Author: Christina Morgan

Prayer and Hearing God

In my last post I touched on the process of practicalising our worship through thanksgiving, using my stuck in traffic scenario.

Firstly, I’d like to add that worship is a deliberate act expressed through behaviours and gestures and not a spontaneous moment lead by feelings and emotions. It is a [practical] lifestyle not an occasion or event or a segment within a church service. Importantly, it is a form of prayer to God, which Jesus highlights in Luke 11:2. (Our father who art in Heaven hallowed be your name.)

The beautiful thing about prayer is not only that God hears us but he also speaks to us. It is a conversation between you and God and not a monologue directed at God or soliloquy spoken out into the atmosphere. Hearing from God is the most exciting thing and also one of the main things that keep you coming back to the place of prayer. Unfortunately, people don’t wait to experience that part.

I have found that as I have grown in my Faith and continued in prayer I hear God better and much quicker and I get answers through the most unexpected mediums, sometimes almost instantly. It was not always like this. I sometimes still find that I have to seek and wait for my answers, but more often than not I enjoy a well paced flowing conversation with God  more regularly that I used to. So what changed and how did I get here?

I’ll use my experience of today as an example. So, I’ve been mulling over some information I got at work and I was wondering if I should pursue the idea. I muttered a few prayers while eating my yogurt and left it knowing that I would get directions about what to do next. On my way back to my desk I looked through my Instagram feed (praise God for Instagram) and the first post I saw said this “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for”, in bold black colours. In the caption it had Matthew 7:7. This was the answer I needed. To confirm this (out of the mouth of one or more witnesses will God confirm his word – 2 Corinthians 13:1), I saw another scripture based post taken from Romans 8:31, which says if God be for us who can be against us. This was a clear direction as to what I needed to do. I knew it was God because it spoke directly to my situation and what wasn’t sure I was meant to do and it was also confirmed. I instantly felt the courage and the opportunity for me to ask opened up.

Even before I prayed whilst eating my cherry yogurt I sensed God telling me not to be afraid, to take the plunge and not allow fear to get in the way of my progress. My prayer was only a continuation of the conversation that was already taken place in the spirit (the heavenly realms) and I was apart of.

About ten years ago I didn’t have this experience and if I did, I was too unaware to have noticed it. The more your spirit engages in the conversations of the Spirit, the more you learn to assimilate the conversations of heaven and pick up the signals that are being transmitted to you.

I can hear God better and quicker now because for a long time I deliberately listened out for God, trying to distinguish his voice from the many other voices I was exposed to.

Practical Worship

Situations such as heavy traffic are designed to test and strengthen your godly character.

You wake up in the morning get dressed, feeling good, looking like heavy bling and then you get out of the house only to discover that traffic has built up outside your house and you can’t get out of your road let alone into town to catch your train. You try to walk and catch up with the bus in front, but the driver refuses to open the door, mouthing something like he is in the middle of the road and not at the bus stop. Then he turns the other way, brings out his sandwich and takes a hearty bit.

When you prayed this morning, you were not given the update about traffic making you late for work. Maybe if you had been informed you would have set out much earlier and arrived ontime. Maybe even a little earlier to impress your manager. But you’re not impressed. In your head the verse of the day is ringing, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoce and be glad in it”. So you force yourself to smile and not join in with the building crowed that is murmuring and complaining about the situation.

It’s hard, but you know you have to give thanks in all things. So, you internalize a prayer of thanks. You think about it and role over it in your mind until you are able to verbalize it and formulate it into words. Slowly but surely you realize it isn’t such a big deal and you find yourself thanking God you were not in the car crash that caused the traffic in the first place. Your thanksgiving some how made you see the bigger picture. That maybe your safty is more important than being on time to work. That your punctuality was given in exchange for your perfect peace and protection. That providence wasn’t sleeping when it heard your prayers sending the presence of God ahead to make rough paths plain.

Sometimes something as trivial as traffic can be big enough to cause an obstacle to your worship, but “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter his courts with praise”.

This is worship in Practice.

Psalm 118 and Prayer: Thanking, Asking, Declaring

God in his word commands that in all things we must give thanks (Ephesians 5:20). This can be really challenging when we are faced with problems for which we need solutions, and needs we desperately want met. The Psalmist, I think, is brilliant in how he combines thanksgiving with petitioning and declaration. He combines praise with his petition and declarations, based on his confidence in God, with thanksgiving to God. The Psalmist shows a God-awareness and a God-consciousness, that sets God’s will and omnipotence at the center of his prayer and the situation he finds himself in.

