Oh, this is a hard word to write, but one worth the writing… If you are going through a spiritual battle my prayer for you is that you won’t give up BUT look up because our help comes on high!
Listen to say I have felt the heat is an understatement! I have felt like I’ve been in life’s furnace, and while I can’t attest to what Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego experienced (you can read about them in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3), I know that I serve a God Who has PROMISED me that He will be with me NO MATTER WHAT. If you are part of God’s Called Remnant, Accepted Jesus as Savior, Made Him Lord OVER your life than YOU ARE HIS.
What is my advice to you when you find yourself facing one spiritual battle after another? I write what I know, I write what I have experienced:
WORSHIP THE LORD
Turn on some worship music or if you don’t have anything with you to listen to – SING! Sing to the Lord! Worship Him! Even if everything inside of you feels like doing otherwise – there is POWER in praise! In Acts 16:25, Peter and Silas have been imprisoned for their faith. What do they do? They sing! They worship! And guess what? Those around them HEAR what they are doing! Read below:
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
And you know what else? Well, if you go on to read the next verse, Acts 16:26 it says:
“Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”
Paul and Silas’ faith and determination to praise and worship the Lord no matter what – not ONLY was for the benefit of themselves BUT for the salvation of others! Hallelujah! That very same night (if you read on) the jailor, who was going to kill himself because he thought all the prisoners were gone, came shaking into Paul and Silas’ cell asking them “what must he do to be saved?” And they responded by Acts 16:31
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” “
And later in Acts 16:33 Peter and Silas prayed for and baptized his whole family.
“At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.”
The same person who was in charge of watching those that were imprisoned had no idea that HE was the one “imprisoned” and THEY were the ones who were free until he experienced freedom himself… That’s the grace of God. That’s the love of God. That’s the mercy of God. That’s the forgiveness of God.
So, you see, there is POWER in praise! There is strength that comes from Holy Spirit in worship! And worship comes in MANY forms – what I am doing right now is writing! Writing is MY Worship. I have been called to be a Scribe for the Lord and so I Worship Him through the gift of writing! While I am writing I play worship music quietly in my writing sanctuary. No matter WHAT we go through in life, there is ALWAYS a reason to worship God. And because He is SUCH a GOOD Father in the worshiping of Him, our OWN spirits become refreshed and renewed. God doesn’t NEED our worship – heck He has angels in Heaven worshipping Him 24/7 – but He KNOWS what worshipping Him DOES for us. He is such a loving Father. The things He tells us to do are for OUR benefit. It is the enemy that tries to tell us otherwise – but the enemy is a LIAR. Praise and Worship are a powerful weapon, especially when they come straight from a genuine heart.
PRAY – TALK TO GOD AND THEN QUIET YOUR HEART SO THAT YOU CAN HEAR FROM HIM
Jesus paid the ultimate price (His life) so that you could experience a “right relationship with the Father. The Bible in Mark 15:37-38:
“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”
There is NOTHING keeping you from talking with your Heavenly Father! The precious blood of Jesus paved a way! It is through Jesus that we are able to go before the Father in prayer! So do it! Pour your heart out to Him. Tell Him ALL about it! You don’t need to use fancy words – talk to Him like you would a good friend, because He TRULY is a GOOD, GOOD Father. It may feel odd at first if you’re not use to it, but that’s okay, I find it helpful to know that Psalm 139:4 says:
“Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.”
To me, that encourages me because God already knows what is on my heart, but He wants to HEAR me verbalize it. Try going for what one of my Mentor’s calls “A Prayer Walk” or go to your favorite quiet place and have a literal “Come to Jesus” conversation. We were not made to be alone; we were created for God. He loves You SOOOOOOOOOOOO Much! God does not love in the temperamental way that people do. God’s love for you is steadfast. Once you make the decision to accept Him into your heart as Savior, make Him Lord OVER your life – He’s there for good! No takesy backies! 😉 And I have known the love of God for 35 years and I can tell you – that while life isn’t always easy, Matthew 5:45 declares:
“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
We still live in a fallen, sinful world that is getting darker and darker by the moment, because the devil knows his time is short. But God is STILL on His throne, and He watches over His own. So, when you need to talk to Him – Pray. He’s listening. I often pray to Him like this:
“Father God, I thank You that I can come to You through the precious blood of Jesus and tell You how I’m feeling. Thank You for being there and for listening and for caring. Father, please forgive me for my sins. Father, I’m having a hard time, I feel hard pressed on every side, and I need You. I’m outta answers, I’m at the end of myself, which means I must be at the beginning of You. Your Word tells me that “Greater is He that is in me than he that is within the world” and I know Your Word to be truth, but honestly Father, I’m not feeling that greatness right about now. In fact, I’m hurting big time. I need Your help. Your Word also says to me, “If we being evil give such good things to our children, how much MORE so will Your Father give to you?” More and more Father, I recognize how dependent I am upon You. I need You Father, please help me. Please bless me and step into this situation and show forth Your greatness as only You can. Please make a way where there is no way. I love You so much and I want to walk in the fullness of Your plans for me. Direct my path. Open doors no man can open, close doors no man can close. Send forth my warring angels to battle on my behalf. Fill me with Holy Spirit so that I can hear whatever it is You would want to say to me. Thank You for Your steadfast love, I know on You I can depend. In Jesus Precious name I pray, Amen.”
