Activities

About

The following are articles designed to help you in your walk with Jesus. Each section has an activity for you to put into practice. Have fun!

Freedom from Guilt, shame and the bondage of sin

Thank you for embarking on this journey with Jesus! He is so excited to share His plans with you, just as He did with Abraham in Genesis 18-19.

I pray you are greatly blessed and know your Savior more intimately than ever. You will be learning and applying biblically based concepts such as:

The gospel
Knowing & encountering the Lord personally as a friend, Father, savior, husband
How to know you will be raptured
How to pray prayers for others that get answered
Hearing His voice
How to become like Him, not try to act like Him
How to fulfill what He sent you to do: preach the good news, heal the sick, cast out demons. You will likely see miracles, lead people to Christ, earn rewards in heaven, obtain a peace, love, joy and fulfillment that only He can provide.

Please take the time to read all of the bible chapters/passages mentioned in these lessons. Don’t take my word for it regarding their meaning. I could be wrong about some things – we’re all learning. Read it with Holy Spirit. I will not be quoting the scripture for this purpose. I recommend the Blue Letter Bible app – it is easy to compare different translations and see definitions of each Greek/Hebrew word.

To begin, we will be taking a closer look at what Jesus accomplished on the cross, what He did it for, why He created you and what you’re on the earth for.

Before each lesson/activity/study/scripture reading it is important to pray to Jesus for His guidance, voice and protection. I usually begin each time with a prayer something like this:

“Jesus thank you for this opportunity to learn from you, thank you for your presence within me and around me. I surrender my ears to hear your voice, my heart to receive what you say. I want to know you better and hear your voice, please teach me how. Give me a heart like yours. Thank you for your protection from anything false presented to me, please uproot anything false I may have already believed.”

If there is anything you don’t agree with that’s ok – just pray about it and move on. When praying, it’s important to remember to stop and listen, wait on Him to speak before closing prayer.

1 John 2:27 tells us that we don’t need any man to teach us, Holy Spirit is our teacher. All scripture is from God but it’s true meaning is often concealed and He reveals it to who He chooses.

In Matthew 13 Jesus teaches that scripture and His words is given to all, but understanding of it is concealed from those with hardened, proud hearts and given to those who are close to Him. Who are hungry and thirsty to learn from Him, who desire to know Him more than knowledge, who don’t think they already know the answers.

In Matthew 7:23 Jesus said in the end there will be people who call Him Lord but He says “depart from Me, I never knew you.” When you read this passage you will see that they are claiming salvation – belonging to Him based on what they did – their works. His response is to judge them based on their works. “depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness”.

There is one thing the bible is clear on: the only way to have eternal life is to be found perfect – without sin. This is something you cannot achieve. You were born with sin nature/identity and your works will never be enough. That’s why Jesus (who is God – Colossians 2:9) became a man, fulfilled every law & never sinned. Then, by faith in Him, joining together as one like in a marriage, (1 Corinthians 6:17) he took your stuff (old identity, sins, debts, consequences) nailed them to the cross, paid it in full, washed in His blood and buried it. In exchange you took on His identity, His life, His righteousness, His authority. The only part you play in all this was to believe in Him. Who He is, what He did. Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

He didn’t just take your place, pay your debt, get you a ticket to heaven and leave you as you are. You actually died WITH Him together on the cross, were buried with Him, born again & came out of the grave with Him in His resurrection, ascended to heaven with Him and you are there with Him right now. That was your death & judgement, now you will never die or be judged for your sins again. Here on earth you are His temple. God of creation lives inside you. 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, Colossians 3, Ephesians 2, Galatians 2:15-21. You are a spirit – that is one with Jesus, you have a soul (thoughts, feeling, intentions, mind, will, emotions), and live in a body – and will get a new body at the rapture. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

You have been perfected by Him. He paid for your sins & debts. Now if you sin, He remembers it no more – it’s not counted against you (Hebrews 10) This isn’t so that you can do whatever your flesh wants – which is to pursue sin, but it’s so that you can ignore your sins & failures and instead empowers you to pursue Him, a relationship with Him, His righteousness and good works that He inspires you to do. You will not do any of this if you have a guilty conscience and feel shame, you will only try not to sin and earn His approval, instead of trying to pursue Him. You cannot earn His approval – Jesus already did that for you. You cannot earn His love, He loved you already when you were still a sinner. You are no longer a sinner by identity.

