Awake O Sleeper

This an excerpt from an article written by Jill Austin of Master Potter.com
If you'd like to read the complete article just click on the link.

Intimacy with God is our highest purpose - how much are we seeking His highest purpose for our lives?

If we fully understood God's love and heart for us, we'd be making radical choices to be with Him more than any other activity in our life!

If we had a revelation of His desire to have uninterrupted time with us, we'd turn the world upside down like His disciples did!

We've been lulled to sleep or we're enamored with the trinkets of life while missing the real treasures of God.

Many believers are experiencing "hope deferred" (Proverbs 13:12) "hope deferred makes the heart sick ...", so they're leaving the church because they have no passion, no purpose, no power, and no sense of His presence - but they have no secret life in God either!

Will it take a crisis to bring us into an intimate relationship with Jesus?

Take a look at the life of Deborah

What was it About Deborah that Caught His Gaze?

Deborah's uncompromising dedication moved the heart of God ... and He changed her heart. She spent SO much time in the temple in prayer and worship that she was "dripping with oil". Because of that

• she could hear the Lord's voice clearly
• operate with keen discernment for the times and seasons she faced as well as her daily decisions with the people
• when the call to battle came, she was absolutely ready

Deborah was being prepared for battle in the secret place! This is where the true victory lies - in communing with Him one-on-one. That is our place of safety and truth! It 's time to stop talking about intimacy with God - it's time to REALLY do it!

Who Was Deborah?

Imagine a black teenage girl being elected as Pope and single-handedly tearing down all the walls of division between Catholics and Protestants. It's hard to even fathom that possibility isn't it?

Now try to imagine over 3,000 years ago, that a middle-aged, gray-haired, Jewish housewife and mother was being raised up to lead Israel in one of the most improbable military victories in history!

Allow me to introduce to you our unlikely candidate and heroine of the faith: Deborah.

I've heard very little being taught about her. I always hear about Gideon, Samuel, and some of the other judges, but when I studied Deborah, I fell in love with her. Deborah is very unique and a little controversial because she was a woman who held the highest executive office in the land of Canaan (or Israel) at the time.

An ancient Joan of Ark, Deborah appears in the sacred annals of Israel's history as the nation's 4th judge, the third prophetess (after Miriam and Rachel) and a deliverer of God's people.

Deborah was in a class of her own; her leadership role was unprecedented and unparalleled! In a patriarchal era where there was no precedent for female leaders, she was a woman who led a nation to victory against all odds.

The journey of Deborah is a testimony of the power of just ONE life fully set apart for God. May her song be an invitation to you that a revolution can begin - with one person.

What will you do to ensure that you have a closer walk with God?

What does the Father have for you to do?

Have you asked Him?

28 Days To Transform Your Thinking

I've got something a bit different for you this week. I hope it will help you to think differently and cause your faith to soar.

It's an excerpt from a 28 day prayer focus by Chuck Pierce. If you want to see the whole thing just click on the link. It'll take you straight there.

This prayer focus will take you through the month of February.

• Many of the days require you to answer a question that the Lord is asking.
• Record your thoughts
• Meditate on His word and allow it to break limitations from your life and renew your mind.

Any time the Lord wants us to think differently, He asks a question and waits for us to answer. This is how critical thinking works. Here's a list of questions for you to meditate on before the Lord that will cause you to think differently in days ahead.

This prayer focus will cause your faith to go to the next dimension. May you enlarge your way of thinking and increase your faith in 2007. Meditate and give Him an answer to the following.

Day 1: Read Proverbs 3. Lean not on your own understanding. Ask the Lord for your strategy of giving this year. Ask Him to fill your storehouses.

Day 2: Read Romans 8. Declare that your mind will submit to your spirit-man. Ask the Lord to fill your spirit with the Holy Spirit.

Day 3: Read Luke 18:35-43. Notice the question. Answer this as if you were the blind man being asked by Jesus... “What do you want ME to do for YOU?”

Day 4: Read 2 Kings 4, Mark 8:1-10. What do you HAVE that the Lord can USE? Reevaluate your resources and let the Lord reveal strategies for multiplication.

Day 5: Read I Kings 17, Luke 14:25-33. Will you put ME FIRST? Many times we fail the test of prioritizing our loyalty. Sometimes we must give first before our resources multiply.

Day 6: Read Matthew 26:31-35. Who are you really connected with? Will you stand with those who the Lord has connected you to? Reevaluate all of your connections and alignments.

Day 7: Read Luke 5:1-11. Is your net mended? Will you let the Lord direct you into a new place? Are you ready for the call that He has for your future?

Day 8: Read Luke 5:12-16. Will you boldly pursue the Lord and allow Him to touch you in a new way?

Day 9: Read Isaiah 6, John 21. Have you surrendered to your call? Are you willing to be touched so you speak in a new way?

Day 10: Read Mark 8:22-26. Could you tolerate being SPIT ON? Are you so conventional that an unconventional method of change would offend you?

Day 11: Read Mark 7:24-30. Are you OK to begin with the CRUMBS? Many of us are unwilling to take whatever we can get to start into a new season.

Day 12: Mark 9:33-37. Are you arguing over where you fit? Are you attempting to exalt yourself instead of waiting to be positioned properly? Is spiritual ambition driving you?

Day 13: Read 2 Samuel 5:1-16. Are YOU willing to go up the WATER SPOUT? The Lord has ways to determine who will be the leaders of the future.

