Powerful keys to unlock your destiny

Sometime back I received a prophetic word which stated the many things I have prayed for will come to pass, but in order to receive them, I would need to use my keys.

The word was specific as to the things I had been praying for, and it was not a generic God knows the desires of your heart word.

Image by Mabel Amber, still incognito… from Pixabay

This encouraged me greatly, and I thanked the Lord in my prayers that what I was sensing in the spirit was right.

I tucked the word away and forgot about it.  A few days ago I kept hearing the still small voice of the Lord saying, use your keys, and I was reminded of this word. 

I dug it up, re-read it and understood.  In this particular word, I needed to use my keys which represent authority,  to obtain my promise.

What are those keys, anyway?  I had to do some serious meditation to get my answers.

I have found these following keys that I or anyone can work with:

• Praise and worship
• Prayer. Not praying out of fear, but out of faith
• Using the name of Jesus in my prayer time. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
• Fasting. There are many books and teachings on fasting, but to give you the short answer, your flesh comes under the submission of the Lord. Isa 58:6  “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
• Obedience. Obey those in leadership, your pastor and obey the word of the Lord for your life.
• Serve. Jesus came to serve, and we should do the same
• Rest. Rest in the Lord and believe.
• Right heart attitude, make sure your heart is right in each action you take.

What can cause your keys to not work?

• Ignore you have keys, which is what I did until I was reminded
• Unbelief and doubt, not believing the word of God, or that He even cares about you.
• Laziness. Not using your time wisely in meditation of the scripture and prayer
• No placing the Lord first in your life

Have I received my desires?  Not all of them. I am still waiting, and even while I wait, I know God is at work in me and through me and for me. 

Waiting increases faith, and to be honest, can be difficult, but as the song goes, I trust and obey.

What other keys have you discovered? Share them in the comments below.

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

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.

How to be bold and courageous

Have you ever been in a place where everything around you was in complete disarray, and all you wanted to do was escape to some tropical beach?

I have many times.   During those difficult moments, besides wanting to run away the words would escape me to explain or confront said situation.  All I could do during my prayer times was God, please remove so and so.  God, please get me out of this situation.  God, I need a miracle.

Being shy and insecure during those time did not help much either.

 

I really did not want to face what was in front me.  Obtaining a tan was my best option.

I  found out this is the wrong approach. God was teaching me life lessons on growth, maturity and even speech.  Be ready in season and out of season came to mind.  We will face situations that we are uncomfortable in, and running away will not help, nor will we mature and learn from it.

I have learned to ask for boldness,  (not hesitating)  courage, (being able to face difficulty) and eloquence of speech when needing to confront or deal with something I am highly uncomfortable with.

In Acts Chapter 4, Peter and John were facing prison and beatings because in the previous chapter they prayed for a lame man since birth, and he was instantly healed.   Everyone knew this man and he was over 40 years of age. This tells me he was a permanent fixture at the entrance of the Gate Beautiful.

Now that he was healed, Peter and John found themselves in a dilemma.

Peter and John prayed for boldness, and the council had no choice but to let them go.

I found out the words I do not say can become a prison to those that need to hear the truth.

As Peter and John prayed for boldness, I now do the same, whether there is a difficult situation or not.  It´s best to be prepared for when it does come upon me, I will find myself to be ready.

Instead of asking God to take everything away, I pray for strength,  courage, wisdom, boldness, stamina, and grace to continue.

After a prayer like this, I find myself energized and I know God is with me.

Can you imagine if:

• Jesus did not face the cross
• Moses did not go up Mount Sinai
• Noah did not build the ark
• Saul/Paul did not accept the call to follow the Lord

There are many more examples, but you get the picture.

During difficult moments in life, it´s who you become in the process that counts.

Don´t give up, keep asking God to gird you and He will not fail in His promise to keep you and give you wisdom.

 

 

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.

How to see in the spirit exercise

In my last post regarding Seeing in the Spirit,  I shared my journey into something new and the beginning steps to achieve this goal.

Today I would like to share with you an exercise these books suggest you do to increase your capacity to “see” in the spiritual realm.  If you have not yet purchased these books, I encourage you to do so.

