Daniel
Fast 2012: Day Eleven
This
Helps Me Know and Love God Better…
I simply spend
extended periods of time waiting on the Lord. What do I mean by waiting
on the Lord? When I wait on the Lord I find a quiet place, sit, without
talking, and wait on Him to do whatever He wants. During these times I
don’t listen to worship music or read Christian books but rather I
devote myself to hearing and experiencing the Lord for myself. I am not
saying that worship music or Christian writings are bad but rather I
want to trust the Lord to give me
a deep experience of Him apart from a Christian writer
or artist’s experience or perspective. He is a good Father and if we
ask Him for bread he will not give us a stone (Matt. 7:7-11) but rather
it says in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible
to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is,
and that He
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.(Emphasis
added) During these times the Lord is calling a people to Himself that
are wholly devoted to knowing Him and being resourced by Him so that He
may
be glorified and so that the nations will look upon Him and rejoice!
For He IS
Emmanuel! GOD WITH US! And He will meet with
you if you seek Him!
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with
me.The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne,
as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 2:20-22
This Is How I
Help Others To Know and Love God Better…
I encourage people to cultivate a lifestyle of
thanksgiving and praise! Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with
thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!” When a person begins
bringing the Lord thanksgiving and praise they activate their Spirit
man that is currently seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians
2:4-6) and join with all of heaven in worship and praise to The KING!
Both thanksgiving and praise are integral parts to experiencing His
presence and there is even a progression in the previously stated
scripture. Thanks giving brings a person to the gates of the Lord but
praise causes a person’s Spirit to go into the Lord’s courts and
presence even more. Practically speaking I encourage people, when they
begin worship, to begin thanking the Lord. Thank him for His provision.
Thank Him for making it possible for us to know Him. And then I
encourage people to move into praise. Praise is much different than
thanksgiving. For instance, when a man thanks his wife he may say,
“THANK YOU honey for cooking such a great meal!” But when a man praises
his wife he would say something like, “You are so Amazing and so
Beautiful! I LOVE
you and I am truly blessed to be your husband!” So also I encourage
people to come out of their comfort zone and find ways to tell God that
He is AMAZING!
The Lord has been teaching me how to live a lifestyle of thanksgiving
and praise and it has catapulted me out of depression and despair into
His presence in the every day. I would encourage all people to begin
with 5 minutes of thanksgiving and praise in the mornings but would
also encourage people to immediately start thanking him when something
contrary to what they want happens. It is completely the opposite of
what the flesh wants in the moment but a person will notice that as
they do this in hard situations they will move into a place where they
are almost always walking in joy and happiness no matter what the
circumstance. As we all learn this discipline together I pray that the
world will look on us and marvel at how GREAT OUR GOD IS and that HE
DELIVERS HIS PEOPLE!!!!!
To God Be The Glory!
Jay Johnson
(Laramie, WY)
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