It helps to realize as taught in Hebrews 10 as well as many other scriptures that a clear conscience should never depend on your behavior, it should depend on the finished work of the cross. Every time you notice that you fall short – it should serve as a reminder of the gospel, what Jesus accomplished. (He writes His laws on your heart so that when you break it you’ll remember that He remembers it no more and you’re free to follow His will without condemnation) Instead of asking for forgiveness, thank Him for saving you, forgiving you already, loving you already, setting you free from sins power and giving you the freedom & ability to live like Him. You were already forgiven once & for all time when He got on the cross 2k years ago, He’s not doing it again so don’t ask.

When Adam & Eve sinned, they took on a new identity and their eyes were opened to their sin nature, this is the very reason they withdrew and hid themselves from God. Looking at your sins will have the same effect on you today. Now that Jesus broke every curse and paid to restore who He created you to be, your eyes should once again be blinded to sin, selfish desire and personal needs that should only be provided by Him and His efforts. He said you must be like a little child to enter the Kingdom – they don’t know they’re naked either!

When Adam & Eve’s eyes were opened they covered themselves with fig leaves – this represents your works to try to obtain right standing with God. Then Jesus came and made them clothes with animal skins – this represents His works, which alone can cover the shame of our nakedness. These are the white robes washed in the blood of His righteousness. Fun fact: if you tan an animal skin and sand it clean – it will be so brightly white that it will hurt your eyes to look at in direct sunlight!!!

The reason a clear understanding of the gospel is so important is because that is what will cause you to boldly approach His presence and enter a relationship with Him. That is why He created you and died to redeem you – for a relationship with you, so you can be in His presence. (1 Thessalonians 5:10). Being close to Him in relationship & intimacy is what will cause you to change (repentance means to be changed), to be more like Him, to bear His fruit, His love, power, have oil, get understanding of knowledge, be able to resist temptations, hear His voice & have the desire to obey it. You will never truly find these things anywhere else.

In Luke 7:36 There was a woman who was a sinner. This is not Mary who anointed Jesus for burial. This woman who was a sinner saw herself as clean which caused her to love Him and go to Him and pour her love out on Him. What’s interesting is that He was sitting at the table of a Pharisee who likely also saw himself as clean – but not because of Jesus, and he had no love for Him. Jesus declared that her sins were forgiven and he who is forgiven much loves much. This reveals that she was already forgiven which caused her to have already loved Him and that is what compelled her so strongly to get into His presence. That’s the purpose of the gospel! He desires for you to pursue closeness with Him. That is how you tell Him you love Him.

Rejoice always in the good news of the gospel. This is a source of joy that nothing in the world can take away from you! He will never leave you, your behavior and failures will never cause you to lose salvation in Him, those are the very things He dealt with on the cross!!

Here is your activity assignment: Spend time often throughout the coming days thanking Him out loud for what He’s done for you – especially during times you fail, sin or feel guilt, shame or that you don’t measure up or lies such as He’s mad at you. As you speak it out of your mouth to Him it will become more real to you and ignite a fire inside that will surprise you.

The next lesson will be fun & life changing. You will learn encounter Him in His presence in a powerful & unique way!

Amos 3:7 For the Lord God does nothing without first revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets. (those who are close to Him and listen to His voice)

With every lesson and activity I encourage you to ask questions first to Jesus, then reach out – I would love to answer questions and provide guidance! (please no disagreements or debates – it’s ok to disagree).

God bless you in Jesus name, I love you with His love!

More on the Secret Place

Luke 5:16 Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray

Jesus is a treasure.

Some people enjoy the hunt of a treasure hunt – the journey. Others just want the treasure. Today’s activity involves realizing that we actually have both already!!

