OUR PRAYERS MATTER (7)

In his sermon yesterday, Pastor Phillip said that there are times when Scriptures you have read many many times will all of a sudden have new revelation that you never saw before. And you’ll wonder how did I read this passage for so long and never see that till now? An example of that happened to me in real time.

My husband’s daughter said she moved into this apartment complex on Loop 12, right past Interstate 45… coming from our house it would be on the left-hand side of the street. I racked my brain trying to see these apartments in my head. I have past that way hundreds of times but I don’t remember seeing any apartment complex sitting where she said they were. I asked her a second time to describe the location, and I still could not see it in my head.

So on my way to church yesterday, I sat straight up in my seat and stretched my neck so that I could see what was actually on the left-hand side of the street when I crossed over Interstate 45. Faith and Begorrah! There they were! The apartment complex was built in 1971 (I googled it). I can’t believe I never saw them. They’ve been sitting right there for 51 years.

This is exactly the point Pastor was making about our Bible reading. There are times when something will suddenly jump off the page from a passage that you’ve read many times but had never seen that particular revelation before. It is in that particular time and season that Holy Spirit raises the consciousness to see and hear what He wants to reveal, and knows we are ready to receive.

I’m reminded of a passage in Hebrews 5 where the author accuses them of being spiritually dull and unable to receive sustenance because they were still living on infant milk, and not solid food. Solid food is for those who have matured spiritually and is able to see something in the word of God that they’ve never seen before. We don’t want to remain in the basics of God’s word. The author said, “Everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.” We need to be weaned from milk and begin to receive solid food. We want to be in a place where Holy Spirit can reveal truths to us that will help us grow more.

There are times in our walk with the Lord that we are on the vine, but not producing fruit. As I listened to the sermon yesterday, I got to wondering if something in my life could be preventing my branch from bearing fruit. Nourishment from the vine is still intact, just not producing fruitfulness.

There was a period of time in my spiritual walk where disappointments had mounted up and caused my heart to become hardened. For sure, I was on the vine but not abiding in Him (John 15:4). My prayers were sent up with a level of skepticism that God had probably not even heard me. In that season, I did not expect to receive revelation from God and lived in spiritual dullness on a regular basis. But the Potter knows how to restore the piece that was marred in His hands and use that same clay to make another vessel, even more beautiful than the first. (Jer. 18:3)

I heard Pastor Steven Furtick say that he felt the “spirit of unstuckness”. This was in reference to believers that feel stuck, as I did about my mounted-up disappointments. The things that keep hemming us up is about to release and we’re coming unstuck.

Holy Spirit gave me fresh faith in the place of my spiritual dullness. He helped my unbelief and I began to see with my spiritual eyes, instead of my natural eyes. I said to myself, “I have learned how to live abased, and now the Lord is about to teach me how to live aboundingly. I too, feel the spirit of unstuckness. It’s a new season.”

We’re entering a season of answered prayers.

I’m no prophet, I’m just saying what’s in my spirit. Strongholds are being pulled down. Arguments are being cast down. Lies are being exposed. Truth is being revealed. Our confidence in God’s faithfulness is skyrocketing. Passages in the Bible that we’ve read many times are about to take on new meaning. They will jump off the page and things we never saw will be revealed in our hearing. The Lord is about to teach us how to live aboundingly. Receive that.

The bedrock of faith is the assurance that God keeps His promises, no matter what the situation looks like at the present time. God is faithful.

Lamentations 3:22-26 (NLT) The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!” The LORD is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.

Click here to go to the Our Prayers Matter Series

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

HAPPY THANKGIVING

On this Thanksgiving Day, I thank the Lord for my Secret Place Writing Studio. He watches over it. He blesses me in it on a regular basis. Lord, I give You thanks for my Secret Place. It is the one place on planet earth that belongs to You and me, where we can be together, just the two of us.

I am thankful for the spiritual gifts You bestowed on me and in me. I hope and pray that one day You will say to me, “Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over these few things.”

I hope and pray that Teacher (Holy Spirit) will be patient with me, and manifest Himself through me to help others (as well as myself) to grow.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my family. Lord, I pray that You will remember my prayers concerning each and every one. Thank You for my husband that I love so much and is dear to my heart.

I am thankful for my friends and I pray for them as well. Lord, for those that follow me on Facebook, I am thankful that You connected us. Let there be something meaningful in this following that each one will experience Your touch, that You might be glorified in the process.