Day 14: Read Luke 16:1-13 Are you more SHREWD than the world? Are you single-minded?

Day 15: Read Luke 13:10-17. Are you bent over or standing UPRIGHT? Has Satan weakened you in a way that keeps you from advancing?

Day 16: Read 1 Chronicles 21. Who will correct you?

Day 17: Matthew 25:1-13. This is a year of the lampstand. Is your Lamp or Candle TRIMMED?

Day 18: Mark 9:14-29. Can you BELIEVE? Are you without faith in some areas?

Day 19: Read 2 Kings 8. Are you cutting your losses and MOVING ON? If so, you will see the Lord bring back what you have lost.

Day 20: Read Acts 12. Are you ready to open the door for the next move of God? Are you ready to see your prayers answered?

Day 21: Read Acts 19:1-7. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

Day 22: Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-23, James 5. Is your fire BURNING?

Day 23: Read Psalm 100, Genesis 26, Numbers 20:14-21. Are you willing to dig a new well and move on? Spend the day praising Him so that wells that have been shut up in your life will spring up. Get past anger, enmity, and contention. Build a new altar of worship.

Day 24: Read Luke 10:25-37. Will you stop along your way to help someone else?

Day 25: Read Genesis 12-15, 26, 28. How shall you inherit your promises? The Lord has your portion and your blessings. Let Him point you into faith.

Day 26: Read Isaiah 54. Do you see the weapons formed against you?

Day 27: Read Jeremiah 32, 33. Is there anything too hard for God? Call out to Him in a new way.

Day 28: Read Joshua 5, Daniel 1. Fast as the Lord leads you and expect visitation.

May you have a very happy and prosperous year.

May you learn to think critically in these critical times.

Receive a FINISHING ANOINTING to finish or complete those things that need to be completed in your life.

May this be the year of breakthroughs.

Dig a Deep Well

We don't have to live powerless lives. We can dig a deep well and draw directly from God.

Our Father is always waiting for us in the secret place.

It's time to open our hearts to Him, dig deep and draw close.

When we do, God's life will flow in and through us.

We can live extraordinary lives powered by intimacy with the Father.

• What are your priorities?
  
• How do you spend your time?
  
• Where does time with God come on your list of things to do?

Matt Sorger tells us that,

"True spiritual power can only flow out of a daily lifestyle of abiding in and walking with God. Fruitful ministry is not produced by mere activity alone; it must be birthed out of prayer and hidden devotion."

I don't know about you but I want more than momentary touches from God. I want to carry His presence wherever I go. I want it to become a part of who I am.

The more time I spend in God's presence, the more time I want to spend being aware that He's there. I'm hungry for more.

Lord keep us from settling for mediocre lives. Keep us from settling for less than your best.

Practical steps to digging a deep well

• Decide what your priorities are. Your priorities will determine how you spend your time. Are you ready to make time in God's presence a priority in your life?
• Ask God to increase your hunger for awareness of His presence.
• Deal with areas of compromise and sin that might be separating you from him.
• Schedule time each day to wait in His presence. stop making excuses and choose to spend time in the secret place with God.
• Spend time meditating on His word.
• Invite the Holy Spirit into your life each day. Ask Him to fill you and lead you into all truth.
• Pray in the Spirit as often as you remember. Continually pray in tongues, it will build you up and do you good.
• Make worship a lifestyle habit. Fill your home and car with worship music. This sets an atmosphere for awareness of His presence and will lift your spirit in worship throughout the day.
• Keep yourself from being contaminated. Guard your eyes and ears from anything that would sully your mind and spirit.

I hope you'll join me in pressing in to God and developing greater intimacy with our Father. Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

We can walk with God and share His thoughts.

We can live in the reality of His presence every day.

I'd like to have the same problem that Brother Lawrence did. The continuous presence of God in His life filled him with such peace and joy that He saw God's glory in every area of His life. He said,

"his soul had been filled with joy and delight so continual, and sometimes so great, that he was forced to find ways to hide their appearing outwardly to others who may not understand."

Yes please Lord!

Parts of this article were adapted from an article by Matt Sorger which appeared in Destiny Prophetic Journal, published by Fresh Fire Ministries.

Aids to Meditation on God's Love

God is love and He longs to lavish His love on you.

Take a look at The Father's Love Letter - watch, listen and be encouraged.

Know that the Father is with you and that He loves you.

You'll need your speakers on.

If that leaves you hungry for more take a look at My True Father

This prayer video will restore your soul and help you to rest in God.

Christian Meditation

Why do we need to meditate?

Because God’s word tells us to!

What we think about determines our behaviour. That's why God encourages us to think about His Word, or meditate on it.

"And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed." Joshua 1:8

"His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."Psalm 1:2

"I understand more than all my teachers, because I meditate on your instructions. " Psalm 119:19

Meditation is restful contemplation - not passive rest - actively practicing the presence of God - whether it’s focusing on Scripture, or who God is.

Meditation is simply thinking about the things of God.

Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, describes meditation this way:

"Meditation is focused thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind...if you know how to worry; you already know how to meditate".

He also says

"No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture … If you look up all the times God speaks about meditation in the Bible, you will amazed at the benefits He has promised to those who take the time to reflect on His Word throughout the day".