Since we concluded that you are a spirit and have a soul (mind, will, emotions), lets take a look at your spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says we have become one in spirit with Jesus.

In the old covenant there was a tabernacle, a temple for the presence of God to dwell among His people. This temple consisted of 3 parts: outer court (where all were welcome), inner court – or holy place (only priests allowed) and the Holy of Holies – or most Holy place (where Gods presence would dwell over the ark of the covenant) The ark contained the law - 10 commandments. Only the high priest was allowed in there once a year to make atonement for sins with the blood of the lamb over the ark to cover the law.

Now we are in a new covenant with Jesus. No longer do we draw near to Him in the way people did under the old covenant who needed to go to the temple. Now YOU are the temple! The Spirit of God dwells in you!

1 Corinthians 6:19, 3:16.

Jesus is Holy Spirit. He has become one with you. He will never leave you. He is always in you ready to commune with you personally – intimately.

Hebrews 10 says God put His law on our hearts. In the old covenant, the blood sacrifice covered the law within the ark. Now the blood of the perfect lamb of God is within you covering the law in your heart! That’s why VS.17 says “and I will remember their lawless deeds no more”. It is covered once and for all time in His blood.

When Jesus died on the cross – the curtain that separated the holy place from the most Holy place was ripped in half top to bottom – showing us we all now have access to God’s presence!! This is why He did it!! So you will be in His presence! Not just when your body dies and your soul is in heaven, but you have access to His presence RIGHT NOW.

Now when we want to draw near to His presence, it is actually just bringing your soul to your spirit where God is at this very moment. Your spirit is in heaven with Jesus and at the same time Jesus is in your body (temple) with your spirit on earth.

Your soul is like a mirror. It reflects what it is in the presence of. That is why Jesus said be careful how you hear. The eye is the window to the soul. Bad company corrupts good morals. If you spend time in the presence of the evil, corrupt things of the world, engaging & receiving, then your soul takes on the image and nature of those things. Likewise, if you spend time engaging & receiving God’s presence you will bear His image & nature – or as the bible calls it: fruit (Galatians 5:22).

Think about Moses coming down the mountain after spending 40 days with the Lord face-to-face. Moses’s face shone so brightly with God’s glory that people were afraid and made him cover it!!

This is how you become more like Him and get equipped to follow Him, doing the works He did. Some people go out and try to do what He did, try to act like He does, try to act like the person they know they need to be. But that isn’t the solution, it will only cause frustration through failure. The solution is to spend time with Him with a surrendered heart, allowing Him to change you into the person He wants you to be so good works and behaviors flow naturally from that.

Spending time in the presence of God within you is how you deny yourself daily, be transformed by the renewing of your soul (He does the transforming & changing – not you). It is how you receive the love He already has for you, His peace, joy, wisdom, understanding & hear His words more clearly. This is the sheepfold where your soul finds rest (John 10) Yes, your soul needs rest – not just your body. He promises health, healing, deliverance, protection and provision to those who dwell – abide in His presence. See Psalm 91 for one example.

There is a term used by Jesus in Matthew 6:6 that you will notice in Psalm 91. I believe Jesus was actually quoting a passage in Isaiah when He taught about the secret place that pertains to rapture that we will explore another time.

Jesus already pleased God for you. You are already loved and approved by Him. But He is pleased and rewards you on top of that if you pursue intimacy with Him. Read Isaiah 64:4 it tells us God rewards those who WAIT upon Him. What is amazing is when you read that passage quoted in 1 Corinthians 2:9 you see that “waiting on Him” is how you show God you’re setting your love upon Him. When you spend time in the secret place pursuing intimacy with Him, you are giving Him love and at the same time He is rewarding you in many ways.

Psalm 23 reveals that when we are in His presence, He is anointing our head with oil. It’s an ancient middle eastern custom. That is why Jesus said to the 5 foolish virgins with no oil “I don’t know you” the greek word “know” He used means intimacy and is a different word than He used in Matthew 7 when He said “depart from Me I never knew you” – that one means aware of who you are, that you exist. The 5 foolish virgins didn’t lose salvation, they were virgins (saved, innocent, washed clean by His blood), Jesus just didn’t know them intimately through relationship.

