Ready To Serve

The Spirit calls, are we listening? We are commanded to pray without ceasing. How do we stay in this constant place? We have been going through a study on prayer, given for our "Further in Faith" woman's retreat. We are at the end of the word "prayer", the acronym given for the purpose of this study.

"R" stands for ready to serve.

The end is really the beginning of a whole new life as a servant of the Most High. As the Holy One has worked through each element of the intimacy with Himself. We have been drawn into the Holiest of Holies...into His Presence. We have a perspective as to how to remain in the place of never ceasing prayer. It's all about relationship and keeping the lines of communication open and flowing back and forth.

Once we have touched the very Throne of Heaven and we are confident of the One who is the source of all blessings up to and including out next breath and heartbeat, we are ready to serve His Will and trust in His ways.

This is the point at which we can move out in confident service. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to give us our assignments, and the ability to accomplish those tasks to the Glory of His Holy Name.

As we begin to operate in Trinity unity, according to the Words of Christ Jesus, He will bring His great victories in and through our lives. Nothing will be impossible. Mark 10:27 says, "Jesus looked at His Disciples and said, "with man this is impossible but not with God. All things are possible with God". And again, John 14:13, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things because I am going to the Father."

We have been placed and positioned where we are by God's great Sovereignty and our freedom to choose. Both end at God's Heavenly Throne. Where we find ourselves is in the Lord's over arching plan for our lives as servants of the Most High. Life is not random nor does God make any mistakes. You and I were ordained to be here on planet earth for such a time as this.

Our life of service is to accept this truth and seek His directives and then be obedient to the Heavenly visions and the voice of our Shepherd.

As I was preparing this last portion of the message, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "A servant gives no thought to reward, but only to do the Will of the Master. The work of a servant must be done out of love for the Master, not repayment for the task accomplished, otherwise he is a hired hand who can be fired or discharged.

As I pondered that , I could see how we can get hung up on "works" and the expectation of reward. This is very different than expecting answers. The expectation of answers is the faith we need and the answers will bring Glory to the One who orchestrates them. But the expectation of reward, is a self-centered pre-occupation.

Our motive for serving the Most High must never boil down to "what's in it for me?" That in reality is an attempted theft of God's Glory and leads us to a ruinous life of self-glorification. The expectation of reward unmet can also lead to bitterness and self-pity.

Reward can mean different things to different people in different situations. Whatever we think we deserve because of our "work" must be set aside or else it might dictate an ungodly motivation, that the Master will not honor.

Our attitude as a servant must always be, "Abba Father, Your will, Your way, it is my honor to serve You."

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are His to manifest in and through our lives. We have been ordained at conception to have gifts, strengths and talents placed within us for the use by the Holy One. Being ready to serve is to acknowledge this and to surrender ourselves with all we have been given for the EXCLUSIVE use of our Master. The gifts of the Spirit are not nor ever will be self-generated gifts or talents.

We may have human talents or giftings but unless we surrender them to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to empower them to bring glory to the Trinity, they will always fall way short of the potential. It is not with our independent power or authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy or drive out demons, yet this is what Jesus said we can and should be doing as servants of the Most High.

Here again, it needs to be emphasized that we are His servants. By His Holy Spirit within, we received our individual assignment and by His Spirit and authority we have all we need to carry them out.

In our role as servant of the most High, our eyes will see God do amazing things even through us. Being ready to serve is now a matter of corporate unity with the rest of God's chosen servants. None of us are called to be lone rangers. God's will and His ways involve the entire Body of Christ. Each one of us represent a piece in God's Heavenly jigsaw puzzle of His plan and His people.

Our gifts strengths and talents are given to be used by Him for the common good. In I Corinth 12:4 "there are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of One and the same Spirit and He gives them to each one as He determines."

As we come to the close of this study, we have entered into the Holiest of Holies as individuals, to bind our hearts and minds to the Lover of our Souls. This study on prayer has been a call to relationship and intimacy and fellowship with the Creator of our lives and everything we know. In this place of established unity with the Trinity, we can take our position and posture as servant with confidence that we have all we need to accomplish His will in and through our lives.

May our lives always reflect the peace that comes from unbroken fellowship with the One who calls us to Himself and may we all move out from here fully devoted to our Master and King, saying, "here I am Lord, send me!"

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Expect Answers

The Spirit calls and tells us through His Word and His voice to expect answers to our prayers. We have been going through different aspects of a life of never ceasing prayer. The Lord has given an acronym for this study, and that word is PRAYER.

Today we come to the "E".

"E" stands for expect answers.

When we are on the same page as the God of the universe, there is no reason NOT to expect answers. The promise of answers is throughout God's Word.

We should never think or act as if prayers are like gumballs we throw at a wall and always wonder which ones will stick.

