There are not 5 easy ways to pray!

Hello my friends … I caught up the other day and then, life … So this is …

Day 11 (on the 13th) =) so let’s get to it.

Prayer … there is no easy 5 step way to pray. Why? Because when we fully understand prayer we find that it is quite simple.

We don’t need a 5 step plan.

We don’t need a script or a prayer template, though God does provide one, which we went over in an earlier post.

I’m here to tell you that once you’ve set aside time to pray, you’ve essentially set aside time to spend with God.

Prayer is about relationship with God. With Jesus.

Prayer is a conversation with God. It’s that communication we all need in a relationship.

I sincerely just have conversations with God all day long. Sometimes in my heart and mind. Sometimes in the Spirit (or in tongues). And sometimes just me walking around the house on a normal day talking to God about what His Word says about my situation.

Sometimes it’s just to tell Him that I love Him … that’s the praise part.

Like we went over in an earlier post … The Lord’s Prayer of The Our Father (depending on your particular faith) is that template that God provided. And as funny as it is there are 4 steps in that template …

“This, then, is how you should pray:

9 “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

Verse 9-10 are Praise to God. Acknowledging His Sovereignty.

Verse 11 is acknowledgement that God is our provision.

Verse 12 is us asking God for forgiveness as we forgive others. *Important note – if we are not forgiving others we will not benefit from this part of the prayer.

Verse 13 is us asking God for His help withstanding temptations

The ending is something we put in (it’s not in the bible therefore does not have a verse number) … it is personal praise of God and Who He.

Having shown, again, the EXAMPLE … it’s only an example, we can see what our prayers should be comprised of.

When we talk to our friends and loved ones … we are encouraging (praise), we often acknowledge what they mean to us, and what they provide for us in our relationship with them. When something goes wrong we (should) ask their forgiveness. And often we ask them to be accountability partners in life, helping us to avoid life’s pitfalls.

If we communicate with our friends and family in this way … how much more should we communicate with God on this level.

Think about it, there are people in your life that you speak and communicate with every day! Your wife, husband, mother, friends … and your children.

Do we, you and I, remember to include God in that list? We need to!

And I just said … we communicate daily with our children. Well, God seeks the same! He wants to speak into our lives daily, continually!

I promise you this … If and when you call on God the Father, Daddy, He is always going to listen and answer. He is always going to have time for you. He’s never going to send your call to voice mail!

Prayer is dependent on our relationship with God the Father. The more we communicate with God; our Love, our dreams and fears and needs and wants, the deeper our relationship with God becomes. And the more intimate the relationship the more effective the communication.

If there’s one thing most agree on it’s that a good relationship has good communication.

God is looking for you to talk to Him. What would you say to Him today.

Lord, I thank You today for always being there for me when I need to talk. Thank You for listening and guiding me in this life with Your invaluable input! Lord, You are my provision and my confidante. Your advise and guidance are priceless to me, You are never wrong. Thank You for knowing my heart and my needs. Thank You for being a great parent and know when NO is the answer and helping me to understand those times when No is the answer.
Lord, help me to always chose You first in the hard times and may I always remember to be grateful in the good times.
I Love You Father. You are my one and only.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thanks for stopping by for this humble little post. God bless you.

31 Days of Prayer

Begin … 2015

WELCOME TO 2015

At midnight we ended the old year and began the new one simultaneously. Many of us spent a week in review of some kind, possibly planning what not to repeat and what new plans and goals we were headed for.

Good old Resolution Time!

Well resolutions are not for me. I am not into setting unrealistic goals that I cannot manage to complete or even remember at the end of January! =)

Resolutions are truly a hindrance to one’s life progress. They create a sense of failure at the beginning of every new year. At least that’s how I see it.

So if one doesn’t indulge in resolutions for the new year what is it one does with the vast 365 days laid out before us in the vastness of that thing called the future? What is the plan?

For me, I quasi participate in the My One Word movement. This year I may sign up for the 1st level accountability group, but I don’t know. This will be my 4th year picking a word for the year.

I chose my word a few days ago: Self-Discipline(d) – I find it funny that my words are always either hyphenated or compound words. Like chips … you can’t just have one!

To begin my plan is to obtain self-discipline in all areas of my life. And when I say self-discipline, I mean this:

Self-discipline: is the ability to control one’s feelings or emotions and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it.