Remember this is a treasure hunt, He is the treasure – the date is just the “when” your new body will join where your soul already should be going – the place your spirit always is: with Him!!

Remember the woman in Luke 7:36 - it’s love that will draw you into His presence, not fear or rewards. That’s why it begins with the gospel, what it cost Him to purchase you and wash you clean. Nobody pays such a high price for garbage – you are HIS treasure. He who is forgiven much loves much.

As you learn how to draw near to Him in the secret place, I want to warn you ahead of time. It can be fun, having life altering encounters with Him, but it can also be dry at times. Your flesh likes to be entertained – sing praise songs, enjoy fellowship, minister to others – anything but sit silently with your attention on Him. You flesh will not inherit the Kingdom (go to heaven), it is of no benefit. That is why the oil of intimacy is expensive. It costs you time & attention, you have to deny your self. Revelation 3:18. However, the greatest expression of faith is to press into relationship with Him when you’re not experiencing anything, your feelings are wanting the opposite. This is true diligence, it pleases God the most. Hebrews 11:6 without faith it’s impossible to please God, for He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Application: Now the fun part. Let’s learn how to actually enter the secret place – to engage & encounter Him in His presence with your soul!

The following is a guideline to get you started – remember every relationship looks different, there is no method to intimacy so don’t feel like you have to do it this way.

Matthew 6:6 Jesus told us where God is: in the secret place. That means that regardless of what you feel or experience – He IS there with you!

Jesus said go to your inner room (inner chamber) and shut the door. This has 2 meanings:

Go to a physically lonely place such as an inner room of your house where you won’t be disturbed, shut the door to block out all distractions – it’s just you and Him
It also means that you are going to the inner room (Holy of Holies) inside of yourself where He dwells, closing the doors (eyes, ears – physical senses) to the outside world

Thank you’s:

Psalm 100 God tells us to enter His gates (to His temple) with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Almost every time the bible mentions prayer He mentions thanksgiving. This is because when you take some time to say thank you it is aligning your soul with a proper heart posture of respect, reverence and surrender to approach the One you are seeking intimacy with. I like to thank Him not only for what He does in my circumstances, but also for what He’s done for me spiritually, the joy & hope of the cross and the new person He’s created me to be in Him – things that aren’t affected by circumstance.

Praise Him for His character, how wonderful He is, abounding in steadfast love and mercy, powerful & mighty to save.

Tell Him you surrender your heart to Him, your ears, your imagination – ask Him to use it.

Now wait on Him

Habbakuk 2 tells us His words will surely come, we must wait for it. When it does – write it down. Treasure His words and meditate on them in days to come.

This is the time to set your attention and focus on Him – just like you would in a conversation when it’s the other person’s turn to speak. God created you with an imagination to interact with Him. Can you close your eyes and imagine a pink elephant?

I believe when we were children we were learning to communicate with God through it. I like to wait and see what He chooses to show me. If nothing comes after awhile, go ahead and imagine something yourself – trust that He will begin to use what you imagine & speak to you through that. Maybe imagine your favorite place or picture Him with you in your favorite bible story.

It’s okay if you don’t get anything right away, don’t strive or be goal oriented – just rest. Maintain your adoration for Him – that is the point of doing this, the point is not just to get something from Him or to hear Him, it’s just to be with Him. I’ve found the more I try to obtain something in this, the harder it is to recieve

God is not limited by how He can speak to you. A song might come to mind – that’s Him speaking. Maybe a memory, or a scripture, or a picture, movie scene, words someone said, you might just know something all of a sudden, maybe you just imagine Him there in the place you picture in your mind and He hands you something and tells you He loves you.

Every believer has heard God’s voice – that is the only way to believe and be saved. Holy Spirit speaks the words of the gospel, we hear in our heart and respond.

You will know it’s Him if it comes in love, draws you or others closer to Him and obedience to Him, it will never contradict scripture, never bring guilt, condemnation or shame. In fact – pay attention to how you feel when He speaks, His voice often comes to you in a unique way that will help you recognize Him but He doesn’t always speak to you the same way every time.