I am thankful for all the ways my Lord shows me Himself. This year has been exceptional in the ways that I have experienced the presence of God and did not know that it was Him till after the encounter was over. Like in the story of the promise of God’s presence to His servant Moses… when the Lord’s glory passed by Moses, the Lord put His hand in front of Moses so he could not see Him and then when He had passed by, He took His hand away so Moses saw His back but not His face. I have experienced this in a number of ways this year. After I had gone through the encounter, I saw that it was God all the time and I didn’t know it till it was over. Thank You Lord for Your presence.

I am thankful for answered prayers, so thankful that my prayers are heard and answered.

Thank You for the many times You protected me, provided for me, cared for me, showed Your love to me, and surprised me in unexpected ways. I have been amazed more times than I can remember. Thank You for being my Daddy. That means more to me than anything.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to You, Daddy (Heavenly Father).

I give thanks always, for all things, to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Eph. 5:20

 

P.S. Let the Cowboys beat those Giants today. 😊

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

OUR PRAYERS MATTER (6)

Hard Questions

Habakkuk was a prophet who boldly confronted God with some difficult questions.

1. LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?
2. How long shall I cry to You “Violence!” and You will not save?
3. Why do You make me see iniquity (for my minor hang ups), but sit idly looking at the mega-wrongs of wicked people?
4. Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up a man more righteous than he?
5. Is mankind like the fish of the sea that You catch with Your net and then You worship the net because it made You wealthy?
6. Can we expect that You will keep emptying the net and mercilessly killing nations forever?

God answered Habakkuk’s bold questions revealing a new understanding of His love and His power. Habakkuk concludes his book with a prayer of triumph and praise. With questions answered and a new perspective of God’s love and power.

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Others in the Bible has struggled with feeling forsaken by God.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

Lamentations 3:8 (NKJV) Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer.

The psalmist David wrote:

Psalm 13:1 (NKJV) How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

The blameless and upright Job struggled as well:

Job 30:20 (NKJV) I cry out to You, but You do not answer me.

Even Jesus, from the cross, cried out with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” At some point, we may all wrestle with God about something we don’t quite understand, but we have been given permission to approach the throne of grace and ask God about it.

James 1:5-6 NKJV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses (because He too was acquainted with grief), and was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

A Greater Purpose

Immediately after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus told His disciples to get in the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida.

Jesus withdrew to a mountain to pray. In the middle of the night, He saw them straining at keeping control of the boat because they were rowing against a strong windstorm. The disciples had fought this storm for 8 or 9 hours and it was about 3:00 in the morning but they were only about halfway across the sea. By this time, they must have been in a state of complete exhaustion and despondency, bordering on despair. At long last, Jesus went to their assistance, walking on the sea. Jesus caused the wind to cease and got in the boat with them. The disciples came and worshiped Jesus saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” The arm of the Lord had been revealed to them and they worshiped God.

The reason He put them through all of this was because of their hardness of heart. They had not understood about the fish and loaves, but they marveled and was greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure when they saw the miracle of the wind and waves being ceased by Jesus… and also Peter walking on the water. This experience affected them to the point of death and they marveled… but they did not marvel over the fish and loaves.

Mark 6:52 NKJV They had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

Jesus did not put them through this 9-hour ordeal for nothing, it had a greater purpose. The bread of adversity and the water of affliction are life lessons that God sends to teach us, and to transform us.

Isaiah 30:20 NKJV And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers.

Ecclesiastes 8:6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.

Jeremiah’s Questions

Jeremiah 14:8-9 NKJV O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should You be like a man astonished, like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst, and we are called by Your name; do not leave us!

We accuse God of acting like a stranger and ignoring our prayers, but He is no stranger, and He is not far away while we’re going through. In fact, the psalmist David said to the Lord his God, “Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” We cannot count that high because it’s infinity.

Conclusion

The problem is not with God and His ways, but with our limited understanding of Him.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Trusting God leads us to quiet hope, not to animosity.

God still controls this world despite the apparent triumph of evil. Satan said there was a hedge around Job (a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil), and Satan couldn’t touch Job unless God removed the hedge from around Job, and his household, and all his possessions.

The king of Syria sent horses and chariots and a great army to Dothan to capture the prophet, Elisha. His servant was panicking and sought what they should do. Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha petitioned “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. God is still in control and He delivered them from the Syrian army.

Jesus has the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He has the key of David. He opens doors that no one can shut. He shuts doors that no one can open. He has the key to the bottomless pit that He can lock and unlock when He’s good and ready.

