Living In the Spirit

One thing I love about the Lord, He is that when we seek Him his is faithful to reveal himself  to us. Many times Christians feel far away from Christ and have low faith because of their lack of desperation for His presence. Seeking God must be something that we take on as a consistent attitude, or mindset. Everyday when we wake up our hearts desire should be to know God in a greater way than we did the day before. Everyday is a new opportunity to get closer to our creator. This concept is living and walking in the spirit.

 Galatians 5:16, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." This scripture has been ministering to me for sometime now. I would say for at least two years. Yes two years! The word of God teaches us in Psalm 1 to meditate on the word of God daily. Sometimes it takes time to receive the depths of revelation that the Holy Spirit desires to show us. I prayed and sought  the Lord for the revelation of Galatians 5:16. The reason is because of my understanding of walking in the spirit. I realize now that my perception of things that are "deep" was unbalanced. I thought that a life of walking in the spirit consisted of living consistently in the Holy Place or something. (Walking around speaking in tongues, singing worship songs all day, always in some deep far out world.) I thought to myself how this would be humanly impossible  for people who have lives outside of professional ministry. If a person walked around like that all the time, people would think they were straight out crazy. But as I looked and studied the depths of this scripture the Holy Spirit revealed to me the practical implications of the text.

Walking in the spirit is extremely "deep," but very practical. Here in this scripture the tense of walk implies progression or steady progress in grace. Walking in the spirit is ones steady movement towards the things of God. Everyday we are to decide to walk closer to God and live in a way that is more pleasing. The basis of everything however is the individuals seek and pursuit. OUR PURSUIT MUST BE CONSISTENT! We must walk consistently following after the things of God. This in turn produces a life of the spirit. We must dig in deep to the things of the Holy Spirit to get to know the ways of the Spirit. A life of prayer, is essential to cultivating a life in the spirit. There are many christians that profess Christ as their savior but never seek Him personally. Their experience with God ends once the Sunday service has ended. These type of individuals never cross over into a life of the Spirit, because their life is not submitted. We must give up our life and take on the life of Christ.

We are taught in this scripture that if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of our flesh. Walking in the spirit postures us to experience the abundance of the kingdom. The Bible declares that we were made in the image of God. We know through scripture that God is a spirit. We are created in His image because we too have a spirit. Our spirit is eternal, not our flesh. The flesh is consistently dying. We also know that the works of the flesh produces death. We are called to live in the spirit because that is where the Lord speaks to us and plants in us His purpose and will for our lives. The Lords plans for our lives have an eternal purpose as it relates to the things of the spirit. God desires to use our lives beyond this temporal world. Everything that we need as it relates to our destiny and calling is in the spirit! However we must live there to see it come forth in fullness. We must walk in the spirit to gain the true revelation of what we are to do with our lives. It is impossible to obtain spiritual blessings through natural and carnal measures. The lust of the flesh only brings about things that are temporal. We can lust after careers, success, money, fame, etc. The Lust of the flesh doesn't just have to be things related to sexual perversion but the lust of the flesh are things that satisfy the needs of the flesh.

So whats the point? Everything that you need in your life is in the spirit of God! Once we dig into the things of God, He in turns blesses us with everything we need to accomplish  His plan for our lives. His plan is much greater that we can perceive, but we must be spiritual to receive it.      

Word for 2012

I am excited about this year! I believe that we, in the body of Christ, are entering a time of acceleration and the Lord is bringing us into position to accomplish His plan through our lives for the earth. About 2 months ago, I was in prayer and the Lord spoke to me concerning this New Year. He shared that this was going to be a year of His “established kingdom”. We know that the number 12 is the number of government. I remembered hearing this from the Lord, questioning the validity of what I was hearing, and wondering how it even made sense. I wondered this because I know that Christ came to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. His message was the Kingdom of God and now because of His sacrifice we are members of the kingdom. I contemplated all this and meditated on it for a while until I was able to receive a full understanding of what I was hearing. I know by growing up in the church that every New Year, we have heard messages about what God was going to do in that year. People preach messages that are led to inspire people to expect great things and be hopeful that the upcoming year is going to be better than the last. With this being said, I am very cautious in sharing what I believe for 2012 because I do not want to fall in the category of sharing a cliché word to sound deep or profound that in turn carries no spiritual insight or eternal purpose. I believe that this word concerning 2012 is profound and if you receive the revelation of what God spoke to me, your life and ministry will never be the same. For this is the year of God’s established kingdom!

