Ah, God is good.
It has been a long day of hard work, but there is a satisfaction of being able to relax after working hard. My back is a little stiff after 9 hours of working, but the first thing I did as I got in my car to drive home was to thank God for giving me that job. Being able to admire God's creation while I work and on the drive to and from work doesn't hurt either.
Well, I'll back up to last night. I went to soak before pre-service prayer and God's presence was thick! When I went over to the church I was one of the first ones there and started to get whacked a little bit before anyone else was really there. Did I mention that God is good and that I am having so much fun? Pretty soon more people arrived and God kept coming as well. At one point I was about to fall backwards when a guy that I normally walk around with came out of nowhere (which is funny because he walks really slowly like I do while there) and caught me. The rest of prayer kept getting better as our group of 3-5 people with arms around eachother's shoulders started, stopped, spun around completely (I'm still not sure how we pulled that one off!), almost fell over a few times, laughed a lot, and fell over a few times. Then we had a bonfire at the end and sure enough me and my "dancing partner" (lol, that guy I just mentioned) fell over and almost took a few people with us.
Worship was so much fun! There has not been a worship set during a meeting in the past 3 weeks that I haven't loved. That is good! It isn't because the music was always the greatest, although it usually was, but rather because I have decided to worship whether I felt like it or not.
Eric Johnson spoke, which doesn't happen often on a Sunday. This is the first time I have heard him other than at school or one time at a Friday night service. He was great. He talked a lot about what I have been thinking about recently, just in a slightly different context. He talked about our spiritual inheritance and not trying to pay for what we have been given for free. I found myself realizing that I am still trying to pave my own way instead of building upon those who have gone before me. If they already have breakthrough in it and it is my inheritance then why am I still trying to get it on my own? After having a good ole time in the fire tunnel I went to the grocery store to pick up some lunch making supplies for work. While there I prayed for a few people. It was quite refreshing after many awkward attempts while down in Sacramento of Saturday. Nothing happened that the people noticed which I happily say to show that I am not just trying to share healings. It is a growing process for me right now as earlier yesterday I went to Costco and didn't pray for the people whose paths I crossed who could use a healing or two.
Finally, on a very random note, I wanted to share about something that just happened. I bought a pair of shoes less than two weeks ago since the pair I had been wearing were really falling apart. Really! So as soon as I bought them I started to wear them sinc my old shoes were now in such bad condition. Since the only way to return shoes is if you don't wear them outside your house I didn't see any value in keeping my receipt. Especially since I got them right before I moved I was trying to get rid of things I didn't need. I think the thought went through my mind about something happening to my shoes so I decided to keep the receipt and I put it in my checkbook. Today when I got home from work I was taking off my shoes right before going into the apartment when the loop that holds the shoelace in place broke. So I called up the store where I bought them and explained what happened and they are going to let me replace them because I have the receipt and the box (I can't remember the last shoe box I got rid of unless it was really old). It could just be an unusual coincidence, but I think it was the Holy Spirit telling me to keep the receipt!
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
It's summertime and the weather is hot!
It's that time of year again. I can't believe that I am in the beginning of another summer "vacation" from school after I knew that when I graduated from college two years ago, that I would never go back to school. Summer can be great or it can be horrible. It can be a time of burning with passion for God or a time of wondering how you wasted that much time and never did anything productive. I am determined that this summer will be one of setting goals and reaching them rather than having the problem of wondering what happened during the three month break from school.
I know it is going to sound like I have a lot of goals, but reality is that there are a lot of things that I still need to work on and the summer is a great time to do it. So here you will have a list of my goals in no particular order, because they are mostly things that I want to have part of my daily routine.
1. Find a full-time job as fast as I can. I want to be able to save at least $1,000 (minimum!) this summer to go towards either Jesus Culture England or towards school next year. I would really be happy if I could save $2,000 or do I hear $3,000 over the summer.
2. Read the Bible for an hour every day. There is so much that I have been missing out on because I don't know the word well enough. I already know more than I did a year ago, so that is good, but alas, I need to get in the word more.
3. Spend a few hours a day at the Prayer Chapel. I would actually rather say "spend a few hours soaking and praying at home" but since I don't know what that will look like yet, I will for now say at the prayer chapel.