God is Spirit so you will hear Him in your spirit, then learn to receive it in your soul/body. Kind of like remembering a dream. Have fun with this activity, take your time.

Once He’s had a chance to speak is a good time for you to share with Him. Maybe you have something to get off your chest, or a request to make. You might not hear Him speak until after you’ve spoken. Scripture tells us this is the best time to intercede for others – near to His presence. His voice is what gives you more faith – not scripture: Romans 10:17

Even if you don’t hear Him speak, you will know you’ve connected with Him because He said so in Matthew 6:6. Afterward you will likely notice the effects of being with Him. You might feel closer to Him or notice you have more patience or joy than normal, maybe it will be easier to forgive someone who’s hurt you. He might have spoken to a deep hurt you surrendered to Him while you were with Him.

Once you’ve heard something or had some sort of encounter/experience with Him in intimacy even if you didn’t hear His voice – share your experience! You don’t have to share intimate details, just a vague explanation of your encounter with Him once it happens.

If you’re having fun with this treasure hunt, share it with people you know – time is short! God bless you! I have prayed into your encounter with Him, This is what He created you for – He will surely be there with you!

Praying for others (interceding)

Congratulation on drawing nearer to your bridegroom each day!

In the last adventure you learned how to get to a special place the enemy cannot follow! James 4:7 tell us the way to resist satan is to submit to God & draw near to Him. We don’t overcome the enemy by fighting him, we overcome the enemy, his attacks & temptations by getting into the presence of the One who already defeated him!

The secret place is the best place to pray from to request God to act. Prayer should be ongoing and there are many aspects to our dialogue with Jesus – just sharing our life with Him. But this section is going to focus on intercession prayer.

A prayer of faith is a special kind of request prayer. This is a prayer prayed from faith – not worry, doubt, fear, pride, greed etc. It is prayed from spirit not flesh. It is a prayer from knowing God’s will and coming into agreement with it. It is a prayer that brings glory to God, is from and through His love.

First let’s look at the secret place a little more. When Jesus taught about it in Matthew 6:6 He was quoting Isaiah 26:20. Both passages say to go to your inner room (also translated inner chamber) and shut the door. In Isaiah the context is rapture from Gods wrath in the tribulation! It’s like Jesus was showing us that one of the open rewards He’s talking about in Matthew 6:6 is rapture. Secret place is rapture practice.

You can read about the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15: 50-58, Revelation 4: John is raptured through a door – something that’s mentioned in all 3 passages. Take note of what happens immediately afterwards. The raptured person is allowed to watch the tribulation take place, and prayers are offered to God before His throne. This shows us that those who are raptured to heaven will have a special job during the tribulation: intercession. This makes perfect sense because the best place to intercede from in His presence!

Luke 17:28-29 Jesus was talking about the rapture/tribulation and pointed us to the days of Noah & the days of Lot.

2 Peter 2:7 tells us Lot was righteous. But scripture is clear that is not why he got raptured out of Sodom.

In Genesis 18 Jesus and 2 angels are talking to Abraham. Jesus decides to tell Abraham what He is about to do to Sodom. Then something special happens: Abraham “draws near to the Lord”! Even though they were already having a conversation! He does this just before he begins to intercede.

We don’t see Abraham mention Lot here. Instead he is interceding for the whole town. He seems to think that since Lot is righteous and living in Sodom, surely he has been working sharing the good news of who God is to the people there. But as the numbers dwindle down that Abraham thinks Lot has brought to the Lord, he eventually realizes that nobody in that town has learned who God is from Lot.

In chapter 19 Lot and his family are raptured just before destruction comes down (just like Noah). Then in 19:29 we are told exactly the reason that Lot was raptured – and it wasn’t because he was righteous. It was because of Abrahams prayers! Abraham must have gone back to his tent realizing that Lot was the only one righteous in the town and interceded for him.

