Wife, Your Attitude Can Either Reinforce or Hinder Your Husband - KAREN ELAINE STEWART CHARISMA SPIRITLED WOMAN

Your words can either tear down or build up your husband. (Photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash)

Wife, Your Attitude Can Either Reinforce or Hinder Your Husband

7/6/2017 KAREN ELAINE STEWART CHARISMA SPIRITLED WOMAN

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

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My husband, Samuel, and I have been married now for more than 21 years. We fell in love in college, and we fell in love hard. I am so very grateful! The Lord gave us such a once-in-a-lifetime type of love, the kind of love that has its roots in eternity, that withstands the tests of times, and that has the Lord's hand and His Word intermingled and interwoven in the very fabric of our relationship. I thank the Lord because, truth be told, we are very far from being perfect. If it were not for the Lord, where would we be? We will never claim to have operated in perfection, especially when it comes to the maturation of ourselves and our marriage.

Early in our marriage, people would comment that we looked so happy and didn't fight. That, of course was many moons ago, before we began our growth. We become very acquainted with the art of disagreement. We have gone through maturation periods that have stretched our faith, our trust and our very marriage. As a wife, I have run through the gamut of emotions. I have questioned myself, my worth, my relevance, my beauty, my appeal and my place, as well as my sanity.

I was so busy fantasizing and idealizing, attempting to recreate the past of a mate, that in the beginning I robbed myself of appreciating and honoring the great person, husband, father, provider, man of God and man of integrity that my husband had become. It became many times like it says in Proverbs 27:15: "A continual dropping on a very rainy day and a contentious [having a tendency to argument or strife; quarrelsome] woman are alike."

Picture that: It just doesn't stop. It keep pouring; it keeps storming. Wives, sometimes our "reminder," our "Why can't you? " or "Didn't you say you were going to do?" can eventually become a deluge for our husbands ...

Our attitudes can either reinforce or hinder our husbands. Wives, our husbands can either be "broken" and dismantled, or validated and healed, by the words we speak into their lives. As the Bible tells us, we were created to be his "help meet." So the way I see it, every time a husband sees his wife, he is to "meet help" and not hindrance. Proverbs 18:22 says we as wives are to be found a "good thing," someone favorable the Lord has given to our husbands. Therefore, we need to empower, elevate and show appreciation for our men, not emasculate them with our attitudes.

Ecclesiastes 9:9 says, "Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun; because that is your reward in life and in your toil because you have labored under the sun." 

This article is an excerpt from The Be-Attitudes: Women and the Many Faces We Wear by Karen Elaine Steward. Copyright 2017 by Karen Elaine Stewart.

Karen Elaine Stewart is a native of Jamaica, West Indies. She believes that family is the most precious of all gifts and has made her focus raising her children and assisting her husband, Samuel, in building their company. Along with her husband, she has founded the YouTube broadcasts "God's Dynamics: Family Building" and "God's Dynamics: What's The Word?" where they offer devotional commentaries and share real-life family experiences designed to encourage, strengthen and enrich the lives of many. She and Samuel have two homes, one in the Poconos Mountains and one in New Jersey, where they live with their nine children. Visit her site at godsdynamics.com.

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Want to receive SpiritLed Woman by email? Sign up here 570 Shares ShareTweetEmailMore Wife, Your Attitude Can Either Reinforce or Hinder Your Husband 11:00AM EDT 7/6/2017 KAREN ELAINE STEWART Your words can either tear down or build up your husband. (Photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash) The SpiritLed Woman podcast is empowering women weekly to follow their purpose in Christ and boldly walk in faith. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com. My husband, Samuel, and I have been married now for more than 21 years. We fell in love in college, and we fell in love hard. I am so very grateful! The Lord gave us such a once-in-a-lifetime type of love, the kind of love that has its roots in eternity, that withstands the tests of times, and that has the Lord's hand and His Word intermingled and interwoven in the very fabric of our relationship. I thank the Lord because, truth be told, we are very far from being perfect. If it were not for the Lord, where would we be? We will never claim to have operated in perfection, especially when it comes to the maturation of ourselves and our marriage. Early in our marriage, people would comment that we looked so happy and didn't fight. That, of course was many moons ago, before we began our growth. We become very acquainted with the art of disagreement. We have gone through maturation periods that have stretched our faith, our trust and our very marriage. As a wife, I have run through the gamut of emotions. I have questioned myself, my worth, my relevance, my beauty, my appeal and my place, as well as my sanity. I was so busy fantasizing and idealizing, attempting to recreate the past of a mate, that in the beginning I robbed myself of appreciating and honoring the great person, husband, father, provider, man of God and man of integrity that my husband had become. It became many times like it says in Proverbs 27:15: "A continual dropping on a very rainy day and a contentious [having a tendency to argument or strife; quarrelsome] woman are alike." Picture that: It just doesn't stop. It keep pouring; it keeps storming. Wives, sometimes our "reminder," our "Why can't you? " or "Didn't you say you were going to do?" can eventually become a deluge for our husbands ... Our attitudes can either reinforce or hinder our husbands. Wives, our husbands can either be "broken" and dismantled, or validated and healed, by the words we speak into their lives. As the Bible tells us, we were created to be his "help meet." So the way I see it, every time a husband see his wife, he is to "meet help" and not hindrance. Proverbs 18:22 says we as wives are to be found a "good thing," someone favorable the Lord has given to our husbands. Therefore, we need to empower, elevate and show appreciation for our men, not emasculate them with our attitudes. Ecclesiastes 9:9 says, "Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun; because that is your reward in life and in your toil because you have labored under the sun." This article is an excerpt from The Be-Attitudes: Women and the Many Faces We Wear by Karen Elaine Steward. Copyright 2017 by Karen Elaine Stewart. Karen Elaine Stewart is a native of Jamaica, West Indies. She believes that family is the most precious of all gifts and has made her focus raising her children and assisting her husband, Samuel, in building their company. Along with her husband, she has founded the YouTube broadcasts "God's Dynamics: Family Building" and "God's Dynamics: What's The Word?" where they offer devotional commentaries and share real-life family experiences designed to encourage, strengthen and enrich the lives of many. She and Samuel have two homes, one in the Poconos Mountains and one in New Jersey, where they live with their nine children. Visit her site at godsdynamics.com. Readers are Leaders! Subscribe now and get 3 magazines for the price of 1. Get Charisma, Ministry Today and SpiritLed Woman all for $24. YES - Sign me up! 3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click here to draw closer to God!

Forgiveness: Not a One-Time Deal - TAMMY DARLING CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Two keys to spiritual freedom are forgiveness and repentance. (Lightstock )

Forgiveness: Not a One-Time Deal

11/8/2015 TAMMY DARLING  charisma magazine

When my oldest sister got engaged, I jumped right in to help. I was happy that she was so happy and eager to share in her joy.

But what I saw as helping, my future brother-in-law viewed as interference. Our relationship went from bad to worse; my pride had been stepped on and I was hurting. I was treated like the scum of the earth, which only served to fuel my anger at his arrogance.

The more I thought about him, the angrier I became. Soon it was all I thought about. I was angry, bitter and stressed. My thoughts turned to revenge—surely there was some way I could hurt him back. I would have been perfectly pleased if he would have just dropped dead.

I'm not happy to admit how far I had gone over the edge, but I am happy to report that I found the freedom that repentance brings.

It wasn't easy. I had to make a deliberate decision to forgive this man for the way he treated me—even though he continued to do it for some time. I discovered forgiveness is not a one-time deal. I have had to repeatedly forgive him, even though he has never asked for forgiveness.

Most importantly, I discovered my own part in the fiasco—and my own need for repentance. It wouldn't have done any good to forgive him and not repent for the part I played. I told him I was sorry, and then I got things right with God. My relationship with Him had suffered greatly during this time and my repentance quickly restored our fellowship.

I discovered that repentance is like a recipe—it has several ingredients that are necessary for the desired result to come about. Leave an ingredient out of a recipe—or repentance—and the outcome can be hard, bitter, or downright disastrous.

The first ingredient of repentance is choice. I had to make a conscious, deliberate decision to repent. In essence, repentance is an act of the will involving change in thinking (not feelings) with a resulting change in conduct.

When God convicted me for the part I played in the situation with my brother-in-law, I made a determined decision to repent, which led to a change in thinking, then reflected in the way I responded to him. Ultimately, my change in conduct, brought on by repentance, relieved the growing tension in our relationship.

The second ingredient of repentance is inward change. This is where the rubber meets the road. Feigned repentance will not bring inward change and no one will be fooled for long—and God won't be fooled at all!

Humility is what makes inward change possible. "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you" (James 1:21, NIV).

Once I changed my thinking about my brother-in-law, I was surprised to find myself actually praying for him—not to change but to find Christ. The inward change in me self-sacrifice,enabled me to develop a concern for him that I had never had before.

The third ingredient of repentance is godly sorrow. The lives of Judas and Peter clearly illustrate the difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. Judas felt guilt and remorse, but his suicide was the result of worldly sorrow, not of spiritual brokenness. Unlike Judas, Peter was grieved in his spirit and wept bitterly over his sin. He was a broken man. The difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow is brokenness.

I knew I had truly repented for my part in the damaged relationship when I cried over my behavior. Here was a fellow creation of God and as a self-proclaimed Christian I had treated him as though he wasn't fit to be alive. I had truly sinned against God, and I had finally realized it.

The final ingredient in repentance is self-sacrifice. Simply being sorry for the results of sin is not repentance. In confessing openly and admitting our guilt we forcefully have to cast off wrong motives. Sometimes physical restitution is also needed.

True inward repentance is often demonstrated in the sacrificial steps taken to abandon sin. Repentance without meaningful action is like a cloud-filled sky with no rain.

After I repented and got things right with God, I went to my brother-in-law and openly apologized. Our relationship is better than it ever was.

There really is freedom in repentance.

Prayer Power for the Week of November 9, 2015

This week ask the Lord to help you restore broken relationships caused by your attitude and actions. Pray for the willingness to forgive those who have hurt you and ask God to bless and prosper them. Thank Him for the freedom you'll enjoy when you embrace true repentance. Continue to pray for revival to ignite in our churches and spread across the nation and around the world. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the persecuted church, and the leaders He has placed over us in our homes, churches, communities, state and nation (Matt. 5:22-24; Matt. 5:38-48).

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!

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When Obama hosts Netanyahu, it won’t be pleasant, but it might be productive - THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

When Obama hosts Netanyahu, it won’t be pleasant, but it might be productive

Op-ed: The Iran deal is done. The peace process is a nonstarter. Which means there might be less than usual to argue about when the two leaders hold their first meeting after a year of bitter disconnect

BY DAVID HOROVITZ October 29, 2015,THE TIMES OF ISRAEL


David Horovitz 

David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. 

He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The …[More]

On November 9, US President Barack Obama will host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for the first time in more than a year. They’ll probably — though not certainly — put on a professional, perhaps even a friendly show. Leaders of two closely allied states. Shared interests and values. Unshakable partnership. You know the script.

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And the stuff about an enduring, vital relationship between the two countries is absolutely true.

But the Obama-Netanyahu personal relationship has long since fractured beyond the point of no return. The events of the past year plunged it to new lows. Netanyahu is convinced that Obama sealed a dreadful deal with Iran — entrenching an evil regime, giving it the hard cash to wreak havoc and leaving Israel horribly exposed — and has made no secret of his dismay. Obama was left absolutely seething by Netanyahu’s failed public effort to turn members of his own party against him on his key foreign policy objective, notably in that March speech to Congress. 

Netanyahu thinks Obama gives Mahmoud Abbas a free pass, even when the Palestinian leader is inciting terrorism. Obama is convinced that Netanyahu’s backing for settlement expansion is central to the failure of peace efforts. Netanyahu thinks Obama doesn’t “get” the ruthless Middle East. Obama made his displeasure with Netanyahu known when he took the prime minister to task for his election day assertion that Arab voters were streaming to the polls.

We could go on. Hopefully, for the interests of both of their countries, the two leaders themselves won’t want to.

November 9 will likely mark the day when Netanyahu implicitly acknowledges defeat by finally engaging with the administration on the practical implications of the Iran deal

The visit to Washington this week of Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (himself hardly a figure beloved to the Obama administration) seems to symbolize a return to closer cooperation. The new chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, was in Israel last week — less than a month after taking office. Obama and Netanyahu will never put the past behind them, but the White House meeting will likely mark a renewed effort to see out the final year-plus of the Obama presidency in less discordant tones.

Helping that cause is the fact that, in the two key areas where they have so frequently clashed, matters have reached a stage where their scope for sniping at each other would appear to have been much reduced: The Iran deal is done. And any realistic notion of a Palestinian deal is done too for the foreseeable future.

On Iran, therefore, they could choose to batter away some more at each other on whether there was a better alternative, and on what constitutes acceptable conduct when an embattled nation lobbies against a core policy of a superpower ally. But, more likely, November 9 will mark the day when Netanyahu implicitly acknowledges defeat by finally engaging with the administration on the practical implications of the deal. 

If so, the two leaders and their teams can then get down to work coordinating their positions on countering the threats posed by an emboldened and soon-to-be wealthier Iran, and on the appropriate responses to possible Iranian violations of the deal. The latter is an issue on which Israel could have played more of a role in recent months, had it not been opposing the deal so insistently and thus staying out of the loop.

In similar cooperative vein, it’s likely that the two leaders will announce that they’re now hard at work on a new long-term agreement for US defense assistance to Israel. The current 10-year framework, which provided for over $30 billion in US military aid, expires in 2018. Behind the scenes, the respective teams will be assessing potential threats to Israel over the next decade, and Israel will be finalizing a “shopping list” that ensures its qualitative military edge is maintained — something to which this and previous US administrations have long been committed. 

Israel has already contracted for more than 30 F-35 multirole fighter planes; it may ultimately want 50, or even 75. Missile defense systems are funded from a separate budget, and the US is well aware of the imperative to maintain and improve the Iron Dome and the Arrow systems, and to deploy David’s Sling, to ensure Israel can counter threats from neighboring Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria, as well as from an Iran that is relentlessly developing its ballistic missile systems. The increasing involvement of Iran and Russia across Israel’s northern border raises new challenges on which Israel and the US largely see eye-to-eye.

A new Obama-led bid to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the limited time he has left in office, is a non-starter

As for the Palestinians — while nobody should underestimate Secretary of State John Kerry’s readiness to invest considerable effort in dragging the parties back to the table, in even the least propitious circumstances — the president has likely had more than his fill. There is little chance of the two sides agreeing on terms for a resumption of talks and even less chance of any such talks making headway, and the president is well aware of this.

At a press conference on October 16, Obama reiterated his long-held conviction that the only way Israel would be secure, and the Palestinians would meet their aspirations, was via a two-state solution. But “it’s going to be up to the parties” to achieve that, “and we stand ready to assist,” he said — which was tantamount to spelling out that he is not about to launch a new peace effort.

Netanyahu will presumably rejoice at not being pressured for concessions to enable new negotiations. Obama would doubtless want to tell him that such rejoicing is short-sighted, but the fact is that a new Obama-led bid to solve the conflict, in the limited time he has left in office, is a nonstarter. The president has no shortage of other challenges, domestic and foreign. He can more effectively devote his attentions elsewhere.

They’ll disagree. It was ever thus.

Nonetheless, the two leaders will need to discuss how to prevent a further deterioration on the ground — how to thwart further terrorism; how to tackle incitement more effectively; how to deal with the fracturing PA and its weakening leader; how to safeguard Israeli-Jordanian relations; and how to retain some credibility for a two-state solution that Netanyahu and Abbas both continue to insist that they seek.

Obama would want Netanyahu to halt settlement building, to give the PA more authority in Area C of the West Bank, and to try to utilize the Arab Peace Initiative to warm ties with other Arab governments and possibly defang anti-Israel efforts by the PA at the UN. The prime minister will be reluctant; the president will warn against deepening the sense of hopelessness on both sides and highlight the dangers exposed by the terrorism and the violence of recent weeks. The prime minister will blame Abbas; the president will ask him to be constructive.

They’ll disagree. It was ever thus.

But they’ll have met. A year’s personal disconnect will be over. They’ll have recommitted to tolerating each other for the good of their countries for another 15 months.

Still, for Netanyahu, the end of Obama’s second term can’t come soon enough. And for Obama, not having to host Netanyahu will be a post-presidential pleasure.

Sharing Love From Sweden - FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS - by Eva Haglund

FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS

by Eva Haglund

God is not a God Who want us to just come and ask things from. He is a person, as He wants us to have a relation with. He is not a boring but a wonderful Friend full of love. It is not boring to get to know God and to have Him as a friend. He is also a God who tells jokes in a relation with Him when we are sensitive to hear. It was He who made laughter.

If we are in a period of loneliness we can learn to know God as our Friend. When David was outside with the sheep he learned to know Him as a friend. He was worshiping Him. David took time with God in a relationship. Sometimes worship is not counted so important but the Bible tell us to sing to God. We see that David was worshiping God. 

We read in Acts that Paul and Silas were worshiping in prison. In Psalm 139:3 it is written, "Let them praise His name with dance." We also need dance in a relation with God. Some think that dance to God is just for some but I think it is for anybody and that it also can be strong spiritually and that we need it. We can see already small children moving in dance to music.  David danced to God and so did Miriam. We can do it, too. Sometimes people do not like it but as David experienced it is good to continue. To worship and dance to Jesus has relationship with God. He is in the centrum. We also need the prophetic songs and dance.

Worship I think feels like giving our hearts to God in a relationship. It  is important. We lift God up and He is in centrum when it is from our hearts to Him. It is also good to sing Scriptures and Jesus is also the Word.

With Jesus it is good to know that He is not just a friend who is with me in prayer in the morning or evening but who is with me in the day whom I can talk and listen to. It is good to take time with Him and to learn to know His voice with the inner voice and try to hear things He wants to say. It is easier to learn to know God when we read the Bible constantly. To learn to know Him is to learn to know a God of love and in this relationship He speaks to us in friendship. 

Artwork by James Nesbit

In Song of Solomon we see that the bridegoom's heart was crushed for the bride by his love. In Song of Solomon 4:9, "You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse. You have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your necklace." We see here the deep love. This is how Jesus looks at us personally and His Bride - the Body of Christ. His heart is crushed for us.   When He looks at us He also sees no spot in us because His blood cleanses us. 

We read in Song of Solomon 4:7 "You are all fair my love. And there is no spot in you." We are  accepted and loved. Jesus as our Friend has so much love for us and He wants to be a close friend. Sometimes thanksgiving is not considered so important but to thank God is not anything unimportant for Him. In Psalm 100:4 we also read "Enter into His courts with thanksgiving."

If we love Jesus we can imagine He gets glad when we thank Him. We have much to thank Him for. He who suffered so much because of His love for us is worthy our thanksgiving. He suffered much more for us than we can understand. If we have suffered much it is just like a drop of the suffering Jesus suffered for us at Calvary. He did it because He loved us. 

If circumstances are difficult we can always have something to thank God for. We can thank Him for the fact that He suffered so much for us. We can simply thank Him for our being able to walk, or see, or eat, or other things. His grace is forever and He always loves us. We can thank Him for different things. Paul worshiped God when he was in prison. The Bible tells us to make sacrifices of praise. In Heb 13:15 it is written "Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruits of lips that openly profess His name."

When we begin to give thanks to God and when we worship God it is also a help. It is a help in trials. In worship we also can sing thanksgiving to God. When Jesus is our Friend we can talk with Him sitting in a sofa or maybe take a walk and when we are alone and eat we can talk with our Friend Jesus.

Jesus is the Word and the Word is then like our bread. Jesus is the Bread of life, as it says in John 6:35. The Word  is also like water in a desert. We need this clean water. We need to spend time with it and with Jesus in prayer. He also wants to speak with the inner voice. It is important to know in a relationship with Jesus that we are so loved by Him.

We can tell Him that we love Him and thank Him for all His sufferings for us at Calvary. 

Sometimes Christians can be so busy doing things for God but do not think it is so important to take time in a relation with God. If He is our Friend then it so natural that we also take time to talk to and listen to our best Friend. As we need time with friends we need time with Him. He is the most wonderful Friend we can have and it is good to learn to know Him more and more and His Kingdom. 

In Isaiah 45 it is written about hidden treasures. We need MORE of God! To learn to know Him is like digging in a golden mine. Jesus is full of love and He is not boring. What a privilege to learn to know Him as a friend! To talk to Him face to  face like Moses in 2 Exodus 33:11, "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend." We can have a meeting with Jesus when we read about the woman at Jesus' feet. She was so crushed by His love. She cried and cried. She received Jesus and her sins were forgiven. Her heart was so touched by His love. She wanted to give Jesus a most precious present - precious perfume expressing her love to her Savior . She also gave her life in Jesus' hand.

I am thinking also about Song of Solomon who shows not a dry , intellectual relation to God. When we also think about a relationship as it can be between bride and bridegoom, but also between Jesus the Bridegoom and his Bride the church, when the heart is touched by God's love and it is a relation with the best friend. In Song of Solomon is written about this relation. In verse 6:3 "I am my beloved`s and my beloved is mine." It is talking about a relation where the heart is touched. It is not a relation when you come to Jesus just when you ask for things.

I believe God's love for us is much bigger than we understand. It is a very strong love. His love reaches higher than the stars. Jesus loves to have a relation with us. In Song of Solomon it is written, "Oh, my doe in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” In Song of Solomon we can see much about a relation not just between a usual bride and bridegoom but about the relation with the first love from the Bride to the Bridegoom – from our hearts to Him. To be in love with our Bridegoom Jesus we can then see how He is crushed by His love for the Bride. In Song of Solomon 4:9, ”You have ravished my heart, my my sister, my spouse, you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes,with one link of your necklace.”

Artwork by James Nesbit

We find  that the bride is expressing love to the bridegoom. In Song of Solomon 5:10, "My beloved is white and ruddy, chief among ten thousand." She is in love. We can think about the relation to Jesus that we can be in love with Him - the first love from the Bride to the Bridegoom - Jesus our Savior. 

In the book of Ruth we see how Boaz was kind to Ruth and treated her with respect and care when she came as a stranger to a new place looking for a job and watched so she was not badly treated. He also helped her so she got food in Ruth 2:14. When I read this story I think about the heart Jesus has for us. He treats us with love and cares about us. When we read that Boaz cared we can think about how Jesus cares about us in a relation. He showed us the deepest love giving everything for us at Calvary. He loves all people and wants all to receive Him.

In Rev. 3:20 we  read "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." He wants  to become a Friend to people who do not know Him and that all will receive Him. When I read that He wants to come into all and dine with them, I am also thinking about a relationship where we eat with someone to have fellowship with them. 

 Yeshua/Jesus is a wonderful Friend who gave His life for us.

Bobby Conner: The Bliss of Waiting and Abiding

Bobby Conner:

The Bliss of Waiting and Abiding

The Elijah List

The Lifestyle of Waiting

The Lord Jesus spoke to me in a very strong tone, stating, "When it comes to seeking ME, I detest multitasking!" 

We cannot develop this ability to hear from the Lord unless we first learn to wait upon the Lord (see Isaiah 40:31).

This "waiting" must be experienced in times set apart in which we are alone with Him (see Psalm 46:10-11). These set-apart times must have a place within our daily life experience. Our seeking is not haphazard or hit and miss: it must be a lifestyle (see Psalm 27:8)!

The true seeking of God is a continuous seeking. It has to do with the position or attitude of our spirit being lifted toward the Lord. Our heart must be attentive to His presence, and our ears must be open to His voice. 

We must continuously live in an attitude of worshipful listening, hearing and heeding the direction of God's Spirit. 

A yielded life is essential.

He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. II Chronicles 26:5

The Spirit of Truth is seeking hungry-hearted saints who are desperate to hear and heed the voice of God, wholly following the Lamb of God – those who personally know Him and have received an understanding of His ways (see 1 Corinthians 2:6-7). 

We only come to maturity by personally knowing Him. And how do we come to know Him? By spending time with Him in His Presence our entire life takes on a new vibrant outlook (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). 

(Photo via Freeimages)

We must pay close attention to nourishing our soul, making sure our spirit-man is not anemic and malnourished. How do we do this? 

By continually abiding in the Wisdom and guidance of the Word of God! God does promise that if we seek Him, great will be our reward.

I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me. Riches and honor are with Me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and My revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love Me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.Proverbs 8:17-21

How To Wait Upon the Lord

It is imperative that we learn how to better surrender to the Spirit of God and how to be directed by His Spirit. 

Our being guided by the Spirit means that we have developed an appreciation and respect for His presence. 

This begins by meditating in the Scriptures so that we may convey true revelation of the Word of God to those who seek to know Him. When I am studying the Scriptures, I seek to allow the Word to enter into me and me into the Word. I see myself within the setting of the event unfolding in the pages of the Word of God (see Hebrews 4:12).

Guidance by the Spirit without words is the result of an active relationship with Jesus, in which His presence abides within us and we abide in Him, "knowing" His Spirit through the deep inner perception of our spirit.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way in which you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8

Two Aspects to Waiting on the Lord

There are two aspects to our waiting on the Lord:

• The first has to do with our withdrawal from all activity. Through this separation unto God, we enter into a consciousness of His presence. This consciousness can be described as an attitude of anticipation and worship. So the first step in beginning a true seeking of God is for us to set aside time in which we quietly wait to hear His knock upon the door of our spirit. 

The enemy of our soul will also be knocking, however. Remember, this is a very important point: The devil will always attempt to distract you with thoughts, to turn your mind away from things above (see Colossians 3:5).

• The second aspect of our waiting on the Lord is learning how to continuously abide in His presence no matter the activity at hand. This continuous abiding hinges on the first experience of withdrawal:

(Photo via Pixabay)

"Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (I Corinthians10:31).

It is possible for us to be separated unto God, "shut in" with the Lord, in the midst of activity (see Matthew 6:6). This will take time, as it does not come easily, or at once. The devil – the foe of your soul – will attempt to steal your intimacy with Jesus. He will distract and disturb you anyway he can with the goal of disrupting your seeking God.

This higher level of relationship begins with our entering our set-apart place and then waiting on the Lord during specific times, times which are set aside for this purpose. Then we can carry His presence out with us to abide in all that we do.

Never forget: True prayer is an audience with the KING!

Assure Your Heart of His Presence

It is reported concerning the early disciples that they were ignorant and untrained; however, it was evident that they had been with Jesus (see Acts 4:13).

Reassure your heart that God is "omnipresent." He is always with you, attentive to your every thought and feeling. Consider Jeremiah 23:24: "'Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?' says the Lord; 'Do not I fill Heaven and earth?' says the Lord."

We can encourage ourselves with the fact that the Lord is present, no matter how we may feel. 

This is a tremendous truth, and will greatly help us – once it captures our heart. Our remaining conscious of the fact of His presence as we wait on the Lord is like recharging a battery: It is a renewing process of His life flowing into our lives and a joining of our spirit with the Lord through faith. His presence will gradually become our delight.

Another way to understand this is that we, being a branch, are to draw the life of the vine into our spirit.

(Photo via Pixabay)

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

As our mind is renewed by waiting on the Lord, it is brought closer to His mind – and we come to understand His ways. Consider I Corinthians 2:16: "...But we have the mind of Christ." This truth is worked into our spirit as we spend time in the Lord's presence, waiting upon Him.

