This past Sunday, while at the jail, I had two men out of 12 stay behind for personal prayer. The Holy Spirit gave me words for both of the men.
The first, I saw him standing on the carpet and it was pulled out from underneath him. He landed on it and God grabbed the carpet and pulled him along. I told him what I had seen and he said "I am an alcoholic. I have not been able to get back to the man I once was because I couldn't get my life straight. I want to be the man for my family that I should be, but I didn't know how." Through the leading of the Spirit I told him that God had him in the situation he was in, although it feels like the 'rug had been pulled out from underneath him' , God was using this time to bring him back to where he needed to be. I told him to trust God, and love Him, and allow God to move in his situation.
The next man I seen a wheel turning, and the Holy Spirit said "this man already has plan B in his head, thought out, for when he fails the Lord. The wheels are already turning in his mind for how to fix his failure." I spent some time unpacking this for the man and he said that he always failed God and his family in the past, and that he wanted to stay true to God this time.
I prayed for these men and blessed them in Jesus name for their respective situations.
I could not have guessed any of these things. I have seen models of prophetic prayer work very well in two different ministries, both approaching the prophetic in different ways. Prophetic ministry is simply hearing God and then responding to what was heard. For follow up, for the men I minister to, I am setting aside two Sundays a month for visiting the jail, and the other two Sundays I am making available to meet with these men who are back on the streets. This is a jail ministry, not a prison ministry, and the men I have been led to minister to go back out into the county very quickly, often after they have only spent one Sunday with me in service.
I will minister to these men based on their need. I will meet them where they are at with what limited resources I have, but spend time with them one on one giving them words from the heart of God.
I have no 12 step program. I have a two step program. Hear God, and respond in faith. I think there are many great things about 12 step programs, and they should not be written off. In fact, parts of those programs I will use to touch lives. But as the old saying goes "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him to fish and you feed him forever." I will show these men how to hear God, and how to respond, and I will trust that the Holy Spirit can do a much better job in teaching these men than I can..........
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
These men are the treasure of God, and stewarding your broken past.
I have not updated in a while but things are going fantastic at the Jail services! God has defined this ministry further for me during times of prayer and really made me even more excited about what He is going to do.
In prayer, I heard God say this to me about these men, and I wrote it down...."The jails will produce the fruit that only these men's lives can yield. They have been plowed in such a way that their fruit will be more then most men could yield any other way. Watch as they go out and bear harvest disproportionate to themselves because of the plowing (the trials) of their field."
God treasures these men. And because of what they have been through these men, regardless of intelligence, social stature, financial resources, or ability, will go out and be more for Him then they ever could be by themselves. A heart that is broken knows how badly other hearts need mending. They understand the need. You and I who have never been in that situation can still speak into these lives, but the one who has truly been there God will take, and in His great mercy, give them the ability to steward their past.
That is an important concept, stewarding your past. Too often we are expected to "forget about it, because God has.". The problem with that mentality is that it doesn't show God's true victory over your past. When God has your past, completely, He doesn't forget about all your mistakes and mis-steps. No. God says "See that life you broke? I know it hurts you to think about, but since you have given that pain to Me, I give you the chance now to speak life to people in the same situation."
God is good. Do we really think that we could have ever have done anything so evil that God has to say "listen, I'm just going to forget this ever happened.". No. God knows what happened, and His love and wisdom so great, that He allows you to steward your mistakes, to steward your past, so that you can change someone else's future........
"Great harvests come from fields with plenty of manure".........Proverbs 55:7..........lol
In prayer, I heard God say this to me about these men, and I wrote it down...."The jails will produce the fruit that only these men's lives can yield. They have been plowed in such a way that their fruit will be more then most men could yield any other way. Watch as they go out and bear harvest disproportionate to themselves because of the plowing (the trials) of their field."
God treasures these men. And because of what they have been through these men, regardless of intelligence, social stature, financial resources, or ability, will go out and be more for Him then they ever could be by themselves. A heart that is broken knows how badly other hearts need mending. They understand the need. You and I who have never been in that situation can still speak into these lives, but the one who has truly been there God will take, and in His great mercy, give them the ability to steward their past.
That is an important concept, stewarding your past. Too often we are expected to "forget about it, because God has.". The problem with that mentality is that it doesn't show God's true victory over your past. When God has your past, completely, He doesn't forget about all your mistakes and mis-steps. No. God says "See that life you broke? I know it hurts you to think about, but since you have given that pain to Me, I give you the chance now to speak life to people in the same situation."
God is good. Do we really think that we could have ever have done anything so evil that God has to say "listen, I'm just going to forget this ever happened.". No. God knows what happened, and His love and wisdom so great, that He allows you to steward your mistakes, to steward your past, so that you can change someone else's future........
"Great harvests come from fields with plenty of manure".........Proverbs 55:7..........lol
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Fasting the soul
Hey.
Real quick I want to let you know why I haven't posted in a while. The purpose of this blog is changing. On reflection, I am making this into a resource blog for inmates, inmates families, and church members where former inmates attend. The purpose of this blog was to always help inmates and their families and I feel like this is a better way to capture that. So instead of putting up my bi-weekly sermon, I will be putting up things, I feel, are helpful to maintain this Christian walk.
I wanted to talk for just a bit on soaking prayer and fasting. Usually I will try to go more in depth into study, but I wanted to share with you a revelation about this specific type of prayer.
Soaking prayer is not spooky. Soaking prayer is, by definition , prayer where you soak in the presence of God. How is this different than worship, you might ask. Soaking is you sitting in a chair, lying on the floor or couch or bed, and praying one simple prayer...."Come, Holy Spirit". We then wait for the Lord to warm our hearts.