I don’t know what you are going through, but I can point you toward the One Who does – your Heavenly Father. Whatever You are going through TELL Him! Prayer is just conversing with God. And Your Heavenly Father is a pull up a chair close to you and listen. Hey – remember, God loves you SO much that He left the glories of Heaven to take on human flesh! Born of the virgin Mary, Jesus lived and died a horrible death on the cross for forgiveness of YOUR (and my) sins! THIS is the God Who loves you! HE DIED FOR YOU! And He rose from that cross and even RIGHT at the very moment that you are reading these words, Jesus sits on the right hand of the Father, interceding on YOUR behalf! And guess what?! HE’S COMING BACK!!!! He’s coming to get us! So that WE will be where He is FOREVER. So, when you think about that – THAT is the God Who loves you! And I have to mention that Holy Spirit once you made a decision to accept Jesus into your heart LIVES within your heart now – directing you, guiding you, He is the Comforter and He is your teacher. And I have come to love Holy Spirit, His voice is very gentle, yet He can repeat things adamantly if He wants you to do something. He has the BEST sense of humor; I love Him dearly and I’m so glad He has been the gift that Jesus promised at His ascension would come. So, the next thing you need to do, once you have poured out your heart to the Father, is to allow Him to speak to you. We often forget that a conversation is a two-sided thing, or it is not a conversation but a soliloquy. For me, listening can be the hard part, I have a hard time quieting my mind. But this is where we wait on the Father.
LISTENING TO GOD – QUIETING OUR HEARTS
I can’t write ALL the ways that God speaks to me or how He will speak to you, because that would be putting God in a box and God speaks to us however He wants, He is Sovereign. For me, it has been through the Bible, it has been through listening to some Preachers or Evangelists, it has been through Christian books – but I first turn to the Bible. I always want to say, “why is the Bible the LAST place we go?” When you think about it, it is ridiculous! Psalms has every cry you to God you can think of, happy, sad, discouraged, depressed! It’s all in there! I turn to Psalms when I can’t think of how to put my thoughts in words, and I pray them out loud! Proverbs is FULL of wisdom! The Bible speaks to EVERY life situation! You could google” “Scriptures that address depression” and boom! Scriptures like John 16:33 comes up:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
And right next to that Isaiah 41:10:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
For me, the place I feel closest to God is at my favorite beach in Cape Cod. I feel His presence and I become filled with peace and contentment and I feel His love. I now live 1950 miles from that beach, so I have had to find other places where I can feel His presence and honestly – God IS with you wherever you are. Maybe for you it is hiking, being in nature or riding your motorcycle, or sitting on your patio or porch. Whatever it is that makes you feel like you can have some personal time alone with God – take your Bible and curl up and prepare your heart to listen. Sometimes God will give you divine appointments with people and you will see Him and feel Him in the midst of the conversation. I call those “God Moments.” There are SO many ways that God can speak to you. You just have to ask Him to give you “eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell His sweet fragrance and a heart to receive ALL that God has for you. He is FOR you. Sometimes we forget that because we live in a world that has no “common sense” anymore. But we have God. Spiritual battles are going to rage around us, and they are painful, and they hurt – but they can be used to grow us CLOSER to God if we don’t lose faith. If we remember Who we are in Him… If we hold tight to our promises! If we read our Word and remember that we are to “put on our spiritual armor” (as indicated in the book of Ephesians). If we follow what I’ve written above and also listen to what God tells you for the “more” of it. One day our Savior is returning for us and oh WHAT a glorious day that will be! In the meantime, we need to take our eyes OFF our situations, OFF people, OFF the lies that the devil is whispering in our ears – which goes against the Word of God and focus on the One Who has called us! The One who the Bible says, “Holds us in the palm of His hand!” Don’t be led by what you see, be led by what God says. You don’t want to miss ONE blessing from Him in giving up – especially when that blessing can be RIGHT around the corner! Your Father desires to bless you – and He will, if you walk by faith and not by sight. God delights and honors those who walk in faith. I trust Him – do you? I pray you do, we are ALL works in progress, so let’s progress forward in Him!
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