God’s place is always meant to be at the center of our lives, problems, hopes and aspirations. This God consciousness should influence our perspective causing us to defer back to God. After many points of thanksgiving and declarations he adds a sacrificial offering to his prayer, which he binds with cords to the horns of the alter.

The horn of the alter is the might, strength and power of the alter. Every alter has a horn. By tying his sacrifice to the horn, he makes God his source of strength and power.

He secures the backing of God when he proclaims that he will destroy the nations  against him (his adversaries) in the name of the Lord. He makes the name of the Lord work for him through this act of binding.

This sacrifice is a living sacrifice, because he does not ask for it to be burnt or pierced in the manner in which sacrifices were made. Implicitly, the psalmist himself is the sacrifice. This is a prophetic act as the concept of presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is not totally established until after Christ. Our ability to be a living sacrifice is based on the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ. The psalmist prophetically speaks in anticipation of what will be possible through Christ Jesus, the stone the builders rejected.

When we tie ourselves, our bodies and our souls to the alter we make God the source of our strength and power and because he can never run dry he must supply us with the strength we need.

For he will supply all your needs according to his riches in Glory. (Philippians 4:19)

What great news that our power supply is connected to the omnipotence of our God! The more we demand the more He supplies. Just like this Psalmist let us resolve to build on our demand daily, so he can supply to us daily, according to our need.

So, when we Pray,

  1. we pray with awareness and confidence that God is holding our lives and is listening to us.
  2. we pray with hearts filled with thanksgiving and appreciation on our lips.
  3. we pray making declarations based on his words and promises to us – in sync with God’s heart.
  4. we pray with the earnest fervency of all our faith, knowing that we are willing to make the sacrifice for what we are asking.
  5. we pray for the Holy Spirit because he is our supply
  6. and when we pray we pray daily.

Psalms 118    

(Praying in Thanksgiving, in praise, declaration and prophecy asking but always thanking God.)

1Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

2Let Israel now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

3Let the house of Aaron now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

4Let those who fear the Lord now say,

“His mercy endures forever. “

 

5I called on the Lord in distress;

The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

6The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

7The Lord is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I shall see my desires on those who hate me.

 

8It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

9It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

 

10All nations surrounded me,

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me:

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

12They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns;

For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

13You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me.

14The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.

15The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

16The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

 

17I shall not die, but live, And the declare the works of the Lord.

18The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

19Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord.

20This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.

21I will praise you,

for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.

22The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

23This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

24This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

 

25Save now I pray, O Lord;

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

27God is the Lord, And he has given us light;

Bind the sacrifice with Cords to the Horns of the alter. 

28 You are my God, and I will praise you.

You are my God, I will exalt you.

29Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

 

New King James Version   © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. 

 

Ephesians 6:15 ” and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

I don’t have any tornado experience and don’t think I ever will, based on where I live, but this picture makes so much sense. Let the message of the Gospel always be the peace in the midst of the storm.

kezha1's avatarSafetypinlove

For most of my life I lived in an area of the USA that doesn’t have tornadoes.  So when I moved back to the Mid-West and “tornado alley” I asked my sister for storm advice.  One of the most important things she stressed to me about being prepared for a tornado was to put my shoes on.  I was rather confused until she explained that when the tornado sirens went off I had only minutes to get to the basement and I needed to grab my shoes on the way down.  Because if my house did get hit, there’d be broken glass, exposed nails, and other dangerous things to crawl out from. I needed my shoes on in readiness just in case.  As we walk with God,  we need the same kind of preparedness  to share the Good News of Jesus.  For you never know when God will bring someone…

View original post 10 more words

The Fire Maker

God is in the business of taking our little and making it great. But often times we put God out of business by doing too much and going beyond the bounds of our responsibility.
A man told the story of coming home one day and being asked by his five year old daughter if they could make a fire in the fire place. They put all the things together in the fire place and started the spark. The final step was to blow until the flames catch. The little Miss had seen it done before and wanted to try. As she blew there was more spit coming out of her mouth than air. Her blowing if anything was quenching the spark. Eventually, though the fire started. This little girl was excited that she started her first fire. And if she should tell the story she would tell everyone what she did and how she did it. She would talk about how hard she worked at blowing. She would maybe talk about the right angle to blow from, how to pout with your lips for the optimum reliese of breath, and the right distance to keep for effective fire making. She might even start a seminar and produce a bestselling fire making book.

Here is the thing she didn’t know, while she was blowing, her father was right behind her matching her feeble blows with his much stronger one.