Be Determined To Wait

The only way for us to enter this relationship of His abiding presence is to begin waiting upon the Lord on a regular basis, with a determination not to stop until we have met with and supped with Him.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...Romans 12:2

As we seek first the Kingdom of God, the blessings and overwhelming benefits of God flood our lives (see Matthew 6:33). The overwhelming bliss and joy of a soul prospering in the favor of God is a noble quest. A truth we must grasp is money and material things do not bring lasting satisfaction and joy of soul.

As we become relentless, determined not to stop, as we meet and sup with Him, both our waiting and our abiding in His presence will become our highest joy (see Psalm 16:11)!

Bobby Conner
EaglesView Ministries

Email: manager@bobbyconner.org
Website: BobbyConner.org

Bobby Conner: This "Gentle Giant" is uniquely anointed with refreshing humor and razor-sharp prophetic accuracy, which has been documented around the world. Bobby's dynamic capacity to release outstanding demonstrations of the miraculous – healings, signs and wonders – reveals the very heart of the Father toward us! 

Surviving a dramatic abortion attempt by his mother, being rescued again by the hand of God from drug dealing and suicide, the story of Bobby Conner is a display of a man who now walks in his God-ordained destiny to set others free! Highly esteemed as an internationally acclaimed conference speaker, Bobby has ministered effectively to over 45 foreign countries as well as here in the States for many years.

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The Grandmas Are Coming by Julia Loren

Julia Loren:

The Grandmas Are Coming

The Elijah List

I was just waking up, and in that drowsy state it was as if an angel whispered in my ear, "The grandmothers are coming." 

I could have dismissed it as the tail edge of a dream, but the next morning I heard it again. And the following morning. Finally, I sat up and began listening for the more complete word the Lord was speaking. It was just about a week ago that a more complete word emerged, and this is what I believe the Lord is speaking:

"The grandmothers are coming. They are the young grandmothers who are seeing in the spirit and the older grandmothers who have seen in the spirit. Their revelatory insights are coming to the foreground – now that so many other distractions of life are falling away.

"In an instant, the weighted ceiling of the enemy's oppression will shatter and the grandmothers will rise up into the heavenlies and see more clearly than ever before.

Let your spirit soar! For it will not be as before. 

The brokenness of the years are releasing a new fragrance to your prayers, to your nurturing touch, and adding joy to your years.

"You are of the age to receive an 'Anna Anointing,' and it is being poured out for any who will receive it.

The anointing to see the unseen potential in the infant, the child, the teen, and the young adult and call it forth is yours for the asking.

It is like the Anna in the temple who took the infant Jesus in her arms and saw the light of the world and his destiny. And because of your age, you will be received. And because of your anointing, you will be heard.

"It is a gentle anointing. It is a nurturing anointing that calls life into infant hearts, infant ministries, and stands back to bless and intercede, rather than stepping forward to direct and care for that which you see emerging.

It is the freedom of a grandmother to bless and not have to undertake the responsibility for the care and feeding of another's child or ministry. It is the joy of a grandmother to see what is emerging and 'gentle' it into birth." 

(Photo via Stock.xchange by trolf)

In Luke 2:36-38, we read about Anna, a widow who happened to be a woman given to prayer: "Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."

How did she see the true identity of this infant?

She entered into continual awareness of God's presence through prayer.

Prayer was the intimate dialog between herself and God, her true and constant Companion who met her in prayer and would tell her His secrets (see Luke8:10) because of their close relationship.

So, if you are a grandmother, this is your time to "see" the unseen in the younger ones among us and call it forth. The world has need of you. And what is to come needs those who will call it out in the young and release it through intercession.

Julia Loren
Julia Loren Ministries / Blue Moth Media

Email: bluemothmedia@yahoo.com
Website: julialoren.net / bluemothmedia.com

Julia Loren is a prophetic author of several books including Shifting Shadows of Supernatural Power, Claim Your Anointing and The Future of Us: Your Guide to Prayer, Prophecy and the Coming Days. She lives on an island in the Pacific NW.

Divine Intervention: True Stories of  Heaven Invading Earth by Julia Loren $9.99 E-Book

Supernatural Anointing: A Manual  for Increasing Your Anointing by Julia Loren Book $16.99 $11.69