It is a difficult teaching to see in scripture that rapture is a reward and not something that automatically happens just because you’re saved by Jesus. It’s okay if you don’t agree – I used to believe that every believer would be raptured too, until Jesus showed me the scriptures, even then it was a struggle to let go of what I thought I knew. Here’s just a couple more: Luke 21:36 Jesus tells us to ask to be raptured. The greek word for “prayer” He uses means to ask in passionate almost demanding way. Why would we have to ask if it was automatic for all believers? Matthew 25 the 5 foolish virgins that didn’t make it through the door (remember the other door references) were all virgins – saved, washed clean by the blood of Jesus. The reason they were given was a lack of intimacy – “I do not know (have intimacy with) you”.

The story of Lot is very inspiring because God is showing us that we can share our oil – until it’s too late. When the trumpet sounds, don’t look back like Lot’s wife did for her daughters and be left behind. Pay attention to the way Abraham prayed when he was interceding.

The wonderful thing is that in the process of interceding for someone else to be raptured, you are gaining oil of intimacy for yourself because intercession is done from the secret place.

I once sent one of my boys to his room for timeout and while he was there my other boy got a marshmallow treat. When I handed it to him, he asked for one for his brother that was in timeout. I paused for a minute because the brother needed discipline not treats. But the request of his brother was so pure, a request of generosity and love with no selfish gain that there was no way I could tell him no. After I gave him an extra marshmallow for his brother – the Lord spoke and told me this is how interceding for another believer to get raptured works.

Your next activity is to intercede for someone in the secret place. It can be someone who is saved that might not qualify for rapture, or for someone who isn’t yet saved. In the latter, just know that God wants them saved more than you do. Don’t pray with need & desperation, request with faith. Request God to intervene in their life and heart to be broken to hear His voice, for the veil blocking truth to be removed. To reveal Himself through dreams, visions, other people. Trust He will do it. Tell Him thank you as though He already has. Faith is the proof of having the things hoped for. God is listening for His ambassadors, His children to request Him to move in a special way in peoples lives and hearts that we encounter. We bridge heaven and earth. “ pray Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

Go share His love & power!

In John 15 Jesus gives a new commandment: love others as He loved us. Before He ascended He was more specific in ways to love others when He gave the commission: He gave us His authority and told us to go preach the good news, heal the sick & cast out demons. Doing these things is loving them.

He tells us that if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit – love is the fruit He’s talking about. You cannot give what you don’t have, and He is telling us how to get love in order to give it: abiding in Him.

If you spend time with Him in His presence, the overflow from that is what people will receive. If you try loving others so that you feel approved you’ve got it backwards. We need to help others FROM who we are & what we’ve received from Him, if we do things FOR His approval and love, our motive is wrong and won’t have the same effect. We obey His commands because He gives us the desire to (Philippians 2:13) - out of the love we have for Him that comes when we realize what He’s already done for us and the love we receive from Him in relationship – the love He already gave.

Matthew 3:16-17 Jesus was already loved, had the identity of a child of God and God’s approval before He ever began His ministry. It is the same for you. In fact, just as you are one with Jesus – these words that were spoken over Him were spoken to you as well. This is how God sees you from the moment you are born again by faith in Jesus and will continue to see you that way forever. God loved you while you were still a sinner and sent His Son to save you.

Jesus said “as the Father has sent Me, I am sending you”. He is talking about revealing the Father, expanding the Kingdom of God. Going out into the world from the secret place bearing His fruit (His image) – sharing the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons, meeting people’s needs. You are in the world, but not of the world. You are a citizen of heaven, an ambassador. Jesus gave you all authority over all the power of the enemy and nothing by any means shall harm you. You hold the keys to the Kingdom of God, the God of all creation – the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. You have been sent into the world to show others the Way to the Father – Jesus. This is the reason you are still on this fallen earth – otherwise He would have taken you home all the way when you were born again.

By now you be seeing a pattern emerge. You were created for relationship with Him, to bear His image and reign with Him over His creation. It all comes from relationship with Him. He died to restore these things. He removed every burden, debt and obstacle that could be in your way of these things. The amazing thing is that doing these things or not doing them has nothing to do with your eternal life – that came simply from believing in Him, not by your works. But He paid a heavy price to buy you and enable you to live like He did, so you might as well give Him what He paid for – it’s fun & rewarding!

