Practice

I just heard one of the best messages I have heard in a long time. An excellent speaker named Kris Vallotton brought a message in regards to the recent elections. He was asked some questions about if he thought God’s will had been done, and if he thought judgment was coming. He talked about the difference between sowing and reaping and judgment. He showed how God has already judged sin on the cross of Jesus. We don’t want punishment; we want mercy. If God proceeds to punish others then He will have to punish us also. He proceeded to show how we as Christians will have no influence in the world by trashing our leaders and speaking negatively. We will only gain influence by speaking positively into their lives and lifting them up in our prayers. He spoke of the Scriptures Peter and Paul wrote about praying for and respecting the leaders in authority and Kris reminded everyone that it was Nero that Peter and Paul were writing about. He went on to talk about how Abraham Lincoln had an encounter with God before he took the office of President, and how when he took the office he had a relationship with God. One encounter with God can change a person. Then the thought hit me. I was grateful to see people praying and fasting for this election. Many of us are disappointed and feel we have failed. Not so. God was giving us practice so we could pray and fast for our newly elected president. One encounter with God is all it will take. We must quit speaking negatively. We must quit wishing for something bad to happen to show we “were right.” Being right should NEVER take precedent over loving others. I feel that it is time right now, even before President Obama has made a single executive decision, to begin to pray that he will have an encounter with a loving Father, a grace-giving Son, and a powerful Holy Spirit. Why don’t we start praying and fasting for that? Why don’t we start praying and fasting for God to show us how to be an influence in our nation where love changes everything for the better? Why don’t we start praying for Daniel’s and Esther’s to arise, people who love God with all their hearts yet know how to influence kings and find favor with their rulers? Why don’t we do this? Why don’t we let President Obama know that he has our prayerful support and our respect and our encouragement? Don’t’ you think he would respect the opinions of people like that over those that degrade and berate him? I think it is time to live what we know to be right.

Release

Today is a joyous day. I have been having one of my normal Wednesday’s and came home a little early for lunch (which is always a good thing), and as has become normal for me I was simply talking with God about some things that had been going on in the last few days within my family and in my life. I started thinking about some of the things that I knew He had wanted me to pray for recently and He clearly spoke in my spirit and said, “I would never ask you to pray for something that I am not ready to release.” Now, this really got me excited. I know there are those who would go, “OK, this guy has lost it”, and that is OK, but when God has really put the following prayers on my heart to pray, and He just said He is about to release these things, then it is hard not to get excited. Here are some examples:

Lord, let the earth be full of the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the seas.

Lord, let Your kingdom come now and let Your will be done now just as it is being done now in heaven.

Lord, please restore all the spiritual, physical, and emotional treasures that have been stolen from our family lines back to Adam.

Lord, please move in justice toward our enemy and cause him to repay seven times over what he has stolen from all of us.

Lord, You give special gifts called ‘mantles’ to men. Please release those, particularly the mantles of men like John G. Lake onto my family.

Lord, release Your grace and love into us and through us. Make us into who You created us to be.

I could go on, especially with specific prayer requests for my family that He has told me to pray, but here is the point. Yesterday I felt God wanted me to share that it was time to change our thinking about Him and believe in His goodness and Love for this is the message that the King of the Kingdom of God is at hand. Today He shares that He is ready to release what He has told us to ask of Him. It is time to seriously enter into His presence and seek Him diligently. It is time to ask Him, “What do you want me to pray for? Lord, teach me to pray!” It is time. The kingdom is within our reach and He is moving. The question becomes, “Do I want to simply keep on in this existence of mine, or do I want to step into the supernatural lifestyle?” Actually the question is more like, “Do I want mere existence, or do I want to walk in a deeply loving relationship with God?” It is up to you. He will force Himself on no one. He will not force His will on anyone. You choose to join in or just exist. I know I am ready to jump in. Lord, You told me to pray for net loads of fish. I pray that many come into Your kingdom for the sole (no pun intended) purpose of knowing You and how awesome Your love is. Release Yourself into the earth.