Hello! I took a break and didn't write anything for a few days, although it probably would've helped my perspective looking back. The truth is, I was sick. I had a fever with no symptoms other than the fever itself and a little exhaustion on the side. One of the remarkable things about the auto immune disease attacking my body is the ability to randomly get fevers. Sometimes they last an hour, sometimes they take up to a week but that's not really what I want to write about tonight. I'm going to tell you how I was healed of the most recent fever. It lasted four days.
Let me spare you the details about how I drug my rear end all over the place and cried like an itty bitty baby for those four days and get right to the good part. It really is good! I feel like reminding myself, and all of you, that the reason we can't always see God is because He has gone ahead of us to get the victory. Jesus paid for it so He gets to do whatever He wants in the story. I'm just glad I get to be a part of it, even the parts that I get to suffer a smidge.
For homeschool, we've been in chapters thirteen and fourteen of 1 Samuel this week. Here's a real quick overview; King Saul irritates the Philistine army. All the Israelites become afraid and hide. The Philistines come and take all their weapons and force them to pay for things they need. While Saul is hanging out munching some pomegranates, his son Jonathan gets a wave of boldness and decides to sneak off with his armor bearer to try and take on the Philistines. How many of you know that it would take a wave of boldness directly from the throne in heaven to make you wanna go take on a whole army of big burly dudes with just one other guy? Well, that's what they did and it worked because they had the favor of God. Saul found out about it when he saw the army across the way having a major meltdown, so to speak, and wondered who had gone out from them to do this? He ordered that everyone fast. That's pretty much where we left off.
Last night there was a church service and although I was pretty burned out and didn't feel like going, I knew I wasn't going to get healed sitting around watching the kids pretend to be weather forcasters (homeschooler alert). The fever needed to go away, bigtime. During service I was sitting in my seat and I couldn't get the thought of honey out of my mind? I decided to look ahead to what the girls and I were going to be studying for the next day when I came to the part of the chapter that talks about honey. Some of the Israelites saw what was happening to the Philistines so they decided to join Jonathan in the attack and went into the woods. When they got to the woods, honey miraculously appeared on the ground. Honey, miraculously appeared...on the ground... I was sitting there reading this when I remembered seeing a whole bunch of jars of honey in the pantry of the church. I got up to check because I wasn't sure if I really saw them or if it had been a dream? When I got there, there they were. Lots and lots of jars of honey. I took one down from the shelf, inspected it a bit and just stood there for a minute wondering what the Lord would have me do with a jar of honey? Didn't know what I was going to do with it but I took it back to service with me. It felt like a sign so I uncapped it and set it right in front of the worship team thinking maybe some of the anointing would seep in, then I would eat it and maybe be healed that way? Why not right? What have I got to lose? After service, my dear friend approached me and asked, "What are you going to do with that honey?" I said, "I have no idea." Then, she tells me something that I had not considered. She tells me that honey is a natural immunity booster.
Here's a little "coincidental" rabbit trail. Bees are pretty amazing! I didn't know nearly as much about them as I do now that we spent half a day studying those amazing little creatures! "Coincidentally", my oldest daughter did a lot of research on bees for a speech she gave last week and was able to teach us some too. Also, during the four day fever, one of my feet broke out in eczema and beeswax hand creme was the only thing that would seal it over night! Imagine that?! Yes, my life is blessed.
So your're probably wondering, how does all of this apply to the topic of healing? Well, it all boils down to faith my friends. I did find out how honey is a natural immunity booster and a lot of other facts about bees that I may or may not find useful in my healing but more than anything, I received faith. Faith through believing. You see, when Jonathan saw the honey, he immediately dipped his staff in it and ate and it perked him up right away. The others were afraid to eat it because of the fast that King Saul had instituted. Jonathan wasn't around to hear his dad declare the fast because he had gone ahead to do what the Lord had called him too. Because he was faithful, the Lord provided him with honey to replenish him and sustain him through the fight. God is faithful to those that are faithful to Him! If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, wouldn't He still use the same signs now that He did then? I believe that the honey I found in the church was a sign for me that God will provide for my every need during this fight. He knows all about it and has a purpose even, for it. During those four days, what I needed more than anything was faith. Once it was delivered, the fever broke.
True maturity in Christ, I think, is being willing to walk through the shadow of the valley of death, unafraid, having full confidence in faith that God will deliver. Moreover, to embrace the suffering in that crucible in order to join with Christ Jesus for fellowship in His adversity. Jonathan was the mature one in the father-son relationship. He was willing to climb and embrace the cliff of death in order to become free from the oppression of the Philistines while his father stubbornly refused to humble himself. I want the kind of faith that Jonathan had when he said, "Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few." That's the kind of faith that sets whole nations free, that's the kind of faith we need for healing.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Honoring the anointed
Tonight's chapter is about honor. It's about recognizing the value of the healing anointing and the one who carries it. Matthew 10:41 says it best; He that receivers a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophets reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. In other words, we should highly esteem those that carry the anointing so that we may draw from the well ourselves. The best kind of gift is the one that is received well. There are many examples in scripture that describe situations where many had the chance to receive healing but did not honor the one who was sent. Basically what that translates to is unbelief in the miracle working power of God. We should always make sure to honor those who have the anointing.
