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Conversation with God Discipleship Discipleship, Getting Help Fire Getting Help Intercession Lessons Prayer Praying Shepherdess Spiritual Warfare

HOLY SMOKE!

(A Powerful Shifter)

By: Praying Shepherdess

Approximate read time: 3-4 minutes

No, No, No! Don’t put out this fire! Get out the firepan (for holding live coals)!

Intercession, prayer, pleading or making request before Abba (our Heavenly Father), CAN make a BIG difference! It’s one “column of clean smoke” you don’t want to snuff out! Take a look at this:

I looked for a man among them who would make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land so I would not destroy it, but I found none…Ezekiel 22:30

Check this out:

Aaron intercedes (to go or come between) for a rebellious complaining people, running through the crowd with a fire-pan that has incense burning on it. With that act, a plague, that has already killed 14,700 people is stopped! Numbers 16:46-50 (17:11-15 Hebrew Bible format)

Abraham intercedes for any righteous people who might be living in Sodom. The angels agree. There weren’t ten righteous, but before destroying the city, the angels did bring Lot and part of his family out. Genesis 18:23-33 (19:15-17 Hbf)

Moses intercedes many times for a rebellious complaining people with the effect of God averting the deserved judgment! Numbers 11:1,2, 12:11-15, 14:11-20, 21:7-9, Exodus 32:11-14 (to name a few)

Fast forward:

Time of great tribulation – we see the firepans/censers and incense again. Revelation 5:8, 8:3,4

They are mentioned before the seals are opened, and again before the trumpets are sounded.

The prayers/intercessions of the righteous are caused to ascend with the smoke of the incense to be presented to God. Revelations 8:3,4

Could we possibly make a difference in the outcome of some things?

Are the prayers of the humble remnant a part of why/how there is a shortening of the time of tribulation, and/or some other aspect of the “wrap-up?” (See Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20) Just a thought.

Think about this:

It was prophesied, as instructed by YHWH, accounted in the book of Jonah, that Ninevah would be destroyed for its wickedness. In response the people in Ninevah turned from their wickedness. YHWH forgave them, and God’s judgment was averted.

When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s tree stump dream, Daniel counseled Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:24) to turn from his sins and to reach out the poor and needy (signifying his heart truly was aligning with God. See Isaiah 58,🕐 1:27, 5:16, II Samuel 22:21). Daniel let him know that his turning from sin and turning to God’s ways perhaps would avert the judgment that had been revealed to him in the dream.

Think of this:

In light of Ezekial 22:30, is it possible that the prayers of Stephen, requesting, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,” “moved” God to extend His grace and invitation to Saul, a zealous murderer of the followers of Yeshua, for a life-changing redemption?! It certainly changed his life for the better, and made life easier for others! Acts 7:58,59, 9:1-22

I’m reminding us that sometimes God will avert His judgment because someone is interceding.

The plea of a righteous person is very powerful, working effectively! James/Yaacob 5:16c

(I have heard someone teach, though, that when a “Woe” is pronounced it is a sure thing; the judgment will happen.)

So, on the “other side” of the firepan, God has made mankind with a free-will, freedom of choice. He still honors that installment today.

What we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. What we bind on earth is bound in heaven. That’s why what happened to Ahab happened to him! He continually chose to follow evil (was in agreement with), and the court of heaven finally issued a “warrant for his arrest” (demise, done, dead – No more)! I Kings 16:30-33, 21:25,26, 22:19-22, II Chronicles 18:18-21, Matthew 18:18

As it says in Ezekiel 22:31, 33:20, Zechariah 1:6, Revelations 18:6 (and dozens of other places), God gives back to us according to our own choosing. He is righteous in doing so! Revelations 16:6,7, 19:2…

And yet,

He desires that each of us turn from those things in our lives that don’t line up with His heart, His mind, His will, His ways.

He encourages us to “CHOOSE LIFE!”

And, it seems that He is often open to the opportunities that come when someone chooses to intercede for those who are in danger, or heading in a dangerous direction!

We see these things in Deut 30:15-20, Ezek 22:30, 21:30,32, 18:23,32, 33:11

Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, says Adonai YHWH, and not that he should return from his ways and live?!…

For I have no pleasure in the death of the one who dies, says Adonai YHWH. Therefore, turn yourselves back and live!