(How many hours does David think there are in a day? He is crazy!)
4. Read other books on revival or related topics for an hour each day. I would like to spend additional time on weekends reading as well. There are quite a few books that have been on my "to read" list for a while now.
5. Get my body in shape. At first this will just be doing some stuff at home that I will not mention because I don't want to embarass others by my supernatural strength and it might morph into working out at a gym three times a week if I feel that I am making significant enough contributions to the summer savings fund (see #1). We'll see.
6. Meet at least once a week with my crazy revivalist friends. I desperately need to be around them so that I can glean from their strengths and grow fully into who I am called to be. This is beyond just hanging out, this is to strategize, to challenge each other, to experiment (Bethel/Redding is just a big laboratory), and to spread revival. I gotta get myself around people that are getting out of the box and out of the house out into the community!
What are your plans for the summer?
I know it is going to sound like I have a lot of goals, but reality is that there are a lot of things that I still need to work on and the summer is a great time to do it. So here you will have a list of my goals in no particular order, because they are mostly things that I want to have part of my daily routine.
1. Find a full-time job as fast as I can. I want to be able to save at least $1,000 (minimum!) this summer to go towards either Jesus Culture England or towards school next year. I would really be happy if I could save $2,000 or do I hear $3,000 over the summer.
2. Read the Bible for an hour every day. There is so much that I have been missing out on because I don't know the word well enough. I already know more than I did a year ago, so that is good, but alas, I need to get in the word more.
3. Spend a few hours a day at the Prayer Chapel. I would actually rather say "spend a few hours soaking and praying at home" but since I don't know what that will look like yet, I will for now say at the prayer chapel.
(How many hours does David think there are in a day? He is crazy!)
4. Read other books on revival or related topics for an hour each day. I would like to spend additional time on weekends reading as well. There are quite a few books that have been on my "to read" list for a while now.
5. Get my body in shape. At first this will just be doing some stuff at home that I will not mention because I don't want to embarass others by my supernatural strength and it might morph into working out at a gym three times a week if I feel that I am making significant enough contributions to the summer savings fund (see #1). We'll see.
6. Meet at least once a week with my crazy revivalist friends. I desperately need to be around them so that I can glean from their strengths and grow fully into who I am called to be. This is beyond just hanging out, this is to strategize, to challenge each other, to experiment (Bethel/Redding is just a big laboratory), and to spread revival. I gotta get myself around people that are getting out of the box and out of the house out into the community!
What are your plans for the summer?
Friday, April 27, 2007
Don't ever give up!
I have heard Bill Johnson say several times that you never know when it might be the time that God heals somebody. Similarly he says that it is ok for us to live in mystery, not knowing why things happen the way they do, but knowing that God is ALWAYS good regardless. Just think of how hopeless a situation could be for someone who has been seeking healing for years. It would probably get to the point of not wanting to waste their time in prayer because nothing ever seemed to happen.
On Wednesday right after school was over with I was slowly walking my way to my car when some students stopped me for prayer. I had just come from revival group where my leader and other individuals prayed for me when we ended and the entire group prayed for me when I showed up. On my way there, the Junior High Pastor prayed for me and before that another 10 students or so had been praying for me in the lobby. Even though my body and mind werre exhausted I told them they could pray for me. Another one of our first year pastors joined them and I decided to test it out by walking. For the first time since Sunday I was able to walk without feeling like my knees were going to collapse!
The funny thing is that I almost turned them down because I just wanted to get home and sleep, which is really funny since it has been almost impossible for me to sleep even though I am spending 10+ hours in bed. And foolishly the thought ran through my mind that their prayers wouldn't do anything. WRONG! I am glad I said yes to them and whether it was just from my obedience to receiving prayer or maybe that act of physical obedience caused a spiritual release of some tiny amount of faith on my part to get God to supernaturally strengthen my knees in an instant.
This can apply to other things as well. I want to see people who are paralyzed get healed. I have not seen that happen yet, but if I pray for 1,000 people who don't get healed I am not going to stop! Also, when I moved out to Redding I made a point of spending time soaking so that I could feel the presence of God. I would go to the prayer chapel day after day for hours at a time not settling for nothing. Those months of pressing in led me into an incredible January and February of experiencing God on a whole new level!