In reference to the times and seasons of God in the earth, we can look around at all the things that are happening in our society and know for certain that we are in the last days. Jesus is coming soon! It is imperative for His people to be ready for His return. For the past year the Lord has kept Romans 8:19 heavily on my spirit. I have been inquiring of the Lord in reference to the revelation of this passage. It says: “For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship]. (AMP) The earth is waiting for those that are the sons of God to come forth. This same scripture tells us that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells within those that believe in Him and that the spirit bears witness with our spirit assuring that we are the children of God. As children of God that possess the life giving spirit, the Holy Spirit, we are called to walk in the same spirit and power that Christ walked in. We are the sons of God and the earth is waiting for those of us that carry the life of God within us to come forth exemplifying our Father in heaven.

For some time now we have heard various revelations concerning the message of the Kingdom. We have heard great preachers and teachers teach us about the kingdom of God and what it means to be citizens of this kingdom. However these messages have all been conceptually explained. Very few believers cross over into the place of faith to where they actually live as an ambassador of heaven or have a life that displays the kingdom of God. The scripture says, “nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21. This scripture tells us very clearly that the kingdom of God is within us! We are the Kingdom. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” We are not praying that His kingdom comes from heaven, because it has already come from heaven, but we are actually praying that His kingdom on the earth in us comes forth. Jesus established the kingdom on the earth over 2,000 years ago, so now we are just waiting for those that have the kingdom within them to come forth! Think about it, you are the manifestation of the Kingdom of heaven. This means that you are a carrier of the Kingdom of heaven and the earth is waiting for you to come forth. That thing the Lord has placed within you is a portion of His kingdom. And His desire is that you would do what He has created you to do.

The Lord said that this shall be a year of God’s established kingdom! This means that God is summonsing those that He has called to get into position to be the manifestation of His kingdom. He desires to raise up his sons into places of prominence to show forth His power and to bring life to those various areas. There are places in the earth that are in desperate need of the establishment of the kingdom of God and that place has your name on it. If we avail ourselves totally to God in these days, God is going to use our natural body to reveal His power and promises to the earth. I am telling you, this is not just a concept to consider, but a place of reality that you are called to live. God is taking us, the body of Christ higher! We shall step into kingdom purpose and see all the benefits of the kingdom.

The catch is obedience! In order to step into your kingdom position in God where the message of the kingdom switches from being a thought to reality, you must walk in the obedience of God. In these days, we must know our assignment and be about our father’s business. This generation doesn’t have the same luxury of generations past to wait to move into purpose. Our days are truly numbered and He is calling for us to get into position to assist in accomplishing the plan of God in the earth. Lay aside every weight of sin and carnality and put on liberty of life in the spirit so that you can accomplish what God has called you to do. KNOW YOUR ASSIGNMENT! When you step into the revelation of why you were created, move full speed ahead towards it. Be careful to pray and seek the Lord for your assignment so that you can be apart of what the Lord is doing. This is going to look different for everyone. The Lord may call you to have an impact on one of the seven pillars of our society; arts and entertainment, education, government, media, ministry, business and family. His call is for you to raise up in to a position of dominion and show forth Christ and His kingdom in those arenas so that people can come into the knowledge of His power. Those portions of the earth are crying out for the revelation of God’s children. Seek out what the Lord would speak to you and pursue it wholly so that you can see God’s plan fulfilled in your life. I believe that this is the hour where the Lord is changing the guards as it relates to influence and He is calling this generation into places of influence to get the job done. Refuse to live in the monotony. Monotony is a curse of the devil when the Lord has called you to prosper. I believe that we have stepped over into a different dispensation and we are going to see the kingdom of God in operation in our lives. Before, we as the body at large have heard about it, but we shall see it. God is fixing and shifting the hearts of His people so that He can bring His glory back to people and ministries. He wants to restore His power to his body, but it takes coming into a place of true submission to His voice and will.