The last part of Ezekial 22:30 is the “kicker:”

…I found no one

[to stand in the gap; to come in between the offender and the effect he has coming to him; to intercede; to pray]

therefore I have poured out My indignation upon them.

D i d y o u h e a r t h a t?!

…therefore [because no one was willing to intercede] I have poured out my indignation upon them.

Some sobering things to consider.

Would we be willing to humble ourselves before God and say, with Isaiah,

I am unclean!

And then, as God is graciously cleansing us and inviting us to serve Him in His kingdom, to say,

Here I am, Lord –

USE ME!

If we would stand in the gap, whose life might be changed for the better, and those around him?

What tremendous impact could we have for, and what delight could we bring to our deserving King?!

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Pass it on!

Copyright: Praying Shepherdess

This article may be shared only in entirety, or excerpts (which maintain author’s concept), changing nothing, and with entire copyright and permission notice included,

and only for free,

and is granted only to anyone wanting to share the awesomeness of our Creator, the supernatural God of the Bible, YHWH Tsebaoth!

Categories
Discipleship Praying Shepherdess

Everywhere You Go!

You Have A Special Presence!

by Praying Shepherdess

Approximate read time: 2 minutes

It’s exciting to know that when we repent and turn to God, He comes to live in the midst of us. That’s what He longs for.

With a deep love relationship with God, choosing to abide in Him and He in you, you are a carrier of the kingdom/authority of heaven! Everywhere you go, any place you go into, you bring in the atmosphere of heaven, and can make a tremendously positive impact!

You carry His presence and His glory, His weightiness, His ability to cause amazing and life-changing happenings! Everywhere you go, you bring an opportunity for others to have an encounter with Him…

You carry His love that’s far above any earthly love! A love so pure that forgives, and removes the offense, when we are sorry and turn to Him; a love so compassionate that thinks only good thoughts over us and has only good plans for us; His love that deeply delights in His beloved (those who turn to Him), His love that never ends…

You carry His glorious Liberty! You carry in the atmosphere of overcoming and breakthrough power; of deliverance, of healing, of miracles, of forgiveness.… in two words, freedom and wholeness…

You carry His Life that is abundant and refreshing; life-giving! You carry His peace!

You carry His wholeness; His love, His joy, His peace, His faith – all of Who He is – and don’t forget HOPE – expectancy of His glory; that He, His love and power is with and in you, and wants the opportunity to express God’s goodness to the world around you!

So, Be in love with the King! Be still and know Him: see Him, hear Him…listen to and obey Him! Honor Him and Humbly walk hand in hand, arm in arm, heart in heart, mind in mind, Spirit in spirit with Him…

And then, carry on!

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I encourage you to change the above words to first person (I, me…), tailoring them, and say out loud every day! Declare them with joy! There IS power in the spoken word! (Just look at the ground you stand on…)

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Bible references to ponder:

Zephaniah 3:17

Isaiah 60:1-3

John 14, 15

****************************

Pass it on!

Copyright: Praying Shepherdess

This article may be shared only in entirety, or excerpts (that maintain the context), changing nothing, and with entire copyright and permission notice included,

and only for free,

and is granted only to anyone wanting to share the awesomeness of our Creator, the supernatural God of the Bible, YHWH Tsebaoth!

Subject: Everywhere You Go You Have A Special Presence!

Approximate read time: 2 minutes

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Categories
Conversation with God Empath HSP Intercession Key Article Spiritual Gift

HSP’s, Empaths, Intercession, & Conversations with God

Reaching Out – by Toa Heftiba, Unsplash.com

As you start reading, please read slowly to take this all in. Some parts of this may be new to you, and I have to get to key points fairly quickly. So…thanks!

HSP’s are Highly Sensitive Persons.

Empaths, all empaths, are HSP’s. Not all HSP’s are empaths.

In Christian biblical terms, we might call empaths people with a Gift of Knowledge. Specifically, the kind of knowledge about how others experience things. Such as pain or other feelings.

I am an Empath. Sometimes I feel other people’s pain and mistake it for my own. But when I try to manage it, which I can do at least to some degree with my own personal pain, I cannot change someone else’s pain by trying to manage my own. When this happens, it’s a good clue that I am empathetically experiencing someone else’s pain.