So here is my charge to you: If you are seeking healing, do not turn down prayer even when you would rather just go on your way; If you are seeking God, do not stop seeking Him when you don't seem to be getting anywhere; If you are seeking breakthrough in healing for others do not stop praying for them in faith no matter how many aren't getting healed; Don't ever give up!
On Wednesday right after school was over with I was slowly walking my way to my car when some students stopped me for prayer. I had just come from revival group where my leader and other individuals prayed for me when we ended and the entire group prayed for me when I showed up. On my way there, the Junior High Pastor prayed for me and before that another 10 students or so had been praying for me in the lobby. Even though my body and mind werre exhausted I told them they could pray for me. Another one of our first year pastors joined them and I decided to test it out by walking. For the first time since Sunday I was able to walk without feeling like my knees were going to collapse!
The funny thing is that I almost turned them down because I just wanted to get home and sleep, which is really funny since it has been almost impossible for me to sleep even though I am spending 10+ hours in bed. And foolishly the thought ran through my mind that their prayers wouldn't do anything. WRONG! I am glad I said yes to them and whether it was just from my obedience to receiving prayer or maybe that act of physical obedience caused a spiritual release of some tiny amount of faith on my part to get God to supernaturally strengthen my knees in an instant.
This can apply to other things as well. I want to see people who are paralyzed get healed. I have not seen that happen yet, but if I pray for 1,000 people who don't get healed I am not going to stop! Also, when I moved out to Redding I made a point of spending time soaking so that I could feel the presence of God. I would go to the prayer chapel day after day for hours at a time not settling for nothing. Those months of pressing in led me into an incredible January and February of experiencing God on a whole new level!
So here is my charge to you: If you are seeking healing, do not turn down prayer even when you would rather just go on your way; If you are seeking God, do not stop seeking Him when you don't seem to be getting anywhere; If you are seeking breakthrough in healing for others do not stop praying for them in faith no matter how many aren't getting healed; Don't ever give up!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Only believe
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." - Matthew 21:22
Recently I have been on a journey of asking God for wisdom. Some of it was evident in my last post about raising the dead, but even more so I have really been seeking the Lord in the area of healing. I don't really know why it came up, actually now that I say that I know exactly why it came up, I am praying fervently for a friend of mine who has been a quadrapalegic for 36 years to be healed.
This next part could be "That ain't right: Part 2" which I will probably not get around to because I hate saying things that sound like I am complaining. Anyway, I was talking to him the other day and found out that his insurance is saying that some of the medical supplies that he needs are not necessary. Now if you know me, you know that I am not all for the government just handing away money to people who don't want to work. Additionally I support President Bush and will not slander him for any decisions he has made. My friend however does not mind voicing his opinion about the President and saying how instead of throwing billions of dollars into the war, the government should instead be helping the poor in its own country. While I totally understnad that it isn't the job of the government to fix every problem, I couldn't help but understand that taking the money that has been spent on the war in Iraq and putting it towards helping the poor and elderly would have great benefits for those people.
Anyway, I say all that to get to my point that I want to have a better understanding of God and anything else that would help bring healing to people that will otherwise continue to suffer. I don't know how much longer my friend will live. He is getting old and I am sure that his health isn't getting better due to the condition of his body. It made me think of the revivalists who have moved in healing in the past such as John G. Lake. Oftentimes, it was a struggle for healing with someone they were close to that propelled them into a greater healing anointing.
I see this current struggle as that for me. I can visualize the future and multitudes of people getting healed. I know that it is coming so when I pray it is easy to believe for it. And since I know that it is for me, I know that like Mary the mother of Jesus, I can ask for it now. I can ask God to get me ready for it now. I can ask God to teach me how to pray. By dreaming with God I am no longer bound by my worries of life but rather have my sights set on what God is doing. It is easier to embrace the process when you have a vision of the finish line. Grab hold of what God has shown you and don't let go. Train yourself so that you can do the best that you can and then run your race with your eye on the prize.
