jesus did not lay hands on him, so Bartimaeus felt nothing. He heard the words of Jesus, believed and was healed.

In summary:

• Shout, pray louder or longer
• Your bloodline does not matter. Jesus will cleanse it with his blood
• Get rid of your past and any false identities placed upon you
• Walk toward the voice of the Lord calling you
• You may not feel anything, but receive in faith

When your prayer is answered, continue following Jesus on the road with all your heart.

Bible reading: Matthew 10:46-52

4 easy steps to flow in visions while in prayer

There are times where I will receive a vision while praying for myself or for others, and some friends I have also flow in visions.    But the question came, how is it that you can receive these impressions from God?

You have to look. Let me explain.

While in prayer, focus on Jesus.  This can be difficult at times, especially when things and circumstances around us can be in disarray.  I know for myself when finances have been tight all I can think about is how much money I don´t have and the obligations that need to be met.  It takes discipline to focus on Jesus and His goodness.

One verse that helps me is Ephesians 1:17 and 18  which reads: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,  the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

The part I focus on in this verse is the eyes of my understanding or the eyes of my heart.  I personalize this verse, and as I do I believe that I will see while in prayer.

In 2 Kings Chapter 6, the King of Syria was not very happy with the prophet Elijah.  When he arrived with his horses and chariots and surrounded the city, Gehazi, Elijah’s servant saw the army, he did not know what to do. I too would be nervous.  Elijah was at peace because he was ¨seeing¨ a different scenario. Elijah asked the Lord to open his eyes that he may see, and Gehazi was able to see the mountains full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elijah.

When we see visions, it brings hope.  It tells us God is at work, He is for us. He has a plan, a better future.   For me, visions have sustained me in those difficult times and have given me the shot in the arm so to speak, and I keep going.

I later use these visions I have received in my prayer times, always thanking Him for what is to come, even though I may not see it.   It’s called faith and standing on His promises.

The book of Revelation is written based on the visions John saw while on the Island of Patmos.

Jesus operated in visions constantly.  Johns 5:19 says Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

So how so we see vision while in prayer?

1. Be still, quiet yourself before the Lord, always focusing on Jesus. Not your to-do list! Sometimes soft music can help, for others, total silence works best.
2. Be tuned to thoughts and impressions that pop into your mind. Have a notebook with you and be prepared to write down what you see and hear.
3. Look.  Ask the Lord to open the eyes of your heart, ask Him you wish to see a vision.  When we ask, He will not deny us.
4. Write down what you see and hear. Try not to doubt or discard what you have received. Share what you received with a mature person in the word to help you discern.  

Do not be discouraged if what you received is not of God, press through and you will get there, trust me!

Think of a lake that is being stirred, and all the muck rises to the surface. One day the muck is gone, and what is left is a clear lake, ready to receive. Yes, this was one of my first visions when I began asking to ¨see¨.  This vision gave me hope to continue.

As you continue this exercise, you will grow in your relationship with the Lord, and most of all, you will grow in faith, hope, and love.

For complete teaching, consider reading Mark Virkler’s book 4 keys to hearing Gods voice. No affiliate link, just a fan!

Desire

James 1:15  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

As I was reading the book of James this verse jumped out at me.  I went back to read it over a few times, and the context of these verses is birthing sin.  When our sin becomes a desire, it is conceived in our hearts and proceeds to give birth, which as the word says brings forth a spiritual death, separation from God. This is the same death Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden when they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  

 

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

So I thought, if this can happen to sin, what about our dreams and desires that are birthed by God in our spirit, can they too be conceived in our spirits, and then give birth to blessing and bring forth life?

When a child is conceived, there is an incubation period of nine months for a full-term baby to be born.  During this time, the soon to be parents and family members talk about the baby, the growth, who will the baby look like, watch their diet and even name the child.

The same should be true when the Lord has given us a desire. It is incubating in our spirits, and we should cooperate with the Lord to make sure that we don´t suffer a spiritual miscarriage. The incubation may be longer or shorter than nine months, but when it comes to the Lord, timing is not an issue.

How do you know what you are thinking about is of the Lord? For me, it´s a desire that was placed there and the more I think about it, the more it grows within my spirit. I start meditating and praying about it, and even journal to see what the Lord is telling me. I may even read books on the subject and see what other information I can find online.

Many desires are thrown away by people thinking its just their imagination. God has given us an imagination, and desires, and we can prosper with these. God wants us to prosper!