There is a woman at my church that carries this type of anointing. She is a very quiet, humble woman of God that always esteems others better than herself. There have been times in my walk where she was the only one I could go to because I felt that the pain was so heavy only she could help me to rise above it. When the anointing comes on her, pain melts away at the sound of her voice. She never asks for anything and she is about at meek as you can be. There is truly a silent grace that surrounds her all of the time. I was honored with the opportunity to be able to work along side her for a short time and cannot describe the value of what that time was worth to me.
How do we honor the prophet? Well, honor in this case means "value" so what do you do to show someone you value them? I love to sit and listen to their stories. Prophets always have stories that will increase your faith and they love to tell them. Another way is to accept the advice they give. These are wise people that have history with God and their advice is worth more than gold, don't shun it. Serve them any way you can and be the first one to do it. More than anything, treat them with respect. It is a precious gift from God to be in the presence of His anointed ones so behave like you would if you were speaking to Jesus himself. It is so important to honor those that God places in your life to help guide you.
We've been in the book of Samuel for school and I'm being reminded of when Saul went to Samuel for advice about finding his donkeys. They were no where to be found and he needed to get back home. Samuel was a prophet and Saul knew he could help them. Before they went to see him they tried to find something in their sack to give to him but they were all out of food. Saul's servant had a shekel of silver to honor Samuel with if he could just tell them where the donkeys were. Little did Saul know, Israel had been asking for a king and the Lord had spoken it to Samuel that Saul was the one. Needless to say, he was pretty freaked out in the beginning but Samuel prophesied what Saul would see that day to confirm that he knew what he was talking about. Samuel told him where to go and what to do and said that he would see him in a week and then Samuel would make a burnt offering. Well, right after that, a really nasty guy named Nahash came with some threats to take out the eyes of all the Israelites. Saul got filled with fury and decided to take matters into his own hands and go and burn the offering himself. When Samuel found out, it confirmed to him that things weren't going to be good for Israel with the new self-sufficient king and all.
The picture that's being painted in the book of Samuel shows us how much we need the anointed in our midst and that we should also honor them with gifts or acts of service for their ministry. We must remember that the Lord has a purpose for us all and that His timing isn't always our timing as in the case with the burnt offering. Because Saul took matters into his own hands and didn't do what the prophet said, all of Israel would suffer. We too need to heed the words of the wise so that we don't get bound up in our own folly. Here are some prayers that we can pray to release this into a reality. I encourage you to read them out loud. God spoke you into existence and that same creativity dwells in your voice.
I declare that the man of God in this city is honorable, and all that he says comes to pass. he will show us the way to go. When I go to him for direction, I will bless him with valuable gifts.
I will go everywhere to borrow vessels to accommodate the endless flow of anointing that the man of God has spoken into my household. This anointing will bring prosperity to my children and me.
God forbid that I do anything out of line to the Lord's anointed. I will not stretch my hand out against him, seeing that he is anoint of the Lord.
God has anointed the man of God with the Holy Spirit and with power. He will go about doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, because God is with him.
I will rise before the gray headed and honor the presecense of an old man.
Wisdom brings her honor when he embraces her.
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor.
There is a woman at my church that carries this type of anointing. She is a very quiet, humble woman of God that always esteems others better than herself. There have been times in my walk where she was the only one I could go to because I felt that the pain was so heavy only she could help me to rise above it. When the anointing comes on her, pain melts away at the sound of her voice. She never asks for anything and she is about at meek as you can be. There is truly a silent grace that surrounds her all of the time. I was honored with the opportunity to be able to work along side her for a short time and cannot describe the value of what that time was worth to me.
How do we honor the prophet? Well, honor in this case means "value" so what do you do to show someone you value them? I love to sit and listen to their stories. Prophets always have stories that will increase your faith and they love to tell them. Another way is to accept the advice they give. These are wise people that have history with God and their advice is worth more than gold, don't shun it. Serve them any way you can and be the first one to do it. More than anything, treat them with respect. It is a precious gift from God to be in the presence of His anointed ones so behave like you would if you were speaking to Jesus himself. It is so important to honor those that God places in your life to help guide you.