So what do I do to make things better? Pray for the person to whom the pain belongs – sometimes I will know who it is, other times I may not know, and that’s okay. I can just pray for the person whose pain this is. God knows; and in intercession, this is enough!

Intercession helps in two ways: it helps the person being prayed for. God will help them. It helps me, because I cannot pray for someone else’s pain and continue to mistake it for my own pain.

So what does this have to do with Conversations with God?

Great question.

What an Empath experiences through a Gift of Knowledge is information provided through the Holy Spirit to us – through God. So experiencing physical or emotional pain that belongs to someone else comes through Holy Spirit; comes through God, to us.

That is God speaking to us, in effect.

And how we respond is our answer or reply to God. So when an Empath prays for someone, knowing something about what they are experiencing, our response is our response to what God is, in effect, speaking to us.

Someone once said that, “English is not God’s first language.” And so we have to become used to the different ways in which God speaks to us. When we receive inspiration or information from God, that is us hearing God “speak” to us. What we do in response is our answer, our answer to God.

Empathic realization of someone else’s pain – or a Word of Knowledge, is God speaking to us, and what we do in response is our response to what God has “said” to us. It is us speaking back to God.

There is much more to learn about this sort of thing. And much more to learn about the ways God speaks to us and how we can respond. But these points are new to a lot of us. And explanations of Empaths and HSP’s are usually much longer and more detailed. This is pretty compact. (You can find books on these subjects, as well as articles on the Internet.)

God speaks to us in many ways, and our response is what we are “saying” to God.

Review your life and people you know…things you have seen, heard or read. Consider this kind of larger paradigm of what can be a two-way conversation with God.

There is so much to learn from God and through God. And learning to have good and useful two-way conversations with God is one of the most important things we can do.

You can ask Jesus how to pray, and notice what Holy Spirit “says” to you. What you see or hear – and minister more like Jesus. That’s just a start!

Follow any of the red key tags or ideas at the top of this article to see other articles that may interest you or that are related. Follow links in this article to find some articles that may be useful or helpful to you.

And ask God to guide you. Be alert for what happens. What happens next, what happens later. Some conversations with God are over a long period of time; some are very quick – more quick than we may think.

And by all means, let me know what you think, what questions you have, what you’d like to explore next.

Categories
Conversation with God Jesus's Communication Ministry Presence of God

Manifest Presence is Relational Presence

Jesus Reaches Out to You – photograph is by Jackson David on Unslpash.com

I can ask for more of the Manifest Presence of God for healing. Help. And fellowship! This changes everything, and we know we are not alone.

Manifest Presence is relational Presence

– – – – – – – – –

Do you love to experience the Presence of God as much as I?

Why?

I hunger and want to relate to Jesus. To his Holy Spirit.

To the Presence of God.

When I experience God’s holy Presence, I am comforted. Not alone. I end up being stronger. Better able to hear from God.

It is far easier to have a good two-way conversation with God when I experience and communicate with the Living Presence of God.

How about you?

The truth is that Jesus is reaching out to you, at this very moment: now.

God is talking with you now, and you can relate. It is harder to relate when we are not experiencing the Manifest Presence of God.

There are places where this is easier to experience. Nature, a church, looking at a new-born baby or someone we love. Where is it easier for you?

Because his holy Presence is Manifest, it is easier to relate to him.

It can be hard to relate to the invisible.

Ask and seek to relate to the Manifest Presence of God. Put to use each opportunity experience or intuition opens up to you good possibilities of really relating to God. The Creator of our Universe.

When the Hebrews left Egypt they followed a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud during the day.

You know how to experience a person who is present to you. In a particular place, at a particular time. Our Lord wants to related to you. Right now.

You are loved and we learn to love because we are first loved.

The Manifest Presence of God is also the Loving Presence of God, as our Lord relates to us. This is a gift that is already given.

Receive.

I talk to Jesus and receive a response through Holy Spirit. At a particular place and time. I ask, and I receive in faith. Knowing he is so good to me, so full of love, I can hardly begin to comprehend.

You can do the same.

