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| You must continue to press on when you're not hearing from God. |
Consider These Truths When God Is
Silent
John Burton
.
One of my great joys in life
revolves around helping people discover the wonder of hearing God's voice. We
are all called to be prophetic, which at it simplest simply means that we hear
God and respond accordingly.
God talks—a
lot.
The stories of
God intervening in the lives of His children continually have me in awe of Him.
I cannot imagine a life devoid of
that precious, stunning, otherworldly avenue of communication between this
humble, created human and an immeasurable, indescribable, all powerful Creator!
There's nothing like being in the
zone that results in a regular stream of dreams, visions, prophetic words,
fresh revelation and supernatural interactions. I thank God He is still alive
and kicking today!
There are also
times when God goes silent. I really do not enjoy those seasons, but I have
come to appreciate them.
Here are some quick points that help me when I enter a silent season:
1. God loves me.
Period. It can be easy
to feel rejected, or to presume that God has become tired of me and my
weaknesses, when He stops talking.
Remember that
God is love. His passion for us is so extreme that it would be utter
foolishness to think that He'd fall out of love with us just because we are
experiencing some growing pains.
"And we
have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is
love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16, MEV).
While it is
true that God continues to love us, the enemy would love to use God's silence
against Him by causing us to fall out of love with Him! Be careful not
to disengage in your adoration and worship, especially when you do not feel His
loving presence the way you are used to. (Matthew 22:37, MEV).
2. God uses
silence to awaken us to something. When God stops talking, I go into a
time of reflection and personal assessment. It is possible that I need to
be more aggressive in shifting into a new season. I might also have a negative
heart issue that might need to be dealt with.
During this
reflection, however, it is important that I do so with a healthy heart. His
silence should draw me closer to Him, and not result in division between us.
You will notice that accusation against God can result in silence:
"The
chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. So
Pilate asked Him again, 'Do You answer nothing? See how many things they
testify against You.' But Jesus
still answered nothing, so that Pilate was astonished" (Mark 15:3-5, MEV).
Is it possible
that I have accusation in my heart against God on a matter?
Complaint or resistance to His
lordship in my life most certainly can result in Jesus refusing to respond to
me. He will go silent, and the last thing we want during silence is more
silence!
Instead of
becoming more angry or frustrated, I propose we respond as Pilate did: Be
amazed. Be humbled by the wisdom and unmovable nature of Jesus.
As we do, our remedy is then to
sincerely repent and embrace God as He is—whether we appreciate the way He is
presently functioning in our lives or not.
3. Busyness will
result in silence. It is truly rare for God to go
silent for long periods of time when I am praying in the Holy Spirit, with
passion and groans that cannot be uttered, on a continual basis.
When I'm in that place of fervent
pursuit and deep intimacy, it is uncommon for that electric connection between
God and me to cease.
When other
things edge out our prayer life, or minimize it, one can only expect to stop
hearing from God. Prayer is His medium for communication.
The simple, obvious truth is that
if we are not in that burning, fervent zone of prayer, we would not have the
ability to receive communication from God. When the radio is off the speakers
are silent.
"See then
that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise men, making the most of
the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but
understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesias 5:15-17, MEV).
4. The Bible is
never silent. No matter how deafening God's rhema silence might be, the Word of God
never ceases to shout!
Dive into the
Bible with determination to see its truths explode in your life. Get excited
about everything you read and grab hold of all of it!
It is a
powerful moment indeed when, at a time of divine silence, the eternal Word of
God shakes us, invigorates us and causes our faith to rise.
No matter how much or how little
you are feeling God's presence in your life, read the Bible and believe every
single word you read. It is just not possible to stay frustrated when the very
words of God are being seared into our spirits!
Reject your
personal experience, history or common sense when those messages conflict with
the miraculous messages of Jesus. Refuse to doubt. Declare the Word in prayer.
Move mountains with your faith.
Do not get frustrated waiting on
God to speak personally to you about a matter. He is already speaking more
loudly than we have ever considered, in the Bible.