Faith

One thing that has truly interested me in recent months is the subject of “faith”. It’s funny how the lessons of life truly teach us the true meanings of concepts that we as believers understand conceptually, but not in reality. For those of you that read my last blog entitled, “Let Patience Have its Perfect Work,” you know and understand that these past few months have stretched me beyond words. I have experienced various things that have challenged my faith. Through it all, I have felt my faith in God rise stronger than ever. Maybe it might be to the fact that I am young and the Lord is placing experiences in my life to build my faith for where He is taking me. Whatever the case, this season has given me a new fortitude as it relates to having faith in God.

Growing up in a predominately charismatic background, the concept of faith was always taught as something that was connected to something physical or natural. Hearing stories of people believing God for a car, or a financial breakthrough, or even the deliverance of a family member, I naturally developed the thought that faith always brought about by a natural manifestation. From my perception, faith was associated with the Lord acting or demonstrating His power in ways that affected a person’s reality. We know according to Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. We are taught that in order to believe God for something supernatural we must have faith. These thoughts are all scriptural and biblical and they are true as it relates to our Christian walk. But in these past few months, my faith has been tested. The testing of my faith has not only been in my faith to believe God provisionally, but also in the spirit of faith. We are taught according to 1 Corinthians 1:22 that faith is one of the gifts of the spirit and that people can actually posses a gift of faith. My faith has not been tried to question my faith in God, but it has been tested to stretch my understanding of who God is. Hebrews 11:1 teaches us that faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. So our faith in God is a type of substance that brings about the things that we believe from spiritual realm to our earthly realm. However, is the manifestation of what we see or experience through faith only tangible? Is my spiritual faith only proven when I believe God for a brand new Mercedes Benz and actually receive it? Or is my faith proven by my belief in a God that I can’t see with my natural eye? These are concepts that have been on my heart throughout my process these past few months.

For so long in the Word of Faith movement we have taught this prosperity Gospel that has truly crippled the church as it relates to the topic of faith. Our faith is not associated with our financial provision! However, we can believe God and he provides for us. We must understand that some of us will never enter into millionaire status. I personally believe that a lot of the teachings that we hear concerning prosperity is a form of manipulation to raise large offerings. Now, I do believe that the Lord desires to provide for His people and when we have needs He moves on our behalf. God blesses people who tithe and God blesses those that give. The financial seeds that we plant open up the windows of heaven so that we can receive our blessing from the Lord. We must move past being obedient to scripture because we are expecting to get something in return. We should give out of our love and covenant with the Father and in return He gives back to us because of His love and covenant with us. There are times that we will experience seasons of drought and famine, but these times are always ordained by God to bring forth his plan is some capacity. What has brought me to this perspective has been my recent experiences over the past few months. I have returned my tithe, sown offerings, given of my self, blessed people all expecting a supernatural miracle as it related to my finances. I started to become somewhat discouraged because nothing was changing. As a matter of fact, I did all this not expecting a major increase in my wealth, but just to stay afloat. The funny thing is that what I have been taught hasn’t manifested in my life at all! Instead of the devourer being rebuked, I have felt as if everything I have had personally has been stripped away. I haven’t received a check in the mail, forgiveness of any of my student loans, a raise on my job or a promotion, or even someone just blessing me with a car. If my faith were based strictly on God’s provisional blessings, I would have backslidden about 3 months ago. I would have totally given up on all that I have confessed to believe. The irony of it all is that my faith has gone to higher heights. I am confident now in the God that I serve. I have learned that we give ourselves to God because it is our reasonable service for how He gave to us. I do believe that my turn around is swiftly approaching, but this season was God ordained to develop the real type of faith in me. Habakkuk 3:17-18 states, “17Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!” Basically the prophet was saying if I don’t have anything or see God’s provision I will rejoice in my God. We must have faith in the existence of our God and who He is. Even if we don’t see provision, we rejoice in Him as Jehovah Jireh. Even if we do not receive the healing in our bodies He is still Jehovah Rophe. We must come to a deeper level of faith that goes beyond the things in this natural realm. Before God created the earth He was here. When the Lord gave Moses the instruction to tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, He told Moses to tell Pharaoh that the “I Am” sent him. We learn in grammar school that “am” is a state of being verb. God described himself as the state of being. Everything in the world was created through Him by His word. Our reality lies in the truth of His existence. Our faith mustn’t be only in God’s provision, but in the fact that God is God! When we view God as the state of being, then everything associated with his attributes will manifest in our lives. Our faith must be confident in the God that we serve.  