Yes, work as hard as you can. Do your best, but remember your best efforts cannot bring you the results you hope to see only God can bring that kind of increase.
‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ‘ I Corinthians 3:6-7

So, about those goals…

We often wait to reach the half way mark of the year before we start looking at our goals again and assessing how well we are doing. But I don’t think we should wait that long before we take another look at what we’ve achieved so far, how well we’ve done or how far we’ve strayed from our intended goals.

So, today I had a look at the more detailed notes I have for each goal in my goals journal and I noticed that

a) I had forgotten some things I wrote down and if I used what I wrote as a measurement of my success I wasn’t doing so well, and

b) perhaps I was a little too eager and excited and gave myself targets that were to high to reach.

And finally, C) I noticed that in the last few weeks I have focused more on achieving some goals and have not payed any attention at all to some others.

I’ve been asking myself if perhaps I gave myself to much to focus on in a short time. My goals are centered around the theme of development and having some tangible results at the end of the year. So for instance, I want to develop myself academically which obviously means that I will have some sort of qualification from a short course or will be enrolled on a course by the end of the year as evidence of that development. I also hope to see development spiritually, so I tasked myself to study particular sections and topics in the Bible in addition to my daily reading activity. I also want to develop my mind and broaden my thinking so I’m adding reading a new book every month on my list of things to do to achieve my goals, which in turn will also build my library.

These are just a few of the goals I put down, but as you can see this will inevitably place a demand on my time and finances and will also mean that I feel underdeveloped and stunted in my growth if I don’t meet my daily, weekly or monthly targets.

I’m sure you’re starting to see the importance of reviewing goals and assessing how practical the plans you’ve made are. No matter how smart your goals are they can out smart you if they don’t practically fit your current life style. Yes, of course you should be willing to change, but don’t make goals that will require you to make too many changes at the same time in a short space of time.

But here is what is even more important, No matter how smart your goals are and no matter how smart you are in working towards your goals, you CANNOT OUT SMART GOD!

Your goals are incomplete if you have not made spiritual goals, and they cannot be achieved if you do not priorities your spiritual goals. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and every other thing will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). You and I are the the Kingdom, and righteousness is our right standing with God, which is only made possible through the help of God, a thing we enjoy as a result of our relationship with Him.

The other thing we need to remember is that as we work towards our goals we need to constantly check what our motivations are. Is my desire to develop myself in 2018 godly? Am I driven by godly motivations, to please God with my growth and become the person that God wants me to be or am I focused on just getting it done and being able to say that I ticked of things on my list? You can work towards achieving your goals and do so well at this, but can be feeding of on the wrong motives. You might go on for years achieving all your goals before realizing that something is missing. It is the reason (purpose) behind what you do and not what you do that brings true fulfillment.

So, what am I taking away from my experience this afternoon? My focus needs to remain on being motivated on the advancement of God’s Kingdom in me and the promotion of righteousness as I work towards fulfilling my goals. I also see that there is a time for everything and that I cannot do everything at once, but I must stick to what is important and what I’ve decided to do now, being faithful and committed to it.

My prayer is, as always, that God causes what our hands find to do to prosper and makes us find rest in the fulfillment of all He has promised us in this year.

Christian’s and their Resolutions

With the year coming  to an end it’s quite natural to reflect on the year, all the achievements and make new plans for the coming year. You are probably already planning your vacations for next year, thinking about destinations or thinking about going back to school, writing exams starting a business or whatever else you have planned. This time of the year can also be a little nerve wrecking, particularly when you have had some prayer request that don’t seem to have been answered, and with only less and less time left in the year it doesn’t seem likely that the current year will birth a miracle for you.  With the world shouting out about goal setting and writing resolutions that will result in success, we might feel that we should have taken matters into our own hands instead of relying on God to make changes. With all this in mind how can we prepare in a godly way, so as to be inspired with fresh faith for the year ahead?

If you’ve had a few years now that have not ended in the way that you expected, in spite of making smart goals and well thought out plans, the question that might be playing on your heart might be whether goal setting is a godly practice. Maybe we should  trust God in prayers and see what he will do?

Proverbs 3: 5 and 6 admonishes us to,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (New Living Translation)

The obvious meaning we take away from this scripture is that we need to totally depend on and trust in God for direction and instruction. This is very true, but it also means that we need to have plans, an idea of what it is we want to do. You can’t trust God for the goals you want to achieve if you don’t have any! Smart Goals are God given goals and should therefore always be in line with our God given potential and purpose. For instance, becoming a Pastor of a new church plant aimed at reaching the unchurched is a godly vision. However, if your potential is to start a local business or perhaps it is to become an influential politician, you will quickly find that you are executing the wrong goals with the wrong tools.

