Developing the Spiritual Disciplines
Sometimes we are pressured in every direction and we are shaken to our very core.
The enemies desire is to bombard you with the trouble with the cares of this life.
The enemies desire is to see you buckle under the pressure of the turbulent winds and waves of this storm.
As the enemy uses Intimidating winds and words of adversity to shake us, it is in these times and trials that our faith is being tested and your faith is proven in the midst of troubled times and seasons.
Beloved, don’t forget to speak the Word! God is watching over His word to perform it.
God’s ultimate desire for us is so that others see Christ in you, the hope of glory! God never wastes anything we go through in life’s trials.
As we apply God’s word to our thoughts, our mind and flesh are being conformed through that process. These are the lessons of lasting value.
There is no amount of college or university training that can teach us the valuable lessons we glean by days spent in the fields of opposition.
How we react to pressure will show us where we are in our walk of faith. God already knows our heart, but He wants us to know our own heart!
His great desire through us is to represent Christ to this world so He can trust us with people, having great compassion.
He is with us and walks in and through us as we learn to trust and yield to Him in all circumstances. He wants us to conquer us!
Our flesh is our greatest enemy. As we learn to die to our flesh daily, it brings newness of life In those areas conquered.
Yes, the process for growth isn’t easy but so worth it beloved.
As we learn to yield completely to the Holy Spirit in us, He wants to trust us with His heavenly vision and treasures!
There are experiences and places in God that we cannot even fathom! It is far beyond anything this world has to offer.
The LORD gives us the free will to choose just how much of heaven do we want on earth.
To walk in heavenly places takes a strong deliberate choice and a powerful effort to become sold out to God’s will.
As we mature and die daily, things that hinder our walk are cut away. When our only desire becomes “Him” it will cost us everything to develop such a hunger for God.
God’s Word, praise, worship, fasting, and prayer are the Christian disciplines that develop the avenue for emancipation!
Beloved, it is our choice and decision to hunger and thirst after righteousness for in doing so, we shall be filled.
Beloved many Christians never scratch the surface in wanting more of God. Even though some were given great messages of prophecy that were supposed to be moving in their destiny, but they are not.
Many people see the price and back down and settle, not wanting to know anymore. They get comfortable and back down to where things were good like before.
Living on memories and past experiences is all those people have. Those that fail to move on with God is their choice.
God gave them free will and choice. Our job is to pray for them and move on with the LORD.
Being superficial in our relationship with the LORD makes us have superficial lives. This word is to encourage and to exhort those who want everything God has for them!
Beloved, we have read of people who had such amazing lives in ministry. People like Smith Wigglesworth, Maria Woodworth Etter and other generals of the faith.
God is no respecter of persons, and if he did it for them, He can do it for us! It is very possible to walk with God in a deeper way to impact many lives and to know Him in such an incredible way!
Just imagine walking in such freedom! I have longed and desired this type of love walk with God since I came to know Him.
As we die to our will and only want His will, the Holy Spirit in our innermost being can be liberated in us and through us.
He wants to flow through our body and soul to reach the world! We must measure ourselves according to the plumbline of God’s Word and to the degree of desire we have within.
Repentance of sin is ongoing as we are serious about removing all idolatry in our lives.
We must become hungry, desperate, and famished for God if we desire to see His wonders to perform.
Jesus walked the earth, knowing desperately that having that time with His Father was a necessity, not an option.
Jesus only did what His Father said. It is our choice beloved, of how much of God we really want.
Personally, I am on a trek with God, seeking Him with my whole being. I only want Him and His will.
I pray that God will stir your heart to be laid down lovers with Him and be one in all things.
“To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,” Ephesians 3:10 KJV.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,” Ephesians 1:3 KJV.
There are issues that plague all of us, but they teach us to glean from these type of experiences that gives substance to our faith.
The seed of the Word must be cultivated in and through the midst of trial and tribulation. It is the proving ground of our heart condition.
We are not able to see the seeds sown until they sprout and are revealed as the tiny plant pushes through the soil.
You may feel your efforts are fruitless, but beloved, sow those seeds; tend your garden.
You will eventually see the results! The plants are proven and soon the fruit of the vine appears! Just one seed yielded so much harvest!
God always does things exponentially!
Like the seeds and planting, tending, and harvesting, it is a work of grace similar to how we are developing in God.
We must prepare the soil of our hearts, and then plant the word and work the Word!
Pull out those weeds, make sure it is watered and tended to. There will come a day when you will harvest the fruits of your labor.
“Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools,” Psalms 84:6 KJV.
“And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me,” Isaiah 65:10 KJV.
“And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt,” Hosea 2:15 KJV.
God can advance us and he wants us to know that even in the midst of troubling times he knows our frame and watches over us. The LORD’s care and concern also include; watching how we react to things.