One scripture that stands out to me is in Jude 1 where he mentions about the faith that was delivered to the saints. I have spent some time now pondering on what he actually meant when he wrote this verse. I thought to myself, “What is that type of faith, and do I have it?” In this verse, he is talking about reality of the truth that the received when the first believed. He is also talking about the faith through experience that they had with God. Their faith was built strong because of their powerful encounters with the creator. The faith that the saints in the early church possessed was not this sort of name it and claim faith that helps people to think positively, but a faith in the creator that no situation could shake. The kind of faith that the martyrs of the early church like Stephen possessed when they viciously stoned him to death, Paul who was beheaded and Peter who was crucified upside down. The kind of faith that went beyond natural possessions, but into a place with God that gave them strength to stand in the face of death and still confess Jesus as their savior and redeemer.

Our faith must be based on the existence of our creator. Though we may encounter experiences that are sent to us to stretch and test are faith, we mustn’t waiver. In the days that we are living in we must develop faith that is unshakable. Situations rise up all the time, but we must be able to have strong faith that causes us to live strong in the spirit. You may be going through a time of pressure, but allow this time to bring forth a new measure of faith. Your faith in God shall cause you to walk in places in the supernatural that will supersede the average lives of everyone else in the world. The Lord has given us the measure of faith that allows us to live higher. When everyone else in the world is going crazy, we have this consolation that we have faith in the one who began the good work in us and that he will be faithful to bring his plans to pass. In the midst of utter chaos, our faith keeps us grounded. Today, ask God for a greater measure of faith that you might stand strong in the midst of adversity. Not just strong faith to attain natural possessions, but faith to live in the consistent peace of God’s reality. 

Let Patience Have Its Perfect Work!

James 1:2-8

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

In the past few months since I finished college, the Lord has placed me on an extremely interesting journey. This has not been a time that many people experience when they are fresh out of college. I haven't had the luxury to relax, kick back, get an amazing job, and life with experiencing the fruit of what I have worked so hard for over the past four years, and in many cases my life. This season has been a season full of trials, challenges, pressure, and experiences to build faith in me. Honestly, I have hated this experience, from my employment, to my personal life. There were times that I wondered if I would ever accomplish all that I believed for years the Lord place in my heart. I have gone through times of sadness, and even battles with the spirit of depression. My place caught on fire, I felt as if I had holes in my pockets, feelings of being lonely, frustration concerning my job, and I just recently totaled my car, these are just some things that I have experienced in the past 3 months. All the time wondering, what was happening to me and in my life. I also wondered if I was experiencing a repercussion of something I did. All through the midst of this season I have felt the Lord closer to me than ever. I mean really, you know how the Bibles says, Enoch walked with God, there have been times where I have felt like the creator was my roommate, no lie. He has spoken to me concerning his plans on the earth, ignited a greater burden and passion for ministry with in me, given me more understanding of how to minister, taken me into a deeper place as it relates to prayer, increased my anointing, filled me with an amazing measure of faith and joy, and brought me closer to Himself. Through all my terrible experiences around me, the Lord has truly comforted me and birthed in me the type of faith that was delivered to the saints in the early church that we read about in Acts. 

