The Invitation

I have been on a journey the last few months — a journey into the deeps of knowing the Lord. You may ask, “How is that unusual or new? Haven’t you talked about this a lot already? Weren’t you doing this before?” Yes, but it seems He thinks I haven’t yet scratched the surface, and I know He’s right. There’s more.

It started with Him saying, “I want you to know My name.” In my obtuseness, I inquired, “Which one do you mean? There are so many!” I don’t think He was necessarily speaking of a particular name in the Bible, so much as knowing what His many names hold — the revelation of His nature.

He is I AM, and that encompasses volumes. Years ago, while I read about the first time He revealed Himself as I AM, in Exodus 3:14, He whispered, “I AM whatever you need.” That has stayed with me through the decades. I have drawn on it often.

But this time, it is not so much about knowing Him in multitudes of ways as my provider. It is about seeing into the core of Who He is. He wants to reveal His innermost nature, part of which involves His commitment to meeting our needs, but that’s only a portion. And it’s not just for me, but for all of His children who desire to know Him more deeply. We operate on such a low level of relationship with Him, don’t we?

Somewhere along the journey, He brought Jeremiah 9:23, 24 to my attention, and I can’t get away from it:

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD Who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight,” says the LORD.

Think about this for a moment with me. The One Who humbles Himself to even look upon the things which are in heaven and earth (Psalm 113:6) actually invites us to understand and know Him. This is what we are to glory in — the privilege of sharing in the deepest, most intimate friendship with Him! The sovereign Lord of the universe says, “I want to reveal My innermost Person to you.”

As I’ve been meditating on this and telling the Lord over and over, “I want to understand how You tick; I want to know You like I’ve not known You up until now,” He continues to beckon and encourage, “I want you to know Who I am.”

Where will that go? Where will it take the one who responds? I haven’t a clue. I only know that He wants to reveal Himself to greater depths than we have yet experienced. It is the yearning of His heart. Ultimately, we will enjoy complete, unbroken fellowship with Him. Paul said, “Then I shall know [Him] even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). John said, “When He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). But we don’t have to passively wait. We can begin now. There is no possibility of exhausting the levels we can go to in knowing the Lord.

I invite you to pursue understanding and knowing the Lord more deeply than you have up until now. Even better, He invites you. Will you take up His invitation? He is waiting with His heart open wide.

____________________________

 

 

The Names of God,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

 

Before Whom We Stand:
The Everyman’s Guide to the Nature of God,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

 

What About Contemplative Prayer? (Part 4)

In our previous three posts, we talked about the elements of biblical contemplative prayer, as well as nonbiblical things to avoid. Let’s recap and add to what we’ve already discussed.

 

Things to embrace:

1. Meditate on the Lord — His nature, as revealed in His Word.
2. Meditate on His Word — Savor it, repeat it aloud, pray it back to Him, declare it as your statement of faith. Again, if you need a plan for how to begin, go here.
3. Meditate on His mighty deeds — as told in the Bible, from personal experience, or from the testimonies of other believers who have seen the Lord’s intervention on their behalf. Rehearsing testimonies of His previous faithfulness in your memory (and with your mouth) strengthens you to overcome your current challenges.
4. Recall / meditate on / pray the personal promises the Lord has spoken to you. In 1 Timothy 1:18, the apostle Paul exhorted his young protégé, “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the previous prophecies regarding you, that you by them [those personal prophecies] might war a good warfare.”
5. Converse with the Lord. Ask Him questions and give Him space to answer. Carry on a dialogue with Him.
6. Ask the Lord what He wants to say, and then quietly listen. Invite Him, as young Samuel did, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).
7. Write down whatever God speaks. This includes conversations you’ve had with Him and any other insights you receive from Him. Expect Him to expand on your revelation as you write down what you already have seen or heard. (See 1 Chronicles 28:11-19.)