Synonyms: self-control, restraint, self-restraint, self-command, willpower, purposefulness, strong-mindedness, sound-mindedness, resolve, moral fiber, doggedness, persistence, determination and grit!

I intend to purposefully control my emotions. I have a great friend, mentor and now my pastor, who when we met, I decided in my heart to become her. I wanted to be able to conduct myself with the class and composure that she possessed. I wanted the peace and self-control she has as a person, wife, mother and leader. Since that meeting we’ve become very good friends. I’ve taken over her post as church secretary and armor bearer to our pastor and now I am her secretary and armor bearer. I tell you, it’s an honor to be her friend and to have her in my life.

And over the years I’ve found that God intended this for me and that He had given me the tools to succeed on this particular path.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 7:1

The NIV translation says, ” … power, love and self-discipline“.

The world tells us that we cannot control how we feel. We cannot choose who we love. Our feelings and emotions are out of our control. NOT SO.

Romans 8:9-11 basically tells us that Holy Spirit lives within us, giving us life over death (or control over our sinful nature). Sinful nature sounds awful I know but what that means is that we actually have control over our carnal or natural nature. We most definitely control our feelings, as well as our emotional reactions and actions in all areas of our lives.

And in Galatians 5:22&23 the Word tells us that Holy Spirit produces in us the fruit of His Spirit.  It is His emotions we experience in the circumstances of our lives. He produces His emotions within us so that we exhibit the benefits of His presence in our hearts – love , joy, peace, patience, kindness , goodness, faithfulness, gentleness , and self-control.

So why did I choose self-discipline?

Well for the last three years my word was Wholeness. A good goal and I’ve come a long way in becoming whole in Christ. So a the beginning of 2015 I changed it up, but not by much. After all, self-discipline is a major part of walking in the wholeness of one’s life.

As many of you know I have A LOT on my plate these days. And 2014 went out with quite a blow to my spirit. Please pray for my youngest son, if you would. And 2015 came in with me HAVING to control my emotions.

Pick a word for the year … I promise you that immediately you will be challenged by your choice!

We began 2015 with a kiss good night and in the morning we began the year in prayer at our church. We were reminded to pray the solution, not the problem. Periodically we review how we should be praying so that the blessings and promises flow in our lives and ripples out into our community. It’s a great reminder not to fall into that wordy, self involved prayer style where we think because we see the circumstance as huge we much add many words to get our point across to God. How silly that is, but I do it too, sometimes.

So this morning I was in a position to keep my composure amongst my church family while praying for our particular situation (that cropped up last night before the new year was rung in). There was that challenge proving within me that I had chosen the correct focus for this year.

So this is the plan:

1. Deepen my relationship with God with prayer and structured time in the Word.

2. Devotional: Jesus Calling ( I got it for Christmas!) and following her purposeful time with God – we’ll see how that works for me; but the daily reading comes with scripture to read – keeping me in the Word.

3. A Blessing Box – an attitude changer … a tool to purposeful positiveness.

That’s how I began my day. That’s how I began 2015.

How did you begin 2015? Did you make a resolution or set a goal? I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading my friends. And Happy Happy New Year.

I will never leave or forsake … He said. | 31days of 31days on FMF!

It’s the last day of the week, and the last day of the month, on the last day of the 31day Write! And as we leave this challenge behind us I’d like to say,

CONGRATULATIONS!

To ALL of us who managed to write for 31 days in a row! It’s quite the accomplishment. I, for one, found it very difficult around the middle of the second week. Life got in the way and I was forced to seek inspiration … though my theme is an everyday thing in Hutchland. For me, I’m not sure it made me a better writer or story teller or inspiration.

It did though do what I set out to do, I got deeper into what God says about OUR healing. I found that when one digs and dusts off and consumes God’s word revelation, understanding and knowledge is absorbed. I believe the challenge did it’s job.

So on this day I will leave the subject of Journeying through Healing Scriptures with a FMF post.

 

 If you’re new to Five Minute Friday, all the details you’ll need can be found right     over here.

  As we leave the 31 day write Kate gave us this  prompt: LEAVE. Very apropos, I think.

 So with out further ado … Go!

 

As I’ve said before there are certain words that simply take my thoughts and spirit right to scripture. Leave is one of these words.