However, the question is posed of why. Why am I a going through all this? One day I was on the phone with my mother, franticly asking her to explain to me what was happening and she responded "life." Her statement to me caused me to reconsider how I was handling this season. A minister that has been dear to my family, Brenda Tatum, preached a message years ago about "Growing" through the process. That message has stuck with me and it helped me to shape a different perspective concerning my personal situation. Last week, when my car hydroplaned off the turnpike, was probably the icing on the cake for me. With all the situations that rose up from that accident, the Holy Spirit kept whispering in my ear a portion of the James 1 passage, "The testing of your faith produces patience. Let patience have its perfect work."  I mean all week long, He kept whispering this verse to me. To answer the question of why all the crazy experiences have been happening to me is found right here in this passage. These experiences have been sent by God to allow my faith to be strong producing and strengthening my patience in God and his seasons, allowing patience to bring forth the fullness of what God sent the trial to produce. My trials have been divinely assigned to me to crush me bringing out more of God and His anointing. Please hear me, I am not in any way trying to pump myself up, but I am just sharing with you that the intense hell I have encountered in the past few months have increased my faith so that I walk more in God's glory to conquer hell. The more the devil has attacked me, the more God has demonstrated His supernatural power in me. It seems a little strange but it is true. God used hell to push my spirit higher to experience heaven. An experience of pressure brings out what God has put deep within. My decision has been to let patience have its perfect work. 

 James wrote this chapter with a very interesting approach on suffering. The funny point of the text is that he says to consider it a joy when we are going through trials. The irony of this is because joy is associated with good experiences. How can we have joy when we are in bad times? The way we do this is but trusting in the Lord and His faithfulness over our life. A few notes back, the Lord had me to write about the revelation of praying the Word of God. The Bible tells us in Isaiah that the Lord’s word shall not return to him void, but it accomplishes what He sent it to do. His word over our lives cannot return to him without it being accomplished. So we when we go through trials, we have an outlet to rejoice because the trail is the very proof that the word over your life is coming to pass. All the trial is doing is positioning you for the manifestation of God’s word. Then it says that going through trails brings about a testing of our faith and that brings about perseverance. Life is not easy, and accomplishing the will of God is even harder (because you have to fight hell to do it). God uses the trail to build faith and that brings about the ability to stand. Standing in the midst of storms is a decision. We decide to stand, same as we made a decision to be saved. When you make up your mind to “grow through” it must be a finished decision, you mustn’t doubt. Doubting is grounds to not experience the fullness of the word of God manifesting in your life. If we say we are believers in Christ that is it! Through the storm, believe that God has a word over you and rejoice because the word is coming to past. Falling out of faith, limits the word from coming forth. The Bible says, if we doubt when we request of God that we are double minded and that makes us unstable in every aspect of our lives. Believe God or don’t believe, it is impossible to go back and forth. Be filled with faith through the process.

This note is a little different for me because my notes are normally written concerning various revelations the Lord has deposited in my spirit, but this note is to encourage. My desire is to encourage you to stand in the midst of your adversity. The enemy would love to confuse you to think that God is mad at you, or you are off in some way or another, but hear me, God has positioned you in this season to bring more of himself out of you. As you read this note, the word of the Lord to you is to stand and let it have its perfect work in you. I am reminded of how it is when we take medication. Sometimes the doctor informs us to rest and let the medication do what it needs to do. Or when we are put under an anesthetic for medicinal purposes, the person that administers the drug always says, "Just relax." As I write this note I feel the anointing for a person provided an anesthetic with a message from God saying, "Just Relax" and let the will of God for your life do what it needs to do in your life. Grow through this process and let the Glory of the Lord be revealed.

Prayer Assignments

Apart of our personal prayer life, the Lord does give us different assignments concerning prayer needs on the earth. A prayer assignment is whenever you have a strong desire to pray for a particular place, need, person, or situation. Sometimes people have prayer assignments for a short season, a day, a few years or even a lifetime. In any case, God gives us prayer assignments because we have the anointing and faith to get the job done in prayer. Prayer assignments are all through out scripture, from Elijah, Nehemiah, Ezra, Daniel, Anna, Paul and Silas to the saints that prayed for Peter out of prison, all these examples had a particular burden through prayer and the Lord gave them the influence to meet the need either spiritually or physically. Many times God will place a burden on our heart for a situation and it is our responsibility to pray what God reveals to us concerning that unction. The Holy Spirit is the only one who gives prayer assignments and our responsibility is to stay yielded to receive from the Lord what we are to pray.