In Satisfy Your Soul, Bruce Demarest writes,

"A quieted heart is our best preparation for all this work of God … Meditation refocuses us from ourselves and from the world so that we reflect on God's Word, His nature, His abilities, and His works … So we prayerfully ponder, muse, and 'chew' the words of Scripture …The goal is simply to permit the Holy Spirit to activate the life-giving Word of God".

What should we meditate on?

"Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. "Philippians 4:8

The purpose of Christian mediation is communion with the living God.

The most important part of our life is our walk with God and our friendship with Him. We communicate with God spirit to spirit.

When you still and quiet your soul you’ll find it easier to connect with God.

I usually start with prayer. First I thank God, and then I repent of any sin and ask the Holy Spirit to lead me as I meditate.

Aids to meditation

• A quiet unhurried atmosphere
• A relaxed mind and body
• Discipline - set aside a regular time. Start with just 15 minutes and gradually increase the time.
• Perseverance

When you first start to meditate you’ll probably find you’re distracted by everyday things. Don’t focus on the distractions, learn to let them go. If you stop being bothered about them they’ll begin to fade away.

Here's an extract from Wikipedia for those of you who like more detail.

In the Old Testament , there are two Hebrew words for meditation: hāgâ (Hebrew: הגה), which means to sigh or murmur, but also to meditate, and sîḥâ (Hebrew: שיחה), which means to muse, or rehearse in one's mind.

Lectio Divina

Formal Christian meditation began with the early Christian Monastic practice of reading the Bible slowly. Monks would carefully consider the deeper meaning of each verse as they read it.

This slow and thoughtful reading of Scripture, and the ensuing pondering of its meaning, was their meditaiton. This spiritual practice is called "divine reading", or lectio divina.

Sometimes the monks found themselves spontaneously praying as a result of their meditation on Scripture, and their prayer would in turn lead on to a simple, loving focus on God. This wordless love for God they called contemplation.

The progression from Bible reading, to meditation, to prayer, to loving regard for God, was first formally described by Guigo II, a Carthusian monk and prior of Grande Chartreuse. Guigo named the four steps of this "ladder" of prayer with the Latin terms lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio.

St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) practiced contemplative prayer for periods of one hour at a time, twice a day. In her Life she recounts that she found this very difficult for the first several years. She had no one to teach her, and taught herself from the instructions given in a book.

Her starting point was the practice of "recollection". Recollection means an effort of the will to keep the senses and the intellect in check and not allow them to stray. One restricts the attention to a single subject, principally the love of God. It is called recollection because the soul collects together all the faculties and enters within itself to be with God.

Because St Teresa found it difficult to concentrate, she would use devices such as short readings from an inspiring book, a scene of natural beauty or a religious statue or picture to remind her of her intended focus.

In due course, the mind becomes effortlessly still. The initial practice St Teresa viewed as the voluntary effort of the individual, while the subsequent stillness and joy she saw as gifts from God.

Madame Guyon (1648-1717) was a French mystic and writer. As a 19-year-old, she was greatly influenced by an encounter with a Franciscan priest who had just emerged from a five-year retreat. She asked him why she was having such difficulties with prayer, and he replied:

"It is, Madame, because you seek without what you have within. Accustom yourself to seek God in your heart, and there you will find Him". In her mid-thirties, Madame Guyon wrote her Moyen court et très facile de faire oraison, which in English is titled A short and very easy method of prayer.

I hope that's inspired you to meditate. It really will help you to draw closer to God and become more and more aware of His presence.

God's Presence

We're all as close to God as we want to be.

Jesus promised that if we seek Him, we'll find Him.

• How much of our time and energy is spent seeking the Lord?
• How much time do we spend seeking other things?

When we answer these questions truthfully, it helps us to see where our hearts really are.

Jesus promised that when we seek Him and His Kingdom, everything else will be added to us.

Our lives work better when we put Jesus first.

Getting closer to God is the most important thing we can do.

When we were born again we became part of the new creation. We don't just have fellowship with God, we've become His dwelling place. God doesn't just walk with us, as He did with Adam, He lives in us.

Christ is being formed in us.

• We're called to be like Jesus and do the works He did
• We're called to have intimate fellowship with our Father

The more we fellowship with Him, the more we become aware of His presence and grow to be like Him.

Ask God for an increasing awareness of His presence - He has no favourites.

Cultivate spiritual awareness until it's the biggest thing in your life.

• Turn to God
• Give yourself to Godliness
• Develop spiritual receptivity
• Exercise faith

Remember that the Father is always with us.

• Focus your attention on Him, throughout the day and say, "Thank You"
• Feed and nourish your soul with thoughts of God

Living in God's presence is His gift to us. We live in the world but we're not of the world, because we're part of God's Kingdom here and now.

• Practise being heavenly minded
• Talk with the Father through the day and make Him your main focus

"When I walk by the wayside, He is along with me. When I enter into company amid all of my forgetfulness of Him, He never forgets me. In the silent watches of the night, when my eyelids are closed and my spirit has sunk into unconsciousness, the observant eye of Him who never slumbers is upon me." Thomas Chalmers

Father we repent of our preoccupation with visible things. You've been here with us and we didn't know it. We've been blind to your presence - open our spiritual eyes and help us to be more aware of you and your presence in and around us.

Knowing God

We can know God as certainly as we know things in our physical world. We know things in the physical world by our physical senses.

We have spiritual senses too, and when we use them, can know God and the spiritual world - all we need to do is to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and actually use our spiritual senses.

How do we use our spiritual senses?