Things to avoid:

1. Eastern meditation practices, such as yoga, transcendental meditation, various Eastern relaxation and breathing techniques. These are purported to bring peace, through the emptying of the mind and by inducing an altered state of consciousness. Remember, peace is already available to you through the Holy Spirit, without these techniques. Peace is part of the fruit of the Spirit, not something achieved by our efforts. Ask the Lord to work peace in you. An empty mind is an open door to evil spirits. The Bible doesn’t speak of emptying our minds, or of employing special breathing disciplines. Instead, it talks about fastening our attention on the Lord and putting our trust in Him.
2. Do not attempt to bring on a trance, vision, or altered state of mind. Trances are biblical — when God is the initiator (see Acts 10:9-16). But trying to induce a trance or vision for yourself will open you up to deception. You can ask God to give you these types of revelation, but from thereon, it is His prerogative, not yours. This goes for out-of-body, heavenly experiences, such as John experienced in Revelation and Paul received in 2 Corinthians 12:1-5. God initiated it; they did not.
3. Do not try to reach a higher spiritual state by praying words or phrases repetitiously. Religious or mystical ritual will not bring you closer to the Lord. He is all about relationship, not ritualistic formulas for trying to reach Him. In Matthew 6:7, Jesus said, “But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Notice that He calls them vain (meaningless; empty; useless) repetitions.

Is it always wrong to repeat a prayer request or worship / praise phrase? No, not if you are sincerely engaging with the Lord. The ritual is what we want to avoid. Sometimes in our worship or intercession, we go a little deeper each time we tell the Lord we love Him, or each time we plead a point. It is when we try to use repetition to achieve a different spiritual zone, or to coerce God with much speaking, that we cross over the line.

A good measuring stick of all spiritual practices is, if it’s not in the Bible, don’t do it. Stick with what we have good evidence of in the Word.

I hope this series has helped clear up some of the fear and misconceptions surrounding contemplative prayer. I have probably missed covering some spiritual practices which should be addressed. If you have questions or suggestions, please comment!

Contemplative Prayer (Part 1) — Meditation
Contemplative Prayer (Part 2) — Listening to God
Contemplative Prayer (Part 3) — Journaling

 

 

The Names of God,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

 

All-Surpassing Peace in a Shaking World,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

What About Contemplative Prayer? (Part 3)

Thus far, we’ve talked about two components of contemplative prayer: biblical meditation and quieting ourselves so that God can speak. I also mentioned conversational prayer — asking God questions and waiting for Him to answer.

Journaling is another important facet of contemplative prayer. What is journaling? The term means different things to different people. Those who are highly critical of contemplative prayer usually have no problem with recording prayer requests, Bible verses, and what they talked to the Lord about during their prayer time. But they stumble at the idea that God would actually speak to His people through an inner voice or vision — because they think He only speaks through the Bible. This viewpoint usually goes along with cessationism — the belief that once the Bible was written, all supernatural gifts such as healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc. ceased.

For believers who have not bought into the idea that God no longer speaks to us personally, recording whatever He says or shows us is a normal, healthy part of journaling. We expect and look forward to hearing from Him, and we love what He says enough to write it down.

Journaling what we believe God is speaking is not putting pen to paper and mindlessly letting the pen wander and write whatever it will, as several critics of contemplative prayer assert. That would definitely be an occult practice, much like using a Ouija board. Honestly, I have never encountered Christians who do this. You will hear journaling advocates speak of “letting your writing flow” as the Spirit interacts with you. Some testify of moments when the Holy Spirit gave them revelation so rapidly via writing that their thoughts could not keep up. But our minds should not be blanked out while we journal. We are not in a trance-like state. It’s just that at times the interaction between our spirit and the Holy Spirit is so accelerated that the mind has not quite caught up yet.

Journaling what God speaks was practiced by both Old and New Testament believers.

In 1 Chronicles 28:11-19, we are told that God Himself gave David the blueprint for the temple Solomon would one day build. David received the plan by sitting with the Lord and recording what God showed him. Verse 12 explains that he got “the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit.” In verse 19, David remarks, “All this … the LORD made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.”

In Habakkuk 2:1-3, we see an interaction between the prophet and the Lord:

I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. (Ahem. Contemplative prayer in action!)

And the LORD answered me and said, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it may tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come: it will not tarry.”

The apostle John was instructed by the Lord, “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Revelation 1:19).

Journaling, including what we hear God say, is a time-honored practice among multitudes of Christians. As we have just seen, it is backed up by Scripture. Furthermore, sitting with the Lord with pen and paper in hand tells Him, “I am serious about hearing from You, Lord, and I value what You say to me so much that I will write it down. I want to cherish Your words in days to come.” When we demonstrate that attitude, He often responds by speaking.