If you are thinking about something that is out of this world, and it stays with you, it´s most likely the Lord giving you a dream. Water that dream with the word, with prayer and with faith and in due time, your desire will be full grown.

No short answer, please

Luke 7:19  And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

In the book of Luke, we read that John the Baptist is in prison and sent two of his messengers to Jesus to see if what he had heard was true.   When his messengers arrived to Jesus, they asked a simple question. Are you the coming one?

Image by Cheryl Holt from Pixabay

Jesus did not answer right away, instead, he did what he does best.  He cured infirmities, afflictions, cast out evil spirits, and to many blind he gave sight. 

Jesus did not give a short answer of yes but demonstrated the power of God.  These messengers from John the Baptist saw Jesus in action.  I can only imagine what they felt when they saw evil spirits being cast out, the blind receiving their sight. They were right in the middle of the action.

When Jesus finished, he told the messengers to report back what they witnessed and also sent a message to his cousin.  Luke 7:23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” he was encouraging John, exhorting him to not abandon the faith.

As I read this verse, two things jumped out at me.  John the Baptist is in prison and needed to hear the truth.  While we may not be in prison, there are times where we need reassurance, a first-hand account that yes, I am working even though you may not see it. Believe and hold onto the promise.

Yes, there are times I waver, feel hopeless but I choose to go back to the word and believe.  Even though I may not see my breakthrough, God is working behind the scenes.

The second thing that jumped out was that Jesus did not give a short answer, he did not say yes, and had the messengers return. He showed them what was going on.  Many times someone will ask me a question, and it’s so easy to answer with a short sentence, never including God. It does not take long to answer what God is showing me, how I am blessed, how I stand on the promise and many other things. 

Don’t give the short answer, brag about the Lord and all he has done for you, even when you go through struggles. Share about your faith, weakness, and strengths. 

Be real, and you will realize that is all people want. 

I forgive, but I still hurt

Colossians  3:13 Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. 

Forgiveness is a commandment in the Bible, and it´s a choice. As believers, we know we must forgive those who have hurt and wronged us, but to be honest it can be difficult.

We know we are to forgive because we have been forgiven, and it´s supposed to bring healing to us, but I still felt pain.

But what happens when we forgive, and still feel that sting in our hearts, like we need to do it again?  I have been there, forgiving the same person year after year because I felt I have not forgiven him. Every time his name surfaced, I felt anger and pain, and my cycle of forgiveness would start all over again.  

I often thought to myself, If I forgave, why do I feel I need to do it again? What I later realized is that I needed inner healing for these painful feelings to go away, because my hurt was not healed.

I did the following steps listed below, and this took away the pain and feeling of unforgiveness. You don´t need a professional for inner healing, you can do this on your own, and it does not take very long.

Pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and for Jesus to be present.

Go back to the event, feel it and see Jesus in the midst. Ask the Lord what emotions have not been healed from that particular event. Write down the hurt/damaged emotions. Take your time, don´t rush. You may receive more that one emotion.

Ask Jesus to heal the wound in your soul that was caused by the negative emotion, and let Jesus move freely during the event.  If it is a traumatic event, you don´t want to relive it. Just go to the end of the event.

Tell the Lord you receive His healing and ¨see¨  Him healing you.  For me, he was pouring the balm of Gilead on the wound of betrayal, it was powerful!

Next, forgive the person who caused the pain.
Bring the memory back again to your mind, don’t just think about it, feel it and see Jesus.  If there are no emotions coming to the surface, you are free.

Now ask the Lord the show you the truth about this event.  For me, when this certain event happened in my life the Lord showed me a deep frustration this person had at the time, and I just happened to be in the crossway of his fury at the moment.

My emotion was betrayal, and I asked the Lord to replace it, and he did with goodness.

I brought the memory again to check if there were any other emotions that had not been healed, and repeat the process if there are.

After doing this exercise, I finally felt that yes, I have forgiven this person and the hurt was gone. I knew this because I brought the memory up, and had no emotion.

If you would like to know more about inner  healing, consider purchasing the book Emotional Healing in 3 Easy Steps by Praying Medic

No affiliate links, just a fan!

Be blessed.

Gratitude makes the heart happy

Have you ever spent time with a person or family that are going through a difficult time?    I have at certain times, and always try to help in some way with either an encouraging word, a prayer, some cash or even food items.

