Listen to the Holy Spirit and Pray

I feel really impressed to encourage two things. 

The first is to listen to the Holy Spirit.  I want to re-iterate John 16:13-15.  

The second thing that I would like to encourage is to change our desires to be the same as His.  

Read the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.  

These two things go hand in hand. 

In order to know what God wants, one must listen to the Holy Spirit.  If one is listening to the Holy Spirit, then their desires will start to line up with His.  Let’s shift out focus away from ourselves so that we do not get in the way of what God wants to do.

I have said before, and the same applies now, I need to apply what is written in this piece just as much as anyone else.  With the times that are coming, it is time to be quiet and listen to what God is trying to speak to us through the Holy Spirit.  God is well aware of what we need, and He does not need us wasting prayer time pleading for ourselves.  

Matthew 6:31-32 says “Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things doe the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

On the Day of Pentecost, God left His Holy Spirit on the Earth to help us.  The purpose of the Holy Spirit is defined in John 16:13.  

“He will guide you into all truth.” 

 So when the Holy Spirit tells us to do something, we need to recognize that He is telling us to do it because that is what God does and/or what God wants from us.  One can never go wrong listening to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit can be consulted about any situation.  If you had a friend that you could ask about anything:  finances, relationships, health, and they always had the correct answer, would you value that person’s relationship?  What lengths would you go to maintain communication with that person?  Well, the Holly Spirit is that friend, and just like any other friend, you need to spend time with him to get to know Him and learn to communicate with Him.  The more time you spend with the Holly Spirit, the more He will teach about you God and the easier it will be to communicate.

One of the most wonderful things that the Holy Spirit can do is telling us how to pray.  I think that it is safe to say that most people do not consult the Holy Spirit when they pray.  Most prayer revolves around what the individual person would like to see happen, and I seriously doubt that the desires of one’s flesh lines up with the desires of God.  What I would encourage everyone, as well as myself, is to learn how to communicate with the Holy Spirit so that he can tell you what the Father wants.  When we are confident in what the Father wants, the focus of our prayer will change.  Instead of praying for the things that God has already promised us, we can start praying for the things that God wants to come to pass.

The past few years have been a time to learn to communicate with the Holly Spirit and to get to know who God is and what His will is.  This time will eventually come to an end.  Those that did not use this time wisely will not be ready for battle and will be susceptible to being fooled by the enemy.  Their use will be limited respective to their knowledge of God’s will.  The entertainment of this world is keeping people from communicating with the Holy Spirit and gaining knowledge of God.  This is Satan’s attempt to gain an advantage in the battle against truth.  The important thing to remember is that we have the victory and Satan knows it.

Character

True test of character 

 What happens when someone says something to try and discredit you? What happens when people spread rumors and lies about you? Also what if these lies, if believed, have serious consequences, like loosing your job or a relationship? What is your reaction to that?



I can say when that has happened to me, I've wanted to rush to my own defense!
Although that seems like a justified and logical thing to do, that action can bury you in a deeper mess.

As a Christian I believe all the answers on how to deal with difficult situations are in the Bible. In this case I have always looked at King David. In David’s youth, King Saul grew extremely jealous of David. King Saul let that jealousy and bitterness grow in his heart to the point where he tried pinning David to a wall with his spear!! Now the logical thing to do would be to pick up the spear and throw it back. So that’s what made David’s reaction to the whole situation very curious. Instead of taking the “logical” course of action he did just the opposite, he refused to touch King Saul. Even though he would have been justified in defending himself, David chose to let God to handle the situation. He chose to trust in God no matter how bad the situation got and he didn't try splitting the kingdom when he left.

You may think “We have to be bold when facing situations, we can’t just run from our problems!” I don’t suggest you run from your problems, I suggest you trust God. Because anyone can stand up to someone if given the proper motivation, but it takes true boldness to trust God to work on your behalf.

Ask God how to handle the situation, He will always answer and give you a plan of action. Never act out of fear or pride, that is a fools course of action. King David was delivered from Saul and given the kingdom in his youth. Then in David’s old age Absalom threatened to take that kingdom from him. David determined not to throw a single spear, he could have easily quelled that rebellion, but he did not. Once more he left it in God’s hands, and once more God delivered him. David didn't let pride or fear handle the situation, but rather he humbled himself and fully relied on God, even though it was an extremely hard thing to do.

So humble yourself and trust in the Lord. You will not be disappointed or put to shame.

                           

We Can Be Just Like Jesus

Just like Jesus

The Bible tells us that we can be just like Jesus. 

1 John 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 

One of my favorite verses is

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

I was made to be like Jesus so I could function the same way He did.  What Jesus did is what I should be doing. 

John 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 

John 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 

John 17:20-23  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

If we are supposed to glorify God we must be like Jesus.  Jesus glorified His Father by openly showing the world His Father.  

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