Anything To Talk About? - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Anything To Talk About?

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help. Every time I'm in trouble I call on you, confident that you'll answer.” (Psalm 86:6-7 THE MESSAGE)

If ever there is anything you want to say to another, you generally find a way to say it. You want to communicate a concern, share a thought, bring some encouragement, or just let them know what happened in yours or another’s life today. So you talk to them.

Today that would be in person, by cell phone, text, Messenger, a Facebook post, or any app that has become available even since I wrote this message. You may even get a card or letter in the mail, but I think my generation may be the last one who does that. (Still use a postage stamp?)

If we have anything to talk about, we find a way to share it with another. We want them to know what we are feeling, sensing, seeing; be it a hurt or a joy; to give news of an upcoming event or a family get together. At some point we are going to communicate, one way or another.

At times we hold it in, but most often we somehow get it out.

Do you know that God in heaven isn’t far away, and wants to hear your voice, and you to hear His voice?  He wants you to get to know and talk with Him.

Many find that hard to do. They consider Him too busy, unconcerned, “He’ll never answer my prayer” type of being. Quite the opposite.

In fact, the Bible says, “…from heaven he caused you to hear his voice, in order to instruct you…” (Deuteronomy 4:36, Complete Jewish Bible) 

Even from His eternal throne, our Father in heaven speaks to us, hoping that we will in turn take time to talk with Him. His Father’s heart is to be open and available to us. He has plenty to say, if we are willing to let Him speak.

King David, before, during and after he sat on the throne of Israel, had plenty to say to the Lord. I like reading the Psalms because I have had the same emotions that he did. I am glad the Bible is honest, and tells it like it is.

“When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;

Now I'm in trouble again: grace me! hear me!” (Psalm 4:1, THE MESSAGE)

“Listen, God — I'm desperate. Don't be too busy to hear me.” (Psalm 54:2, THE MESSAGE)

“Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek." Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” (Psalm 27:7-10, NKJV)

Call it prayer, supplication, intercession, or all of the above - Our Creator, who already knows our heart and deepest thoughts, wants us to talk to Him about anything and everything. He is open, has His ear turned to us, and is waiting to guide us in the direction that will be best for our life.

Morning prayer times, evening prayer times, on the run prayer times – whatever and wherever – talk to the Lord and He will respond. It may be with a “Yes”, “No”, or “That’s for later” answer, but you will get one.

Pray in tongues; use a reminder prayer list; pray the Bible; talk with Him as your friend, out loud or within your spirit…you and I need this relationship developed with our Lord. And as Yeshua (Jesus) promised when He ascended into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, to walk with us in our need, and the needs of others.

Jewish lady on plane to Israel reading prayer book. Photo by Steve Martin

Pray today. Pray tomorrow. Pray until the veil between heaven and earth is gone, and you are with Him for eternity.

This is part of the basics of life - communicating with God our Father.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily for those living in Israel, Pakistan, Northern Ireland and India, and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

DONATE TO BLESS FAMILIES IN ISRAEL, PAKISTAN AND NORTHERN IRELAND.

 
Love For His People, Inc. is a 501(c)3 ministry in the USA.

These 8 Habits Activate Holy Spirit's Power in Your Life - KEN MALONE CHARISMA NEWS

The Lord loves to communicate with you. (Pexels)

These 8 Habits Activate Holy Spirit's Power in Your Life

 5/27/2017 KEN MALONE  CHARISMA NEWS

Faith—Shed the victim mentality and believe God for a miracle. Speaking God's word over you and your family will unlock the resources of heaven. Read Heb. 11:1-6 and Rom. 10:8,17. Get active in God's Word.

Prayer—Talk to God like you're talking to a friend. The Lord loves to communicate with you. This creates an avenue of intimacy with the Lord. Don't be religious—you don't have to say everything right. Just talk to Him (Matt. 6:9-14).

Worship—When worship becomes a focus in your life, it creates an atmosphere of His presence. Open your mouth and begin to sing. Sing unto the Lord a new song (Ps. 22:3).

Intercession—Taking up the cause of Christ in the earth puts you in a position of partnering with Him. Partner with Him through intercession (1 Tim. 1:1-3).

Pray in Tongues—When you pray in tongues, you edify your spirit and build up your faith. If you don't pray in tongues, ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues (Acts 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 14:4; Jude 20).

Forgive—Forgiveness is not an emotion but an act of your will that can change your emotions. If someone has wounded you, begin to say, "I forgive (put in their name) in Jesus' name." Keep doing this every time Satan brings up the offense (John 20-23; Mark 11:25).

Prophesy—Prophesy the word of the Lord over your life. Prophesy His written word but also a word spoken to you. Keep doing this until it comes to pass (Is. 55:10-11).

Walk in Righteousness—Realize that Jesus bore your sin that you might be made righteous through Him. Begin to declare that you are righteous because of Him (2 Cor. 5:21). 

Ken Malone is being used by God to mobilize the body of Christ throughout Florida and the nation. After being a pastor for 24 years, Ken has recently stepped down from a pastoral position. This has allowed God to launch Ken into his apostolic role within Florida and the nation. He is an ordained minister and serves as the founder of Forerunner Ministries and serves on the board of Dutch Sheets Ministries. Ken also serves as one of the leaders of Network Ekklesia International, an apostolic network founded by Dutch Sheets. Ken walks in a governmental apostolic mantle that releases the body of Christ into their destiny. He also ministers with a prophetic, seer anointing which enables him to identify activate and release redemptive gifts in individuals, churches and cities.

This article originally appeared at forerunner-ministries.org.

Charisma's Special Anointing Bundle. Get Charisma magazine plus these 2 Books - The Deborah Anointing & The Esther Anointing for only $24.97. Subscribe Now!

Hearing God's voice changes everything. You'll gain clarity, purpose and direction for your life. Start your journey to live your Life in the Spirit. Click here to draw closer to God!

Why You Need to Pray in Tongues Now More Than Ever - LISA GREAT CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Nations wait for the people of God to do this. (Catherine McMahon)

Why You Need to Pray in Tongues Now More Than Ever

7/18/2016 LISA GREAT  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

The SpiritLed Woman podcast is empowering women weekly to follow their purpose in Christ and boldly walk in faith. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

---

Everything that has come down was put within us. Now we are waiting for it to come out of us.

Jesus instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with fire. Acts 1:8 says it this way, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses..." What came down was the Holy Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire. Those tongues of fire are in our mouth. They are not coming down again. Jesus said in John 16:7, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you." Just as the dove came down and rested on Jesus at His baptism in Matthew 3:16, the same Holy Spirit came and rested upon people in the upper room in Acts 2, but in the form of tongues of fire.

Many people are looking up, waiting for something to come down. We pray out of Matthew 6, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done," as though it is something outside of us. We are looking up for God to send something down, but the Lord is looking down, waiting for something to come out—of us. I wonder if the reason we are not seeing a breakthrough is not because something has not come down, but rather because something has not come out. In the past season we would sing, "Holy Spirit, rain down," but I believe the song of this season is, "Holy Spirit, break out." Break our walls down. Christ in you, Christ in me, is the hope of glory! He must come out from us.

While I was in worship on Sunday night at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, the spirit of God spoke to me and said, "You have been given tongues of fire. Your words light up the nations!" The Lord has given us tongues of fire and in the midst of darkness, our words of life bring light and truth to build up the nations, not tear them down. The very next thing I saw was choirs of nations, singing, "great are You, Lord." it was a picture of whole nations lifting up their voices in one song to the Lord. I was calling to the various nations, to join in the song of the Lord.

Isaiah 60:1-3 says, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord shall rise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. The nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising" (MEV).

I believe now more than ever before, we have a mandate from heaven to let our tongues of fire out, so the nations can sing "great are You, Lord." As we speak life, we light up people's lives, we light up nations with hope, peace and joy, and we bring healing through the fire of our words of life. We have been given tongues of fire. In the past many have used their tongues to burn up what they deemed wrong, but today we are being commissioned to use our tongues of fire to light up the nations with the light of the life that comes out of our mouths. You have tongues of fire. Light up the nations!

Lisa Great is an author, speaker and blogger with Mouthpiece Ministries International. She has been in ministry for over 25 years, she has a BA in Youth and Family Studies, a MA in Education. She can be reached at mouthpieceministries.wordpress.com, or on her Facebook page, Lisa Great.

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.

Dare to go deeper in your faith. Our "Life in the Spirit" devotional takes you on a journey to explore who the Holy Spirit is, how to interact with Him, and how He works in your life. Are you ready to go deeper?

Can We Help Someone Pray in Tongues? - CHARISMA NEWS

Should we try to help people who want to speak in tongues? (Lightstock )

Can We Help Someone Pray in Tongues?