Ask for and receive the experience of the Manifest Presence of God. Relate to him. Talk with him. Listen to him. Enjoy his holy Presence – which is a way of how he is talking with you, a friend pointed out to me.

It is in the context of experiencing the Manifest Presence of God that conversation is easier. Ministry is easier. Confidence, trust and faith come to us more easily. Miracles happen more often.

All because you choose to relate to our Lord. Our Lord is always eager to relate to you. And his gift of the Manifest Presence of God makes all this easier for us.

Enjoy his Manifest Presence. Give thanks.

Rejoice; our Lord is near. Rejoice!

Categories
Discipleship Getting Help Holy Spirit Kingdom of God Ministry

Changing Life Seasons

Photo by Andreas Dress, on Unsplash.com

In a recent exploration among fellow Spiritual Companions, I described my current cycles of growth where I felt aerated—like ground broken up for planting fresh crops—good and necessary for the long term and a difficult process in the moment.

I’m getting older and am cutting back on taking on new projects. I am getting help to manage the household; all because I’m discovering that I have less energy than before. Having to make such changes is hard.

Yet, making these changes helps me focus more on my calling to share the Good News of the Kingdom of God that Jesus preaches, and help activate people at The Miracle Café in the highlands of Panama, where people learning how to minister are helping others experience miracles of healing and restoration in other areas of their lives.

Earlier, I knew a transition was in progress for me. At first, it was difficult. More recently, I knew through Holy Spirit that my spirit was confident. Even though my soul—my mind—did not consciously know what the transition was towards.

I guess that’s a sign of growth. There was a time I didn’t trust so well, and I would have tried to insist on knowing what was going on and understanding the process before I would choose to trust the process. Now I trust God more completely. (That is good progress, I am sure of it.)

Feeling like ground that was too hard and not yet ready for planting while being plowed—was still difficult though.

There will be more changes. Change is always in progress. For me, spring is not so far away now. Other seasons will follow.

A deep help for me was being asked key questions and seeking to answer Spiritual Companions and Holy Spirit. Being encouraged helped me put this into words, and I understood with greater awareness and consciousness. Support, friendship, and encouragement helped.

Spiritual Companionship is a great and necessary help for me and all of us. We go through transitions easier and better with such help, even when they are challenging.

Transition and change can be painful, difficult, wonderful, and joyous in any combination. 

Transition is much more productive as we seek help through Holy Spirit, which is often easier and faster when we have the encouragement, help, and support of Spiritual Companions.

We all go through transitions and many changes. It is easier and faster, and more joyous for us with excellent help. Yet, seeking help from Holy Spirit is easy and effective with help from Spiritual Companions.

Categories
Changing Atmospheres Discipleship Holy Spirit

Changing the Atmosphere

Fighting Elephant Statues Under a Blue Sky – by Bert B, at Unsplash.com

With the help of Holy Spirit, you can change the atmosphere in a place. Turns out to be surprisingly easy to do!

Holy Spirit loves helping you with this.

For example, you might sense that the atmosphere where you are seems too full of conflict. Like fighting elephants, or people arguing or being mean to each other.

So ask Holy Spirit something like, “What kind of atmosphere are we in here, now?” Pause, listen, feel, see what comes to your mind.

Then ask Holy Spirit something like, “What kind of atmosphere would you like to help change this to?” Pause, and as you listen, feel, and discover what comes to your attention.

You might receive one or more Fruit of the Spirit, as in Galatians 5:22-23. Maybe something else. This is fun! (It may even surprise you in a good way.)

Now ask, maybe, “How do I pray for this?” As you listen, look for an image, be ready for an idea to come to you – and do that. This can come quite quickly and be very surprising and easy to ignore when it comes quickly, easily, and especially when is surprising. If not against the character of God, respond.

What you are doing is your response. You are “talking” to God through your action, doing as Jesus did – doing what he was shown or heard.

This is a mighty useful and extremely powerful pattern for prayer, for ministry – for having any good two-way conversation with God. Remember – prayers where you listen as well as speak are like conversations, which can give you insight, wisdom, or be a personal revelation for you. From God!

Note:

I expect there will be more articles about Changing Atmospheres. So in the future you can click on that keyword in red at the top or do a search in the search box which is near the top of the page on the right.