Faith is the key. It's faith that enables our spiritual senses to function, without faith, we can't know God.

We tend to think of the visible world as real and doubt the reality of the spiritual realm. We don't actually deny that it exists - we doubt that it's real.

Sin has clouded our sight so that we struggle to see the spiritual realm. But that doesn't stop the spiritual realm being real. The spiritual realm is real. It's time to break the habit of ignoring the spiritual. Now is the time to move our interest from the seen to the unseen.

If we really want to follow God we need to become 'other-worldly'.

God always intended that we enter into the Kingdom while here on earth.

As we focus on God we will begin to see the things of the Spirit. Obedience will lead to revelation.
When we are more conscious of God we will begin to taste, see, hear and experience God, who is our life.

As our spiritual senses become tuned, God will become more real to us and His presence will be evident.

What Is The Kingdom Of God?

The Kingdom of God, also referred to as The Kingdom of Heaven, is an everlasting kingdom, invisible to the human eye. The Kingdom of God is more real and lasting than all the earthly kingdoms of this world. It's a spiritual kingdom and only those born of the Spirit of God can enter. Entry is by faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son.

The Kingdom of God isn't some far off place. Jesus told us,

"The Kingdom of God is within you".

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual state in which the life of God and heaven is accessible to us. We can enjoy the Kingdom of God while here on earth.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit brought the Kingdom of God into the heart's of His disciples.

The mark of a kingdom is the presence of the king. When the Holy Spirit came down, Jesus came to be with His disciples. He is more near now than He could be while in the flesh.

The abiding nearness and fellowship of Jesus is the great blessing of the Kingdom.The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to have Jesus with us all the time. His presence makes heaven around and within us.

Stop and think about that for a few minutes. We are never alone - Jesus is always with us.

What are you doing to remind yourself of this great truth?

We pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." This is possible because Jesus is with us through His Holy Spirit.

If we know God and have the Holy Spirit we are living in the Kingdom now - some of us are simply more aware of that than others.

Being in the Kingdom means living a life in which God rules over everything. The Kingdom of God is a place where His will is truly and gladly done. The blessedness that reigns in Heaven can be found on earth where His rule and reign are evident.

"The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Life in the presence and the will and the power of God is possible. We can live in the Kingdom now.

We don't have to live mediocre lives. The Kingdom of God is here and we can have newness of life now.

It's time to trust His mighty power at work in us and recognise His presence with us.

For more on God's Presence see:

Walking in Eternal Life

How Real Is God To You?

Hearing God - Through Nature

God speaks through His creation.

We can understand a lot about the spiritual realm by noticing things in the natural world. Colossians tells us that the natural world is a shadow of the spiritual.

We can connect with God through His creation and learn a lot about His ways.

When unnatural things occur, such as the fog that has been over the UK for the last few days, we need to ask,

"Lord what are you showing us through this?"

God speaks through His physical creation and through symbolic elements.

We need to be more sensitive to sudden changes in the weather and ask God to reveal any deeper meaning to us.

Ask for understanding of the times and seasons that we live in.

1 Chronicles 2:32

Rick Warren - TEDTalk

In this 15 minute talk, Rick Warren talks about 'world view' and the spiritual emptiness that has drawn people to buy his book, 'The Purpose Driven Life'.

He asks:

'What's in your hand?'

'What are you doing with what you've been given?'

And tells us, 'God smiles when you be you.'

Rick Warren - TEDTalks

It really is worth listening to.

Hearing God - Through Perception and Impressions

Sometimes we get a slight impression of something or a gut feeling. Some people call it intuition.

Intuition is knowing something spontaneously, without reasoning it out or discovering it.

Perception is understanding something by the senses or the mind, it involves intuitive awareness.

An impression is similar - we tend to use it to mean a nudge of the Holy Spirit.

We all have intuitive feelings at some level - it's like a gut feeling or just knowing something.

The New Testament speaks of the disciples as perceiving things, God gives us that ability too.

Whatever you call it, it is, in effect, knowing something without using your natural senses.

If we give Him the opportunity, the Holy Spirit will magnify these inner nudges. With the Holy Spirit's help we can develop our spiritual senses so that we can be aware of danger, of hidden things, even the thoughts and intentions of other people's hearts.

The more we take notice of these impressions, act on them and trust the Holy Spirit's nudges, the more sensitive we will become to God's promptings.

Our Father is speaking to us through subtle impressions. It's time to take notice of them, step out in faith and act on them.

We get better at something by practising. When you start out you will sometimes get it wrong. If you persist and learn from your mistakes you will eventually get it right more of the time.

Keep stepping out in faith and your level of spiritual awareness will increase.

How To Hear God - Through Our Conscience

God speaks to everyone through their conscience.

Many of us hear through an inner voice or 'sense' that tells us which way to go.

God normally speaks in a voice that is best described as a 'still, small voice.' It's a voice that we can all hear. Our biggest problem is learning to distinguish the voice of God from all the other voices that speak to us.

How do we know whether the voice we associate with conscience is truly God’s and not merely the voice of our imperfect fathers, or mothers, or families, or friends, or teachers?

The voice of our conscience is the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to our human spirit - or the Holy Spirit agreeing with our conscience.

Jesus said that He would send His Holy Spirit to live in us and convict us of sin - that's the job of our conscience.

God gave us our conscience as a way of knowing right from wrong. It's an inner awareness of what is of God and what isn't.

