Cultivating Expectation

I've been pretty excited about what God is stirring in my heart lately about prayer. The Lord has encouraged me to realize that my expectation is vital to my prayer life.

Today a family member was experiencing some undesirable symptoms related to the pollens in the field and backyard. Normally, I would have a lot of sympathy and pray for my loved one but this time I felt the Lord tell me to rise up and expect him to be healed when I speak forth his healing. I didn't worry so much about what I prayed but that I was expecting to see healing. I prayed and commanded the histamine levels to be balanced and the symptoms of allergies to cease in Jesus' Name!

Then I shared that God told me He was not concerned so much with how we prayed but that we should have an expectation that our prayer is answered. In the past I would worry about the right words to say or how to remember the exact phrase from God's Word. It's about expecting God to do what we pray. Not because we demand it but because it is His pleasure to answer prayer according to His Word.

My family member was feeling better in record time when in the past this type of seasonal allergy thing would cause problems for at least overnight and sometimes days. Wow! I hope I've stirred you to expect when you pray too.

Here are some key points that I've studied in God's Word that I hope encourages you too.

• Spending time in the Word of God and renewing your mind (Romans 12:1) will cause you to develop more expectation when you pray. Sitting and soaking after you read the Word and purpose to expect to hear God's heart on the scripture you just read. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17. That faith will cultivate expectation.
• Taking time to pray in the Spirit and encourage your spirit man with things of the Spirit. Jude 20.
  
• Remember that God is a good Father who gives good things to those who ask. It is God's great pleasure to fill you with His joy and fruitfulness. Psalms 16: 6 says you have a good inheritance in Christ.
  
• Intimacy with God will give your heart confidence to know He is the one who tore the veil so that we could enter into His presence as a son or daughter of the Most High. You will come to understand that you are blessed and highly favored by God. As you worship, linger in the presence of God and thank Him that He created the Way to a relationship with Him. Confidence in your relationship with God in Christ will cause you to expect more and more in your prayer life. Hebrews 4:16 says to come boldly to the throne of grace. Developing an intimate relationship cultivates boldness.
  
• Purpose to give thanks to God when you pray. Jesus said to believe you have received whatever you ask for in prayer. Since you have already received it, go ahead and give thanks for it. "Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them" (Mark 11:24).
• The Word is God is like a seed (Luke 8:11) expect it to grow don't waver in your belief. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Do not waver between faith and doubt. James 1:8 says not to be double-minded. Ask and expect to receive the answer! Knock and keep knocking knowing it will be opened up to you. Pursue and expect to find what you are seeking.
  
• Submit to God's way of doing things and resist the devil and he will run from you. (James 4:7) In Jesus Name you have supernatural authority and you can expect God to back you up 100% of the time. You are a vessel of the Holy Spirit and as you continue to grow and understand who you are in Christ it will make a huge difference in what you expect when you pray and speak forth what God's Word says.
  

Thorns

I had a short but intriguing discussion with a friend tonight about thorns and the thorn in the flesh that Paul mentioned in 2Cor 12:7 "...a thorn in the flesh was given to me..." My friend challenged me to consider that fact that a thorn in the flesh is something that we all deal with. I'm not sure we deal with the same thorn our entire lives but until we learn to totally submit this difficulty to God 100% of the time then we will struggle.

I will tell you I still struggle with feeling of depression and anxiety that come to devour me. I find myself taken off guard when I have not submitted my emotions to the Holy Spirit's protection. I sometimes think "I got it covered" and wham...pride...the fall...IT'S NOT A PRETTY PICTURE.

Let's look at some scriptures that talk about thorns. Maybe you would want to compare the thorn description to the roaring lions in my previous post. It might give you a broader understanding what God's Word says to us about walking in the Spirit and not in our flesh to walk out the Christian life. We can't do it in the flesh and that's just the way God planned it.

Hosea 2:6
“ Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, And wall her in, So that she cannot find her paths."

Her paths were that of a sinful lifestyle. The She mentioned was not one that sinned on occasion but made it her lifestyle. God will make sure that if we wander outside of His will then we will feel the affects of sin in our lives. He loves us too much to let sin just hang around without us feeling it. Imagine being hedged inside a beautiful rose garden. Roses are lovely but trying to squeeze out of the hedge we will feel the thorns scrape at us as a "gentle" reminder to get back where we belong. "There is NO GOOD THING beside or beyond and the thorns will reminds us before we get beyond His hedge. Ps 16:2

Matthew 27:29
When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Thorns are also seen here as part of the curse. Jesus became the curse so we would not have to suffer from the curse. Hallelujah!