The word leave has a sad feeling to me. We do much leaving in  a life. We leave for our first day of school, there’s the first time we leave our parents to stay over night with a friend, we leave for college and we leave our mother and father to marry and begin a new extension or branch of our family tree.

Yes, these are all rights of passage as we leave one stage of life for another on our journey to maturity and independence as people.

But the word leave also conjures, for me, feelings of fear and anger and desolation; from a past where most everyone left me at one time or another. For various reasons only understood by the departed, from a young age leaving was something everyone did, whether it was physically, mentally or emotionally. On every level my siblings and I were left … alone … to learn to survive on our own. And we did, however that washes out today in each of us, we survived, and for that I am eternally grateful to God.

So today this word, LEAVE, doesn’t leave such a metallic taste in my mouth.  My heart no longer drops at the goodbye or the realization that I am alone. Because I am never alone, anymore.

Let’s be honest ….

[STOP! {for the FMF post}! And, now, to finish out The 31day Write … please continue …]

We may leave God, much like that teenager we once were, embarking out on our own [power, understanding], to conquer the world, but He will never leave us.  No matter how bleak the situation, no matter how empty the feelings, God will never leave you!  His promises are true.  His word is above all and the final say!  God goes before us so that we can move forward, in the confidence that He has prepared the way, precisely because … He has gone before us.  And if God be for us, who can be against us? 

We are never truly alone. God is always with us, we were taught this in Sunday school as children, God lives in our hearts. As adults we realize, when we come to that point in our lives, that God permeates us … He is our heart, our spirit and our thinking.

At least that’s who He is in my life. And if that is the case for me, so can it be for YOU, also!

So it stands to reason that when I hear the word Leave, a particular scripture comes to mind … and this “scripture” should be called “scriptures”, because the same comforting reminder is repeated several times throughout God’s Word.

The Bible. Where God left His promise and plan and instructions for us.

God goes out of His way to repeat this particular promise over and over so that it will become ingrained,viscerally, within each and every one of us. Because for us humans to believe that we are not alone we often need something tangible. God knows this, He built us. So because He, Father God, loves us, He knew that we would need to hear and to feel Who He is to us. And He knew we would need to feel secure in it … So because …

God is LIMITLESS Love

He repeated this very important promise to us, so that it and He could become a permanent part of us.

Here I will LEAVE you with 10 instances of His promise to always be with us.

Meditate on them and know that YOU are not alone today. Because … He is right there with you, this very moment. In whatever your circumstance is today. He never leaves nor forsakes you. NEVER.

There is none like Him, and He will not allow His word to return to Him void! Col 3:16

Deuteronomy 31:6, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; “He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:8, The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Joshua 1:5, No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

1Kings 8:57, “May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may He never leave us nor forsake us.”

1Chronicles 28:20, David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.”

Psalms 37:28, For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. “They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;”

Psalms 94:14 “For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.”

Isaiah 41:17  “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.”

 Isaiah 42:16  “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

Hebrews 13:5  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

 

In EACH.AND.EVERY.ONE. of these scripture God promises, 10 times!, never to leave or forsake us! NEVER.

I pray that you let the Word of God dwell in you, in all wisdom; allowing you to teach you the things that it has taught me this last 30 days. That You come to the grace of the knowledge that YOU are forgiven, saved, blessed, healed and secure in the Love of God. I pray that you come to the understanding in your hearts, in your very spirits, that all of this and so much more was secured within your salvation!

What did Jesus say before He bid the  Spirit to leave Him on that cross some 2000 years ago? He said, “It is FINISHED” In those last 3 words illness, sickness, sin and death were FINISHED. For all intents and purposes they were made to LEAVE all of humanity, never to afflict them again!

We simply need to get into the Word of God, in the presence of those who believe and understand and can instruct us in His Word, so that we can get this into our understanding, so that it becomes engrained within our Spirits and understanding until it is KNOWN, without doubt.

So with this I leave you, today.

Good job! You’ve accomplished the goal of writing for 31days! I pray you’ve learned as much as I did. I pray you’ve moved closer, each of those 31 days, to God the Father in understanding and love.

I’m going to spend 30 days in November reading some of your 31day Write Challenge posts! I cannot wait to see your offerings.

Blessing to YOU! And thank you for reading.

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

God Thinking and God Timing … Day30 of 3Days

It’s day 3o! We’ve almost completed 31 days of straight writing! Kudos to all of us who are almost to the finish!