When we are in the wonderful place of never ceasing prayer in Trinity Unity, we are living in our rightful role as co-governors of God's created world. And as we petition our Father to send what we need from our heavenly homeland, He is willing to pour out the supernatural resources and evidence of His being. Jesus, in His model prayer, prayed, "Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven".

In Heaven all things operate according to the Father's Will. We know from God's Word that those who rebelled His Rule and Authority were expelled and will never be able to return to cause Him any trouble.

Even the Devil in all his self-exalted pride and supernatural power was unable to usurp God's Throne and His Will. While this world is in it's fallen state and evil is able to cause chaos and confusion for yet a little while longer, still, in the Heavenly realm, all things operate according to the Father's Will and the principles of His Kingdom.

In prayer, we can tap into what is going on in Heaven to petition that those things come into the reality of our lives in the earth realm. Jesus did this during His life on earth.

We are privileged to access the Throne of all power and authority and to experience the supernatural intervention of God's power in and through our lives. The only requirement is relationship.

We are the child of a King. We have access to our Father as we remain in intimate relationship. John 14:13, Jesus said, "and I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in my name and I will do it." John 15:7-8, "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to My Father's Glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My Disciples."

Why would the Lord give us such Carte Blanc when it comes to us asking for, and Him promising to send answers. Why would the Creator of all things promise His visible intervention into our lives? John 14:13, "And I will do whatever you ask in My name so that the Son may bring Glory to the Father."

Look at it this way, Jesus came to bring Glory to the Father. The Holy Spirit was sent to bring Glory to the Son, and we are called to bring Glory to all Three.

The world and most people operate in darkness. Nothing changes who God is: God is who He is. However, our understanding of who He is will impact our relationship with Him and determine our future for all eternity.

The Word says, the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of talk but of power and authority. I Corinth 4:20. The believer's life should be a conduit of God's powerful authority for the sole purpose of bearing testimony of His Glorious Being, His Presence, His Sovereignty and His love for His Creation. Jesus said of His people, "you will be my witnesses to the world". God's miraculous answers provide the testimony of His Being. We should live a life of miracles.

All of us are building up a faith wall, one brick, one situation, one answer to prayer at a time. As our faith wall is built up, we will see greater things begin to happen, as we become bolder in asking for the "impossible".

In our "little faith" place, we will begin to recognize the Lord's Presence. He is always with us, but due to our immaturity (and unbelief), He may "seem" to remain silent.

As we have our eyes and ears opened we will become more and more aware of His faithful Presence and give Him the Glory as we "see" His hand on our circumstances. We will begin to trust and as we trust we will seek His ways more and more. Then greater answers will come as we listen and follow His directives.

Faith is progressive, it grows and builds on past experiences. My faith wall is full of miracles so I expect answers, but I had to "grow" to expect them.

Jesus was a man of prayer. His relationship with the Heavenly Father was maintained throughout the recorded days of His life and ministry through prayer.

I always ponder the strangest things and I wonder what details Jesus might have received from Heaven's Throne about the miracles He chose to perform in the lives of those He met. He said that He only did what He saw the Father do in Heaven and He only spoke His Father's words. Prayer was His link to the Heavenly realm and it is ours as well.

God does speak to His people. Just as in the days of old when God spoke to Abraham about the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Gen 18:17. "then the Lord said, "shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" God explained to Abraham the future of Sodom and Gomorrah and the reason for the judgement.

God spoke to Moses the same way. God spoke throughout the ages to His people and He will speak to us as well. We are His servants. As we nestle into the Father's arms and His Presence, He will give us our assignments, His directives and the resources including the faith to believe all things are possible.

Everything we need is available for the asking. the only question is, "Will you believe it? And expect answers?"

What visions has God given you? What desire do you have? Personally? A healed marriage? A healed family? A life of purpose beyond survival? Confess to the Lord if you need more faith for what you desire or need to have happen in the circumstances of your life, so that God, the Trinity will be Glorified.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit will be glorified as we give those needs up for intervention and The Father sends the visible answers.

If the answers do not appear, go back to the Throne for more wisdom, greater understanding, or to know what in your petition might need to be changed or what in your perspective of God's Will or His Way is off?

Like Mary and Martha, who would not have fathomed the possibility of a resurrection unless their petition for a healing was denied. Notice they did not run away from the Lord when their brother died and ended all their hope for life. They pressed in to understand why Jesus did not return to heal Lazarus as He had healed others. They expressed their disappointment and even their bitterness of sorrow.

The Lord can handle all our emotional honesty,even our bitter disappointments when we are told, "no".

We will stop here for some side-bar time with the Lover of our souls who holds all the resources we need to serve His will and impact the world of people we live among.

The Lord can handle all our emotional honesty,even our bitter disappointments when we are told, "no".

We will stop here for some side-bar time with the Lover of our souls who holds all the resources we need to serve His will and impact the world of people we live among. Pour out your heart with the expectation of answers. God always provides answers. If you are discouraged, ask Him for His faith...the fruit of the Spirit is Faith...The Spirit is on board to give us His.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Yielding to His Will & Ways***

We have been following the call of the Spirit, leading us into greater awareness of what is it to have a life of never-ceasing prayer. He has given an acronym to follow in this study on prayer and the word IS prayer.

We have gone through the lesson on "P" which stands for preparation, the "R" which stands for Repentance, the "A" which stands for acknowledge our dependency and today we are at the letter,

"Y" which stands for yielding to His Will and His Ways.

One day the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "you trust Me but do you trust My ways?"

Whenever the Holy One asks me a question like that one, I know He knows the answer but wants me to go deeper into discovery about myself and our love relationship. So, I take the "bait" and begin to ponder that question. He obviously makes a distinction between the big issue of trust as in for my eternal salvation, and the smaller things where I get hung up and anxious in life circumstances.

We all have need and we all have desires. Neither of these things are sinful in and of themselves. We are faced with the need for food and shelter, etc. Then there is desire. We all desire to be loved and in relationship, and even to help each other thus being appreciated.

These are not things we have to run away from. God created us. He set us up with needs and desire. In His Masterful Creativity, the Creator designed the created to need and desire Him. However, it takes time and introspection to recognize that God is at the baseline of our needs and desire and He is the only One who can bring the ultimate fulfillment to both.

The next step in our life of never-ceasing prayer is to allow Him to bring those needs and desires into our lives, His Way. This is what it is to yield in part: to allow without demanding priority or rights. The Lord took me to John 11 and the account of the death of Lazarus to emphasize this lesson.

Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha were beloved friends of the Lord. It so happened that Lazarus became sick. Jesus was in a different place and received message that His friend Lazarus was ill. Mary and Martha were concerned for their brother's health and knew Jesus to be the Healer. They had, no doubt, witnessed His powwer over sickness and disease.....so they sent for Him.

The Holy Scriptures tell us that Jesus tarried. He didn't rush to heal His friend but in fact, stayed longer in the place where He was.

Then, the unspeakable worst thing that could happen did. Lazarus died. For Mary and Martha, this death was even more devastating than the emotional loss of a beloved brother. In the culture of the day, Lazarus represented their security and their future. So Mary and Martha's futures as well as their hearts were broken by his death.

So they mourned. All they wanted, or desired and needed was to have Lazarus healed and restored to them. When Jesus finally arrived, they were crushed and hurting and even bitter because they "knew" Jesus as capable of healing their brother. But Jesus had a better plan, a Glorious plan. His Will, God's Will was always to restore Lazarus to Mary and Martha, but His way was through the death and unbelievable resurrection of this man.

The Lord pointed out to me that the sister's desire and the His will were one and the same, but His ways are not like our ways. By delaying the answer that was to come, Jesus was drawing them into deeper understanding about who He is. This is the message and the reason we must yield in prayer and say, "Thy Will be done" and accept how God's Will is enacted in the circumstances of our lives.

We are privileged to take our desires and needs to Him in prayer, but then, in trust we allow Him to work things out His way. If our desires are not in our best interests and according to His desires for us, then we must ask Him to change them. He has created us to desire but we need to look to Him for what we are to desire as well as for the fulfillment thereof.

Remember that He is Sovereign, outside our frame of understanding. He knows all things, how they begin and how they will end. He sees the end from the begining and what is down each and every pathway. He is trustworthy to lead us beside the still waters as well as the rushing stream. Why rely on our limited view of the road ahead when it is God who knows the map?

When we "know" that our desires are Ok and fall within the guidelines of the Word of God, we wait and yield to His ways of bringing them into our reality. All of the most disasterous things can happen in our lives when we try to fulfill our desires our way. Our desires may truly be God's Will, but unless we yield to His ways of bringing forth His will, we may miss something amazing but far more worrisome, we may actually fall into the enemy's agenda in our self-serving efforts and demands for resolution on our terms.

Independence is the refusal to yield to the authority of another. Rebellion is to follow the established rule of authority. Let's stop here to get our minds on the Lord's Will and try to gain His perspectiveon our lives, generally or specifically. Ask Him to speak to you about trusting and yielding to His ways. If you fear His sovereignty, confess that and repent, asking the Holy One within to set a new course for trusting and yielding to His Ways.

Here is another time to listen with your heart. Let the Holy One lead yiou into all Truth. Don't be afraid of what you might hear even if it contradicts your present course of life. God's Will will never contradict His Word but it will often contradict our thinking.

Don't worry about being a little "schizophrenic" at this point becasue you are in fact the "possession" of another....The Holy One within is bringing you into Trinity Unity away from self-serving, self-protecting, self-providing, self-centeredness. I.E. As yield to the Spirit, we are surrendering the Throne of our lives to His rule. As He establishes his government within we are safe.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?