It often goes with a sense of peace, a feeling of confirmation or a feeling of being troubled.

Some people have difficulty hearing because they have ignored their conscience for so long.

But, as we put ourselves in a position to listen and respond, our hearts will open and the whispering of God’s still small voice will begin to ring loud and clear in our ears.

Here's something to ponder:

"A well-beaten path does not always make the right road."

"Cowardice asks the question,
"Is it safe?"
Expedience asks the question,
"Is it political?"
Vanity asks,
"Is it popular?"
But conscience asks the question,
"Is it right?"
There comes a time when one must take a position that's neither safe, nor political, nor popular, but he must make it because his conscience tells him that it's right." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels good."

"The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it." - Germaine de Stael

Are you listening to your conscience?

Is there something you need to do, or stop doing?

Talk to your Father about it. He's waiting for you to respond.

How To Hear God - Silent Listening

What can we do to develop our spiritual hearing?

One of the things we can do is learn to still our minds and listen.

Listening prayer is a lost art.

Sometimes we simply need to sit down, not ask anything and just listen.

Have you ever tried just listening?

It's in those still, quiet times that we begin to sense God's heartbeat.

It's a bit like tuning to a radio station but you are tuning to God’s thoughts. Once you know what God's voice is like, it's easier to find it again.

Find a quiet place - little noises may be distracting, particularly at first.
Get into a comfortable position and relax.
Close your eyes to shut out distractions.
Wait and listen.
Wait some more.

God promised to lead us by His Spirit and he told us that his sheep will know His voice.

Decide to believe what God says and agree with His Word.

Say to yourself, 'Because I follow Jesus, I will know the voice of God. Thank you Father that I do know your voice and hear you speaking to me.'

Put your faith into action.
Open the ears of your heart and start listening for the voice of the Spirit.

The more you trust His voice and follow His leadings, the more clearly you'll hear Him.

Before long, hearing from God won't be something that happens every now and then, it will be part of you daily life, almost as natural as breathing.

What is the Spirit of God telling you today?

He's waiting for you to stop and tune in.


If you're ready for some more encouragement I recommend that you read 'Ever Increasing Faith' by Smith Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth was a very ordinary man who exercised extraordinary faith in God. God used him to work many miracles. If you e-mail me and put Wigglesworth in the subject line I'll send you a PDF file of 'Ever Increasing Faith'.

Obstacles To Hearing God’s Voice

If you want to continue hearing God, you need to be willing to act on what He says.

Hearing God involves being willing to line up your whole life with His purposes. When you come to God with an attitude of obedience it’s easier to receive what He has to say.

Jesus has opened up the way to God. The only obstacles that exist are those you allow to stay put or subconsciously put in the way.

What are the obstacles to hearing God speak?

The most obvious obstacle is unrepented sin. When you don't acknowledge your sin, or when you persist in sinful behaviour, you create a barrier.

If you’re living in a way that displeases God and have stopped listening to your conscience, your heart becomes hardened. A hardened heart is a result of ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The more hardened your heart, the more difficult it is to hear God and obey what He says.

How can you hear God when you continue to disobey Him?

Have you paid attention to the things He’s revealed before?

If you’ve only made a token effort and aren’t doing what God has said, it’s unrealistic to expect the Holy Spirit to reveal anything else to you. You can’t expect to receive further revelation from God when you aren’t doing the things He’s already revealed.

Do you really expect God to speak? Lack of expectation can keep you from revelation.

There are many reasons why you might struggle to hear God's voice.

Examine your relationship with God.

Are you tuned to the right frequency?

Have you got a good connection? Sin, wrong attitudes and unforgiveness can block communication. So can greed, selfish ambition, pride and your own agenda.

God can and does break through the sin barrier – Adam and Eve still heard God even though they had sinned – but sin that isn’t dealt with can get in the way and make it difficult to hear.

What’s your motivation?

If you’re seeking to hear God for selfish reasons and looking to profit from what you hear or if you’re looking to achieve your own ambitions – God’s unlikely to cooperate no matter how long you pray or fast.

Have you acted on what God has already told you? He’s looking for obedience and faith.

Have you died to self? Are you ready to lay down your own will and your own agenda and sincerely ask the Lord what He wants in the situation?

Are you resentful? Are angry that God isn’t doing things your way? Do you think you know best and are scandalised that God isn’t co-operating with you. Beware; resentment will make you deaf to God’s voice.

Selective hearing can keep you from hearing God. You might not hear because you think God always speaks in a particular way. When God doesn’t speak in the way that you expect you might not recognize that it’s God speaking to you. You need to be open to God speaking in any way He chooses.

Beware of sifting out what you don’t want to hear because it isn’t comfortable or it doesn’t fit with your plans.

Are you impatient? Are you in a rush to hear and not prepared to wait long enough. I wonder how many times you’ve missed God speaking by giving up just as you were about to break through.

Do you want to hear God enough to wait and listen, believing that He will speak?

Are you hungry to hear God?

"If you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer, searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, believe me, before you know it Fear of God will be yours; you'll have come upon the knowledge of God."

"Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God."

Proverbs 2: 3-5

If you've given yourself a spiritual check up, you will hear God if you position yourself to hear. That is God's promise to you.

Be like Habakkuk - stand at you guard post, keep watch and see what He will speak to you.

Habakkuk 2:1-2

Every Day Is A Day To Pay It Forward

Are you listening to the Holy Spirit's promptings?