In our final post, we will recap what is acceptable contemplative prayer procedure and what is not. I will also mention a couple more practices which I believe we should not indulge in.

Contemplative Prayer (Part 1) — Meditation
Contemplative Prayer (Part 2) — Listening to God
Next — Part 4, Conclusion

 

All-Surpassing Peace in a Shaking World,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

 

The Names of God,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

What About Contemplative Prayer? (Part 2)

In our last post, we saw that contemplative prayer incorporates meditation — on the Lord Himself, on His Word, and on the things He does. We discovered that meditation involves not only pondering these things, but also dialoguing with the Lord about any questions we have.

Another aspect of contemplative prayer is quieting our lips and minds so that God can speak to us. In Psalm 46:10, the Lord instructs us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We need to calm down in our thoughts, so that the Holy Spirit can speak to our spirit. He may do that through words or visions (pictures He impresses upon our spirit).

Because a few Christians have gotten off into doing unbiblical stuff, the part of contemplative prayer which involves being quiet before the Lord has caused fear, and therefore criticism, among some believers. This is really a case of “throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

Eastern religious practices involve using breathing and relaxation techniques to bring the mind into emptiness or an altered state, so that one can receive “revelation.” That’s exactly what we don’t want to do. God did not create our minds to be left empty and open to whatever.

The only altered state of mind we should actively seek is mentioned in these two verses:

Romans 12:2 — “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Isaiah 26:3 — “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You.”  (“Stayed on You” means to be focused, or fastened, on the Lord.)

We don’t need special relaxation exercises in order to become calm enough to hear God. Getting quiet before the Lord is a bit of a discipline, but only in the sense that if our minds are distracted or wandering, we keep “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Here are some biblical ways to quiet yourself so God can speak:

1. Meditate on one of those three things we already mentioned — the Lord, His Word, or His mighty acts.
2. Read a passage in the Bible. Then wait for Him to talk to you about it. This is God’s “breathing technique.” 2 Timothy 3:16 literally says, “All Scripture is God-breathed….” Let Him do the breathing, not you!
3. Worship — actively. You can also play worship music in the background to help sense His presence with you, but keep it soft enough so that it won’t distract you.
4. Invite Him to speak. “What’s on Your heart today, Lord?”
5. Ask the Lord a question; give Him time to answer. “How do You see this?” “What do You want me to do?”
6. Pray softly in tongues. Keep your spiritual ears tuned to hear Him while you pray.

When we quiet ourselves before the Lord, although we should want to hear Him speak, there will be times when He does not say or reveal anything. We can still enjoy just being with Him. His Presence is enough. Indeed, lovers often spend time together without needing to say anything. It is the same between us and the Lord. Our primary goal should not be to receive revelation from Him, but simply to be near Him.

Next time we will talk about journaling as a part of contemplative prayer.

Contemplative Prayer (Part 1, Biblical Meditation)

Next: Part 3, Journaling 

 

 

The Intercessor Manual,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

 

 

Your Intercession Questions Answered,
by Lee Ann Rubsam

What About Contemplative Prayer? (Part 1)

I’ve sometimes been asked whether contemplative prayer is OK to practice. A few Christian teachers have condemned it as occult, with strange claims of what they think is going on. In this series, we’ll examine what contemplative prayer is, whether it is biblical, and what isn’t all right to do.

You may be asking, “What in the world is contemplative prayer? I’ve never even heard of it!” In a nutshell, it is getting quiet before the Lord, giving Him time to speak, rather than doing all the talking about whatever is on your heart or mind. “Soaking prayer, “meditative prayer,” “practicing the presence of God,” and “basking in the Lord’s presence” are alternative terms meaning basically the same thing.

People who fear contemplative prayer usually are convinced that Eastern religious practices are being implemented. Some of their concern stems from hearing of extremes. You will always have some folks who mix what is biblical with strange, out-of-bounds practices. While we can’t prevent others from going off in weird places, neither should we let their behavior deprive us of a truly viable form of prayer.

Let’s start by talking about a buzz word for those who fear contemplative prayer: meditation. Meditation is part of both Christian and pagan practices. Whether it is legitimate depends on what you are doing.