King David desired to build God a temple, a place where God could dwell. The ark of the covenant had been the only physical place that represented the presence of God since the days of Joshua. This ark had been moved from place to place and never had a designated resting place apart from the large tent project commissioned by Moses. David’s passion for God inspired him to build a place for God. A glorious temple in honor of God. His idea was great and God approved of the idea, however as he sought God and acknowledged Him, in regards to this idea, He found out that God did not quite approve of his execution. It would not be David that would build the temple instead David’s son the one who would be made King after him would be the one to build the temple.

Sometimes acknowledging God means making adjustments to our plans, changing and postponing our goals, and sometimes scrapping them all together. In the case of David it meant that he only had the opportunity of financially contributing towards the goal, but He missed out on being part of the building project, he did not have the opportunity to see the building or attend the opening service. Whilst this seems like a loss, he would have certainly been more disappointment if he had gone to build the temple against God’s will. He would have attracted the disapproval and anger of God instead of the blessing and favour he received.

When your plans and goals are completely in line with God’s will for your life, you will  always attract God’s favour and grace.

But why didn’t God allow David to build the temple as he desired? It was his idea, so why was the burden of execution put upon the shoulders of his son Solomon?

The answer is found in verses 11-13 of 2 Samuel 7, which says,

11… . Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (New King James Version)

God’s purpose for David was to be a man of war. David was a fighter with the heart of a worshiper –  a warring worshiper. David was a destroyer and killer and a protector of Israel. Although he had a good heart with godly intentions, he still had to do things God’s way.  He was just part of the beginning of what God was planing not just in Israel but in the entire world. Even though, what we do is very important to God, he is even more particular in how we do it. Saul, David’s predecessor and mentor, did not take this into account and suffered worst possible punishment for his sin. “Obedience is better than Sacrifice”, were the words of Samuel to Saul after he made a sacrifice to God, which he as a King, had no business making (1 Samuel 15: 22). Seeking God’s face for our own goals has a huge impact on not just our own lives but on the lives of our descendants. Saul’s disobedience attracted a pattern of generational mishap and curses for his family, not only did the presence of God depart from him, but His sons to the third generation experienced misfortune and made wrong choices themselves.

You are more likely to continue down the path of wrong, if you are disconnected from the one who has the right direction. 

David’s one good choice to follow after God’s heart rather than his own carnal desires, led to him having a throne that is established forever. God is interested in legacy and not just that one goal you are looking to achieve. It is important to ask God for clear directions about what he wants you to do and how he wants you to do it. Let God fit your goals into the godly legacy he is trying to build through you.

set goals

Reflection: Walking the Straight and Narrow

 

The thing that held me back in my journey with Christ, without me even realising at first, was a compulsive need, an overwhelming desire to fit transformation and everything that comes with change in one day. Where the pressure to be an over-night perfect-holy-being came from I can’t exactly tell. But it was there. I was completely consumed by a false belief I had convinced myself was true: that Christianity was for the righteous. Only those that could keep their heads above water could wear the name ‘Christian’ with pride. So I strove to be an ideal instead of accepting the proposal of a life transforming relationship. The beauty of this revelatory truth that so eluded me was that the transformation comes as a natural addition. The first liberation was realising that surrendering need not be and would not be in a single day. In fact, every day was another day to lay down something else. There are also times where I needed to lay down something that I thought I had already dealt with.

The greatest journeys aren’t exactly easy. In complete contrast, they test your strengths expose your weaknesses, build your character in the most uncomfortable ways. You loose familiar things of sentimental value to gain great assets. The fact is, great journeys, the Christian journey, takes you through a process that demands one hundred percent disclosure and full acceptance of grace.

Keeping it Personal: How does Jesus do it?

Writing in the morning can really help get your brain juice working. You come up with stuff and you wonder where it comes from. It’s the same with meditation or just sitting down before talking to anyone in the morning and just thinking. Anyway, I was doing my usual morning devotion and after praying I decided to just sit and listen to what God had to say and he spoke to me about a few things in my life and about a few people. Isn’t it amazing when we just sit down that we realize that our answers to our prayers can come immediately? But how often do we get the chance to just patiently wait for His answers?