This story was posted on the Elijah List.

I hope it encourages you as much as it does me.


Psalm 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

God will take care of you. Friends can be God's way of taking care of us, and He sends them when we need them.

The following was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life and wanted to share it with my family and dearest friends.

One evening, I was driving home from a meeting and got stuck in traffic on Colorado Boulevard, and my car started to choke, splutter, and die. I barely managed to coast while cursing into a gas station. I was only glad that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. My car wouldn't even turn over.

Before I could make the call to the tow company, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building. It looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it appeared she was overcome by sobs because she had fallen. She was a young woman who looked really worn-down with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something, and as I helped her up, I picked it up to give it to her---it was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me--the crying woman, the ancient suburban crammed full of stuff with three kids in the back (one in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, "I don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California, and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and I said, "He heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my credit card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump, so she could fill-up her car completely. And while it was fueling, I walked next door to Mc Donald's, and bought two big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She then gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

Her Story

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left two months ago, and she had not been able to make ends meet. This young mom knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent on January 1st, and finally in desperation, she called her parents, with whom she had not spoken to in about five years. They lived in California, and her parents said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned into the car, told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but didn't tell them they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug, and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year, angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car, it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll take it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

"Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings..."

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Let's Remember to Pray for One Another

Prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost, but there a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another:

"Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives, and cyber friends reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and Your mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."

When satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could You please get that for me?"

Remember - Tomorrow is not promised to us and waiting for another day may be too late.

Take advantage of the time!

If this is a blessing, feel free to pass it along to some friends!

Story submitted by Kim Alexis
www.kimalexis.com
Email: kim@kimalexis.com
www.elijahlist.com

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Hearing God Through His Word

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

God speaks through His word. It's living and active and He's speaking to us through it today.

We need to read God's word, study it and meditate on it. It's a lamp to our feet and a plumb line to measure everything by.

When you read the Bible, read it with the expectation that God will speak to you.

When we first learn to hear from God, He mostly speaks to us through Scripture. A passage suddenly 'comes alive' to us - it jumps out and we understand it in a way we didn't before.

God speaks to us about things that aren't actually in the Bible but they always agree with the principles we find there - they line up with what the Bible says.

If we 'hear' something that doesn't agree with what the Bible says, we need to reject it as not being from God.

John 6:63 tells us that the words that Jesus spoke are spirit and life. We need to feed on God's word to be spiritually healthy. God's word is like to food to us and we need fresh food every day to grow strong in God.

The Bible guides us on many issues. It's important that we know what God says about things. If we don't know what the Bible says, we can easily be deceived into believing that what we think or hear is God leading us, when it isn't.

There are many ways to read God's word. Here are a few suggestions:

Read a whole book through at one sitting to get a feel for what God is saying

Read the same book in 5 different versions so that it really becomes a part of you

Take one verse or passage and meditate on it

Use study aids to unlock meaning

Read through the Psalms for months at a time

Read one chapter of Proverbs a day alongside whatever else you are reading

Personalise what you are reading and pray God's word back to Him

Invite the Holy Spirit to come alongside as you read and teach you

I can't stress how important it is to know what the word of God says so that we're not easily deceived.

If we have a dream, a prophecy, a vision, inner thoughts or an audible voice that doesn't line up with God's word, then it isn't God speaking to us.

Our Father has given us His written word to help keep us on track.

All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ...
Timothy 3:16-17

When we read God's word we renew our minds

Beware of falling into the trap of taking words out of context so that they fit with what you believe God is saying.

If someone says they have revelation from God, one of the tests is whether or not it agrees with God's word.

When you are learning to hear God it's important to check everything out with the written word of God.

The Bible says many things about God's word, Psalm 119 has much to say about it. I recommend that you read it.

Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice.
Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart!
Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they're bursting with health.
Proverbs 4:20-22

As you learn other ways of hearing God, always remember the importance of God's written word - it will help you to go in the right direction.

Walking in Eternal Life

I thought you might be inspired by this article, written by Francis Frangipane.

Francis is encouraging us to be more conscious of God and more open to His Holy Spirit. Have you got a listening heart?

God's end time people will "end time." What I mean is that, as we near the end of the age, we will increasingly learn how to walk in eternal life, abiding above the boundaries, constraints and the pressures of the realm of time. We'll see what's coming and either avoid it or announce it, but we won't be limited by it.

Jesus taught that those who come to Him "have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16). Right now, we have eternal life in our spirits. Yet, how do we access the timeless place of God's presence? This is a serious question, for we have become more "time conscious" than "God conscious." Schedules, meetings, appointments and deadlines all fuel our anxieties and compel us to live horizontally, instead of vertically in the Presence of God.

The Lord seeks to deliver us from anxiety, but that can only happen if we truly learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The sad fact is, most Christians fail to spend time with the Holy Spirit. We pray, even calling upon the Lord, but few are they who have cultivated moment by moment openness to the Spirit of God.

"But, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:23).

The Holy Spirit will guide . . . He will speak . . . He will disclose" to us what we otherwise could never know or attain. To guide, speak and reveal are forms of communication. Clearly, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to talk to us.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. There are issues in our hearts that the Holy Spirit alone can reveal and remove. Listen to Him, like Christ, He does not come to condemn but to save. His voice is Salvation speaking to us.