The Bible talks about meditation. When Isaac first met Rebekah, he was spending the evening hour in a field meditating (Genesis 24:63). The Hebrew word translated “meditate” there means to muse or be thoughtful. Some translations say Isaac was thinking; some say he was praying. It was probably a mixture of the two. He was waiting expectantly for the household steward to return home from a far country with a bride for him, but there was a possibility that he would show up empty-handed! No doubt Isaac had many hopes and concerns, which he was bringing before the Lord.

I spend a lot of prayer time “thinking before the Lord.” I also ask Him questions about things I wonder about. I invite Him to give me inspiration or understanding. Conversation with the Lord is a part of contemplative, or meditative, prayer.

The Bible speaks of three things we are supposed to meditate upon:

• The Lord Himself
• The Word of God
• The Lord’s mighty works.

Meditating on the Lord:

… My mouth shall praise You with joyful lips when I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches. — Psalm 63:5, 6

My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. — Psalm 104:34

The word for meditation in Psalm 63:6 means to murmur, ponder, mutter, study, and utter, while the word used in Psalm 104:34 means contemplation (hence, “contemplative” prayer).

Meditating on the Lord means to think about His nature — His character attributes, His majesty, His goodness, His beauty. A great way to do this is by finding His names in the Bible, because He uses these to reveal Himself to us. Pick a name of God and think on it. Ask God to remind you of stories in the Bible which illustrate that particular character quality — His mercy, truthfulness, or faithfulness, for example.

See my webpage, The Names of God, for a free alphabetical listing of more than six hundred names of God as found in the KJV Bible. If you would like the list with their Bible references, I have that as an inexpensive book for you as well.

Meditating on His Word:

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. You shall meditate in it day and night, so that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. — Joshua 1:8

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law he meditates day and night. — Psalm 1:2

My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I might meditate in Your word. — Psalm 119:148

In Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2, the word for meditate is the same one used in Psalm 63:6, meaning to murmur, ponder, mutter, study, and utter. So, this includes not only thinking on the Scriptures, but speaking them.

In Psalm 119:148, “meditate” means to ponder, converse, commune, utter, pray, and muse. Here, we are taught not only to speak and think about a verse or passage of Scripture, but to pray it, dialoguing with the Lord about it.

Meditating on God’s Word is an important part of contemplative prayer. If you’ve never practiced it, my article, How to Meditate on God’s Word will help you. I have been so blessed in doing this. It is a guaranteed way of hearing from the Lord and increasing your spiritual understanding.

Meditating on the Lord’s works:

I will meditate also of all Your work, and talk of Your doings. — Psalm 77:12

I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. — Psalm 119:99

I remember the days of old: I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. — Psalm 143:5

Again, in Psalm 77:12 and 143:5, the Hebrew word for meditation means to murmur, ponder, mutter, study, and utter. In Psalm 119:99, it means devoted reflection, meditation, and prayer.

Thus far, we see that meditation is a God-pleasing part of contemplative prayer. Next time, we’ll look at another biblical component — quietly waiting in God’s Presence.

Contemplative Prayer (Part 2, Listening to God)

 

 

The Intercessor Manual, by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

 

 

 

Your Intercession Questions Answered, by Lee Ann Rubsam

 

Full Gospel Family E-Books

We have seven of our books available as e-books on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, and other e-book retailers:

The Intercessor Manual — Everything (at least, all I could think of) you would want to know about intercession, jam-packed into one book.

 

 

Hotline to Heaven: Hearing the Voice of God — Simple, practical info to help you hear God better and more often.  This book is also fully included in The Intercessor Manual, so if you get the manual, you won’t need this version, but if you just want the hearing God info without all the intercessor stuff, this is for you.

 

How to Pray and Read the Bible — For new believers and for the Christian who has struggled with maintaining consistent prayer and Bible reading habits — practical tips to get you started and to keep you going in consistent prayer and Bible-reading habits.

 

The Names of God — We have had over 1,000,000 visitors to our free list on our web page.  The web page doesn’t have the Bible references — but this book does!  Use the Names of God in worship and to increase your understanding of the nature of our wonderful Lord.

 

God’s Word on Healing — God still heals today, and this small booklet will help. Many times, when we are in the midst of a crisis, it is hard to find where the Bible verses are which apply to our situation. That’s why I have compiled for you  healing Scriptures to build your faith, encourage you, and for you to use as a powerful tool to gain your health victory.