Recently I have been on a journey of asking God for wisdom. Some of it was evident in my last post about raising the dead, but even more so I have really been seeking the Lord in the area of healing. I don't really know why it came up, actually now that I say that I know exactly why it came up, I am praying fervently for a friend of mine who has been a quadrapalegic for 36 years to be healed.
This next part could be "That ain't right: Part 2" which I will probably not get around to because I hate saying things that sound like I am complaining. Anyway, I was talking to him the other day and found out that his insurance is saying that some of the medical supplies that he needs are not necessary. Now if you know me, you know that I am not all for the government just handing away money to people who don't want to work. Additionally I support President Bush and will not slander him for any decisions he has made. My friend however does not mind voicing his opinion about the President and saying how instead of throwing billions of dollars into the war, the government should instead be helping the poor in its own country. While I totally understnad that it isn't the job of the government to fix every problem, I couldn't help but understand that taking the money that has been spent on the war in Iraq and putting it towards helping the poor and elderly would have great benefits for those people.
Anyway, I say all that to get to my point that I want to have a better understanding of God and anything else that would help bring healing to people that will otherwise continue to suffer. I don't know how much longer my friend will live. He is getting old and I am sure that his health isn't getting better due to the condition of his body. It made me think of the revivalists who have moved in healing in the past such as John G. Lake. Oftentimes, it was a struggle for healing with someone they were close to that propelled them into a greater healing anointing.
I see this current struggle as that for me. I can visualize the future and multitudes of people getting healed. I know that it is coming so when I pray it is easy to believe for it. And since I know that it is for me, I know that like Mary the mother of Jesus, I can ask for it now. I can ask God to get me ready for it now. I can ask God to teach me how to pray. By dreaming with God I am no longer bound by my worries of life but rather have my sights set on what God is doing. It is easier to embrace the process when you have a vision of the finish line. Grab hold of what God has shown you and don't let go. Train yourself so that you can do the best that you can and then run your race with your eye on the prize.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Gettin' out of the box
So today I got out a little bit. It all started this morning when I decided that the crowded prayer chapel was not the place for me to pray in tongues. While I was outside I felt that God impressing upon me that I should get back to doing outreach. It then occurred to me that when I had been getting words of knowledge frequently back at the beginning of winter I had been doing outreach a lot. Recently I haven't been going out to pray for people and haven't been getting many words in other times either. Not to say that God took them away, but there is definitely something about stewarding what you have properly so that you keep it.
So I went to go on our Friday night outreach instead of staying in the service where Lance Wallnau was apparently awesome. Anyway, other than the outreach pastor I was the only person from the church that had done outreach before. So I led a team of 2 young ladies and after soaking in the prayer house - God's presence is so awesome - we headed over to the Sundial Bridge where I saw a picture of a woman in a wheelchair.
As we were walking I spotted a woman wearing a neck brace so I stopped and started conversation. After they asked us a few questions about how we would be praying and whether we believed she would be healed, they allowed us to pray for her. She was somewhat surprised that some of the pain in her neck and leg left, but when I asked if we could pray again she said that one time was enough. One of the men actually said how he was so happy to see us out there praying for people. We ended up talking with them for a few minutes and they all thanked us as we parted ways, much different from their skeptical questioning of us when we met just a few minutes earlier.
We walked a little bit further and saw a woman in a wheelchair. They were much more receptive and immediately said that it would be ok for us to pray for her foot. I totally forgot to ask her if it felt different as we got to talking about other things, which is easy to do when people notice my Brasil shirt, the accent of our Australian teenager, and find out our other person is from Virginia. Again, we talked for several minutes and they showed their gratefulness for us praying for them.
As we were walking back towards the car I stopped to pray for a rougher looking man who had a cane. He too was very open for prayer and seemed as though it was quite normal for a stranger to offer prayer in public for healing. Although he didn't notice any difference he too was encouraged and as we parted ways his wife, who was probably 40 feet away at this point, turned around to thank us for praying. After we got off the bridge the girl from Australia (only 16 years old!) thought that we should go to In-n-Out. So off we went. As we drove off I noticed that the other team had just arrived but I decided to just keep driving.