We've been in the book of Samuel for school and I'm being reminded of when Saul went to Samuel for advice about finding his donkeys. They were no where to be found and he needed to get back home. Samuel was a prophet and Saul knew he could help them. Before they went to see him they tried to find something in their sack to give to him but they were all out of food. Saul's servant had a shekel of silver to honor Samuel with if he could just tell them where the donkeys were. Little did Saul know, Israel had been asking for a king and the Lord had spoken it to Samuel that Saul was the one. Needless to say, he was pretty freaked out in the beginning but Samuel prophesied what Saul would see that day to confirm that he knew what he was talking about. Samuel told him where to go and what to do and said that he would see him in a week and then Samuel would make a burnt offering. Well, right after that, a really nasty guy named Nahash came with some threats to take out the eyes of all the Israelites. Saul got filled with fury and decided to take matters into his own hands and go and burn the offering himself. When Samuel found out, it confirmed to him that things weren't going to be good for Israel with the new self-sufficient king and all.
The picture that's being painted in the book of Samuel shows us how much we need the anointed in our midst and that we should also honor them with gifts or acts of service for their ministry. We must remember that the Lord has a purpose for us all and that His timing isn't always our timing as in the case with the burnt offering. Because Saul took matters into his own hands and didn't do what the prophet said, all of Israel would suffer. We too need to heed the words of the wise so that we don't get bound up in our own folly. Here are some prayers that we can pray to release this into a reality. I encourage you to read them out loud. God spoke you into existence and that same creativity dwells in your voice.
I declare that the man of God in this city is honorable, and all that he says comes to pass. he will show us the way to go. When I go to him for direction, I will bless him with valuable gifts.
I will go everywhere to borrow vessels to accommodate the endless flow of anointing that the man of God has spoken into my household. This anointing will bring prosperity to my children and me.
God forbid that I do anything out of line to the Lord's anointed. I will not stretch my hand out against him, seeing that he is anoint of the Lord.
God has anointed the man of God with the Holy Spirit and with power. He will go about doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, because God is with him.
I will rise before the gray headed and honor the presecense of an old man.
Wisdom brings her honor when he embraces her.
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Exercising your faith for healing
When I first started going to church, I was two weeks clean. I'd been in a church with my Grandma after my Grandpa died but that was only out of courtesy. At the present time, the fact that I wanted to go back to a church and on my own accord really made a big difference in the way I approached it. Looking back, I realize that I really had no idea what I was getting into. I didn't know what kind of healing was available to me and had I known, I might not have made in the doors. I was really desperate for a better life, genuinely desperate for a change, I just didn't know what that was going to entail.
The events that led me up to those church doors were arranged by the hand of God, so I knew it was the right thing to do but that didn't take away the fear I felt going in. I can recall altar calls where I felt the words coming out of the Pastor's mouth going directly into my heart and causing all kinds of palpitations. There I would be, faced with the choice to respond or turn away. Those were the times I would run, run to the altar. It was like there was an imaginary time bomb in my pocket about to go off at any minute and if I didn't respond, I might go up in smoke. There was urgency marked on my heart. Urgency to run to God instead of turning away like I'd done all of the other times. Turning away was so much easier, it was easy to pretend that He didn't exist and that if I just sinned more maybe I could get rid of Him for good. Funny right? Get rid of God? Lucky for me, He didn't give up and now was my chance to show Him that I was grateful, that I was sorry, that I wanted to start over, for real this time and that I was willing to do what He asked of me in order to get myself right. I was healed of all sorts of false perceptions that I had about the world and myself. Tormenting spirits that were taking up space in my head were cast out and I was set right on a path that would begin the journey in search of the Kingdom of God.
The key to exercising faith is believing and obedience. God will ask you to do things that you would never think to do yourself. He's much more creative at getting us out of our comfort zones than we are and we have to believe that He has a purpose for it all. God doesn't want to embarrass us, we get to do that on our own. What He wants is for us to humble ourselves and approach Him in our brokenness to receive what He's already done for us. Nothing pleases Him more than to see His children come out of hiding to confess what He already knows about so that He can fix us and make us whole. He loves it when we run out of the darkness and into His arms, it is His great joy to save us from our enemies. I would like to encourage you to step out of the box and make something that seems impossible for you, incredible to God. Take a chance and see how the Lord will honor you. Remember, we live for an audience of One.
Declarations to release faith
I am responsible for my decisions and my chioces. I make a decision. I choose life. I choose blessings. I choose the Word of God. I choose wisdom.
I thank You, Lord, that I am responsible for making my own way prosperous and having good success.
My heart will never depart from You. I will always serve God.
You will restore me and make me live.
You have redeemed my life.
I will live because of Jesus Christ, who is the ressurection and the life.
You give life to the dead and call those things that are not as though they are.
You have brought my life up from the pit.
Preserve my life, for I am holy and You are my God. Save me because I trust in You.