Encouragement from God’s Word — When praying through difficult circumstances, sometimes it is hard to find where the particular Bible verses are that speak into our situation. This nineteen-topic book puts the Scriptures (KJV) you need at your fingertips. Many of your questions about God’s nature and how He operates toward us will be answered as well.

The Intercessor’s Companion — This is a much-expanded version of our popular Encouragement from God’s Word. We’ve added ten more topics of particular interest to intercessors, along with insightful commentary at the beginning of each topic, and we’ve redone the Bible verses in a modernized rendition of the KJV for easier reading.

 

Available at the following locations (and you can download samples there, too!):

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Apple iBookstore

Kobo

Print and e-book versions also available from our website.

The Master Is Calling (Book Review)

Do you believe there is an elite group of intercessors who have a gift for praying prophetically — but you’re sure you aren’t one of them — and you’re also quite sure you will never be invited to join the club?  Have you ever sat down to pray and then thought, “Now what do I do?  I don’t have a clue what comes next.”

The Master Is Calling, by Lynne Hammond, is just the book for you.  The subtitle is Discovering the Wonders of Spirit-Led Prayer, and that is exactly what Lynne leads us into, with her simple explanation of how to tap into the Spirit and her comforting assurance that if she could learn how to do it, we can too.

I like books that explain things without a lot of complexity, yet are full of solid teaching, and this is one of those books.  The way Lynne talks about prayer fired me with renewed ardor to wait upon the Lord to hear His heart.  I needed to be reminded, once again, that it is time to slow down and be in His Presence just for His sake — and that it is out of such times that mighty, answer-receiving prayer  flows.  And she talks about the dearness of the Word — always a big deal for me!

She uses Isaiah 56:7 — “… My house will be called a house of prayer ….” to teach a concept I particularly like: back in the OT, the temple was God’s house, and it was to be a place of prayer.  But since the Holy Spirit has been given to believers, we are the temple, and therefore we are His house of prayer!

I was sorry to have come to the end of this book.  Every moment in it was a refreshing time, and I felt like the Lord was already bending near to me even while I was reading it.  I no more than finished it and I started reading it through again.

If you’ve not yet done so, do read The Master Is Calling.  And if you already have, but it’s been awhile, do yourself a favor and read it again.

The Master Is Calling at Amazon.

The Intercessor Manual Now in eBook Form

I am pleased to announce that for those of you who prefer e-books, The Intercessor Manual is now available for Kindle at Amazon.  You can also purchase it in a variety of formats at Smashwords.

The Intercessor Manual provides answers to many of the questions God’s prayer warriors struggle with and wonder about.  In this book, I share with you from a prophetic perspective what I have learned over many years as an intercessor and intercessor leader.  Whether you are seasoned in your call to intercession or whether you are just now beginning your prayer adventure, this book is sure to bring valuable information your way — some of which you may not encounter anywhere else.   As with all my materials, you can expect solid biblical support for the concepts presented, along with an honest, no-nonsense approach that is practical to the max.

Topics covered:

• Your Call to Intercession
• What Intercessors Do
• The Bible Helps Our Intercession
• The Power of Your Prayer Language
• Prayer that Counts
• Breakthrough Intercession: Receiving Our Answers
• Spiritual Warfare
• Our Spiritual Armor
• Worship and the Intercessor
• The Prophetic Connection
• Maturing in Prophecy
• Intimacy with God
• Avoiding Deception
• You Don’t Have to Be Weird
• Pastors and Intercessors
• The Pastor Specialty
• What Can You Expect as an Intercessor?

In addition, my booklet, Hotline to Heaven: Hearing the Voice of God is included as an appendix, along with my article,  Hearing from God Through Dreams.

The Intercessor Manual in printed or e-book format can be purchased directly from us at Full Gospel Family Publications.

For the Kindle format: The Intercessor Manual at Amazon.
For a variety of e-book formats: The Intercessor Manual at Smashwords. 

How I “Do” Worship (Part 2)

When my worship leader friend asked how I did personal worship, I explained that it was something that just came about naturally as I prayed.  I don’t worship for X number of minutes and then proceed into intercession or spiritual warfare or any other kind of prayer.