Jesus is the same yesterday, today & forever. Read Isaiah 58. You will notice that Gods heart is for the broken, needy & afflicted. God is near to the brokenhearted. It’s a recurring theme in scripture.

Your next mission in the treasure hunt is to go out and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, the needy. Just simply meet their need as best you can, tell them it’s from Jesus and pray for them if they will let you. Find someone you don’t know. Who knows – maybe Holy Spirit will prompt you to share the gospel with them – He knows when someone is ready to receive!

Make sure you spend some time with Jesus in intimacy before you go.

I recommend praying beforehand – a fun way to go about it is to ask for Him to setup a meeting for you to be used by Him. When you pray and take time to listen, pay attention to any image of a place or thought that comes to mind, maybe a memory of a place you’ve been, you might even have an address pop in your head or a description of something to look for. Be patient and ask fully expecting to receive a word. Don’t doubt anything that comes to mind (you might feel like you made it up). If you wait and don’t hear anything that’s okay, He might set something up anyway without you knowing – just go out and make yourself available, see if He highlights someone to your attention.

I like to pray before I head out – a prayer similar to what is in Acts 4:29: “Jesus thank you that your shadow of protection goes before me, that you grant me boldness to speak your word & open ears and hearts to receive them, as you stretch out your mighty hand and perform healings, signs & wonders”

Healing:

There is one last thing I would like to share before you go – some info you may need when you are meeting people’s needs. How to heal the sick. Almost everyone has some sort of ailment and healing them or even caring enough to pray for that usually touches people deeply.

This how the Lord taught me to share the gospel with people. Instead of trying to convince people who Jesus is, just show them. “it’s the goodness of God that leads to repentance”. When you show you care about their needs they are usually open to talking about why you’re doing it – Jesus.

I have a lot to say about healing that Jesus has shown me but I will keep it brief. If you’d like to know more let me know and I’d be happy to share.

The most important thing is to have it settled in your belief that God ALWAYS wants people healed. Body, soul & spirit – saved, healed & delivered, this is the definition of the greek word: sozo (salvation). Jesus came to reveal the Father and He never refused to heal anyone. Then He sent us as the Father sent Him to do the same works He did.

It’s extremely important to know the will of God when praying or you cannot pray a prayer of faith. Sometimes people get confused about whether God wants us healed because we experience prayer without results, but that doesn’t change Gods truth. He is not inconsistent or unpredictable, we are. There are so many scriptures to share on this subject but I will just share one: John 10:10. Plain and simple – the enemy’s job is anything that leads to destruction, Jesus’s job is life to the fullest.

Let’s talk about how to see healing when you pray. Mark 11:22-25. Jesus taught us to:

Believe
Don’t doubt. Doubt is what stops the flow of His power. It is Him that is actually doing the work, we just need to get out of His way.

When you pray, let the Holy Spirit lead you – it’s not a method.

Here is an example of a prayer that I have used and seen countless miracles happen instantly – even on strangers (the person doesn’t need faith):

Lay hands on the area that needs healed (if appropriate)
Tell Jesus thank you for loving the person (this will open their heart to receive)
With eyes open, look at the area and speak to the sickness, pain, injury or whatever it is – be specific. Say something like: “In the name of Jesus, I speak to cartlidge in the knee: be healed now!” or “In the name of Jesus, I speak to the flu virus: get out now!”
Now keep your hand there and just wait a moment – don’t think about anything at all. Just like if you command a dog to stop charging, or if you’re looking down the sights of a gun at the target. Your focus is intent, but your thoughts are empty. Belief comes from the spirit, but the doubt comes from your mind, if your mind gets in the way it won’t happen. When you turn the key to start the car you aren’t thinking about whether the car will start – it’s just like that.
Now ask them to try to do something they couldn’t do before. This is usually when the healing happens.
If they aren’t healed, pray at least one more time – many healing come the 2nd time.