The events that led me up to those church doors were arranged by the hand of God, so I knew it was the right thing to do but that didn't take away the fear I felt going in. I can recall altar calls where I felt the words coming out of the Pastor's mouth going directly into my heart and causing all kinds of palpitations. There I would be, faced with the choice to respond or turn away. Those were the times I would run, run to the altar. It was like there was an imaginary time bomb in my pocket about to go off at any minute and if I didn't respond, I might go up in smoke. There was urgency marked on my heart. Urgency to run to God instead of turning away like I'd done all of the other times. Turning away was so much easier, it was easy to pretend that He didn't exist and that if I just sinned more maybe I could get rid of Him for good. Funny right? Get rid of God? Lucky for me, He didn't give up and now was my chance to show Him that I was grateful, that I was sorry, that I wanted to start over, for real this time and that I was willing to do what He asked of me in order to get myself right. I was healed of all sorts of false perceptions that I had about the world and myself. Tormenting spirits that were taking up space in my head were cast out and I was set right on a path that would begin the journey in search of the Kingdom of God.
The key to exercising faith is believing and obedience. God will ask you to do things that you would never think to do yourself. He's much more creative at getting us out of our comfort zones than we are and we have to believe that He has a purpose for it all. God doesn't want to embarrass us, we get to do that on our own. What He wants is for us to humble ourselves and approach Him in our brokenness to receive what He's already done for us. Nothing pleases Him more than to see His children come out of hiding to confess what He already knows about so that He can fix us and make us whole. He loves it when we run out of the darkness and into His arms, it is His great joy to save us from our enemies. I would like to encourage you to step out of the box and make something that seems impossible for you, incredible to God. Take a chance and see how the Lord will honor you. Remember, we live for an audience of One.
Declarations to release faith
I am responsible for my decisions and my chioces. I make a decision. I choose life. I choose blessings. I choose the Word of God. I choose wisdom.
I thank You, Lord, that I am responsible for making my own way prosperous and having good success.
My heart will never depart from You. I will always serve God.
You will restore me and make me live.
You have redeemed my life.
I will live because of Jesus Christ, who is the ressurection and the life.
You give life to the dead and call those things that are not as though they are.
You have brought my life up from the pit.
Preserve my life, for I am holy and You are my God. Save me because I trust in You.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Testimony of healing
One of the true joys for me as a Christian is getting a test from the Lord and passing it with flying colors!! By the time I finished writing last night I felt pretty good about going hard after my healing. Well, when I woke up this morning it felt like there was a layer of heaviness all around me. The hashimotos disease causes muscle weakness, changes in body temperature and fatigue. Today it was the ever present plague that was really hard to shake. I knew I needed to press in hard today.
I started the day of with prayer for twenty minutes and yawned almost the entire time. It's hard to know what I was praying because I was praying in the spirit but I was assuming the Lord was delivering me of something because for twenty minutes solid....I yawned. The rest of the morning went ok except for the chill in my bones and the soreness. It was hard to reach, fold, comb, dress, and sit. Needless to say, I was hurting. I also knew I needed to find a probiotic that would actually work but figured I'd have to do some research to figure it out when I had time. That was becoming more and more of a priority as I felt my intestines might shrivel up any day now.
Tuesday and Thursday I have a prayer hour at my church. I felt so groggy, cold and sore all morning but I didn't want it to show so I put on my best face and headed to the church. I was so blessed to get to see a young girl I've been praying for flash a REAL smile at me, the first I'd seen from her. It lit up the room and warmed up my bones! After that, I recieved a gift from a woman who is very dear to my heart. She has next to nothing but decided to bless ME with a beautiful Christmas pin. The thing that really surprised me was when a saint from my church approached me with an eighty dollar bottle of probiotics and said the Lord told her to give them to me. One dose and I can feel the difference already!
All of the love that the people of God poured out on me really stirred my faith and as I entered into the sanctuary for my hour of prayer, I knew I could touch the hem of His garment if I pushed hard enough. I knew I could pass the test! I felt like that woman for the first half-hour, pushing through the crowd. I was so sore, even my face and my jaw started to feel like it was going to lock up from singing....from SINGING! My back started to cramp up and my throat hurt so bad I could hardly make any noise so I finally just curled up into a ball and cried. It was there in that puddle that the Lord met me and for a little while, I was pain free. When I felt better I sat up and began to decree healing over my entire body all the way from the top of my head to the tips of my feet. I used my imagination to apply the blood of Jesus through every layer of my skin down to the cells in my bones.
I am going to continue this venture of finding out exactly what this disease is why my blood insists on behaving manic-depressive. Jesus will get the victory over this thing once and for all and I'm sure it will all make much more sense to me in that day. Until then, thanks for reading and sharing in this adventure with me. God Bless.
Lisa
I started the day of with prayer for twenty minutes and yawned almost the entire time. It's hard to know what I was praying because I was praying in the spirit but I was assuming the Lord was delivering me of something because for twenty minutes solid....I yawned. The rest of the morning went ok except for the chill in my bones and the soreness. It was hard to reach, fold, comb, dress, and sit. Needless to say, I was hurting. I also knew I needed to find a probiotic that would actually work but figured I'd have to do some research to figure it out when I had time. That was becoming more and more of a priority as I felt my intestines might shrivel up any day now.
Tuesday and Thursday I have a prayer hour at my church. I felt so groggy, cold and sore all morning but I didn't want it to show so I put on my best face and headed to the church. I was so blessed to get to see a young girl I've been praying for flash a REAL smile at me, the first I'd seen from her. It lit up the room and warmed up my bones! After that, I recieved a gift from a woman who is very dear to my heart. She has next to nothing but decided to bless ME with a beautiful Christmas pin. The thing that really surprised me was when a saint from my church approached me with an eighty dollar bottle of probiotics and said the Lord told her to give them to me. One dose and I can feel the difference already!
All of the love that the people of God poured out on me really stirred my faith and as I entered into the sanctuary for my hour of prayer, I knew I could touch the hem of His garment if I pushed hard enough. I knew I could pass the test! I felt like that woman for the first half-hour, pushing through the crowd. I was so sore, even my face and my jaw started to feel like it was going to lock up from singing....from SINGING! My back started to cramp up and my throat hurt so bad I could hardly make any noise so I finally just curled up into a ball and cried. It was there in that puddle that the Lord met me and for a little while, I was pain free. When I felt better I sat up and began to decree healing over my entire body all the way from the top of my head to the tips of my feet. I used my imagination to apply the blood of Jesus through every layer of my skin down to the cells in my bones.
I am going to continue this venture of finding out exactly what this disease is why my blood insists on behaving manic-depressive. Jesus will get the victory over this thing once and for all and I'm sure it will all make much more sense to me in that day. Until then, thanks for reading and sharing in this adventure with me. God Bless.
Lisa
Monday, November 5, 2012
What is it worth to you?
What is your healing worth to you? Are you willing to put yourself in uncompromising positions to get it? There are instances in the bible where people did outlandish things in order to be touched by the Messiah. In one case, someones roof was removed in order to lower their friend into the house Jesus was visiting. That's pretty radical! The reason is obvious, Jesus had the anointing. In order for us to draw from the well of the anointed One, there must first be a hunger for it. He created a demand by setting people free and it caused that hunger to increase in the hearts of the people. Where there are miracles, signs and wonders there is an abundance of faith and people will be stirred to draw from that well. We must be willing to push for our healing and do whatever God asks us to do no matter how extreme it may seem.
Yesterday I talked a little bit about the laying on of hands and today I'm going to talk about deliverance. There is a big debate about whether or not a Christian can have a demon. I can tell you from personal experience that it is more than possible. When I got saved, my sin was washed away by the blood of Jesus but I still had wounded-ness in my soul that needed to be healed. Some of those wounds were occupied by demons that I had let in through the opening of doors to all types of sin. You've heard the phrase, "skeletons in the closet" well, this is sort of the case with demons. They look for dark places to hide in your soul and will manifest their presence in order to get something through unlawful means with or without your even knowing they are there. When we find ourselves pushing through same thing again and again, we may need deliverance.
I'll give you an example from my own experience to help you better understand. I've always had the ability to "see" things about other people's lives, friends, family and strangers included. I didn't think twice about it for a long time, I thought I was perfectly normal and assumed everyone was able to do the same? The best way I can describe it is like this; when ever I was around someone, my mind would create a sort of profile on them that would include many personal insights. This had been a function of my mind ever since I could remember so I really had no idea how to control it. What I did know was that there were many times that I felt dirty when the insights would come but I couldn't stop them from coming! They would come in words, pictures, or impressions and would include just about anyone. Sometimes I would "see" things about people that they might not want anyone to know! I would pretend like I never saw anything, good or bad, if I made friends because it was none of my business and did not want to ruin the shot at a friendship. I lived like this all of my life not really knowing what to make of it until I met Jesus. What it was, was a spirit of clairvoyance. You see, I was born with the gift of sight through the Spirit but because of my sin and involvement in occult activities from a young age, Satan had legal access to my gifting. He couldn't take it away from me so he perverted it the best he knew how allowing the pictures, words and impressions to come full throttle causing me to make unrealistic assumptions about people. My mind wouldn't stop gathering information about all who were around me until I found a church that I felt safe in. As I started to cultivate the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of clairvoyance began to loose it's grip and eventually lost it's power over me completely. The Lord Jesus Christ came and set me free!
We don't always know what we need deliverance from. It becomes a process that can take time but by consistently positioning our hearts toward Jesus, even when it feels like He's nowhere to be found, we can receive our deliverance. I've been through many of them myself but the one I spoke about above took three years to get. Freedom from that spirit has been amazing! I can go into the grocery store now and feel complete peace surrounding me knowing that I'm not going to get bombarded with images from everyone around me. Remember, there is a time and a season for everything and it's all for God's purpose and glory.
Prayers that increase hunger for the healing anointing
I declare that it is well with my family and me, no matter what it looks like to my natural eyes. I will go and seek out the man of God that he may stretch his anointing over the dead places in our health. He will breathe into us, and we will rise up to new life (2 Kings 4:8-37)
I humble myself before You, O God. I pray and seek Your face. I turn from my wicked ways. Then I know You will hear from heaven. You will forgive my sin and heal me (2Chron. 7-14)
I declare that this is my time to be healed.