In the previous module we discussed praying the will of God and waiting to receive what the Lord wants us to pray. Whenever you pray, inquire of the Lord what he wants you to pray and the pray accordingly. Many times the Holy Spirit has already placed our prayer assignment in our heart. That thing that bothers you about your nation, job, friend, church, community, or family member is probably the thing that the Lord has placed upon you as a prayer assignment. Many times, we express our heart in the wrong ways and we end up hurting and hindering that which we are called to pray for. There are so many Christians that see issues in the church and instead of praying for it they began to gossip and talk about what they see and cause more of a problem. Imagine, if every believer would start talking less and praying more how our world would be. When inquiring of the Lord what to pray, the best thing to do is to pray what’s on your heart. If you stay true to your heart, you will never go off. Many times what is on your heart is your prayer assignment. In prayer we are able to affect change in places that we may never have a chance to physically visit or see naturally. Your prayer assignment may be some far off country and you may never have the opportunity to go and work in missions to help but you can go there in the Spirit. There is no distance in prayer.

                  Sometimes your prayer assignment would cause you to physically make a difference. We see this with Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2. Nehemiah was so distraught to hear that the walls of his city were tore down that he prayed to God and the king granted him favor allowing him to go to his nation and start an initiative to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The burden that he had for his country led him to be the revolutionist that launched a movement in Jerusalem. Your prayer assignment can sometimes be associated with your life purpose. The main things is to stay true to where God has called you. Again, if you follow your heart, you will never be off. Follow what the Lord has already place inside of you and your prayer life will full of victorious stories of God’s miracles power.

Praying the WILL of GOD

One thing that fascinates me concerning the subject of prayer is how multi-facetted the topic is, but yet the Lord has designed it to be so simple that a little child is able to pray. Honestly, it is not as deep as many intercessors make it to be. Yes, the Lord moves in many different ways and it is extremely important that we flow with Him in prayer, but it's not a complicated formula. It is simply submitting your heart and emotions to Him that he may use you to pray as He feels. In order to stay in the flow of the Lord's Spirit in prayer, all you must do is to keep your attention on God and not yourself in your prayer time. Pray with one purpose and that is to be a vessel the Lord is able to use to legislate his agenda on the earth. Jesus Christ came to earth not preaching of Himself but about the kingdom of Heaven. His assignment was to establish the kingdom of heaven on the earth. The way the kingdom is advanced is by the people who have the kingdom within them. According to Luke 17:21, the kingdom of God is within us. 

Since the kingdom of God is within us, we must always be mindful of the king’s agenda for the earth and make sure that we are living and praying accordingly. There are things that the king is decreeing concerning the earth and it is up to the people of God to hear and see where their assignment lies according to that declaration. The God we serve is a sovereign God and He does not operate against his own sovereignty. In Hebrews 2:5-9 we are taught that through Christ Jesus we have dominion over the earth. We also see in Genesis 1:26 that when God created man, He gave man dominion over the earth realm. Whenever the Lord desires to do something on the earth, he uses a man to institute it. In every scriptural example of the Lord's will being done on the earth, God appears to the individual with his agenda and the individual gives the Lord their consent and then the miraculous occurs. The best example I can think of is when the Lord promised Mary, the mother of Jesus, that she was going to conceive the Christ. The Angel appeared to her, gave her the message from the Lord and Mary said “be it unto me”. Mary became a womb of what would change the face of the world. This same phenomenon occurs in prayer as we spend time focused on the Lord and his desires concerning the earth. We pray and then the Lord fills us with His plans so that we may be used by Him to pray those particular things into existence.