Categories
Conversation with God Discipleship Faith Hearing God Holy Spirit Prayer

Faith is Easy When

See Jesus, Have Faith in Him

Too often we are tempted and try to make up faith, we try to “have” faith. Without realizing it, that’s sort of like having faith in faith. Which is close, but still misses the mark. When I do this, I experience great frustration because I know at a deep level that this cannot work.

Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. When you pray or minister like Jesus, doing what you are shown or what you hear – good results come easily. Faith comes easily when we are doing what we hear or what we are shown by God.

When you are doing what God says to do, faith is easier.

Faith that is real and effective grows easily out of a revelation you personally receive from our Lord.

When we recognize the goodness and power of God, it’s easy to have faith in God.

When God says something, and you hear this, having faith is wonderfully easier.

Faith is important because of what faith does. What is it that faith does? Faith has the effect of connecting the Anointing with a need. A need for healing, restoration, or to defeat the works of the devil.

Laying hands on someone is not practical when that someone is out of reach, is far away. But faith connects. Even at a distance. Like when Jesus spoke a word for the healing of the centurion’s servant. The centurion’s faith connected the Anointing of Jesus the Anointed with his servant, who needed healing.

Faith connects. Fresh revelation from Jesus transcends time and space. And when faith comes easily from hearing Jesus in a personal and real way, faith connects the Anointing with the need.

This is one reason why faith is so important.

Another reason faith is so important is that it grows out of hearing directly from our Lord, Creator of our universe. Wow….

Dwell on this. Meditate on this. Let this sink in deeply, so that you hear it from Jesus, through Holy Spirit and hear this for yourself.

Then faith is easy.

Dwell…. Meditate…. Ask Jesus to give you a personal revelation.

Categories
Anointing Presence of God

How to Experience more of the Presence of God

Presence of God – experienced in a particular direction or place, like the presence of an ordinary person.

We human beings are used to sensing or experiencing the presence of another person as being in a particular place. It may help you to experience the Presence of God if you intuitively (or guided by Holy Spirit) focus on where the Presence of God is for you, at this time. (King David even set, or choose to pay attention to the Presence of God at his right hand. You can do the same!)

The Hebrew phrase, often translated as, “The Face of God” means, I am told, the Presence of God. What this strongly hints at is that not only is the Presence of God experienced in a particular place, but we can experience and notice that God is facing us, seeing, watching, listening to us – he is paying attention to us. We are seen!

This adds a new and valuable piece to our experience of Presence, when we realize this with help of Holy Spirit.

Ask Holy Spirit to help you experience more of the Presence of God. Or the Presence of Jesus. You can even ask or wonder, where is Immanuel, God with you.

Pay attention to what you sense or experience; explore and experiment. Allow yourself to experience more of the Presence of God.

Categories
Anointing Faith Miracles

Faith Can Connect the Anointing to Needs and Miracles Happen

Faith can Connect Anointing to our Needs

Faith is often how the Anointing comes to touch our needs for restoration and healing.

Like when the hemorrhaging woman touched the hem of the clothes Jesus wore. She was totally determined, single-minded. Jesus said it was her faith that healed her.

When faith contacts the Anointing, miracles occur.

Faith can create a point of contact – a connection – between a need for healing or other restoration – and the Anointing. Prayer cloths, personal touch, contact with the hem of the garments of Jesus, great faith in a word or command with authority for healing – just a few kinds of examples.

Faith can provide a point of contact between a need and the Anointing, and a miracle can occur.

Simple. Do it today for yourself. Do it for another person, group of people or situation. Give thanks for God’s miracle.

Categories
Discipleship Empath Healing Intercession Ministry Prayer Prophecy

Putin Needs Prayer

Putin Needs Love and Needs Prayer

Look at pictures of President Putin. Something is clearly wrong. He is suffering, and he looks to me like someone who has been under attack.

We are to pray for our enemies.

We are to pray for leaders, that there may be peace in the land.

Ukraine is, as I write this, under attack. Fighters on all sides and families and others – suffer.

Putin is, I believe, the unfortunate target of spiritual warfare, and it has not been going good for him.

And because he is a leader, it is going badly for many, many other people.

Please pray for President Putin. He is in anguish, tortured, and the pain has been spreading.