Maybe a picture that what torments us is painful in the physical but also in our mind. Jesus took the thorns so we would not have to... Ponder this for a while. Don't forget to look at my post regarding "Working out your Salvation"

Paul wrote:
2 Corinthians 12:7
[ The Thorn in the Flesh ] And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

Messenger is same word as angel. It is sent by God. I think it is like the roaring lions. (See my post Thoughts on A Horse and His Boy) God allows things in the flesh to torment us IF we do not 100% of the time submit to God in an area of our lives. If we allow Satan a foothold then he has access to penetrate the hedge and come in and torment us. Eph 4:27 Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].

Many times in the Old Testament thorns are seen as people or people groups that were "thorns" to the Israelites because they were not obedient to God.

1. Numbers 33:55
   But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
   
   
2. Joshua 23:13
   know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
   
   
3. Judges 2:3
   Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’”
   
   
4. Judges 8:7
   So Gideon said, “For this cause, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!”
   
   
5. Judges 8:16
   And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
   
   
6. 2 Samuel 23:6
   But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,Because they cannot be taken with hands.

So I hope this give us a better understanding about thorns in our lives. They are not put there to punish but to remind us to submit to the ways of the Lord.

Instantly Healed or Working out Your Salvation?

I wondered for quite some time why I was not instantly healed when I asked God to deliver me from depression and severe anxiety. I felt I believed God could heal me and wanted to heal me. I knew the Word of God said that "By his stripes I WAS healed". So when my healing was not instant it was a mystery to me. I went through a season (or two or three) of searching my heart to see if I was ignorant to sin in my life. I asked the Lord to show me if there was any bitterness that had started to take root that needed to be yanked up. After making sure of those issues, I just kept seeking God on healing.

It was about a year ago I heard that we are "working out our salvation..." I was certain this was not talking about salvation from sin since that is only by Grace but this must mean something else. I found that the answer was quite enlightening and freed me from some misunderstandings about healing.

Working out your salvation

Phillipians; 12: 2
Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).


Strongs: Soteria or Salvation

1. deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation
   1. deliverance from the molestation of enemies
   2. in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation
      1. of Messianic salvation
2. salvation as the present possession of all true Christians
3. future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.

^Rom13:11Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).

and verse 14

¹⁴But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).

So working out your salvation is a process that we learn to not trust in our flesh but learn the Word of God and learn to know what He wants for His children as mature believers. And many times in the Word of God it tells believers to WAKE UP! Sometimes it takes years of mistakes and humbling our hearts to ask God to show us where we are messing up. Sometimes we just have to get to the point of being so tired of our misery to wake up and see that God has a better way.

It has not been very long and I have discovered that salvation is not just salvation from eternal separation from God. I grew up thinking salvation = saved from hell. I now realize that salvation is much more. It is equated with being redeemed or in other words Christ paid the price so I would not have to suffer under the curse that the Law dictated. Christ became accursed so I would not have to suffer with the curse under the Law.

The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy from God's people but if we realize we are not under the Law but under Grace then we will not allow him to ravage us with the things mentioned in Deut 28 in the list of curses. The blessings are your inheritance but the curses are fully paid for with the Blood of Jesus. Notice in verse 65 of Deut 28 " There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart." It should be settled in my heart that an anxious mind is part of the curse and I don't have to live under the curse. Hallelujah!

Deuteronomy 28

Blessings for Obedience

¹ If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

⁷ The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

⁸ The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

⁹ The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. ¹¹ The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

¹² The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. ¹³ The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Read the list of curses after verse 14. If you find that one or more of them is attached to your life in some way, then you can know it is not from God but something the enemy is attempting to steal from you and rip you off from your inheritance. Don't let the devil rip you off!

Setting Healthy Boundaries

From the Boundaries Book by Townsend and Cloud:

Test Your Own Boundaries!

Here are some thought provoking statements to help you test and challenge your existing boundaries and help you reset your boundaries where appropriate.

SETTING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES

I GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION:

· To make choices in my life beyond mere survival.

· To discover, get to know and allow God to challenge my boundaries.