With all this we must stay so careful to pray the will of God, through God. The last note I posted discussed praying the word of God, but this one is similar and different at the same time. Praying the will of God is praying the very heart, and mind of God concerning a subject or situation. Romans 8:27 says,

 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

This scripture reveals to us how the Spirit of God, who is in the people of God, is praying for the people of God according to the will of God. The Spirit of the Lord is praying out the will of the Lord! (This is heavy to me personally) So the Lord has placed His spirit within us so that we may always have a channel to Him. The spirit of the Lord keeps us as believers connected to the Father at all times! The thing is that we must pray in His spirit. We mustn’t pray in our flesh, for in that lies our own mind, will and emotions. The Lord doesn't respond to the prayers of the soul that is hooked up to the flesh, but He responds to the prayers of His spirit resting within his people, praying prayers for His people according to his will. The Lord placed himself within you to keep you hooked up to him that you may see the provision of his will constantly. His will is to prosper us, give us an abundant life, heal us, deliver us, and do good to us. All this is what the spirit within us praying for us. In order to pray the will of God, we must dig deep and pray from what has already been placed within us. Once we pray according to Him in us we will see great manifestations of the Lord on the earth. The Lord is concerned for that which concerns you, and He is within you praying for the will of the Lord concerning everything you are concerned with. The will of the Lord is also associated with the plan of the Lord. We are to pray the plans of the Lord into existence, decreeing and declaring that His will shall be accomplished on the earth. 

Now when you go to pray, dig deep into the Spirit of the Lord within you, hear how He is praying. For we know that he is praying according to the will of the Lord. Once we have gotten a clear understanding, then we are able to proceed in prayer. This revelation has blessed me personally by teaching me how to pray more effectively. I don't know about anyone else, but my main desire is to please the Lord when I pray, and see results because my prayer hit heaven. My prayer for you as you have read this note, is to be ever so shaped and fine tuned as it relates to your prayer life, that you walk strong in spirit praying out the will of God for the earth today. For there is a great army of pray-ers coming forth in the days to come that will give birth to the will of God in the earth. We shall see the Lord’s power when we pray!

The Spirit of Wisdom

Exodus 31: 1-5

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Ur, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom in understanding in knowledge, and in works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and it work in all manner of workmanship.’ ”

Scriptural Background

The background of this scripture falls in a time where the children of Israel were in the wilderness and the Lord was instructing Moses about creating a sanctuary that he may live among the children of Israel. In this present time, the Children of Israel were considered to be nomadic because they had not settled in a particular land of dwelling. As the Lord led them to the land of promise, they lived in tents so that it would be easy for them to pack and move once the Lord told them to do so. Moses was instructed to build a tabernacle. The Hebrew word for tabernacle is “dwelling place.” This was considered to be the Lord’s house amongst the Israelites as they traveled to their promised land. There were various elements that made up of the tabernacle: The Alter of Burnt offering, bronze laver, table of showbread; alter of incense, and Ark of the Covenant. From Exodus 25-31 the Lord gives detailed instructions on how he wanted these articles to be hand crafted.

Exodus 31:3 : The Spirit of Wisdom

All the articles of the tabernacle were unique and distinctive. Exodus 31:3 says, “And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, In wisdom, in understanding in knowledge and in all manner of workmanship.” In order to build the temple Lord said to Moses that he would fill them with the Spirit of God and wisdom. In Exodus 28:3, the Lord gave instructions about designing the priest garments for when they ministered in the temple. The Lord also said, “I have filled them with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.”

The Lord filling these specific individuals with the spirit of wisdom was major, especially for the task at hand. The Lord was building something that was never created or built before, and this building was not for a purpose that would be for human use. This was not a house for the people to live, but rather a place for the Lord to rest amongst the people. This means that God was allowing his holy deity and majesty to abide in the midst of human beings. These articles for the tabernacle couldn’t have been designed or contrived from human intellect, thought, or design. If it was built from a man’s wisdom and understanding it would not be up to par for the Lord of Host to dwell. The Lord filled individuals with his mind (the spirit wisdom) to accomplish this task.