Jeremiah said that the heart is deceitful above all things. We cannot objectively know ourselves. Yet the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth sees and understands our ways. Trust Him, He cannot be deceived. Indeed, the ancient Greeks used the same word for truth as they did for "reality." Thus, we could accurately say that the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Reality." He shows us the reality of our need and the reality of God's answer. To hear Him is to hear the voice of eternal life.

Jesus lived in union with the Holy Spirit continually. The miracles He accomplished came through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit He saw the things the Father was doing; He heard the words the Father was speaking. Every strategy we may come up with pales in comparison to seeing God and doing what God does and hearing God and saying what God says. You see, Jesus lived in the dimension of time, but was not limited by it. His consciousness was always aware of the eternal realm.

Even the urgent news of Lazarus' illness did not make Jesus move anxiously. As right as it seemed to rush to Lazarus' aid, Jesus was aware of another reality. He was conscious of the heavenly Father. Because He knew that the Father was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He lived without hand-wringing or being driven by anxious thoughts or pressures.

Oh how we need to walk in the Spirit today. In every situation, we would consciously be aware of God's involvement in our lives!

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

God has a system of thoughts and ways that are totally on another plane, yet He invites us to abide with Him!

Beloved, we are not mere human beings. We each are a temple for the Holy Spirit, but we must cultivate a listening heart if we will do the things that God is doing. A Christian is not just someone living out a natural life, hoping that God will bless him. No, God has more for us than that. Jesus set the standard, and He's given us the Holy Spirit so we can follow Him.

Spirit Filled?

When we are born again, we begin a journey with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us gifts to help us grow; He baptizes us in power to increase our effectiveness. All of this is to lead us until we are actually filled with the Holy Spirit, where we think and act like Jesus.

Many of us think we are already filled with the Spirit, but we are not. We have three quarts of self and one quart of the Holy Spirit, and we think we have a gallon of God. There is still too much self ruling in our hearts. In America, some pastors identify themselves as being Spirit filled and say they pastor Spirit-filled churches. To be perfectly candid, I have never attended a church that is truly Spirit filled. In the Book of Acts, we see a picture of a Spirit-filled church. The leaders met daily for prayer, and on the way to prayer, their shadows healed the sick! Their offerings went to feed the poor. Out of their sense of love and community, they held all things in common. In that atmosphere, the church grew exponentially.

I know some are thinking, "My church is getting close to this example." Oh, I forgot to mention, in a Spirit filled church, if you lied, you died (see Acts).

You see, let's not accept that we are further along spiritually than we are. God desires to take us further, deeper into eternal life. Having a spiritual gift doesn't mean that you are filled with the Holy Spirit; being born again does not mean you are also Spirit filled. I have never met a truly spiritually mature person who was anxious; no one who is nervous about time can truly be led by the Holy Spirit.

Where Do We Go from Here?

In our quest to walk in eternal life, we must allow the Holy Spirit to excavate our hearts of self. If we want to tune into the God channel we must tune out the "self channel," where the anxieties, fears and sins exist.

I want a heart that can hear God; I want perception that can see God. We are too much like the world. How do we break this? Spend time with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to talk to your heart and then write down what you feel He is saying. If we want more of God, we must cultivate the awareness of His Presence, and especially listen for His voice.

We must also take faith and believe that the Spirit is here to help. Zechariah 4:6 teaches us that it’s not by our might or power, but it is by the Spirit of the Lord that we succeed. Acts 2:17 tells us that in the last days God seeks to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. I love the words "pour out." We must stop thinking "thimble" and think Niagara Falls!

It's time to step out of the box called "time," and live in the Spirit. I’m not suggesting that you become unreliable or are late for your appointments, but that you give yourself to learning how to hear God's voice and how to live in His presence. If you are one of God's end-time elect, then it's time to rise above the pressures of time and walk in the eternal life of God.

Published on 18.2.2005 by Francis Frangipane http://frangipane.org

Used with permission

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How Do We Recognise God's Voice?

God will teach us to know and recognise His voice if we ask Him.

As we grow in our relationship with God, we will become more aware of when it's God speaking. The more we communicate with God the more familiar we become with His voice.

How do I know it's God speaking?

We hear many voices. How do we know when it's God speaking?

It's easy to confuse what we want with God's voice, especially when something is really important to us. We can turn down the volume of our own voice by dying to our own agenda.

When our thoughts or other people's opinions don't line up with God's word we need to demolish them. The enemy's plan is to confuse us and take us off course. We're told to resist him and silence him by speaking the word of God as Jesus did.

Learning to recognise God's voice is a process. If it is God's voice, it will lead to peace.

As believers and followers of God we have the Holy Spirit within us. He helps us to discern when the Father is speaking to us.

When we renew our mind with God's written word and spend time in His presence – we have the mind of Christ.

The more time we spend renewing our mind with God's word, the easier it is to discern when it's God and when it's just our thoughts.

"My sheep recognise my voice. I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27

"The Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and cause you remember all that I have told you."
John 14:26

We are His sheep and we hear God's voice. We can be confident that we know the voice of the Lord if we belong to Him and follow him.

We can train ourselves to recognise when it's God. It takes effort. We learn by practicing and being prepared to make mistakes. Don't let fear of making a mistake stop you from stepping out in faith. God is our Father and He will take care of our honest mistakes.

As we listen more we’ll learn to distinguish between the different voices.