A few weeks ago a friend and myself went to visit a family going through a very challenging time in their lives.   We did not know them, and  were asked to visit  as they needed some prayer and hope.    It did not take long to figure out what their main problem was.

We were with this family for over five hours with prayer and guidance, and not one time did we hear anything positive come out of their mouths.   When we asked them to give thanks to the Lord for something, anything, nothing could come out.  We received blank looks.

It´s important to find the good in all circumstances and give thanks.

The last part of Luke 6:45 says   For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Their hearts were filled with frustration, disappointment, heartache.  I am not minimizing their current situation, but giving thanks  is vitally important.

If the worse comes out of our mouths constantly, the enemy takes advantage of that and then we don´t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We had to explain to watch their words and begin declaring victory. With their words, they need to begin to turn the tide. With their words they need to give thanks, to praise the Lord, and listen to worship music.

This brings me to the season we are in where we celebrate life.  The life that Jesus gave for us, his death on the cross to take our shame, our sins, our guilt and give us eternity in heaven with Him.

Living in a developing nation has his drawbacks in many areas, but there is always something to be thankful for, and I look for it.  If I look for the bad, I will find it.  If I keep looking, I will find more bad things to complain about.  But I choose to look for the good.

Look for something to be thankful for, even in the small things and begin to praise and thank the Lord.  What we have is salvation, and that alone deserves our praise.

One thing I am thankful for, the view from my home.

The view from my house

 

The calm of the ocean

In my prayer time this morning, the Lord showed me an ocean.  As I looked, I thought it was a lake, as the waters were not moving like the ocean does.  But it was not a lake, it indeed was the ocean.

I saw boats scattered throughout the ocean, some of these small boats had one person inside, others two, sometimes three.  They all had a single fishing pole.

Lord, what does this mean, what are you showing me?

I will calm the waters to bring in my lost sheep.  The harvest will be performed on a personal level, one on one, or two on one, in intimate settings.

It is time for my harvest to be reeled in. They will be saved from the depths of the sea, the sea of sin where it is dark, cold and lonely.  They will come out of the depths into the light, and I will expose them to the “Son” and they will receive healing.

It is a season of restoration and harvest of souls.

I have loved ones that I am praying for, and this word encouraged me. May it do the same for you.

 

 

Why obedience is important to you and God.

In sharing the Christmas message at church, our pastor focused on Joseph, the husband of Mary and his obedience to the Lord.

I don’t recall hearing many sermons about Joseph during the Christmas season.  It is usually about Christ and His sacrifice, and mostly about Mary and her response to the Angel –  Behold, the maidservant of the Lord.  Let it be to me according to your word.  Luke 1:38

In hearing about Joseph, our pastor pointed out key truths.  He was a son of Abraham,  a just man, wanting to please God, obedient and operated in faith.

Imagine for a moment.  Joseph is engaged to Mary, and the scripture says before they came together or were married, Mary was found to be pregnant. Joseph did not want to disgrace her, and he made plans to break off the engagement silently.

How do you think Joseph felt at hearing this news?  His betrothed was pregnant, and not by him.

As Joseph was thinking about how to end his relationship, it was during this time an Angel came to him in a dream and informed him Mary was pregnant of the Holy Spirit.

Would you believe a story like that?  Joseph did, and his obedience to the Lord is recorded.  Not only here, but also when he was warned of yet in another dream to escape Egypt to save Jesus´  life.

I have been meditating on this sermon all week, and I ask myself, where have I been disobedient to the Lord in my daily life?  It´s so easy to read this story many times over, but never stop to think about Joseph´s obedience in all of this, and how vital it was.

This type of obedience took courage and faith.

If we read of all the accounts in the Bible where the Lord calls someone to operate in obedience, many times it goes against logic.

• Moses parting the red sea
• Moses striking a rock and have water gushing out of it
• Noah building an Ark
• Gideon choosing only 300 men  to defeat the Midianites
• Sauls conversion on the road to Damascus

Of course, there are many more examples of obedience in the Bible.  If we strive to be obedient in the smallest of things in life, imagine how the Lord will trust us with the bigger things that come our way.

The bigger things may result in blessings, greater gifting and anointing upon our lives and satisfaction that you are in God´s will.

Operating in obedience to the Lord demonstrates our love for Him.

John 14:15  “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

My prayer for 2018, When I hear the voice of the Lord leading me in a direction that may seem unlogical, may I be obedient.