After listening I decided to write in my personal Journal since I haven’t had a moment to write in it for a few days and I usually write in this particular notebook in the evenings. I thought I’d share an excerpt from my Journal entry this morning and how I discovered another amazing trait about this Wonderful Jesus.    ……I’m still sitting in bed. I love the quiet peacefulness of the morning and how it feels like to be alone. Just me and God. I don’t like breaking it. That’s probably why people sometimes think I’m cranky in the morning. … Once I’ve spent time in the morning or during the day praying or studying the word, I have no desire to get into any long conversations about money or what somebody did or said or didn’t do. It spoils the little slice of perfect heaven I’ve come back with. I guess I can understand how Jesus must have felt when the disciples bombarded him with questions about their needs and their worries and who is greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus is perpetually living in perfect peace despite the worries, suffering and the natural circumstances around Him. He is living in complete tranquility. It’s no wonder that He is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is operating at a higher level to all his friends. When you pray you are uplifted and you rise above the problems and worries of everyday life. But what happens after you say the final ‘Amen’? Are we still above the cares and worries or do we plummet into the abyss of everyday existence? I mean, when my mum comes with her questions or list of instructions it really does feel like it’s all just cutting the flow, but Jesus would not be troubled by that.

WWJD, What would Jesus do? I think most of us could answer that question, but here is the real question: How does Jesus do what he does? How do I balance the supernatural with common humanity? I think it has a little to do with being real with God about what is going on with you. Dealing with those requests, but remembering that after the warfare we need to wait to hear from God. Let God speak to you and I believe that God answers our prayers immediately. We just don’t wait to receive the answer, which most often comes in the form of blessings, strength and an increase of the fruit of the spirit. …If we receive peace and patience we will be able to stand strong and graciously in the midst of the extreme turbulence or the daily hassles without irritation. …

In devotion, quantity is synonymous with quality. I’ve come to understand that there is just no way around it.

After writing this, I thought about how many times I must have missed out on the daily benefits of peace and grace God promises. I also thought that Jesus wants us to come to him with our worries He invites us to cast our cares on Him and to take up his yoke and learn from Him for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. So, rather than feeling irritated with us when we come into his presence with our daily stress, cares and worries He rejoices over us and delights in our communion with Him. Likewise, we are empowered and engraced to express this aspect of our relationship with God with others around us. What keeps us in everyday Supernatural-Mode is knowing that our encounters with God are intended not only for our own personal enjoyment like a moment of catharsis that is only internal and most likely temporary, but instead is meant to cause us to help and save others. Jesus frequently went away to recharge himself spiritually and spent deep intimate moments with Father God and when He came down the multitudes were already waiting for Him with their infirmities, sickness, demon-possessed state, sins, problems, challenges, hypocrisy and plots to kill him. But he always had the right answers, always had the solution, always had the remedy. On one instance, he came down from his favorite praying spot and found a storm, yet he calmly walked over it. Deep moments with God, where you give time to really listen to God and listen to what he has to say will cause you to walk on unstable waters like on the dry ground. In devotion, quantity is synonymous with quality. I’ve come to understand that there is just no way around it.

Inside the Journal of a Christian

I won’t be surprised to find out that most of the Journals kept by Christians are filtered by scriptural quotes filled with all the right things to say rather than the things that are truly felt and thought. Imagine writing down your truest, purest thoughts and then searching the scriptures for the emotions and issues you wrote about and then writing down the scriptures next to how you really feel. I think this approach to journaling will have a much more fulfilling effect. You are fully expressing your thoughts and emotions and processing them through the Word of God, as you begin to release, your heart is open and emptied to receive. It takes vulnerability to do this, but the reward of vulnerability is intimacy with the Father.

The shame of hiding the emotions, guilt, and issues that are sometimes seen as “non-Christian” is completely eradicated from this process as you completely open up those thoughts to the light of the word and instead of shame and condemnation you’ll be aware of God’s abounding grace. A lot of the times what directs us away from the presence of God are those unprocessed emotions that we carry around, and although we hear God’s word, what is often real to us is what we feel and with the reinforcement of external forces such as modern day media, we are pulled into the direction we are trying to avoid. This hiding of things in us that aren’t outright Christian creates a set of people I’d call “deep-but-shallow-Christians”. There are those people that know all the scriptures, always quick to respond to any negative with a reprimanding bible quote, but if you were privy to their own relationship with God you’d quickly realize that it’s not as deep as it looks. The devotion is not constant enough to provide the roots and depth a strong relationship with God requires to last forever. Not long ago that was me. I noticed the drastic extremes of burning with holy passion for a time and being deeply lethargic and bored the next moment. Chasing the excitement of worship and romanticizing the idea of it to the extent that we chase after the feeling instead of the presence.

What we need to remember though is that God is present with his full presence the moment you allow him access into your life. Yes, even in the uneventful, mundane moments of life.

journaling can really open up your every day to God and builds contentment and gratitude, which facilitates your deeper growth in Him. You can commit to this way of journaling today. As you study your bible or follow a devotional take note not only on what is in the word but also about how you feel before and after you’ve studied.