"Hill Country Thoughts:Walking Daily With The Lord -Thoughts, Hopes,and Living in the Real World" "Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult {and} thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.
The one thing that is really amazing to me today, is that, our relationship with the Lord is not based on feelings.
My walk with the Lord is not based on how I feel today or tomorrow, or if I am feeling up or down.
My walk with the Lord is based on the fact that He is Lord, that He is with me no matter what my moods. He is still Lord and He is still here, carrying me through the day, whether I am on the mountain top or walking in the Valley below, I can still can call upon Him and He hears and He cares and He answers.
May not always give me the answer “I want” but He will answer, if we let Him.
Today has been a sort of blue day, not really down but not really up either, could have a lot to do with allergies also :-)
I do know one thing, that the minute that I begin to think on the Lord as I begin to praise Him in my heart and mind, then my spirit begins to rise.
I noticed through the week, that when I was visiting with various people, at different meetings, when I began to share what is going on with me and share what was on my heart, that the more I shared, the stronger the presence of the Lord and the more excited I became, almost to overflowing. The more that I shared, the more the tank was filled.
Even as I write this, it is the same thing. It is like being renewed each time, filling up with the presence of the Lord. As we are filled then we can become a blessing to others.
That we can encourage, exhort and lift up one another in the Lord. Then we can share the living reality of the life changing power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isn’t that what this is all about, being a Christian? Sharing the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ with others.
The basis of prayer is hunger and desire that rise within. It can only be fulfilled by God. To the extent that we desire or hunger after the Lord we will obtain, or be filled. If we put little in, we will get little out. The degree of relationship that we want to have with the Lord is up to us. It is up to us to hunger and desire after the Lord; it is our individual relationship with the Lord. When our spirit is open, then the Lord can deal with us, speak to us and bring forth the changes that are needed within. The more that we want to be like the Lord, the more time we will spend with Him, cultivating an individual relationship, communing daily with the Lord and learning to talk to Him.
Discipline is an important factor in our prayer life. When we discipline ourselves, we put ourselves into submission to the Lord, allowing Him to have His way. It is a time of putting down all the activities that keep us from communicating with the Lord, being still before Him that we might hear His voice.
To come before Him, we must set time aside and purpose in our heart to hear from the Lord. It is not based on our feelings, but on the Lord. No matter what, we must purpose to set time aside, not allowing anything to interrupt our prayer and time with the Lord.
The Lord desires us to come to a face-to-face relationship with Him; a place of knowing Him, and not just about Him. When we come to the Lord in prayer we are ministering to Him. He desires that we minister to Him, worshiping and loving Him; for as we come before the Lord we will begin to love the Lord God with all our heart and with all our soul. We will worship and exalt Him with our whole being
In Proverbs 8:34 we are told, “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my door.” Blessed are they who hear, who are waiting upon the Lord, watching, observing and seeing with the eye of the Spirit: for in Him we find wisdom. We are to dwell and reflect upon the Word of God and allow it to become alive within; we are to meditate and think upon the Lord. Prayer requires action on our part, a response to the call of God in coming before Him.
We must learn to respond to the Lord no matter what time He calls us to prayer, for when we respond to the voice of the Lord we will not only fulfill God’s purpose in the call to prayer, but it will do a work within us.
Wesley says of him that prays, “For Indeed he prays without ceasing. It is given him always to pray; and not faint. Not that he is always in the house of prayer; though he neglects no opportunity of being there. Neither is he always on his knees. although he often is on his face before the Lord his God nor yet is he always crying aloud to God, or calling Him in words: For many times the ‘Spirit maketh intercession for Him with groans that cannot be uttered’ But at all times the language of his heart is this: ‘Thou brightness of the eternal glory, unto thee is my heart, though without a voice, and my silence speaketh unto thee.’ And this is true prayer and this alone. But his heart is ever lifted up to God, at all times and in all places. In this he is never hindered or interrupted, by person or thing. In retirement or company, in leisure, business or conversation his heart is ever with the Lord. Whether he lies down or rises up, God is in all thoughts; he walks with God continually, having the loving eye of his mind still fixed upon Him, seeing Him that is invisible.”
(Wesley’s Works, Vol. 8, Page 343).
Wesley had a real insight into prayer. He was a man who spent much time before the face of the Lord, a man for whom God answered prayer.
Andrew Murray in Secret of Believing Prayer, said, “It is only when we live and associate with God in a personal living relationship, where God Himself is all to us, where our whole being is continually opened and exposed to the might influence at work where His Holy Presence is revealed, that the capacity will be developed for believing that He gives whatever we ask (according to His will). He said, “The power to believe a promise depends entirely on faith in the promisor. Trust in the person begets trust in His word” As we pray, we are to be full of the Lord; our heart is to be filled with the Lord and with His presence.
In Psalms 55:16-17, David says, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice.” David sought after the Lord. Speaking of a relationship with God he said, “I will call upon God,” and he states that God will save, for God shall hear his voice. If we are walking in right relationship with the Lord we shall be able to say as David said, “The Lord will save; He will deliver.”
Our prayers are not to be an outward show for man, but unto the Lord, to His glory and honor (Matthew 6:6). We are to please the Lord and not man, going to our secret place (our prayer chamber) and communing with our Father.
In Matthew 26:41, we are told to watch and pray, to be alert, to enter not into temptation and not be ignorant of the tactics of the enemy, but to be prepared at all times, knowing that the enemy will try to trip us up. Therefore, let us always be in the Word and in the presence of the Lord, attuned to the Spirit that we might combat that which the enemy throws our way. We are in a warfare.
Prayer is one of our main weapons of warfare against the enemy, for it prepares us to enter into spiritual warfare. Prayer prepares us and makes us pliable in the hands of God so that He can take that which He can use to bring honor and glory to Him. The most important thing that we are to learn is that the Lord looks for and desires those who allow Him to speak to their hearts, to use them to stand in the gap, to call upon the Lord and to do battle in the Spirit, for the Lord will keep us as we cleave unto Him.
We have just begun to touch on the true meaning of prayer!
The Lord is really making me know what it means to walk with Him, allowing His word to become real within, applying the principles that He reveals. That wither we are on the mountain top or in the valley, we can walk in the center of His will, of His presence and have that peace which passes all understanding.
I think that after nearly 30 years, I am beginning to understand a little of what the Lord has been trying to show me, to teach me, to make real in my life. It is like the Lord is renewing me, restoring my first love for Him, for His word and He is making it real in my life, that I can have the joy of the Lord. That I can be a blessing to others, that I can encourage them in the things of the Lord.
The Lord does not want this to just be a tempore thing in our lives. He wants us to live in the reality of it, on a daily basis.
Sitting here in the study reading, writing, going through a lot of e-mails and spending the last couple of days reading a variety of Blogs.
There are a lot of really interesting people blogging! Sharing thoughts and ideals and just expressing themselves and not realizing how much of an impact they may have on someone who is reading their thoughts and ideas.
There is one particular blog that I have been reading that I have enjoyed thoroughly. It is called [i]The Happy Husband - Celebrating Marriage in a Hostile World.[/i]
It has ministered to me in a number of ways and the links to other blogs and thoughts that others have shared have done much to help me in the path that I am presently walking with the Lord in life.
Knowing that the Lord is in total and complete control and that whither I am on the mountain top or in the valley, I can walk in the center of His will for me, by staying focus on Him.
In a time such as this, we need an anchor and that anchor for me is the Lord Jesus Christ!
It is just a quite day today ... kind of reading, relaxing, getting ready for Men's Bible Study tonight which is always a blessing to be part of. To have around a dozen men to come together on a Wednesdays night to study the word and talk about the things of the Lord is really awesome and it is good!
I would say that most of today has been a reflective day. Just thinking about all that the Lord has been doing over the last couple of weeks, of making himself more real to me through the reading of His word, of being in His presence in prayer and praise and just sensing the closeness of the Lord even in the midst of battles of life, we can have that peace and rest of the Lord that carries us through all that is set before.
I think one of the things that the Lord really wants, is for us to be real in Him, to know that the Lord is with us in our daily life, as we go about our daily tasks, that He wants to lead us in our conversations, our relationships and He wants us to draw us together so that we might know Him.
The Lord is calling for a people who will be willing to pray, to come together and seek Him. All it takes is two or three people coming together in His name and He makes His presence known!
Well ... gotta get ready for the evening ... might be back later to add to todays blog, if not, I will catch you all tomorrow!!
Reading the word has become a real excitement, an anticipation, a revelation of the Lord in newness of life, going from theory to reality of the Lord’s presence. He wants us to live in that fullness. He wants us to partake of Him. He wants us to live in His promises. To Have faith, to believe and to know that He is Lord!
Phew, I can hardly write because of the presence of the Lord that I am feeling, so I will close for now and add more later on!!
It has been an awesome day, a real manifest presence of the Lord, as we prayed this morning, a real anointing of the Lord and it has been like that through the day and into the evening as I prepare to call it a night!
Even right now, I am finding it hard to write, into my journal. I feel like a drunk man, but like the Apostle Peter said, these men are not drunk with wine as ye suppose but with the presence of the Lord which brings healing to the body, to the spirit and to the soul!
What an awesome God we serve, that He gives revival were we are, right in the midst of His present, right in the middle of prayer. He makes Himself know. It is awesome. God is alive. Our Lord is indeed risen and we are indeed alive in Christ!!
He wants us to share Him. The living Lord, the Risen Savior, who has made a way for us to come into the presence of our heavenly Father, daily. Woowho, Joy unspeakable and full of glory!
The heavens are open and the battle is on and the enemy is fleeing, the enemy is on the run. The spiritual warfare has begun, the Lord is raising us up, one by one and putting us into rank, shoulder to shoulder, moving forward, marching forward into spiritual battle.
Our Lord and Savior, our Commander in Chief, is calling us to rise up in this day and time to do battle in the spirit. He said He would raise up a standard, a force that will stand and see the enemy flee because of the presence of the Lord!
So rejoice, for this indeed is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice in it and rejoice that a new day is coming and that we can again, rise up in the morning with joy in our heart, praise on our lips and give Glory to our Father!!
What an awesome day. Had prayer this morning with my pastor and it sure was good.
It was awesome to sense the presence of the Lord as we began to pray for our community, for our families, for our nation.
It has really been super to see what the Lord has been doing in our midst as we come daily before Him, knowing that were two or three are gathered together in His name, that He is with us.
The Lord so wants to have communion with us. He wants to break bread daily with us, to have fellowship with Him and allow Him to speak to us through His word, through His presence and through the things that He speaks to us through others if we have ears to hear and of we will be still long enough to listen. It is the still small voice that speaks to us and reveals Himself to us.
We trully serve a living God. A risen savior who has made a way for us to walk in the real world, that we can walk in faith, that we can walk in the annointing. That we can have the joy of the Lord as our daily portion.
I keep saying this but it is true, the Lord has indeed made Himself real in my life! He has restored my joy, my passion, my hunger for Him, and it has been increasing on a daily basis and I find it almost to hard to put into words that which I am feeling within. It trully is joy unspeakable and full of glory.
I trust that you will be blessed this day as you read the thoughts the Lord puts in my heart to share, because I trully want to encourage, exhort, lift up others in the Lord and in their walk with Him.
A day of being able to walk in the peace of the Lord as I walk the path that is set before me knowing that the Lord is wanting to bring me to a place in my life so that others can see the reality of who He is. That they see the life changing power of the Lord.
That we can indeed walk in the Lord in this world. That He is with us, that He does hear us, even in the times that we don't think He is listening, He is!
I know that the Lord has been with me over the last year and a half, as I went through nearly three months of chemo and radiation treatments and two major surgries. The Lord was with me, through all of it! He gave me the comfort, the peace and the rest!
And yes, there were days that I wondered, but I never lost my faith in the Lord and the things that I have been seeking for have begun to become real in my life.
The Lord has given me a new hunger for Him, for His word. A passion, a hunger, a restoration of that first love for Him.
Our Lord is faithful, to fulfill all those things that He speaks to us. He never said it would be easy, and yes we have to become dependent upon Him.
Then and only then can we become strong in the Lord. That we can let the Christ within shine forth!
It continues to be a super day. The last couple of weeks have really been amazing and awesome to me, because the Lord has been working in my life and giving me a new passion for Him, for the word. A freshness in the spirit, am awareness of the fact that we can know Him on a daily basis. That His mercies are new every day!
The time in prayer this morning was a time of refreshing, a time of sensing the Lord's presence and being aware that He has already prepared the way before me, that I can walk in newness of life.
My desire is to be an encourgement and exhorter to those who are seeking the Lord. To realize that He makes himself know in our heart, in our spirit and He gives us the strength to walk through the day, that He is desiring to bring us to a place that no matter if we are on the mountain top or in the valley, we can walk in the center of His will and purpose and that He will be there to guide us and lead us and encourage us.
It is a day by day walk, a daily time of coming into His presence, into His word and allowing Him to reveal Himself to us as we daily walk with Him!
Paul
[i]Walking Daily With The Lord - Thoughts, Hopes, and Living in the Real World[/i]
I recently finished reading In His Steps by Sheldon – what a real blessing. A story about a pastor and his church and those who were willing to base everything they did for year based on the principle of asking themselves, What would Jesus do, in their work, in their relationships, with their families, with the world, how would they apply that principle and where they willing to pay the price that it might cost?
I wonder how many of us would be willing to indeed walk in His steps?
Would we daily ask ourselves what would Jesus do?
Are we willing to do that?
What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?
Much to think about for sure!!
Paul
:D
Hill Country Thoughts Paul E. Dawn Jr.
Kennesaw, Georgia
Think on This:
“As we spend that time with the Lord, as we ponder His word, it will bring forth fruit in due season, and it will be life to others as we share those things that the Lord has made real in our lives as we walk with Him, as we go through the trials of life, the dealings, as we mature little by little, we will be able to share with others that which has been made real in our life, not theory but the life changing power of the word" - Paul
Words Aloft
Let my words soar on the
rising currents of your spirit
Let my words be powered by the
heart of your inspiration
Let my words lead others on the
incredible journey to your heart
Let my words reflect the vastness
of your Mercy, new every morning!
