Ask whatever you will...

We have been seeing some exceptional answers to prayer lately. God has been speaking to my heart in the last few weeks about what he wants to do for His children. The link that was supposed to be in my last entry didn't show up. Here it is: www.kimclement.com Darrel and I have been sort of keeping up with Kim for the last few years or so. His music is great and his ministry has been incredible. Anyway, he has been prophecying the last few months about how there would be a shift in the spiritual realm and that November would begin a great time for the church - an outpouring of the Spirit like we have never seen in our time.

All of these things we are seeing God do, teamed with these amazing prophecies have inspired me to look a little further past what I have always assumed about God and about prayer. I have never experienced such a surge of faith as I did that night at Mosaic - Halloween night. The air was thick with God's presence - I could hear Him plain as day speak one single word, "ask". And ask we did - for souls, for specific people, for needs. Then the most awesome thing happened - God answered. Now for me growing up, as I suppose it is for most children, it seemed that when you asked, the answer was generally "no" whether due to lack of money or time or simply because it wasn't good for me. It's hard being a parent. So I guess I had just adopted the same philosophy with God. Why ask when the answer is just going to be "no"?

I was directed to the scripture in James 4:2b-3: "You do not have, because you do not ask. [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures." Also in Matthew 7 and John 14-16 I found scriptures on asking. It is not hard to see the theme of persistence and faith - believing God is Who He is and that He will do what He says He will do. Along with that is the issue of motives and what you desire to do with what He gives you. So many things to consider - so many things to allow God to perfect in us. But I am finding that the key is not being perfect - I can never be that. I think I am finding the key is in faith, which we know to be relationship with God. The more relationship/faith we have with God, the more our motives and hearts become like His - the more we are conformed to His image, His likeness, and the way He does things. It's so not about our outward actions or how we are acting - you know what I mean - how we trot around spewing our positive confessions even though in our hearts we are still the same wavering relationship-starved people. We cannot make our faith behave - we can't increase it by outward rituals or spoken incantations. God is not a good luck charm or a superstitious god who is only moved if we can rub his belly in the right way. He is simply looking for some time with you - being real with each other. He longs to do good things for us. It is not hard to ask for what God wills when we are close to Him. These things just naturally begin to flow from our hearts - because we are in tune with His heart. We are touched by the things that touch Him. We ache for the people He aches for.

Just today I saw a miraculous thing happen in a situation that is very dear to my heart. There is this person who had a disagreement with another person. There was tremendous hurt feelings and the relationship looked to be beyond repair. It has been over a year since the latest rift and I had begun to give up on any reconciliation. But Halloween night, God moved in my heart to begin to ask again for her soul and for the soul of the other person involved - that God would remember them in this great outpouring of His Spirit. I had a call today that one of the people was just saying how Thanksgiving would have been perfect had the other person been there. What a miracle - hardened hearts melting in the move of God. I have great faith/relationship in my God, that He will indeed remember them and that He is already working.

So today, I ask you to take a leap off the edge of belief, off the edge of reason, off the edge of the past. Forget what lies behind - the many times you've heard the answer "no". Find real relationship with God - the kind where you are simply comfortable being quiet or sharing your true feelings no matter what. Then listen for the heart of God. Listen for Him to prompt you in prayer. Then just breathe it - live it - ask for it! Then let me know what miracles you see - it will increase our faith/relationship. Just ask...