Worship is a natural outflow of relationship with God.  For me, it happens quite unconsciously throughout the day, along with other types of prayer — thanking the Lord for little things that He does for me, telling Him how much I love Him, thanking Him for being so good, kind, faithful, and merciful.  When I am asking Him for something, I tell Him I know He will do it for me because of His goodness.  (Answers to prayer are more about His giving nature than they are about our strenuous praying or our persistence — although persistent prayer is encouraged in the Bible.)  When I am tempted to doubt, I tell the Lord that I know His character and that He will never fail me.  I mentally put my hand in His and cling to Him in trust.  Letting the Lord know we trust Him is a big part of worship.

I like to use His names to worship Him — He Who is able, He Who sees me, My hiding place, My exceeding joy, God of my praise, etc.  If you are interested in the names of God, I have prepared a list of them for you — over 600 names by which God reveals His good nature to us.

I said in Part 1 that we have God’s Presence already with us, if we believe on Jesus as our Savior, but that there are things we can do to increase our awareness of His Presence.  Continued worship and prayer throughout the day is the key to sensing Him with us.  James 4:8 assures us that if we will draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

We can cultivate the habit of worship through practicing what Ephesians 5:18-20 says: “…Be filled with the Spirit [by] speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  We can train ourselves to look for things to be thankful for throughout the day.  After a while, thankfulness becomes second nature, but sometimes we have to actively practice it at first.  Reciting or reading aloud encouraging portions of the Bible, such as the Psalms, gets our thoughts on the Lord and creates worship for His goodness in our hearts.

Creating a worshipful atmosphere in our home or car through music that exalts the Lord cultivates a sense of His Presence in us. Modern technology devices such as the iPod make it possible for many of us to listen to whatever  we like all day long.  I listen to very little music that is not of a worshipful nature.  I find that whatever I listen to sticks in my head for days afterward, so if I keep to mostly worship music, I have that which exalts Jesus replaying in my mind.  I end up “singing and making melody in my heart to the Lord.”

John 15:7 promises, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”   “Abiding” is not the mystery we sometimes make of it.  It is simply staying in a continual attitude of worship and communion with the Lord.  Abiding (dwelling in a state of worship) brings about answered prayer.  It also causes peace and joy to rule in our hearts.  These are wonderful by-products of worship.  We grow in abiding by practice — but as we develop the habit, we don’t have to think about it as much.

When we focus our attention, adoration, and affection on the Lord, no matter how we do so, this is worship.  It flows from a continual attitude of thoughtfulness for His heart, His feelings, His desires, and a care for what makes Him happy.  It is not about “doing,” but about “being” — being in a perpetual awareness of our wonderful God Who loves us so dearly and responding to His love with our adoration.  Let your worship flow.

How I “Do” Worship (Part 1)

The Listening Place

LeeAnnRubsam.com

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a conversation I had with God quite a few years ago.  He had been laying out for me the three main ways He wanted me to serve for the rest of my life — the first was about the intercession specialty He had given me, the second was about writing for Him, and the third thing He said was just, “Minister to Me.” 

I was not sure what He meant.  “God, how could I possibly minister to You?”

And He responded with a longing in His tone I will never forget, “By listening to Me.” 

Listening to Him, hanging on His every word — not for any other reason than just because it is Him — He longs for us to do that.  It is the place of lovers.

It is easy, once we become a little bit accustomed to moving in the revelatory gifts, to think that our prophetic words need to “do” something.  We often want a word for the Church, whether the local body or beyond — maybe out of a pure desire to encourage or serve, maybe sometimes out of a human longing for recognition of our prophetic gifts.  But what we hear doesn’t have to have a tangible purpose all the time.  If it does, we’ve slipped into a performance mentality.

As I think this through, I’m coming to understand that listening to the Lord for His sake alone is a higher place of hearing and seeing.  And perhaps if we will come to that loftier plane and stay there for a time, when we do begin to give forth in prophecy to others again, what we say will be of a higher caliber as well.  Perhaps we will be less likely to speak the word of the Lord hastily, and what we share will carry a greater spiritual weight.

Think about it: we have the opportunity for a private audience of the most cordial, intimate nature with the One “who humbles himself to look upon the things that are in heaven and in the earth” (Psalm 113:6).  To listen to Him, purely for Him, and to know that I am ministering to Him by doing so — that’s a place of wonder.  And I want to be there — just because it makes Him happy.