Today I want to kind of stay on the theme of God’s Timing.

We’ve discussed God’s Timing in our healing and the fact, that I’ve come to know, that my healing was attained the moment I received my salvation in Jesus Christ. The thing is God asked us to believe Jesus … and with that believing is the believing that we are made whole in that salvation.

That is hard for us humans, because we live in this fallen world. A world that confuses, and worse, denies God’s thinking and His sovereignty in all of life.

All of this requires us to decide to purposefully, begin to think like God.

It stands to reason that if we are made in His image {Genesis 3} then we are able to think like Him.

It’s about believing what Father God says {check His Word} …

:: If there is anything I want you all to receive from this series, past your manifest healing,it is that you would check anything in your life: in all areas of your life, against what God says about that thing/circumstance; in The Bible. I have found all the answers to my circumstances there, and you will too! ::

For me it’s about the God thinking. Let’s be honest when we first begin our relationship with God, not to mention that time before we consent to our salvation, deciphering The Bible is difficult, at best. That’s what the whole go to church and fellowship thing is about.

Learning what God says about this life and how to LIVE it.

Learning that our understanding of the confines of this life: TIME, Prosperity, LIVING WELL, and illness and sin are all under God’s jurisdiction when it comes to the rules and guidelines.

What about Free Will? you ask.

That’s the dig. Like any parent, God teaches us His moral and legal laws. He teaches us how to live this life well and then …. we come to a certain maturity {age} where we begin to make our own decisions.

(I’ve always wondered if God feels like we do when we have to realize that our teenagers are making adult decisions for the first time. That loss of control feeling and the borderline terror … but then I remember that God knows the end from the beginning.) CHEATER! =)

And then He takes His hands off and we are left in that Free Will state … our defining moment!

Are we going to choose God Thinking or human {worldly} thinking? Are we going to follow His lead or the world’s lead.

(The world. You know; society, what the “professionals” say, the politicians or the masses, all of them and their opinions and studies and polls.)

Well, there’s a clear example of God’s thinking, His plan for this in Proverbs. Chapter 22, verse 6.

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

And sometimes … we have to train ourselves up! Meaning if God is/was not apart of our lives as children when we were coming up, we will encounter God as some point in our lives. This encounter is our time to make a choice to choose His way, or for some, not.

Trust me though … God will pursue YOU if you miss that first appointment.

God is prepared for us and He will follow us until we accept His invitation!

You {God} prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever. Psalm 23:5-6

So God thinking is about us learning God’s way. We learn to trust Him at His word, even when that seems to be tested. When a circumstance like cancer manifests in our life, we most often begin to question God. We did not, but we had already trained ourselves in the ways of God and applied it to our lives! We were blessed in that. This blessing, however, is ours to share with those that encounter such apparent tragedy, so that they can see what God did in our lives and pursue those blessings in their own lives.

It’s why I share the intimacies of my life and my personal relationship with God, here.

My LIFE is about testifying about my God! About what He did to HEAL, PROSPER and CARE for me. If I show you that everyday it makes you want it and pursue the same for yourself.

Have you ever asked that friend, who seemingly has it ALL together, how she does it all? You know the friend, we all enjoy her, her house is immaculate, her children balanced and well behaved and apparently genius’! Works all day, plays with her kids, and dinner is on the table at 6,and probably looks amazing doing all of this!

What is her answer? On all of the “MOM Blogs” I read they credit God.

But what about those ladies who don’t have a relationship with God? They often credit themselves and the fact that they have no choice and their time is not their own! Most would explain it with complaint and express the desire to have some relief.

What would I say? Well I would be honest … my house has a lived in feel, at best, if not messy! I’m getting better with this, but I was not built to be a natural housewife! How do I get along with our schedule? It is what it is, with all the appointments, work {thank God that he’s blessed me with the pleasure of working from home.} and just life? I would tell you that I have no choice … but to put my day, each day, in God’s hands and I do my best to be content with the outcome.

Some days are better than others when we talk about the outcome; but it is what it’s supposed to be.

I would credit God with my successes and I would tell you that I didn’t press in to God when it comes to my failures. I would say this because I have looked back upon those failures and realize that I chose to do something in my own power and I failed.

I’ve come to the realization that I do nothing without God. I don’t breath, I don’t function, I don’t succeed when I remove God from the equation of my life and decisions. That’s what I would tell you if you asked.