The farmer sows seed and waits patiently for harvest until it receives both the early and latter rain. I’ve sown many seeds of prayer and have yet to see the manifestation of a lot of them. But I must trust and believe God has heard all my prayers and inclined His ears to my cries and my petitions.

God has a plan, and He will faithfully carry it out. We can be confident that God loves us and is guarding our relationship with Him. We don’t have to be offended. God has devised a plan. His counsel will stand, and our seeds of prayer will harvest.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The effective, fervent prayers of the righteous avails (helps, benefits, and profits) much.

Question: What should our attitude be after we pray, and as we wait for God to answer?

Answer: We should trust God to give us what we need, but maybe not in a way we expect him to. We should remember that God really does love us and is concerned about everything that concerns us. Ask Holy Spirit for ears to hear. Look in God’s word and see where the arm of the Lord helped someone else in a similar situation because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Keep telling yourself that story on a regular basis until you have reconciled in your heart that God is truly faithful, reliable, trustworthy, dependable, and ever true to His promises. Convince yourself from the study of His word in that area that there is no way He will let you down. Ask God for wisdom concerning it.

In God’s response to the prophet Habakkuk’s difficult questions, He said that the vision will surely come to pass at its appointed time. All things hasten to an end. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come to pass. Your prayers matter to God.

Click here to go to the Our Prayers Matter Series

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

COMING UNSTUCK

I heard a preacher say that he felt the spirit of unstuckness. Now... I'm not a prophet, but even before I heard him say that I had been sensing that something big is about to happen. "God's gonna blow your mind," I keep hearing that. "It's a new season," I keep hearing that too. Whatever has been hemming me and you up, is about to release. We're coming unstuck. Believe for it with fresh faith. It may have been a long time since you started praying for it but believe for it with fresh faith, like when you first wake up in the morning you feel refreshed.

The bedrock of faith is the assurance that God keeps all His promises because of His lovingkindness, tender mercies, and amazing grace. He is not a man that He should lie. He keeps His word. I prayed for God to help my unbelief where some things are concerned. Disappointments had mounted up and caused my faith to become weary.

We're entering a season of answered prayers. Again, I'm not a prophet, but just saying what's in my heart. Strongholds are being pulled down. We defeat lies by believing the truth. What did God say about it? That's the truth!

The other day I said, "I have learned how to live abased, now I'm about to learn how to live aboundingly." I feel the spirit of unstuckness.

Lamentations 3:21-24 (NKJV) This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

OUR PRAYERS MATTER (5)

From Amazon App

Sometimes I wished I could track my prayers, like I track an Amazon package.

Did heaven receive my prayer?✔
Is the angel on his way with it?✔
What time is it scheduled to arrive?✔

That would be awesome!! I could open my downloaded heavenly app and check it out… yep, the angel has left heaven and it’s arriving today by 10:00pm.😁

But that is not how the faith domain works. Faith is the substance of things hoped (and prayed) for. Our faith is the evidence of what cannot be seen with our natural eyes (Heb. 11:1). Faith is the app that we open to track our prayers. Faith says, “I believe I receive what I prayed for.” When faith starts to diminish or grow cold, we open up the word of God — which increases our faith, and recharges our battery.

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

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The word says…

Psalm 34:15 (NKJV) The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.

Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Mark 11:24 (NKJV) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

John 14:13-14 (NKJV) And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (It’s in Jesus’ name we pray and He will do it).

John 15:7 (NKJV) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

John 15:16 (NKJV) You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He (the Father) may give you.

John 16:23-24 (NKJV) “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Now ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

1 John 3:22 (NKJV) And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

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Our prayers matter, and prayer still works. But before you let the devil win, go back and pray again.

https://richardsonblogger.blogspot.com/2016/04/prayer-will-fix-it-for-you.html (song)

2Cor. 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight

Click here to go to the Our Prayers Matters Series

Psalm 64:10 (NKJV) The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

UNCONQUERABLE SOULS

Unconquerable Souls in the Workplace is a post I originally published six years ago, and happened to come across it AGAIN today. It blessed me a second time, so I thought I would share it AGAIN.

https://richardsonblogger.blogspot.com/2016/04/unconquerable-souls-in-workplace.html

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove

THE LORD KNOWS HIS CHILDREN

The Lord knoweth them that are His.

The Scripture above from 2Timothy 2:19 came up today and reminded me of a testimony I previously blogged. I wanted to re-share it from 12/13/20 called, "He Knows My Name". Take a look!

https://richardsonblogger.blogspot.com/2020/12/he-knows-my-name.html

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove