August 29, 2010
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Why ask questions? – Last week (Afformations
– Finding Your “Because”) we talked about setting goals and
affirmations in
the context of a question. This week the Lord reminded me of a season
in our
church when we emphasized “listening prayer.” A real relationship with
God is
all about conversation. Sometimes the Lord will initiate a
conversation. We’re
glad when He does, and we call it revelation. People who are more
intimate with
the Lord start the conversations themselves by asking questions. Then
they
simply listen for answers. We can do it, too! One of the
counselors in our church arranged a conference on Listening Prayer in a
season
when I was considering planting another church (in a prior life!). I
think she
was concerned that I might make the wrong decision. Anyway, I ended up
with a
personal counseling appointment where we simply asked questions about
that
decision, and he waited for me to articulate what the Lord was saying.
Once we
asked the Lord a question, I would simply wait until I had a sense or a
thought
and share it. As I recall, he even made me think up the questions – I
felt totally
on the “hot seat.” If I told him something that didn’t fly, he would
politely
say, “I don’t think that was the Lord; let’s listen again.” That went
on for an
hour and, when we were done we both had the sense about how the Lord
felt about
the decision, and I planted the second church. His name was Dave Olsen
and he wrote a
book entitled Listening Prayer.
Afformations are really just relevant questions that allow our minds to
search
for wisdom and our hearts to hear from God.
I
tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like
a
little child will never enter it." Luke 18:17
But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will
be
given to you as well. Matt 6:33 NIV Jesus
gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by
himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever
the
Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and
shows him
all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater
things than
these. John 5:19-20 NIV When we
minister to people, we’re always sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is
doing and
we usually just flow with that sense of direction and get great
results.
If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all
without
finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 NIV Many of us
get stuck when God won’t tell us exactly what to do in our own mountain
and we
won’t give our hearts permission to make decisions, take initiative, or
become
creative. There are two specific things you can do to release your
heart or
spirit into its full potential and gain that permission: 1) reconciling
your
past, and 2) getting the answer to the “why questions” and man’s
biggest
question, “Why am I here?”
Most of us
have plenty of negative events in our past that ripple through our
present and
future. How can we possibly be positive about those disasters? And
we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who
have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28-29 NIV
Here’s some
great questions you can ask the Lord, “How did you work good in my life
through
________? How did you resurrect that situation? Why am I able to build
my life
on the ashes of that setback?” If you don’t
know the answer, then you’re still hurting and your future is in
jeopardy. If
the slate is clean and you have an answer for your disasters, you will
be free
to release your heart, ask for the desires of your heart, and see your
dreams
come true. For
if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will
also
forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will
not
forgive your sins. Matt 6:14-15 NIV
Why
am I able to connect my life’s purpose with God’s larger plan? Why
is my life’s purpose becoming clear? What
are you doing, Lord, that I could be involved in? Why am I able to
connect my
life with what the Father is doing in the Kingdom? What
do I enjoy doing most? If money were no object, what would I like to do most? PS: David
Baroni wrote Unveiled
– great worship song. PSS: You may
also enjoy the video
version of this newsletter.
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