Last week I told my ministry leader that I believed that God was requiring the practice of Prayer and fasting to be incorporated into our ministry - i really wanted God to speak to me in His Word regarding this before I went (go) before the group ,so here before I get to What our Lord confirmed in my heart through His Word let me share briefly where we are at as a ministry – for awhile now many of us have Known that things are changing in the ministry and as uncomfortable as it often can be, somethings will need to look different – we are growing so much - even our Pastor had come and spoke to us a few months ago regarding the big changes that he believes God is doing – he even spoke of us (leaders) doubling in number. ( our church is growing ssssssoooo much )Praise the Lord for that - many people are hearing pure anchanged Word. One of our prayers always on Sunday Mornings and on our Tues. night prayer times is for our Lord to open our eyes and ears and hearts to the things in our ministry that we need to be aware of as leaders for the better of the ministry - areas that God requires change and growth in - so we should not be surprised that lately we are experiencing and seeing many little challenges. We need to keep in mind that this is all an answer to prayer.
We saw in Nehemiah the practice of prayer and fasting – in fact in our group it became quit the conversation and a lot of us felt as if God was requiring that of us in our walks- we know it is important the Bible speaks of it many times: – yet it seems to be one of the most lacked areas of most of our walks, I know it is of mine.
I wasso blessed that our Lord had shown me in my quiet time, through His Word confirming what I had shared with my ministry leader last week:
Bare with me while I share my little rabbit trail to be able to communicate the end result – here we go.
Esther 1:21-22
This word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 So he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each province according to its script and to every people according to their language, that every man should be the master in his own house and the one who speaks in the language of his own people.
I was impressed with this thorough communication. I could see wisdom in this example of how our communication should be in life & in our ministry - we should leave nothing to chance –
Prov 13:17 17 An unreliable messenger can cause a lot of trouble. Reliable communication permits progress. ....
Kings would send reliable messengers to accurately rely their message. If the message received is different than the message given the relationship between giver and the hearer will always break down.
It is of the utmost importance to choose our words well with integrity / clean hands / pure heart. When we hear something it is also best not to react until we clearly understand what the other person is saying.
I started looking at all the many ways that God has communicated to people in the Bible:
Angels: Jacob, Zachariah, Mary, Shepards
Dreams: Jacob. Joseph, a baker, a cupbearer, Pharaoh, Isaiah, Joseph, the Magi
Writing on the Wall: Belshazzar
Talking donkey: Balaam
Pillar of cloud & fire: children of Israel
Verbally / Audibly: Abraham, Moses, Jesus at His baptism, Paul
Fire: Moses
Us: - through Jesus Heb 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world .
And we know that now Jesus speaks to us through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us (as believers - Christians) He said - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26
So as I was meditating on this whole idea of how our Lord effectively communicates with us I was lead to
Acts 13:1-4 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
I could see the difference between man orchestrated ministry and Holy Spirit orchestrated ministry - At times the man orchestrated ministry may seem neater, cleaner, faster and more comfortable but we know that this is not always how our Lord works – we can have complete confidence in the most obscure work when we know it is of God – (that the Holy Spirit has spoken it to be. )
Sometimes thing can seem so smart and ideal yet if it is not Holy Spirit orchestrated it’s not God in it– so the bottom line is we need to know beyond all measure what our Lord is requiring of us in our ministries and life – we need to be on board when He speaks to us and our Leaders –-things often need to change and for some of the changes there is no easy way - it will require us accepting hard things but trusting our Lord in the process -(remember that little story of the COI walking around a great big wall in order for it to fall down - there was a reason God told Joshua they had to do that in silence - can you imagine what could have been going on in some of their minds) the need to be unified and in agreement is so vital for the effective work of the Holy Spirit in our ministries – so the bottom line is this:
We need to be praying and fasting:
So to see the beginning and the end of this rabbit trail – I guess I can say this - I was intrigued by the effective communication from the king to the people of all his land and that took me through a trail that led me to prayer and fasting – and we all know that prayer is where our hearts can become lined up with Gods heart – there it is pure communication perfect communication and the fasting is the stripping away of self and showing our Lord our seriousness in seeking Him. because we need to understand prayer is not a place where we go to our Lord to change His heart to our wills but it is the opposite - and when we are fasting there is a differant stripping away of self.
In Esth 4:15-16 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish."
Just like Esther sent word to fast for she was entering unknown territory - here we are now:
It is by far the most ignored things in our walk and often in our churches - My Bible reads that Jesus said "My house shall be called a house of prayer". ......it didn't say of programs or teachings - music..etc...all of these are very important but what i believe Jesus was getting at is that prayer is the most important thing ( there is a whole other rabbit trail there ) - and of course it is because just like i stated above - when we pray our hearts become aligned with God's - when that is happening than all the other eliminates of church become Holy Spirit lead.
so there is my little rabbit trail that i am so thankful for - i am encouraged by my Lord to have prayer and fasting this next level for my walk and i pray that God will use me to encourage others in my ministry to jump in - we are facing so many new changes and many of them will be hurdles that we most definitely need to be committed to this practice of seeking God.
I pray this makes sense - i'm not gonna proof it - so Jesus please bring understanding to this.
God Bless and keep Chasing righteousness!!!!!
* When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. A cts 14:23
*Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD. Joel 1:14
* So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty. Ezra 8:23
* Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD. 2 Chron 20:3-4
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