Breakthough Prayer

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:3 &10 NKJV

Two paths are laid before us. In the garden of Eden they were pictured as two trees, one leading to life and one to death. In the law they were pictured as blessings and cursing’s, the result of choosing between obedience and disobedience (Deuteronomy 28), and here the new testament describes them as the choice of whose voice we follow, Jesus voice to abundant life, or the enemy’s voice, leading us into agreement with him, where he can steal, kill, and destroy.

Jesus great desire is for us to have life and that it be abundant. He has given everything for that purpose, and from His perspective it is done. Now the “ball is in our court,” and receiving abundant life is based on our choice to seek Him through the word, to listen carefully for His voice, and to respond to what He says to us. His leading requires our following! If we will choose to take the time to do this, He will teach us and manifest Himself to us, and as we align with Him, His will, and His word, we will experience the abundant life.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 NKJV

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.2 Chron 16:9

Has there been a God idea brewing in your spirit? Is there something big stirring in you that you sense a call to follow the Lord in? Something that seems out of the box, and certainly a long way from anything you have ever done before? Does it seem so big that “He couldn’t possibly be asking you to do that?”

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts (Zach 4:6). When you choose to surrender and take the leap of faith into that which only God can do, you enter into adventurous territory. It is a place where you will discover new and radical aspects of God’s ability to do things through you that you never would have thought possible. “His paths drip with abundance” (Psalm 65:11) and when we are following in His footsteps on the path that He has called us to, we experience His provision to complete the task, including the courage!  Any good employer would provide for you all that you need to do the job you are hired to do, and God is a good employer!

So trust Him, take the next step in obedience to the adventure you are being called to. God will meet you there every time, and provide all you need to finish what He has asked you to do on His behalf.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

“Gideon said to Him, Oh Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold my clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Judges 6:15 AMP

Gideon is living proof, anybody can do something significant when the Lord is with them. In his time, Israel was being continually oppressed and harassed by the Midianites, an enemy whose numbers were beyond counting. They came like locust’s, ravaging the land and leaving Israel completely impoverished. This was no small problem, certainly not the sort of thing a fellow like Gideon would look at and say “we can take them!”  But God called Gideon,  Gideon rose to the occasion, and he and his three hundred men took back the land, and started something that ushered in forty years of peace and rest for Israel.

This really blows the lid off of the question “what can one person do?” It is not about how insignificant we are, it is about how big God is, and our willingness believe Him and obey when He calls us to start something! What is God asking you to do? Does it seem impossible? If you will take that first step, he will meet you there and something will happen. When Gideon obeyed, God sent him all the help he needed. Imagine our impact if everyone of us stepped up to what God was asking us to do. So go ahead… start something… and see how God will send you help, and together you can change your world!

The Lord said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man. Judges 6:16 AMP.

“but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have LIFE in His name.” John 20:31 NKJV

Life!  Jesus Resurrection means LIFE for us! It is restoration of everything that Adam gave away to the enemy in the garden. It is our gift to have direct access to a relationship with the Father, authority over the enemy in Jesus name, the very power that raised Christ from the dead made available to us, we are seated with Him in heavenly places, and we have the mind of Christ.

Selah!

When we die to ourselves, we are resurrected with Christ and we allow Him to live His life through us, as we live our lives in Him (Gal.2:20). In surrender to Him, we have the power, the position, and the authority to impact change wherever He sends us. We become bearers and bringers of life and hope. When we walk in submission and unity with Him, nothing will be impossible for us. That is the power of the resurrection in our lives. Christ is manifested through us for the hope of nations.

Let us “put on” Christ, and walk in the fullness of everything the resurrection means for us!

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from  the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.

Romans 6:4-5

“Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.” Psalm 85:13

God has a plan for our lives and we experience that plan as we walk it out one day at a time. Our lives are a journey and in order to get to the next thing we need to “keep moving.” In the natural we need to reach each point in order to receive what is waiting for us there, it is not the weekend until it is the weekend, we don’t receive the paycheck until it is payday. In the same way God has provision for us along the path of life, and as long as we keep moving forward in faith, we will have His perfect provision in His perfect time.

God is calling each us to a life of purpose and meaning, and He is faithful to provide everything we need in order to fulfill that purpose. His paths drip with abundance (Psalm 65:11), and as long as we listen for His voice as He leads us, stick to His paths and follow His footsteps, we will continually find His perfect provision in the perfect time.

Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. Psalm 17:5

You will show me the path of life; At your Right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

“because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” Romans 1:21 NKJV

Sometimes it is just good to slow down and take God’s word apart a little.  Here we see someone who KNEW GOD, yet they were futile in their thinking, described as “foolish” and had dark hearts. How can this be? How can those who know God find themselves in this state? The answer is clear, they did not glorify Him as God, and they were unthankful.

Every day we find ourselves faced with circumstances that place us at the intersection of choosing to be thankful or to complain. When we choose praise and thanks, the Holy spirit is right there to usher us into light, bringing revelation, joy, and peace. But if we choose complaining, the enemy is equally ready and waiting to lead us down the path of discouragement and frustration. God inhabits the praises of His people and He calls us to be in the light as He is in the light.

Choose this day whom you will serve! Come into the light through thankfulness and praise, and the glorious King will meet with you there, and reveal what you need to have victory in your circumstance.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6 NKJV

The concept of fasting is that we sacrifice something for a time to draw nearer to the Lord. In the fast that Isaiah speaks of, we are challenged in a sense to fast our whole lives as we lay them down to care for the needs of others. It is the place of saying to God “here I am, use me” with no conditions or strings attached.  Its flat out, unquestioning willingness to be available to enter into the call of the Lord to be His hands and His feet to meet the needs of those around us.

Too often we feel held back from reaching out to others because of our own needs, challenges, and shortfalls. Yet the irony in all of this is that Isaiah tells us that if we will lay down our lives for others, we also will get healed and set free. I have seen this to be true as I have witnessed people who were fighting with depression and health issues, who decided they would go out and find something to do to help others. After a while they got so involved in their “volunteer work” that their own symptoms and problems began to subside and they found joy in life again.

This is just typical of God’s way, “give and it will be given unto you.”  It doesn’t always seem to make sense, it just works!

Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:8 NKJV

“My steps have held closely to your paths (to the tracks of the One Who has gone on before); my feet have not slipped.” Psalm 17:5 Amp

I was reading the story of King Josiah, what an amazing king he was as he honored the Lord in removing the idols from the land and pointing the people back to God’s ways. Ironically and sadly his life ended because he got himself involved in a war that he was not called by God to be in. Even when the king he was fighting against sent messengers to tell Josiah that God had commanded him (the Egyptian king) to this battle, and that Josiah was to “refrain from meddling in God’s work lest God destroy him” (2 Chron. 35:21 NKJV), Josiah continued to engage and ended up dead.

King Josiah’s story really highlights the importance of each of us recognizing the difference between what we are called by God to do, and what we are getting ourselves involved in because “it’s a good cause” or “somebody just needs to do it.” It is always good for us to remind ourselves that our Father knows our frames and has promised not to give us more than we can handle. If we are feeling overwhelmed, overrun, or burnt out, there is a good possibility that we are doing things that God is not asking of us. Not only are we hurting for carrying things unnecessarily, but we are potentially doing something that someone else is called to do, and when we step in place of them, we take away their opportunity to do the thing that God has prepared them for.

So be at peace, just do the things that you know God has called you to do, and trust Him to send the right person to take care of the many other things you recognize around you that need to be done.

They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another, every one marches in his own column. Joel 2:7-8 NKJV

And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 NKJV

 What does it really take to see our prayers answered? Without a doubt we have all seen those times when (to our surprise!) God just moves quickly and miraculously, and we know He has heard our request. However, there are other times when it just seems like nothing is happening and we just keep bumping into the same old problem. I have found that this concept  of “renewing our minds” is a major key to see answers to many of these issues. Often the main reason we are having a problem is because we are out of alignment with God’s way of doing something, and we are simply reaping what we are sowing. This could relate to anything from marriage issues, to farming, to running a country! Maybe you don’t really need a miracle, maybe you are just doing it wrong! Meanwhile we are getting angry and asking God why He doesn’t do something, while He could be asking us the same question!

The Word of God is an instruction book for life, and you can find instruction there on pretty much anything if you take the time to look. Not only do we need to find out what the word says on a given subject, but we need to get our minds so soaked in it that we literally have a change of thinking that becomes our “new normal.” This leads to new behaviors, that leads to answered prayer as we sow good seed, and prove true the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For My yoke is easy ad my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. John 3:16 the message

 Recently I spent some time with a lady who has known Jesus for a very long time, and although I see a love and sincerity for Him in her, her understanding and lifestyle do not reflect a life devoted to His ways. However as she shared her story, I was so moved by how beautifully God had been at work in and through her. His amazing grace and unconditional love were so clearly extended to her as one of His own little children, even in the midst of the choices she was making.

It made me realize that we can get so hung up on the importance of obedience (and it is important!) that we can lose sight of God’s unconditional love, which is so clearly portrayed through the story of the prodigal son, and the shepherd that leaves the ninety nine sheep to go and find the one that has been lost.

We are God’s search and rescue team, we are Jesus in the flesh and we are sent out to show His unconditional love and compassion. Every day we are encountering those who are the “prodigals,” who have known Jesus at some level, but have fallen away for various reasons. Judgment and criticism will not bring them back, it is the kindness of God that leads them to repentance.

Let our words and actions reflect unconditional love that we may be like our Father in heaven, and that we would see the prodigals returned.

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:4-7 NKJV