You will restore health to me and heal me of all my wounds.
The power of the Lord is present to heal me
Healing by putting away anger, bitterness and unforgiveness
I will not sin against my own soul by provoking the King to anger
I will silence anger with a secret gift
I declare that anger's reign in my life will come to an end
Let all wrath and anger be put away from me
I will speak openly to You, O Lord, and release all of my bitterness to You
I will raise wise children who will cause me no grief or bitterness
I repent of my wickedness and pray to God that the thoughts of my heart be forgiven, for I am bound by bitterness and iniquity
I will go to my brother and ask that he forgive me so that when I go before God, He will take this death away from me
Forgive me of my sins and have compassion upon me
I will obey the voice of the father according to all He has commanded me.
I will obey Your voice and You will be my God. I will walk in all the ways that You have commanded me, and it will be well with me.
Yesterday I talked a little bit about the laying on of hands and today I'm going to talk about deliverance. There is a big debate about whether or not a Christian can have a demon. I can tell you from personal experience that it is more than possible. When I got saved, my sin was washed away by the blood of Jesus but I still had wounded-ness in my soul that needed to be healed. Some of those wounds were occupied by demons that I had let in through the opening of doors to all types of sin. You've heard the phrase, "skeletons in the closet" well, this is sort of the case with demons. They look for dark places to hide in your soul and will manifest their presence in order to get something through unlawful means with or without your even knowing they are there. When we find ourselves pushing through same thing again and again, we may need deliverance.
I'll give you an example from my own experience to help you better understand. I've always had the ability to "see" things about other people's lives, friends, family and strangers included. I didn't think twice about it for a long time, I thought I was perfectly normal and assumed everyone was able to do the same? The best way I can describe it is like this; when ever I was around someone, my mind would create a sort of profile on them that would include many personal insights. This had been a function of my mind ever since I could remember so I really had no idea how to control it. What I did know was that there were many times that I felt dirty when the insights would come but I couldn't stop them from coming! They would come in words, pictures, or impressions and would include just about anyone. Sometimes I would "see" things about people that they might not want anyone to know! I would pretend like I never saw anything, good or bad, if I made friends because it was none of my business and did not want to ruin the shot at a friendship. I lived like this all of my life not really knowing what to make of it until I met Jesus. What it was, was a spirit of clairvoyance. You see, I was born with the gift of sight through the Spirit but because of my sin and involvement in occult activities from a young age, Satan had legal access to my gifting. He couldn't take it away from me so he perverted it the best he knew how allowing the pictures, words and impressions to come full throttle causing me to make unrealistic assumptions about people. My mind wouldn't stop gathering information about all who were around me until I found a church that I felt safe in. As I started to cultivate the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of clairvoyance began to loose it's grip and eventually lost it's power over me completely. The Lord Jesus Christ came and set me free!
We don't always know what we need deliverance from. It becomes a process that can take time but by consistently positioning our hearts toward Jesus, even when it feels like He's nowhere to be found, we can receive our deliverance. I've been through many of them myself but the one I spoke about above took three years to get. Freedom from that spirit has been amazing! I can go into the grocery store now and feel complete peace surrounding me knowing that I'm not going to get bombarded with images from everyone around me. Remember, there is a time and a season for everything and it's all for God's purpose and glory.
Prayers that increase hunger for the healing anointing
I declare that it is well with my family and me, no matter what it looks like to my natural eyes. I will go and seek out the man of God that he may stretch his anointing over the dead places in our health. He will breathe into us, and we will rise up to new life (2 Kings 4:8-37)
I humble myself before You, O God. I pray and seek Your face. I turn from my wicked ways. Then I know You will hear from heaven. You will forgive my sin and heal me (2Chron. 7-14)
I declare that this is my time to be healed.
You will restore health to me and heal me of all my wounds.
The power of the Lord is present to heal me
Healing by putting away anger, bitterness and unforgiveness
I will not sin against my own soul by provoking the King to anger
I will silence anger with a secret gift
I declare that anger's reign in my life will come to an end
Let all wrath and anger be put away from me
I will speak openly to You, O Lord, and release all of my bitterness to You
I will raise wise children who will cause me no grief or bitterness
I repent of my wickedness and pray to God that the thoughts of my heart be forgiven, for I am bound by bitterness and iniquity
I will go to my brother and ask that he forgive me so that when I go before God, He will take this death away from me
Forgive me of my sins and have compassion upon me
I will obey the voice of the father according to all He has commanded me.
I will obey Your voice and You will be my God. I will walk in all the ways that You have commanded me, and it will be well with me.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Prayers that bring healing introduction
Hello everyone! I found this book at the Christian book store quite a while ago called Prayers that Bring Healing by John Eckhardt. I picked up the book the other day to flip through it when I felt the impression to teach it to someone. You see, I've recently entered into the ring with a disease I have been healed of once before and I so desperately want more understanding of what the healing anointing is all about that I've decided to teach it myself in order to understand it more because that's how I roll folks!
Quick testimony of my own healing; about two years ago I was diagnosed with a disease called Hashimotos. It's an autoimmune disease that causes all kinds of chaos in my body resulting in fatigue, muscle weakness, fevers, headaches, constipation, skin irritation and hair loss. I went to the doctor and enlisted in a plan to get rid of the disease by treating it from the inside out, rather than taking a prescription for the rest of my life. At that time, I also found out that I had food allergies of all sorts. Dairy products, and foods containing wheat and sugar were all contributing to the disease of Hashimotos due to my body no longer being able to process certain molecules in each of these foods. My immune system in effect would attack these things in the process of trying to eliminate them. I felt beat all the time, it. was. awful. So for a year I did what I could to try to de-stress a stressed immune system. It wasn't doing a lot of good though. I had a REALLY hard time sticking to the diet most of the time. I mean, lets face it, there is sugar or wheat or dairy in just about everything. It was extremely frustrating being sick all the time and having to push when my pusher wasn't working. By God's grace, I was healed almost one year after being diagnosed with the disease. It came as a complete surprise and I didn't really think I would ever have to go through these motions again until recently when the symptoms resurfaced so now, I'm in full swing to eradicate them once again. It is invading with much more force this time around so I have to be more aggressive as well. Jesus has the victory and it's mine for the taking.
Back to the book! Prayers that Bring Healing by John Eckhert starts out by telling us to EXPECT to be healed! Expecting to be healed can be a challenge when you have to fight through the day to day monotony of dealing with sickness. God can and does heal people instantly but when you have to deal with something for a long period of time it can become frustrating. The bible tells us a story about a woman who lived with a condition that caused her to bleed constantly for twelve years. Imagine the frustration she had to deal with day to day! Not to mention, back in those times women weren't even allowed in the camp when they were on their monthly you know what. They had to go outside of the camp and stay there until they checked out clean again. I can't help but imagine that there were a lot of females on the same cycle in those camps, hanging out commiserating for a week at a time. Can you imagine the hysteria that would cause? Extreme emotions all over the place! That's probably the main reason they had to leave the camp? Anyway, back to the woman. She never got a break, twelve years of constant bleeding. You can assume she was quite the outcast. There was probably a heavy stigma surrounding her all of the time and I doubt she had much of a social life. She probably wondered "why" a lot? Maybe asked the questions, "What did I do to deserve this?" "Has God forsaken me?" "Will my time for healing ever come?" These are questions we all ask from time to time but the bible tells us we can expect healing if we believe it is for us. The woman with the issue of blood got her healing. She heard Jesus was in town and pushed her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of His garment because she knew He was the anointed One. We can be sure she had to push through a lot more than just the crowd that day to get what it was she so desperately needed.
God's healing is for everyone, the message of healing is part of the kingdom. We can see this is true because everywhere Jesus went, He healed people! When people were healed, they believed! God is so smart that He created miracles, signs and wonders to follow those who believe in Him. So many times I hear things like, "I probably deserve this" or "I must have done something wrong" and maybe we do or maybe we did but the truth is this, the glory of God cannot coexist with sickness and disease. I believe God will allow certain things to afflict us for a season in as in the case of rebellion but God does not afflict us with sickness Himself. Our own sin will bring illness upon us but through the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ we can expect complete healing!
Jesus doesn't want us to suffer, He has so much compassion for us in our suffering that He went to the extent that He did to see that it would be covered. He sent the Holy Spirit to us to MAKE SURE that we would receive the fullness of salvation! If God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow doesn't that mean that the healing that is available to us today is the same as it was then through the Holy Spirit? Jesus didn't leave anybody hanging, He healed anybody who wanted it everywhere He went!. Matthew 4:23 says, "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people." It is our great honor that we have the means to heal God's people through the same Holy Spirit today as Jesus did back then and we should be moved by the same heart of compassion that He had.
How can we be healed? Well, there are many ways. I'm not sure why God planned it all that way? I suppose because He is super creative and awesome and maybe He wants to see how far we're willing to go to get it? The bible says that there are some sicknesses that can only be healed by prayer and fasting, other times we see things like Jesus making mud with His spit and applying it to a blind man's eye. Then there are instances where all you have to do is simply believe. The bible says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move a mountain. I consider some sicknesses to be mountains. The issue of Hashimotos was a mountain for me, I couldn't see beyond to the other side though until I climbed to the top. Apparently, this sickness is a mountain range for me but that's OK because I will become strong through the climbing (whatever that looks like) Amen! Anyway, laying on of hands is one way to impart healing from one person to another. I've spent some time laying my own hands on myself too! I can't tell you how many hours I've spent with my hands on my head praying for God to heal my brain. It works! I do that with other parts of my body that are hurting as well. Think about it this way, your hands are God's hands. We want to be careful never to say things like, "my stupid back" or "this headache is killing me", we should be saying things like "all pain must go in Jesus name" or "I am made whole through the blood of Jesus and I loose myself from all infirmity." We must believe and declare our healing for it to become a reality. Laying on of hands together with prayer and declarations are one way to attain healing.