10/25/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma news

When you have been raised in religion and legalism most of your life, transitioning into living a life in the Spirit can be challenging. One of the common questions is, "Can and should everyone pray in tongues?"

Yes, tongues is for every believer, but sometimes we have to overcome old mindsets and teachings in order to flow in the Spirit.

When desiring to pray in tongues, we are often our own obstacle. Church, pastors, people and religion have said that tongues has ceased and is not for today, but the gifts of the Spirit are in full activation today. How do we overcome our own obstacles to get a prayer language that is powerful, releases our destiny and breaks down strongholds?

We move forward by studying the Scriptures and what the word of God says about tongues. The best place to start is in the books of Acts and Corinthians. You can discover the scriptural evidence for tongues which will assist you to renew your mind, so as you try to speak out in tongues you don't doubt what is happening.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon people some will instantly pray in tongues and their prayer language will be released, but for some, their mindsets—possibly being scared, uncomfortable or unsure—can prevent their prayer language from manifesting. What do you do then? How can you assist someone to overcome their hesitancy to release that which is such a powerful gift and asset in our Christian walk? 

As a past healing room and prayer director and as I currently travel the United States, I've had plenty of opportunity to lead people to the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I have seen instantaneous, powerful manifestations of the Spirit as well as times when people are longing and desiring for it, but nothing comes out of their mouth.

I believe there are some simple exercises that can assist them in getting their mouth moving, voice box activated and tongue going. These exercises will lead them to speaking out their prayer language.

Try these simple steps the next time a friend or brother or sister in Christ asks you for assistance, you are ministering to them or they are frustrated that they have not spoken in tongues.

Pray with them and ask the Holy Spirit to fill them to overflowing from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet.  Call forth the empowerment and gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Have them invite the Holy Spirit (out loud) to fill them and come upon them.

Anoint or pray over their throat/mouth and command their tongue to be loosed.

If they are still not experiencing any manifestation of tongues, try having them do any or all of the following exercises. By participating with them in these exercises you are simply trying to get their voice, tongue and mouth moving. People think tongues is just going to come up by standing there with their mouth closed and no physical action, but most of the time, it will not happen that way. You need to get the person actively participating so that their fear and discomfort diminishes, the doubt leaves and their mind gets off their old teachings.

By having them co-labor with you and the Spirit of the Lord, their mind will shut down and close off the worries and doubts, and their prayer language will flow because they just activated their faith through prayer.

Here are some simple exercises to assist a person to get their voice, prayer and faith activated:

Have them praise God out loud in English. Get them praying not their wants and needs, but entering into His gates with thanksgiving and entering into His courts with praise. Have them say, "Praise You, God. Thank You, Jesus. I love You, Lord." Get their mouth and heart moving with praise and adoration to the Lord.

Are they a singer, worshipper or music leader? Have them start singing. Some people can sing in tongues easier than praying in tongues.

Sing in the Spirit if you can and have them try to sing with you. This will again activate their faith and get their vocals going to allow something to manifest.

Ask them if they speak or pray in a foreign language. If so, then while you pray in tongues, have them pray in their foreign language. By activating their faith and getting them to pray and words coming out of their mouth, usually the tongues will activate and take over.

Gather some people around them that pray in tongues and have you all pray together. This will encourage their faith and they won't feel awkward at what is releasing. Remember, society has told us this is not acceptable, therefore a little encouragement from believers who enjoy their prayer language can help.

When first starting to pray in tongues, people don't know what to expect. Questions can race through their mind on how I do this. How do I start? People won't necessarily speak what they are thinking.

Therefore, upon their filling of the Holy Spirit and the ministry time you give them, ask them if you can assist them, if they would pray with you. Don't leave them to figure it out on their own, Jesus said to make disciples. If we don't assist them when needed, some people will give up and won't press in to release what the Spirit has already given them.

People won't talk to another person about it and can feel stuck and frustrated as they try. Help them on their way to one of the best assets we have as believers: the Holy Spirit co-laboring with us in prayer.

Charisma News Editor's Note: The opinions of this writer are not necessarily those of Charisma Media.

Love For His People Editor's Note: I pray in tongues every day and strongly encourage you to also. Steve Martin

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries a ministry releasing the love and power of God. She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours. Kathy enjoys writing and is the author of several books that educate, empower and equip people, including A Worship Woven Life and Flesh, Satan or God. Connect with Kathy at degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!