Some people have issues with this type of prayer because they are afraid it looks like eastern meditation. Eastern meditation this is not. Eastern meditation empties your mind and invites demonic influence into your life by giving your body to the enemy. (Yoga, for example. Each position of the body in yoga is designed to open up 'chakras' in your body. This is dangerous, so dangerous in fact that yoga teachers say you should not open up the final chakra because some people go insane. Much like the demoniac of Gadara.)
When Christ talked about the Holy Spirit He said that if we ask the Father for the Holy Spirit that He would not give us a stone or a scorpion. That instead He knows how to give good gifts. Too often we don't hear the voice of God because we are so frightened that we might "open ourselves up" and the Enemy might slip in. Judge words you hear from God against the Word of God for sure, but some people's God is too small and their Enemy way too big....
Psalm 4:4 says to meditate withing your heart on your bed and be still.
What is the purpose of this kind of prayer? I asked God to give me a scripture for it. He said Psalm 11:4 "The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them." NIV
The Lord is in His holy temple, and on his heavenly throne. Where is the temple now? In us. The Lord is in us, and on His heavenly throne. He is in us, and He examines us. Like a medical examination, the Lord looks at the state of your spirit and corrects its deformities. How do we allow Him to do this?
Through fasting.....betchya thought I was going to say soaking, huh?
Fasting is about denying yourself to get your priorities fixed on God and off of you. One way we can fast is abstaining from food. Another, from TV. Both are geared at getting our priorities fixed on God. Another is to sit still, for an hour, not say a word, not think your own thoughts, and put aside your cares and just pay attention to what God has for you. That is soaking.
It is medical fact that fasting from food detoxifies your body. What happens in the physical represents the spiritual. Want that junk out of your life? Fast. Wrong priorities? Fast. How about you want more of God? Fast.
In ancient days some would take vows of silence. A fast from speaking. Why? Is. 58, the fasting chapter, says that God honors a fast where we "speak not our own words". Meaning, say only what God would have you say. To inhibit us and imitate Him.
I encourage you to take 15 minutes today and sit in your chair and say "God, I love you. I want more of you and I want to be more like you. Please come, Holy Spirit, and wash over me. I just want to sit with you Lord, and spend time with you." You might see a picture, hear a word, feel an impulse, or not get anything at all except the realization that sometimes God just wants to sit with you, as your friend.
Real quick I want to let you know why I haven't posted in a while. The purpose of this blog is changing. On reflection, I am making this into a resource blog for inmates, inmates families, and church members where former inmates attend. The purpose of this blog was to always help inmates and their families and I feel like this is a better way to capture that. So instead of putting up my bi-weekly sermon, I will be putting up things, I feel, are helpful to maintain this Christian walk.
I wanted to talk for just a bit on soaking prayer and fasting. Usually I will try to go more in depth into study, but I wanted to share with you a revelation about this specific type of prayer.
Soaking prayer is not spooky. Soaking prayer is, by definition , prayer where you soak in the presence of God. How is this different than worship, you might ask. Soaking is you sitting in a chair, lying on the floor or couch or bed, and praying one simple prayer...."Come, Holy Spirit". We then wait for the Lord to warm our hearts.
Some people have issues with this type of prayer because they are afraid it looks like eastern meditation. Eastern meditation this is not. Eastern meditation empties your mind and invites demonic influence into your life by giving your body to the enemy. (Yoga, for example. Each position of the body in yoga is designed to open up 'chakras' in your body. This is dangerous, so dangerous in fact that yoga teachers say you should not open up the final chakra because some people go insane. Much like the demoniac of Gadara.)
When Christ talked about the Holy Spirit He said that if we ask the Father for the Holy Spirit that He would not give us a stone or a scorpion. That instead He knows how to give good gifts. Too often we don't hear the voice of God because we are so frightened that we might "open ourselves up" and the Enemy might slip in. Judge words you hear from God against the Word of God for sure, but some people's God is too small and their Enemy way too big....
Psalm 4:4 says to meditate withing your heart on your bed and be still.
What is the purpose of this kind of prayer? I asked God to give me a scripture for it. He said Psalm 11:4 "The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them." NIV
The Lord is in His holy temple, and on his heavenly throne. Where is the temple now? In us. The Lord is in us, and on His heavenly throne. He is in us, and He examines us. Like a medical examination, the Lord looks at the state of your spirit and corrects its deformities. How do we allow Him to do this?
Through fasting.....betchya thought I was going to say soaking, huh?
Fasting is about denying yourself to get your priorities fixed on God and off of you. One way we can fast is abstaining from food. Another, from TV. Both are geared at getting our priorities fixed on God. Another is to sit still, for an hour, not say a word, not think your own thoughts, and put aside your cares and just pay attention to what God has for you. That is soaking.
It is medical fact that fasting from food detoxifies your body. What happens in the physical represents the spiritual. Want that junk out of your life? Fast. Wrong priorities? Fast. How about you want more of God? Fast.
In ancient days some would take vows of silence. A fast from speaking. Why? Is. 58, the fasting chapter, says that God honors a fast where we "speak not our own words". Meaning, say only what God would have you say. To inhibit us and imitate Him.
I encourage you to take 15 minutes today and sit in your chair and say "God, I love you. I want more of you and I want to be more like you. Please come, Holy Spirit, and wash over me. I just want to sit with you Lord, and spend time with you." You might see a picture, hear a word, feel an impulse, or not get anything at all except the realization that sometimes God just wants to sit with you, as your friend.
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