Believe for More in 2013

As humans, God created us in His image. He created us to commune and connect with Him.

John 10:27 says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me."  

When we walk with Christ—the Messiah of the world—and stop to be still, and ask Him to cleanse us of all the unrighteousness that separates us from Him, we can hear His whispers softly speak to us.

So many people are afraid to trust the voice they hear in their spirits. If what we are sensing in our spirits does not align with the Word of God and its principles, then we can be certain that it must not be from God. But we can rejoice and know that He does speak. Jesus assured us in His own words that His sheep will hear His voice.

In my times of prayer, I often write the words I hear in my spirit in a journal. I love to go back and reread those words for encouragement.

Last spring, I was outside watering flowers and praying when the Lord began speaking softly to me. I was pondering the times when I couldn't imagine how all that had been lost would be restored.

I thought about how I had made a decision to leave doubt behind forever.  It was the season where great expectation replaced the doubtful thoughts. Expectation became reality and breakthrough came because I had chosen to believe Jesus to do the impossible for me.

As I thought about the belief that had replaced the doubt in my life, the Lord tenderly spoke to my heart and I rushed inside to write down the words trickling into my spirit.

These are the worst of times for some and the best of times for others. For the ones focused on the cares of the world, there will be more disappointment. But for those who meditate on Me and My Word, My GLORY will be seen. Believe the truth and you shall be free. Speak those things that are not as if they are. Who are you going to listen to? You can listen to Me or you can listen to the accuser of the brethren. You can believe the lies or you can believe the truth. I have promised to supply all of your needs according to My riches. I rejoice over the ones who trust Me fully. When you walk in My righteousness and place your faith in Me, My power is released in your life. I have good plans for you. So walk away from unbelief forever and trust Me to do the impossible. Trust Me to work out all things for good in your life. I am who I say I am. I am all you need to live a victorious life today and forever. Believe.
  
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matthew 21:22 (NIV)

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did…Romans 4:17 (NKJV)

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:17 (NIV)

I have revised this post slightly because I want to be certain that others know that I only share words that I truly believe are from God—words that I hope will encourage others. I hope others will be inspired to believe that Jesus does speak to His sheep and He does have good plans for all of us.

A Prayer 

Lord, we fully surrender our hearts to You today. We ask You to fill our hearts with unwavering faith and belief. Let us walk with assurance in You to do the impossible in our lives. And let us live in victory every day. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Live Abundantly!

Amy

The photo above is a graphic design my daughter created in school.

Desperately Seeking God

I was organizing a closet and stumbled upon a prayer I had written to God when I was twenty years old. The words I had written expressed my desire to learn to depend on Christ like an infant with her mother. If I had known what was in store for my future, I don't know that I would have been brave enough to pray the words written in that prayer.

At that time in my life I didn't really know what it meant to be dependent on God. There was no reason to depend on Him. I was a young newlywed working for a Fortune 500 company, sailing through life. To top things off, I was head over heels in love with the man I had dreamed of as a little girl. I was "Cinderella" and my "Prince Charming" had recently swept me off of my feet. 

For a season, the sunshine in my life remained, but then the rain came, and eventually turned into violent thunderstorms. My marriage began to fail, the job I sought fulfillment from ended and I felt hopeless. Everything that made me feel safe and protected had been lost. In 1997, 12 years after I had prayed to have an infant like dependence on God I hit rock bottom.  I clearly remember wanting my life to be over.

In my desperation, God picked me up, put the pieces of my heart back together, and healed my marriage.

Shortly after God began restoring my marriage, I woke up from a deep sleep with these words replaying over and over in my head: "Wherever you go, I will go...wherever you go, I will follow..." 

During a telephone conversation, I shared the words with my mother, hoping she would have some insight. She told me that these words were from a scripture in the book of Ruth. Through tears, my mother read the words from Ruth 1:16, "Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave you, or turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.' "  My heart was touched, but I still wasn't sure what the relevance of this verse was for my life.

Several hours later, I felt a powerful sense of Christ's presence as I was praying, and suddenly I remembered something I had forgotten. My husband and I had chosen a verse to have engraved on our wedding bands before we were married. I couldn't get the ring off of my finger fast enough to see what scripture was inscribed on my wedding band. My heart fluttered when I saw that it was Ruth 1:16. As I sat there weeping, I rejoiced in knowing that God had known all along that we would make it through the severe storms we had faced in our marriage. 

Is there something you are relentlessly praying about, and desperately seeking God for?

* Don't give up praying (Luke 18: 1-8).

* Remain steadfast and don't lose heart (Hebrew 12:3).

* Keep a heart of gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Christ is the One who restores, heals, and performs miracles as we desperately and wholeheartedly seek after Him.

This article has been revised and was originally written in 2008 for Intercessory Prayer Network SE.

Live Abundantly!

Amy