· To grieve over and forgive the less than perfect parenting I received.

· To recognize and accept my own value system and follow my own standards.

· To say NO to anything I am not ready for or is unsafe or which violates my values.

· To have dignity and expect to receive respect.

· To make decisions in harmony with my boundaries.

· To determine and honor my priorities and not surrender control to others.

· To expect my needs and desires to be respected by others.

· To end conversations with people who make me feel put down or humiliated.

· Not to be responsible for the behavior of others.

· To empathize but not to be responsible for the feelings or problems of others.

· Not to be perfect or expect others to be perfect.

· To make mistakes and allow others to make mistakes without rescuing.

· To be honest and expect honesty from others.

· To acknowledge my own feelings, desires and needs.

· To be angry even with those I love.

· To be me without feeling I am not good enough.

· To feel scared and say "I am afraid".

· To experience and then let go of fear, guilt and shame.

· To change my mind and allow others to change.

· To be happy.

Stand Firm!

In verse 8 of Psalms 16 it says I will not be moved.

It is so common place to allow ourselves to be wishy-washy in our decisions to have healthy boundaries with God and with others. The devil will try to use others to push our emotional buttons and get us to retreat back to the old standards. If we are not careful we could slip back into old habits and old heartaches if we do not constantly guard our hearts and not allow the enemy to steal the land that God has told us to conquer in His Name.

God wants you to stand firm:

In your marriage:
God wants the two of you to be in unity even if you can't agree 100% on a subject. Honor one another, respect the other person's viewpoint, pray that they will see the truth when you are certain that they do not yet see the truth. Do not try to bash them with the truth.

In your relationship with your children:
The goal is to teach our children about God and a relationship with Him. God is firm and loving with us. He does not let us have our own spoiled ways. He disciplines those He loves. He does not punish yet he allows circumstances to enter our lives as a result of sin. Teach your children that you will reap what you have sown. Watch what you say and teach your children to guard their tongue as well. There is life and death in our tongues and I want to eat good fruit not bitter, rotten fruit.

In your friendships:
Take a healthiness quiz on your friendships. Are you being a good friend? Are your friends edifying you or tearing you down? What happens when a long term friendship seems to bring both parties grief? Could setting healthy boundaries bring health to the relationships you have with your friends? If the other person does not seem to respect or understand you setting healthy boundaries you may need to set the friendship aside until you are healthier in your own sense of what is a healthy boundary in your life. Tell them in a loving way that you need to take a break from the relationship to re-evaluate some things in your life. Try to leave open a door like having coffee once a month or emailing. But if you do nothing then nothing will change.

In your extended family:
Remember your children are watching. How you allow yourself to be treated or how you treat others will become the legacy of the next generation. Try to picture your kids acting like you in 10 years with their in laws or with other family members. Is it a scary picture? It's not too late.

At work:
Are you allowing yourself to be a doormat at work. People respect the fact that others can articulate what they will and will not tolerate from a work relationship. If you dread working with a particular person you may need to bring this before the Lord and ask him for wisdom about how to set some healthy boundaries with your co-workers.

Ten Laws from The Boundaries book

If you've taken my class you know that I highly recommend the Boundaries Book by Drs Townsend and Cloud and also their book called 12 "Christian" Myths that will Drive You Crazy: False Assumptions. I have read these books more than once and they have some solid principles that we all need to set healthy boundaries with people in our lives. Get it read it. Read it again.

The 10 Laws of Boundaries
An excerpt from the book Boundaries in Marriage
by John Townsend and Henry Cloud

1. The Law of Sowing and Reaping: Our actions have consequences.

2. The Law of Responsibility: We are responsible to each other, but not for each other..

3. The Law of Power: We have power over some things; we don't have power over others (including changing people).

4. The Law of Respect: If we wish for others to respect our boundaries, we need to respect theirs.

5. The Law of Motivation: We must be free to say no before we can wholeheartedly say yes.

6. The Law of Evaluation: We need to evaluate the pain our boundaries cause others.

7. The Law of Proactivity: We take action to solve problems based on our values, wants and needs.

8. The Law of Envy: We will never get what we want if we focus outside our boundaries onto what others have.

9. The Law of Activity: We need to take the initiative in setting limits rather than be passive.

10. The Law of Exposure: We need to communicate our boundaries to each other.