As soon as we got to In-n-Out a man and woman were approaching their car to leave. The man was limping so I asked him what was going on. He said that he was sore from shopping all day but then eventually said that he has been struggling with it for years and can only take certain construction jobs because of it since he can't stay on his feet. He also said how eager he was for God to heal him and how he is praying constantly for it. Although he didn't feel anything the Australian girl (I know her name, I'm just not saying it) said that she felt God saying that he will be completely healed in the next week. Then he mentioned how the woman had things she needed prayer for as well. So we prayed for her and she began to cry. She didn't notice any difference but I believe that they both have the faith to be healed, and they certainly were encouraged by God. Praise the Lord that He put us exactly where we needed to be to bring encouragement to people who needed it!
On Tuesday night as I had been praying I felt that I should start really going after the healing for people that I have been praying for. It was time for something to happen and as Smith Wigglesworth would say, "if God isn't moving, I'll move Him." I felt that I should call a friend who is quadriplegic every day and pray for him. So the next day when I started praying for him I just got his voicemail. Yesterday he called me to say he had been in either the hospital or with doctors all day concerning problems that had come from surgery after the accident that left him paralyzed. These complications forced him to retire from working about 20 years ago. Needless to say, now is the time!
So I went to go on our Friday night outreach instead of staying in the service where Lance Wallnau was apparently awesome. Anyway, other than the outreach pastor I was the only person from the church that had done outreach before. So I led a team of 2 young ladies and after soaking in the prayer house - God's presence is so awesome - we headed over to the Sundial Bridge where I saw a picture of a woman in a wheelchair.
As we were walking I spotted a woman wearing a neck brace so I stopped and started conversation. After they asked us a few questions about how we would be praying and whether we believed she would be healed, they allowed us to pray for her. She was somewhat surprised that some of the pain in her neck and leg left, but when I asked if we could pray again she said that one time was enough. One of the men actually said how he was so happy to see us out there praying for people. We ended up talking with them for a few minutes and they all thanked us as we parted ways, much different from their skeptical questioning of us when we met just a few minutes earlier.
We walked a little bit further and saw a woman in a wheelchair. They were much more receptive and immediately said that it would be ok for us to pray for her foot. I totally forgot to ask her if it felt different as we got to talking about other things, which is easy to do when people notice my Brasil shirt, the accent of our Australian teenager, and find out our other person is from Virginia. Again, we talked for several minutes and they showed their gratefulness for us praying for them.
As we were walking back towards the car I stopped to pray for a rougher looking man who had a cane. He too was very open for prayer and seemed as though it was quite normal for a stranger to offer prayer in public for healing. Although he didn't notice any difference he too was encouraged and as we parted ways his wife, who was probably 40 feet away at this point, turned around to thank us for praying. After we got off the bridge the girl from Australia (only 16 years old!) thought that we should go to In-n-Out. So off we went. As we drove off I noticed that the other team had just arrived but I decided to just keep driving.
As soon as we got to In-n-Out a man and woman were approaching their car to leave. The man was limping so I asked him what was going on. He said that he was sore from shopping all day but then eventually said that he has been struggling with it for years and can only take certain construction jobs because of it since he can't stay on his feet. He also said how eager he was for God to heal him and how he is praying constantly for it. Although he didn't feel anything the Australian girl (I know her name, I'm just not saying it) said that she felt God saying that he will be completely healed in the next week. Then he mentioned how the woman had things she needed prayer for as well. So we prayed for her and she began to cry. She didn't notice any difference but I believe that they both have the faith to be healed, and they certainly were encouraged by God. Praise the Lord that He put us exactly where we needed to be to bring encouragement to people who needed it!
On Tuesday night as I had been praying I felt that I should start really going after the healing for people that I have been praying for. It was time for something to happen and as Smith Wigglesworth would say, "if God isn't moving, I'll move Him." I felt that I should call a friend who is quadriplegic every day and pray for him. So the next day when I started praying for him I just got his voicemail. Yesterday he called me to say he had been in either the hospital or with doctors all day concerning problems that had come from surgery after the accident that left him paralyzed. These complications forced him to retire from working about 20 years ago. Needless to say, now is the time!
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