"My son,
do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and long life and peace they
will add to you" (Proverbs 3:1-2, MEV).
5. Nothing
should steal your peace or joy. If God's
silence results in you losing your joy, you might want to refer above to point
number two again. He may be attempting to calibrate you to his heart.
Even when God
is not speaking, we can and should still remain steadfast in a place of extreme
joy, faith and love.
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy
Spirit" (Romans 15:13,
MEV).
"Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, you righteous one; and shout for
joy, all you who are upright in heart!" (Psalm 32:11, MEV).
6. Appreciate
the calm before the storm of victory. I have noticed my reaction to
seasons where God's activity is slowed directly results in my position in the
season that follows.
A right response and a refusal to
give in to complaint, despair or apathy and a resolve to go even deeper in God
through both the Word and prayer, result in advance and promotion.
It also strengthens my character
and stretches me into greater maturity. Silence is a necessary part of growth
and advance.
I have met a
lot of people who stop in their tracks when God is not talking, opening doors,
giving prophetic words or doing other such things to move people forward.
God very often will refuse to
relate to us in that manner when we are failing tests or ignoring truth that
has already been established in Scripture.
As we react in a right manner
during the silence, and focus on obeying the Word of God, we will pass the test
and experience glorious, divine open doors!
"For this
reason make every effort to add virtue to your faith; and to your virtue,
knowledge; and to your knowledge, self-control; and to your self-control,
patient endurance; and to your patient endurance, godliness; and to your
godliness, brotherly kindness; and to your brotherly kindness, love. For
if these things reside in you and abound, they ensure that you will neither be
useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:5-8, MEV).
7. Ask. Seek.
Knock.
"Ask, and it will be given to
you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7, MEV).
You are
guaranteed to hear from God if you are unrelenting in your pursuit of Him.
If you are not
given to the sacrifice of seeking, do not expect to find much of anything.
Hearing from God requires a devotion to prayer and interaction with Him at a
degree that most are not comfortable with.
Press through
the crowd and touch the hem of Jesus' garment. Wrestle with God until He
blesses you. Cry out from your cave. Refuse to stop until you encounter God's
love, power and glory!
It will be well worth the effort.
Would you want to have a
deeper relationship with God?
God has made it possible for you to know Him
and experience
an amazing change in your own life by receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have
eternal life.
Say the following
prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins
have separated me from You.
John Burton has been developing and leading ministries for over 20 years and is a sought-out teacher, prophetic messenger and revivalist. John has authored nine books, has appeared on Christian television and radio and directed one of the primary internships at the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Additionally, he has planted two churches, has initiated two city prayer movements and is currently directing a prayer- and revival-focused ministry school in Detroit called the School of Prayer. John's mandate is to call the church in the nations to repentance from casual Christianity and to burn in a manner worthy of the King of kings. He is equipping people to confront the enemies of God (established religion, Jezebel and so on) that hinder an extreme, sold-out level of true worship.
Draw closer to God. Experience the presence of the Holy Spirit every month as you read Charisma magazine. Sign up now to get Charisma for as low as $1 per issue.
Get to know the Holy Spirit and how to interact with Him on a daily basis. Learn to enter God's presence and hear His voice clearly for yourself! Go deeper in your faith with Life in the Spirit and change your life and destiny. Are you ready to start your journey?
http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/28006-consider-these-truths-when-god-is-silent
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lyrics
Refrain:
Come home, come home;
you who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!
3 Time
is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and from me;
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me. [Refrain]
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/08/god-still-speaks-to-his-children-today.html
.
Softly and Tenderly
Jesus Is Calling
Will
L. Thompson
CLICK HERE . . . to view complete playlist . . .
lyrics
1 Softly
and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain:Come home, come home;
you who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!
2 Why
should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me? [Refrain]
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me? [Refrain]
3 Time
is now fleeting, the moments are passing,passing from you and from me;
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me. [Refrain]
4 O
for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me. [Refrain]
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me. [Refrain]
p-chron p-files
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