 

One of these exercises to seeing in the spirit is the following: I am to sit or lie down in a darkened room that has some light present, but not much. This exercise works well for me in the mornings, as the sunlight is starting to shine through the blinds in our bedroom.  Where I live sunrise is 5:30 a.m, every morning, every day, all year round.

In this exercise, I am to “look” at the empty space between me and the ceiling, or a far wall for ten minutes, and try to detect any images that appear and make note of them. I am not to dismiss “my eyes playing tricks on me” but pay attention to what I am seeing.  When I do this, I look intently, asking God to open my spiritual eyes so that I can “see.”

As I began doing this exercise, I saw a swirling white object move in the room and it seemed to go from side to side. I also saw something quite strange, and the only way I can explain it, its shape was a volume bar, white in color and it was going from side to side as well.

The next part of this exercise is to ask the Lord what I saw and make a note of it in my journal.

In journaling,  the Lord said the following:  ” What I saw was an Angel called Lapidus, and Lapidus brings joy and peace. The music bar-shaped was another Angel, and this Angel was giving God glory, praise and honor, and exalting his name.  He was dancing, praising God.”

I looked up the meaning of Lapidus, and it means made of stone, pleasant or charming.

We have had our praise music on more than normal since I began doing these exercises, and it has made a difference in our household atmosphere. I sense more peace and joy.

I am encouraged as I began “seeing in the spirit.”  I still have much to learn and grow.  I am seeing dimly for now, but I have faith as I continue these training exercises it will become clearer as I press forward.

I continue to repeat these exercises.  Sometimes I see something new, other times I see the same Angel swirling around.  It is quite fun, to say the least!

I will be sharing another exercise and its results in my next post.

How to see in the Spirit

Do you ever find yourself desiring to learn something new, and when you find it you delve right into it?  Recently I have been reading books as to how to see in the spirit.

These are:

• How to See in the Spirit by Michael Van Vlymen
• Powerful Keys to Spiritual Sight by the same author
• Seeing in the Spirit made Simple by Praying Medic

You could say the Lord has placed it upon my heart to study this.     As a young child before Christ, I had the ability to see in the spiritual realm, but what I would see were not always nice or pretty. 

Once I became a believer in Christ, my seeing in the spirit was not as active, and I was relieved.   Instead, I became aware of my surroundings,  but not always. 

There were times where I knew if something was off, or if someone was of the Lord.  Some people would call these types of people feelers.   I understand now it is the gift of discerning of spirits the Lord has given me.

Recently, my interest has peaked to be able to see in the spirit more accurately and frequently. I can sense, discern, and when I pray visions are common, but I wanted more.  

These books have helped me, and I would like to share a few nuggets with you that may help you see in the spiritual realm.  If you are truly interested, these books and others  are available at Amazon. 

Repent of any sins.  Yes, we all sin. Confession and repentance is a good thing.  Admiting something you did wrong does a lot for you. 

Intimacy with Christ is important and staying close to Him. Read the Bible, journal and pray.  I have journaled for years, so this was very easy for me.  It is in my journal where I can truly be myself and share my heart with Him in my notebook. I also have times of gratitude, praise, petitions, joy and sadness. Here I am real. 

Pray for others.  I purposely joined my church´s prayer chain years ago when I noticed that all my prayer request were for myself and my own family needs.  I realized that I was becoming selfish, and this is not right. I joined the prayer chain to move my focus from me to others.  I have always enjoyed prayer and praying for others, but I went out of my way to see whom I could pray for.  We receive our prayer chain in the mornings, and often times there are certain prayer request that I pray for throughout the day. 

Listen to praise music, as often as you can.   I am the type of person when reading or working, I need complete silence.  My husband, on the other hand, works best with music on.  To make matters worse, the spare bedroom in the house functions as our shared office.   So what we now do,  is having praise music on our Smart T.V. as soon as we wake up, and this has helped with the spiritual atmosphere in the home.

Fast and pray in the spirit.  We have a habit of fasting the beginning of the year, but this is an area where the Lord is telling me that I need to fast more, not just at the start of the year.  This type of fasting could be a meal, or one day a week.  Instead of cooking, eating and cleaning the kitchen I would use that time to pray and read the Bible.

On my next post, I will be sharing an exercise listed in these books and how it went for me.