There is a price beloved, in wanting all God has for you. I would be amiss and very mistaken if I didn’t share the balance of these things.
But understand this, I am not saying this is easy. You will enter intense spiritual warfare.
However we are overcomers, but the enemy will check every avenue and door or crack that is open so he can come in and try to hinder or stop you.
There will be confrontations with the adversaries works and you will be more acutely aware of them.
Along with the blessings of the LORD and walking closely with Him, the enemy will do everything he can to stop you!
He specially will attempt to keep distractions ongoing so that you are so busy that you have no time to pray.
Being prayerless causes us to be careless. Beloved if we are too busy for prayer, then we are too busy.
What is it that keeps you distracted and so busy that you have no time for the LORD in prayer and intimacy?
Prayer is our lifeline to God. It is our hotline to heaven. You will find not only the enemy hindering you and your prayer life, but what is worse?
The enemy will use our own flesh against us to resist prayer and be distracted by so many things.
The enemy, along with your flesh, will think of a million things you could be doing instead of getting alone, and quiet before the LORD.
Our first love relationship is Jesus! That is our first ministry. He wants to fellowship with us and wants to share secrets to those who are trustworthy.
His great love is for His bride. We must develop a listening ear and heart. God delights in us as we seek Him and read His word.
Beloved, test the spirits for many are out there and they are not of God. We cannot rightly test anything if we are prayerless. If I haven’t prayed, I don’t say anything to God’s people.
We cannot trust anyone but God! When we have pulled away from our life source in fellowship and intimacy with the LORD, we are wide open for invasion.
The enemies of our soul will plan for weeks in advance, causing distractions to move us away from our prayer time and intimacy with the LORD.
We must be alert and on guard not to lose our sensitivity to God. If that happens we won’t be able to hear and discern the LORD. Prayer is not an option it is a necessity!
Beloved of God, this is my first ministry, my first love; I fellowship with Him and I know I can do nothing without Him.
He is my heavenly husband so I pray because I adore Him. I don’t do it out of obligation.
I am in love with my master and I dwell with Him because I love Him and I want to.
I must pray also and intercede for others. Because of ministry related reasons, I must pray and intercede for others especially my ministry network. Intercession should flow out from the results of our overflow in our prayer time.
We should desire all He has for us! We must continue to resist the devil and press into prayer and intercession.
Daily prayer time makes us sensitive to God and also if demonic warfare is near. For every Christian, prayer is that necessity.
Prayer is our first calling, our first ministry; our communion with Him and His body. Prayer is foundational; nothing can happen without prayer.
It isn’t just something we have to do, it is something we eagerly want to do to hear His voice. We should learn to be still and know He is God.
We should desire to mature in God, but that takes discipleship and that root word is discipline.
Prayer is a spiritual discipline that we acquire. Everyone who confesses Jesus is LORD and Savior is a Christian, ALL of us are to pray.
That is something we all have to do, by learning how to communicate to God through prayer.
If you feel like prayer is something you avoid, something you have to do. That is the wrong motives.
I would suggest to get serious with God and dedicate some time to fast and pray.
There are many ways to fast, and if you need more understanding on that, message me and I will speak with you.
Ask the LORD to help you and ask Him to manifest His best for you. Also seek the LORD and ask Him to reveal Himself to you and to give you a greater awareness of His presence.
Ask Him that you greatly desire to come closer to His presence.
I believe fasting and prayer should be something we do very often. It takes off the rough edges we acquire from living life.
Fasting also causes us to get more centered on God. The important thing is to take that time and dedicate it to how many hours or days you feel led to do, and give yourself to prayer and Bible study.
When you begin, tell God you want to become sensitive to Him.
There are many ways to fast. God will honor whatever is done towards Him in sincerity.
When you fast, be sure you spend time with Him and consume the Word. For example, I take a pill everyday and it requires that I eat with it, so very often I will fast two meals a day.
I get up early at 5:00 a.m. and dedicate my time to Him from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I don’t eat but one meal after 5:00 p.m. and depending on what the fast is all about.
The most important portion is that you seek God with all your heart and with that time and study the Bible and write what He gives you.
Beloved, God will honor any type of fast you dedicate to Him, just do it. I also don’t watch TV when I fast.
It can be many things. The object is for the LORD to anoint you with fresh oil and to make you sensitive so that you desire to be closer to God.
He will honor that fast beloved. Fasting helps us get back into alignment with God and those who we are close to.
“And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,” 1 Thessalonians 4:7 KJV.
In His Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey
Sherry Edwards Mackey
Please Note: Publications and or prophecy taken from this may be used to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. The articles taken must be used according to it’s entirety with credits. Thank you kindly!
GOD IS GREAT