The key is to learn to evaluate everything in the light of God's word.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong."
Proverbs 3:5-7

Sometimes we struggle to hear God or we don't hear as clearly as we'd like. At other times, we think we’ve heard God and respond to what He says only to find that we made a mistake.

If that happens, find out why you got it wrong and don't let it hold you back from stepping out in faith next time. God teaches us through our mistakes. It's better to allow yourself to make a mistake than never to step out in faith.

We've been living with abnormality for so long that we don't even recognise that it's not normal to go through life without hearing God.

'Normal', is hearing God every day.

Is that your expectation?

Are you actually scheduling time for God every day? Or, are you just trying to squeeze Him around everything else you do?

Do you struggle to believe that God will speak to you?

Confess your lack of faith to God. Ask Him to increase your faith. He will.

It's time to exercise faith. We have to overcome the doubts and keep on knocking.

Stop and listen to Him because He has the words of life.

Our Father is speaking to you – believe it. You can learn to recognise His voice.


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God Speaks In Many Ways

"For God does speak, now one way, now another, though man may not perceive it." Job 33:14

God speaks to us in ways we often miss. He has many ways of speaking, some of them unexpected.

Most of us hear God through His word, His peace, a still small voice, circumstances, other Christians, wisdom and common sense. God speaks in other ways too and that’s what I want to encourage you to consider today.

It's important not to get bogged down with how He Speaks. The important thing is to expect Him to speak and be ready for Him to speak in unexpected ways.

If we want to hear God, the first thing we need to do is learn how to tune in to His voice. The better we get to know God and His ways the easier it is to tune in and recognise when it's Him speaking.

Learning to recognise when God is speaking takes time and effort. The more often we meet with God and talk with Him, the clearer His voice becomes. When we become familiar with God's presence and His voice it's easier to hear.

Sometimes we don't hear God because we're not really expecting Him to speak or because we expect Him to speak in a certain way. When He speaks in a way we don't expect, we often miss what He's saying.

God is full of surprises. We must never forget that He isn't human and it's a mistake to limit Him to what we know or expect.

We need to be open to God speaking to us in any way He chooses and not just in those ways that are familiar.

The way in which each of us 'hears' from God varies. God’s 'voice' isn't limited to words. He speaks through all of His creation.

Many of us 'hear' God speaking to us through our circumstances or surroundings. In the Bible, He spoke to people in ways that they could see and experience in their daily lives. God communicated with people through what was obvious and all around them.
He does the same with us today.

Larry Randolph tells us "the human body is like a giant ear drum that processes thousands of pieces of information from every spectrum of life"

We hear God through all of our senses. The 'sound' of His voice comes in many different ways. There is no set way of hearing God.

These are some of the ways He speaks to us and some of the means He uses:

An inner voice
An inner witness of the Holy Spirit
Inspired thought
Impressions
Dreams
Visions
Visitations
Conscience
His peace
Wisdom
Mental pictures
Physical senses
Nature
The heavens
Symbolic language
Other people
Prophecy
Events in the secular world
Films
Billboards
Fiction
Songs
Apparent coincidences
Circumstances
His written word
Even an audible voice, though I have to tell you, that’s rare.

God often speaks to us in a combination of ways; creating a symphony that we are able to hear once we learn to tune in.

Psalm 119:105 tells us that God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Many of us have had a Scripture suddenly come into our mind or a Bible reference, which, when we look it up, speaks directly to our situation.

God often speaks to us through His word. We need to read it, study it and meditate on it. It's a lamp to our feet and a plumb line to measure everything by.

On the back cover of Larry Randolph's book, 'Spirit Talk', it says, "It was in the garden of Eden that the creator first communed with His creation. Since that time, generations of men have forgotten that God is a talking God, and as a result many live in a vacuum of spiritual silence. Thus, the age-old question: Could the Creator really be speaking today? And, if so, how do we perceive the sound of His Voice?"

In the coming weeks we'll be looking at the different ways in which God communicates with us and how to recognise His voice.

You can hear God's voice every day and it's much easier than you think.


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Jason Upton

This is a link to a video of Jason Upton singing 'You’re Not Alone'

It's an anointed song which includes an inspiring story about Martin Luther.

The song will help you to realise that you are never alone.

Let the Father minister to your heart through Jason.

If you enjoy this style of worship, there's a link at the top of his site to kod radio - you can listen to tracks from his albums throughout the day.

Here are the lyrics to the song


You’re Not Alone (words and music by Jason Upton)

Don’t be afraid, baby don’t you cry
Daddy’s here, it’ll be all rightYou’re not alone, you’re not alone
Don’t be afraid when it’s cold at night
I will keep you warm, I will hold you tight
You’re not alone, you’re not alone

Chorus:

Look beyond the window there
To the sky above, to the open air
Look beyond where you can see
Close your eyes and just believe

The lion roars and the lamb lays down
They live together in a whole new town
They’re calling me and they’re calling you
From the cold hard facts that we’re on our own
To the age old truth that we’re not alone
We’re not alone, we’re not alone,We’re not alone, we’re not alone

Don’t be afraid when you scrape your knee
I’ve got a bandaid waiting and a kiss for free
You’re not alone, you’re not alone
Don’t be afraid of your blind belief
‘Cause the more you fly the more you see
You’re not alone, you’re not alone

Chorus

Don’t be afraid little warrior bride,
The victory’s on the other side
You’re not alone, you’re not alone
Don’t be afraid little warrior bride,
The victory’s on the other side
You’re not alone, you’re not alone