Understanding The Spirit of Wisdom

The thought provoking question is then, “What is the Spirit of wisdom?” In Isaiah 11 the prophet gives a prophetic word concerning the reign of Jesse’s offspring. This messianic prophecy states that the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” So, in understanding the Spirit of wisdom and the awesomeness of the Lord filling his people with his spirit of wisdom is that the Lord God will fill human beings with naturally finite wisdom with his infinite wisdom. The spirit of wisdom is an attribute of the supernatural power of God that he uses to confound the wisdom of the wise. Remember that our thoughts aren’t like God’s. God filled these artisans with his understanding and wisdom to get accomplished something that would not be able to be produced by the normal human mind. The supernatural power that Christ walked with was the infinite knowledge of the creator. This is why our thoughts aren’t like God’s because we live in a finite reality with finite understanding, where he lives in an infinite reality with an infinite understanding. God filled these people with His mind to enable them to accomplish a work that would supersede the normal work and development of man.

THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM IS THE CREATIVE POWER OF GOD!

The spirit of wisdom is the creative power of God to have insight into something that has not been created before. In the beginning when the Lord created the earth, the Bible talks about how the earth was without form and void and then the Spirit of God would move upon the face of the waters of the deep. The Lord created the heavens out of nothing. He was able to see what wasn’t there and create it. This is the Spirit of wisdom. The creative power of God to see what has not been seen before and bring it into existence. When the Lord moved upon the artisans to create the various articles of the tabernacle, he deposited a portion of his creative insight into them to create what he instructed.

In life the Lord will give us an assignment and in that assignment it is His desire to fill us with his Spirit of wisdom to bring about what he has planned. The Lord our God is sovereign and he doesn’t defy the Laws and principals that he has established under his sovereignty. In his sovereignty he has given man dominion over this world (Genesis 1:27). In that anything that God desires to get accomplished on the earth, he uses a man. The Lord moves upon individuals with his illumination so that a particular assignment on the earth can be accomplished. This is what God was doing with the artisans; he filled them with his infinite understanding to see into the realm of the spirit God’s intent for the tabernacle. As a result they built something that was unique to this world.

How is this applicable for you?

The wisdom of man is the wisdom of things that have been taught, studied or learned. We go to school to receive natural wisdom and understanding of things of what people have developed and learned. However, the spirit of wisdom is the understanding of God and insight. In these last days the Lord desires to fill his people with the spirit of wisdom so that his people will have insight beyond their natural intellect. This is to establish God’s people as resources in the earth. In 1 Kings 3, King Solomon asked for wisdom. The Lord was pleased with his request that as a result of his wisdom he became the richest man in the world. Solomon did not request money, but wisdom. The Bible declares that in 1 Kings 10:24 the earth sought the wisdom of Solomon. People came from everywhere and gave him money to hear what the Lord had given him.

The Lord desires to fill his people with his wisdom in specific realms of influence so that his people can see beyond what others with mans understanding have seen. The Lord wills to do this for his people in particular fields, occupations, and areas so that the creative power of God can come into those places to supersede the normal understanding. This all magnifies God. When a person is filled with the spirit of wisdom, God raises them up as influential leaders to display the power of God. The wisdom of God is a manifestation of his power and Glory.

As a believer in Jesus Christ you have a right to request wisdom. God wants to fill you with his Spirit that you may become a resource with an ability to see beyond this natural world. The Lord wants to give you his wisdom so that you may function skillfully in your particular field, ministry, or craft. Your life should be a testimony of God’s miraculous power. This power goes beyond the manifestations of the Holy Spirit that believers experience in church services. The power of the supernatural must go beyond the four walls of the church into the world, that men may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven. Just imagine, Spirit filled believers working in secular arenas utilizing the wisdom of God. Christians would be the most celebrated people in earth because of the insight that they possessed by the spirit of God. God wants to enlighten you to see from his perspective that you will be able to operate from that place, revealing His ways and thoughts to the rest of the world. The world is crying out for people filled with the mind of God to change situations.

Request the Spirit of Wisdom

You are a child of God, and you have the right to request of your father to fill you with his spirit. Not only to speak in tongues, but to be filled with his wisdom. Ask God for wisdom concerning your home, family, career, and finances so that you as a believer in Jesus Christ can function from a different reality from this world. You are a child of the creator of the Universe and you have the spirit of that Creator resting in you, guiding you to all truth and understanding. Seek and ask for wisdom and see the creative power of God change your world and the world around you. For you have the mind of Christ.