For me this life is about God’s time and thinking.

The only way I accept God’s timing is to adopt His thinking on the subject of life.

I am fully persuaded that God’s got this, He’s got me and if I can, each day, each moment, leave it to Him things will be alright. Even if it isn’t what I saw happening.

And I can be persuaded because I have worked with God on tailoring my thinking to be like His. It’s a process and just when I think I’ve got it down another challenge crops up for me to increase my God thinking.

It’s kind of like : WWJD [what would Jesus do] … but more like WDGWMTD [what does God want me to do] and I then check the Word for instruction if it’s not clear.  And who has the time for that, you ask?

My answer: I don’t have the time for anything else. I’d rather get it done, then have to go back and fix it!

The fear [reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck. Proverbs 1:7-9

Everything is in God’s timing. Being able to think like God comes in His timing, and for me, it seems, that time is now. Look around you. See the miracles of light, of trees of your children … realize that God CREATED it all, and some of it just for YOU! What was He thinking?

He was thinking about US! About that desire that we have Life and Life MORE abundant.

Why then do we desire to control time and deny His thinking? Is there something you want to change in your thinking? God wants to guide you today. Do you need some concrete direction for your life? I suggest the book of Proverbs … how to live life the way God intends is spelled out right there.

The best way to understand God’s timing and learn to think like Him is by reading His Word. That’s my encouragement today, and every day! Get in the Word.

Thanks for reading.

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

 

Memory Verses for Prayer and Healing | Day27:31Days

Memory Verses

Throughout my walk with God and in The Faith I’ve loved the scripture verse, John 14:20 . The Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.

It’s comforting to know that Father God sent to us, even after the sacrifice of His Son, someone to guide us and remind us about what God says about life here on earth. The Holy Spirit is sent to comfort us with reminders that no matter what, God said this.

That was the basic sermon of our Sunday service this last Sunday! Learning not to be deceived by what others say, write or instruct. All those things are wonderful and very often someone’s testimony; but is it what God is saying to me today? Or was it for that person and simply meant to be a testimony for us to learn to turn to God’s word for our instruction, blessings and promises?

Those books, those testimonies are to draw us into God … not the person who shared the testimony! I am not going to get closer to God or His plan for me by hanging on to your testimony. Your testimony, my testimony is to show the work of God through me … How He changes the world USING me, His lowly daughter … just plain Andrea.

My testimony should direct you to Him and His Word. Why read my blog and forgo God’s Word. If you read anything past this sentence today please let it be God’s Word on your situation! That  said …

I follow this particular advise I’m giving you today. I turn to God’s Word, I memorize scripture that is Him speaking directly to and about my current situations.

YES! A 2014 year old book speaks directly to my circumstances today! And I’ve studied enough that when I hear a word or conversation it brings scripture to my remembrance.

My experience with God on that ER gurney 5 years ago started with a scripture rising up in my spinning head. Ezekiel 36:26

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

God spoke to me, as if in a dream-state, within the context of that scripture. Now, yes, I enjoy God actually speaking to me directly. I garnered this privilege by being one of His most stubborn and thickheaded daughters. I also believe I received this privilege because when I had my first encounter with Him I was young and need the tangible voice. I feel truly blessed by this particular level of intimacy with the Father; while I know that for some it is disturbing or seems untrue, I assure you it is neither.

The Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance what we’ve put in … I encourage you today to use God’s Words, those verses that speak to you, open up within you, when your read them. That opening or expanding sensation you get when God speaks to you through His Word is revelation and knowledge and wisdom … one or any combination therein.

It feels alive to me. And that’s because the Word is alive, a living representation of God’s love for us! So as a starter, to assist in the healing of any area or ailment in your life here are a few amazing healing verses for you to start with. I firmly encourage you to take these verses and read them in your bible. If you don’t own a bible yet go to Biblegate.com and start to read there. You can use any version you like and you can even have it read it to you!

 

Memory Verses for Healing –

Read these, Pray these back to Father … He will respond directly to you! Keep them in your Remembrance and Holy Spirit will send them when you are in need of them!

John 4:4 {Greater is He…}

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Isaiah 53:5 { By His stripes we were healed … note the “were”}

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Psalm 118:17 {The original Speak Life verse!}

I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

and one more for now …

Luke 5:17 {The power of the Lord is present to heal YOU!}

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

I encourage you, go now and read these scriptures and the whole story around them … write them down and repeat them when you are feeling the ill effects of the ailment that pains you. Let the understanding wash over you … like in this last one: it so powerfully opens up the truth for me!