Telling the sickness what to do with Jesus’s authority works much better than asking God to do something. You already have His approval in the commission when He told you to do it. A prayer of faith with Authority makes stuff like sickness & pain leave. (Luke 4:39 Jesus stood over her and yelled at the fever, it left her) He didn’t ask God to do it (technically God already did it with Jesus’s stripes Isaiah 53).

Just so you know, this is the same way you tell demons to leave. A persons refusal to forgive others that have hurt them is a very common reason for diseases and demons – sometimes those are the same thing (Matthew 18).

I pray you have an amazing experience being used by Jesus for His glory! Feel free to reach out anytime you have questions. Let me know about your experience! God bless you

Pray prayers
that get answered

God loves answering the prayers of His children. The earth is not our home and the reason we are here is to go as Jesus went and request the Father to intervene on earth for His will and glory. It’s not your ability to make a prayer sound good or vast knowledge of scripture that gets it answered.

Some important things to pray about in these last days for the lost are for Him to remove the veil of understanding from people’s hearts to hear the truth, for Him to reveal Himself to them in dreams and encounters, for Him to send people they will listen to that will reveal who He is, for Him to water the seed of His gospel in their heart Here’s some things to think about when going to Him with a request.

Pray from faith – not from emotions - like worry, doubt & fear. It’s good to pray about those emotions, but not to intercede or make requests from them. Jesus’s teachings and all throughout scripture we’re taught it’s the prayer of faith that gets answered and doubt will block it. Faith calls things that be not as though they are. I like to tell Him “thank you” as if He’s already working on what I’ve requested, believing that He is.

Pray His will – pray for Him and what glorifies Him, not just for situations or for others. Ask yourself: what’s He get out of it? “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. We are to learn what His will is for situations and boldly request for that to be done Romans 12:2, Ephesians 5:17

Remember He is a God that does not change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. His will is absolutely for everyone to be saved, healed and delivered at all times. Jesus said the enemy comes to steal, kill & destroy, but He comes that we may have life to the fullest.

Listen for His voice: Romans 8:26 Holy Spirit helps us what to pray, John 15:7 if you abide in Me & My words abide in you, ask what you wish and it will be done, by this My Father is glorified

Isaiah 55:11 When you hear His word that He speaks, and put it to workt, it will accomplish what it was sent for

Hebrews 4:16 Approach Him boldly – knowing who you are in Jesus. James 5:16 says the prayers of a righteous person have great power. When you pray, know that you are a righteous child of God and you carry Jesus’s authority.

There’s 12 words used for prayer in scripture: Philippians 4:6 uses 3, it can be translated: do not be anxious about anything, but in everything draw near to God with an offering of prayer with thanksgiving and make a bold request and petition on behalf of someone in need, with a declared expectation it will be granted

Be a child that seeks the Father’s presence: 2 Chronicles 16:9 the eyes of the Lord run to and from throughout the whole earth, so show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is completely toward Him

Hebrews 11:6 Draw near to God, believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (the key here is seeking Him more than His benefits) Draw near to His presence. This is how Abraham interceded in Genesis 18:23

Prayer is never about a method, but here’s a biblical guideline:

Go to your inner room and shut the door (get alone, some find a small space helpful)
- (Matthew 6:6 when you pray, go into your inner room (chamber) and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly)
Thanksgiving:
- Begin by saying thank you to the Lord.
- It’s especially helpful to find gratitude in difficult situations
  - Example: You are broke so you thank God for what you do have, and that during this struggle He is building your faith, teaching you how to trust & rely on Him to be your provider
- (Psalm 100:4 enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name)

Praise:
- Take time to acknowledge who you’re talking to, be in awe of who He is , how great He is
- Luke 9:23 If anyone would come after Me, let Him deny Himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me
Take communion:
- We are able to approach the throne of God in His Holy presence only because we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus, we are His righteousness by faith in Him, not by anything we do.
- John 6:56 whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
- Hebrews 10:19-22 therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holiest place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water
- John 15:7 If you abide in Me & My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you

Forgive any and all offences committed against you that are stored in your heart.
- Matthew 18:21-35(parable of unforgiving servant), Mark 11:24 whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses