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Showing posts from April, 2012

A Conversation with Father

I sit, lethargic, before my computer, staring at the screen with a mind that is active but a body that wishes not to be put into motion. In my right ear, I hear, "What's going on?" I shrug as I feel the tears build because I know he hears me. ME: Don't think I can do this. GOD: Do what? ME: This, this Ph.D. I mean, you and I both know I'm going to if for no other reason than I hate to disappoint, and I fear people looking at my differently. GOD: Even though I told you it's not about what others think--it's about the good path you've chosen to take and the missions that must be accomplished while on that path...? ME: Basically. (sighs) I just don't think I'm smart enough. I'm not really smart, you know? I think I play smart well, but I don't embody it all that much. Silence ensues, and I look around, sit still, hoping to hear him again. Finally, he sighs, and I feel his hand on my back. I sob. GOD: Didn't I tell

Day 2 - The Opening of the Eyes

Andrew Murray, in The Secret of Intercession , starts day two by talking about Elisha's prayers -- first for the God to protect his young servant (and in doing so, allowing him to see chariots of fire and horsemen upon a mountain) and second for the Syrian army, that had been struck with blindness and led into Samaria, to have their eyes open. Murray goes on to talk about the importance of OPENING OUR EYES, "to ask that our eyes may see the wonderful provision that God has made for His church in the baptism with the Holy Spirit" (8) and to ask "that God may open the eyes of those of His children who do not as yet see the power that the world and sin have upon His people" (9). This opening of our eyes is not just about us seeing what's in the real world, what's going on right before our faces, though this is vital, too. It's also about asking our father to allow us to see in the spiritual sphere as well. At the end of the day two section, a quest

Day 1 - Intercession

Intercession ~  prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another In Andrew Murray's book, The Secret of Intercession , day one focuses on intercession--its meaning and its importance in our lives. It's a rather short chapter, but there is a vitality to it, a read this now and act  feeling to it. At the end of the day one section, a question is posed: How are those who pray for others blessed themselves? When I think on this question, two verses instantly come to mind. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. Praying for others is the epitome of that love we are to give to others, share with the world. So often, it is easy to turn our cameras on ourselves, to get so focused on self that we forget

Kickstarting Intercession

When I first arrived in Lubbock, TX, I started buying several books on prayer and on spiritual warfare (that comes with its own long story). One of the books on prayer I bought was The Secret of Intercession by Andrew Murray [ buy! ]. It's a small book, less than 150 pages, but within it, you find 31 days of lessons that aid you in becoming the great prayer warrior you are destined to become. Around 2003, prayer became a very integral part of my life. Not so much for the praying I did for myself but for the praying I did for others. Many times, at three or four in the morning, I would be pinched out of my sleep with the need to pray. As hard as it is sometimes for me to move with my back and knees, without effort, I would slip from the bed to the floor, hands clasped together, to pray fervently. Sometimes I wept. Sometimes I ended up pacing my home, speaking in tongues and unleashing whatever it was that weighed my chest. But it was never for me. God would just put in my spi