THE POWER OF THE LORD IS PRESENT TO HEAL!

I know, it’s my revelation knowledge, but I can promise you it’s my knowledge that God is with me right now, present and healing because I did what I am encouraging you to do right now. I felt pain, I ran to the Word and read what God said … and there is no where in the bible, that I’ve found, where it says that God was present in my illness. The Word only says He is present, He is willing, He is speaking, MY HEALING.

Make this Yours today! Blessing to you and thank you for reading.

 

 

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

Healing Sunday the Medicine of Praise! … 31days:day26

I think I’ve said this before … I find healing within my praise time with God. I find the catalyst of the music the easiest way to enter into the presence of God, where I believe we are automatically in the condition of the wholeness God intended us to be.

Praise is my medicine.

Our Youth Worship Band brought us into worship today and it was amazing. {They sang the song below … perfectly.}

I also believe that since I’ve lost a significant amount of weight I was able to physically participate actively in my worship. I found myself refreshed and worked when we finally finished with our praise and worship time.

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise. Jeremiah 17:14

This particular song washes over me and I’m with my Father God and He responds to me, and that response heals me to my core! This song is a prayer of praise and love. I pray you will listen and allow God to respond to you in your praises … because He is your {our} praise.

Blessings to you and thanks for reading.

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

The Promise of Healing … The Truth

The Truth about the promise of healing. Day 25 of 31 Days of Healing Scriptures.

I’ve stumbled upon the revelation that our healing, while a part of our Salvation Package, is contingent upon us getting the revelation of our healing and then …

Acting upon, or applying the knowledge that is gleaned from that revelation!

 “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James 5:14-15

I’ve also written about the point of contact and our faith. {here}

Are you sick? Do you desire to be healed? I mean, do you desire to release that illness within you and all that goes with it? Some don’t want their healing, it’s kind of a subconscious thing. It’s more like they cannot envision their life without the ailment that they’ve claimed as their own. They cannot seem to fathom how life would be healed and healthy.

Some even do not desire true healing because the thought of being able bodied means they might have to support themselves, physically, financially and emotionally. Many get quite a lot our of their illness. I don’t think it was their intention when they first became ill; it’s an evolution within one’s life that becomes a part of who they are and how they live.

Let me give you a personal example. Up until recently (like several years, when tithing became an integral part of our faith) we lived a meager life. Absolutely one paycheck to the next. So for all those years losing this weight, reversing almost lifelong obesity, brought to my mind the immense amounts of money that would cost! Diets, medical care, not to mention the expense of clothing! If I lost the weight it frightened me that I would become a financial burden on my family!

Twisted thinking when you actually see it in writing! But the over-the-counter meds, quick doctor visits and such, they all came in dribs and drabs, almost unnoticed. And then came the heart event! And years later there came the cancer event!

Those were big! And both, in their own ways, brought the bigger picture to life.

I wanted to be healed! I wanted to be whole and smaller! So I prayed! And it began … because for each time I reached out to God for another level of healing and my heart was right another layer was peeled away to reveal the next step.

Yes, there was prayer with the elders of our church. I was anointed with the oil and many a prayer of faith was said! And God did as He promised above, He rose me up to the challenge of my healing and He forgave me!

Some think that God did not promise us healing. That’s furthest from the TRUTH. He did promise in John 3 … He sent His Son so that we would be (not might be), WOULD BE forgiven and in that forgiveness was healing!

When we let the Elder of elders pray over us, our Intercessor Jesus, we are healed of our illness and diseases!

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Isn’t that awesome!

So there it is … The Truth of the promise of healing! Jesus has been singing over us … forever! For Eternity … He came for us! He came so that we would have LIFE and LIFE more ABUNDANT!

I just hope what I’ve been sharing this month is bringing you to Him so that that Abundance has become your LIFE! Thanks for reading! May the blessing of healing be yours today. =)

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

Dare to Believe … Five Minute Friday on Day 24 of 31 Days of Writing!

It’s Friday! That means I not only try to write this post in 5 minutes, with no corrections or edits, but I also attempt to fit Kate’s prompt to my 31 Day Writing Them of Healing Scriptures! Not an easy task sometimes … but hey, I’ll take the dare! 😉

Today’s Prompt is … Dare!

When I had my heart event 5 years ago I stepped into trusting God for my healing. I had that God experience on the gurney {you can read that here.} and dared to step out to change my lifestyle.

But that wasn’t the only DARE I encountered.

After I got “well enough” I dared to share healing with my family. My family who live with many, MANY, health issues, covering all areas of one’s life. From several forms of depression to addictions and various health issues. And their response was tantamount to …

HOW DARE YOU!

Yes, how dare I think I’m better than them, or that God would heal me and not them. They didn’t understand God the way that I did. They don’t enjoy the relationship I enjoy with Him. And if they read this, and some might, there will be issue with this.

But yet again, I DARE to share this, my understanding of what God says about my {OUR} healing!

Healing is a promise to us from God! We received it in our Salvation Package! I love calling it that. God bundled Salvation, Grace and Healing into our package contract!

And it cost us NOTHING! No monthly fee … no cancellation if we don’t hit the mark, or pay the debt. FREE … healing, like salvation and grace, came free when we came into Covenant with God!

Full Definition of COVENANT – Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

1:  a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement :  compact

2a :  a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action

In the Hebrew scriptures, an agreement or treaty among peoples or nations, but most memorably the promises that God extended to humankind (e.g., the promise to Noah never again to destroy the earth by flood or the promise to Abraham that his descendants would multiply and inherit the land of Israel). God’s revelation of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai created a pact between God and Israel known as the Sinai covenant. In Christianity, Jesus’ death established a new covenant between God and humanity.

Jesus is the promise, He is the seal on the contract of our Salvation!

Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains , yet we considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God . But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

I dare to believe God at his word. I dare to share, at the expense of being criticized by others, the amazing love that God had for us that He sent His only Son so that we could have life with Him. That we could experience what it means to be created in His likeness. To enjoy a life free of illness and pain. If only we would believe.

Yesterday’s post was about God’s Instructions and the instruction book … wherein He gives us the most vital instruction of all … To BELIEVE … that whoever believes … WHOEVER … that is you and me and everyone! Shall NOT perish but have eternal life … that, right there, is the promise of healing!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I dare you to believe! Check it out … John 3 is an amazing Scripture.

Thanks so much for reading! Blessings.

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

Healing Scripture Day 23 of 31 Days … A Journey

Exodus 15:²⁶ He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

Instruction … Often we long for, and voice that longing in our day to day, instructions in life. We’ve heard people say, and probably said ourselves: “I wish there was a book of instructions for life.”

There is a How To For Life book! The Bible.

basic.instruction.before.leaving.earth

A popular acronym used by Christians:

Bible:“Basic. Instructions. Before. Leaving. Earth.”

Well, if you’re one that has built your faith into a relationship with God then you know this to be true, as cheesy as the little cliche has become. If you are new and learning … I assure you once I chose to live my life according to God’s will and timing my learning of the Word and applying the same to my life accelerated and became almost easy.

Note I said Almost Easy. This is after all life and we were not promised easy … we were promised it would be worth it. And so far, for me, it’s been worth it.

The scripture I began with is instruction for life … It was to the Israelites who were trying to get to the promised land; but true to human behavior they were complaining and fussing that it wasn’t coming as quickly and as easily as they had envisioned. They had to be continually reminded, encouraged and instructed to follow God and His timing.

They couldn’t wrap their heads around the process. They couldn’t get past putting human attributes to God. Like us they were human with human faculties … and they would get a few step forward and fall several back, into their own understanding.

Yes! The Old Testament is relevant to us today … it reveals our human-ness if we pay attention. The Israelites were just like we are today!

So as to healing … it’s God’s promise to us from the very beginning. Like I’ve said many times on my blog; Our healing was delivered in the Atonement and received at the exact moment of our Salvation!

Our salvation and our healing are one in the same!

We were created In His Image, In His Likeness. We were created to be just like God, and God is NEVER ill. He’s NEVER had a cold, or the flu, or cancer … NEVER; and neither did His Son!

So the instruction for healing here, is much the same as any other instruction for Life … And were given EVERYTHING we need for life … and Godliness {In His likeness!}. And the scripture above is clear … for us it’s to get in The Word, get to know God and His will, His plan and His timing and live your life accordingly. The exact instruction is spelled out right there in His words.

His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3

He has a separate the name Healer:

Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Who heals!

 

I encourage you to get into the book of God’s Instructions for our life and find EVERY.WORD. He said about your healing. You see, I know that I am healed, regardless of what I am feeling in this body or am hearing from the “professionals” and then I refer to His Word and I trust in THAT WORD while doing what He has instructed through the doctors. After all it was our Healer who created the Doctor. 😉

Do you need healing today? Won’t you let me pray for/with you, according to His Word and Will for you life? I would love to be in agreement with you for your complete healing … it’s yours, right here and right now!

Thanks so much for reading. It is my sincere hope that I have sparked a glimmer of hope in you to seek your healing for Jesus, The True Physician. Blessings.

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

31 Days Journey to Healing

Prayer Changes Everything! | day 22 of 31

Prayer Changes Everything

Yes, yes it does. Prayer changes minds, lives and situations. It changes one’s health, we actually get healthier when communing, communicating with God the Father.

Because … Prayer changes our minds! We literally begin to think differently about everything.

Why? Because when we pray to the Father of the Universe we come into His presence and are caught up in the enormity of Who He is and His LOVE for us and we begin to believe the truth of our situation.

Like some of us felt about our parents when we were younger.

Don’t get me wrong, I know not everyone had a secure parent/child relationship … I didn’t, however … God fixed that in me as early as 5 years old.

My childhood was a, let’s say, rough one. My dad was gone, well worse … he was voluntarily absent and my mom was ill. When I say my childhood it is more of a reference to a time or age in my life. I didn’t really have a childhood.

No, I’m not looking for sympathy; it’s just a fact of my life. One that others may need to know to be able to continue with what I am saying in this post.

When I was 5 some of the more traumatic events of my childhood occurred. My dad left when I was four … but I don’t really know how close to 5 I was at the time, and mom was sick and angry and sad and not taking care of herself, or us kids, very well.

I don’t remember what was going on specifically at the time, but that’s because what I experienced during the situation was so much more dynamic than the trouble that precipitated my amazing experience with Jesus.

We were sent outside to “play”, this was normal for most families at that time … it was 1970. But I didn’t play …. I grabbed my favorite pillow and a book before I was ushered out and the door was closed behind me. I went to our huge maple in the middle of the front yard and was reading (???) it had to be a children’s picture book, I was only 5! and at some point I fell asleep ….

Sometime later minutes, hours (?) I don’t know I was awakened to a very bright light and when I opened my eyes I saw feet in gold sandals and the hem of a white dress (that was my take on it) with blue trim and I heard a booming voice. I remember feeling funny, like a floaty feeling, but no fear or anxiety. I looked up into the light and heard him say …

“You won’t hurt any further. They cannot hurt you anymore.” Just that and a feeling of peace and comfort.

I tell you all this to tell you that this was the beginning of healing for me. I would not be where I am today; I would not be mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy if God had not revealed Himself to that child I was. Over many, many years of running and hurting I never forgot that visitation. Even when my faith or my religion, which was not being fed in any way, I still prayed to this God, this Jesus (I did know it was Jesus) in my times of desperation.

He wasn’t done … He visited me again when I was 19 in a very tragic, life altering situation. And that visitation cemented me in my belief that there was a God and He knew who I was, though cement or not I continued to run amok for another 18 years, praying to Him when I was at my wits end!

All that praying … it changed me. Little by little it made me stronger, it drew me closer to Him and this path He has me on.

You see I had to do and experience all of that life and lack therein to come to this place where I can tell you that praying can heal you, if you let it!

I encourage you. Don’t let the circumstances of your life stop your relationship with God. As hard as some of  life is, as the tragedy and trauma feel as though they are molding us; trust me when I tell you it is God molding us, in spite of those circumstances, those worldly realities; into the amazing sons and daughters He loves so very much. Keep talking to father, keep sharing your heart and your hurts. Keep communing, communicating with Him; it will change your world. I promise.

I pray today that this post, that once again feels disjointed, is understandable to those who need it. That we all will continue to pray and communicate with God the Father and receive the enormous love and purpose He has for us! In Jesus name, I pray that we will shed the religion and press into the relationship of child to father and bask in the vision He has for us. That we can shed the world and embrace heaven the way that He originally planned for us. Amen.

Thank You for Reading.
Andrea

 

31 Days Journey to Healing