Monday, June 11, 2012

Turn Away----Turn Toward



I want to share with you today a couple of very powerful experiences I have had recently in prayer. Mainly The Ministry of Prayer. If you scroll down after reading this you will see that many of my recent, and not so recent post, are about Spirit Led Prayer to and for The Body of Christ and YOUR local church.

First let me preface this by saying that I walk a walk that I know that others are walking and have walked. You know if you have been placed by  God in a Prophetic Ministry and/or life. If you don't know, you may strongly feel that there is just something different about your life, something that makes your life not yours to guide or dictate.

 Having said, that this post, and principles in it, will apply to every Christian in every land,from every nation tongue and tribe. Much like how there are gifts that every Christian has and the higher level of those gifts given as Ministry Gifts.

We all have times in life when it seems our prayers are not producing any fruit. Times when we see others receiving the end of their faith, yet the things that are important to us, are just not coming to pass. It can be easy to get discouraged, easy to become hurt. 

Hurt isn't a word normally used in connection with prayer to God. However if we are honest with ourselves there are times that we wonder why God is allowing us to suffer, allowing us to go without those things we hold so dear to our heart. Those thoughts and pressures of the enemy can make us feel hurt, like God has chosen to not give us those things He has promised.


I have been there several times, and it seems it is a continual temptation to take my eyes off The Lord. That brings me to the point of my post.


I have had one those times recently. During several times of inner groaning to The Lord and opening my heart about the things that were coming against me, I felt The Holy Spirit come upon me. It was like He gently grabbed my face, meaning my thoughts, emotions and focus, and turned my heart toward what He wanted me to pray about. 


There have been times that I have sensed His leading to change focus, sometimes I have yielded, sometimes I have chosen to not yield. These time were different. My entire focus was turned away from my issues and troubles toward a few specific needs in The Body of Christ and The Local church here.


Here is the great blessing. I have never entered the spirit quicker and deeper than I did on these occasions. As soon as I yielded, really I cant take credit for it, I felt the anointing rise up within me and descend upon me. I prayed in the spirit on a couple occasions, very specific, anointed and laser like prayers for a specific Missions Leader and his team. Another time, I prayed the same type of specific, laser like, anointed prayer, for the leaders of our church here. There has even been a couple times that I began to sing in the spirit, and was instantly singing an anointed song directed toward The Body of Christ.


I want to encourage you today to trust The Holy Spirit to be your Helper. He is in you and with you for the Purpose to Help and Comfort you. To empower you and anoint you for service to The Body and to be a witness for Christ in the world.

No matter how long you have been praying, or how many powerful experiences you have had in prayer, The Holy Spirit wants to take you deeper and make you a more powerful weapon in His hand!


We have all heard  that when we sow into others we will receive. I have been exhorted that God will lead me to pray for others and then others will pray for my needs. That is not what I am talking about here. This goes deeper, this speaks to being empowered for Service, even during times of trouble and unpleasantness. The type of anointing that Paul had. The kind of ministry that he walked in. He relied fully on The Holy Spirit. If he would have looked toward the environment around him or his circumstances, he would have never finished his race, or won the good fight of Faith.

Paul hints toward this kind of walk that some ministers are called to walk. He speaks about how there are those in the church that were talking about him,his team and his troubles. He says how they are poured out daily as an offering for them. Yet among all the trouble Paul had to endure,all the beatings,imprisonments, deaths and tribulations, he endured. More than endured! He was used more mightily and powerfully than any other Apostle. 


Let me encourage you to allow The Holy Spirit to speak to you today about what He wants you to take way from this post. I am confident that no matter who you are, no matter what country you are reading this in, He will speak to you personally and powerfully!