This book is full of prayers that you can read out loud and I really do encourage you to read them outloud. Actually, I can't emphasize enough the importance of doing it out loud because it makes that much of a difference. It will change the atmosphere around you as well as edify your spirit man. Trust me, it works even though it may feel weird at first. So, here are a a few of the prayers to read. If you want to go on and read more, I encourage you to get into the book of Psalms and read some of those. Psalms 18, 23, and 91 are a few of my favorites but you may find your own as you get into it. Tomorrow I will go through Chapter one of the book and discuss another avenue to healing. Enjoy!
Healing Declarations
By the stripes of Jesus I am healed. He took my sickness; He carried my pain. I believe it is the will of God for me to be healed.
In the name of Jesus, I break every curse of infirmity, sickness and premature death off of my body.
In the name of Jesus, I speak to every sickness in my body and I command it to leave.
Every hidden sickness and every hidden disease, I command you to leave my body in the name of Jesus.
I release miracles of healing in my body in the name of Jesus.
Thank You, Lord, for healing me and delivering me from all sickness and all pain in Jesus name.
Casting out and renouncing the spirit of infirmity
Forgive me, Lord, for allowing any fear, guilt, self-rejection, self hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness, sin, pride, or rebellion to open the door to any sickness or infirmity. I renounce these things in the name of Jesus.
I break, rebuke and cast out any spirit of infirmity that came into my life through pride in the name of Jesus.
I cast out any spirit of infirmity that came into my life through witchcraft in the name of Jesus.
I am redeemed from all sickness and disease.
I loose myself from every infirmity.
Quick testimony of my own healing; about two years ago I was diagnosed with a disease called Hashimotos. It's an autoimmune disease that causes all kinds of chaos in my body resulting in fatigue, muscle weakness, fevers, headaches, constipation, skin irritation and hair loss. I went to the doctor and enlisted in a plan to get rid of the disease by treating it from the inside out, rather than taking a prescription for the rest of my life. At that time, I also found out that I had food allergies of all sorts. Dairy products, and foods containing wheat and sugar were all contributing to the disease of Hashimotos due to my body no longer being able to process certain molecules in each of these foods. My immune system in effect would attack these things in the process of trying to eliminate them. I felt beat all the time, it. was. awful. So for a year I did what I could to try to de-stress a stressed immune system. It wasn't doing a lot of good though. I had a REALLY hard time sticking to the diet most of the time. I mean, lets face it, there is sugar or wheat or dairy in just about everything. It was extremely frustrating being sick all the time and having to push when my pusher wasn't working. By God's grace, I was healed almost one year after being diagnosed with the disease. It came as a complete surprise and I didn't really think I would ever have to go through these motions again until recently when the symptoms resurfaced so now, I'm in full swing to eradicate them once again. It is invading with much more force this time around so I have to be more aggressive as well. Jesus has the victory and it's mine for the taking.
Back to the book! Prayers that Bring Healing by John Eckhert starts out by telling us to EXPECT to be healed! Expecting to be healed can be a challenge when you have to fight through the day to day monotony of dealing with sickness. God can and does heal people instantly but when you have to deal with something for a long period of time it can become frustrating. The bible tells us a story about a woman who lived with a condition that caused her to bleed constantly for twelve years. Imagine the frustration she had to deal with day to day! Not to mention, back in those times women weren't even allowed in the camp when they were on their monthly you know what. They had to go outside of the camp and stay there until they checked out clean again. I can't help but imagine that there were a lot of females on the same cycle in those camps, hanging out commiserating for a week at a time. Can you imagine the hysteria that would cause? Extreme emotions all over the place! That's probably the main reason they had to leave the camp? Anyway, back to the woman. She never got a break, twelve years of constant bleeding. You can assume she was quite the outcast. There was probably a heavy stigma surrounding her all of the time and I doubt she had much of a social life. She probably wondered "why" a lot? Maybe asked the questions, "What did I do to deserve this?" "Has God forsaken me?" "Will my time for healing ever come?" These are questions we all ask from time to time but the bible tells us we can expect healing if we believe it is for us. The woman with the issue of blood got her healing. She heard Jesus was in town and pushed her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of His garment because she knew He was the anointed One. We can be sure she had to push through a lot more than just the crowd that day to get what it was she so desperately needed.
God's healing is for everyone, the message of healing is part of the kingdom. We can see this is true because everywhere Jesus went, He healed people! When people were healed, they believed! God is so smart that He created miracles, signs and wonders to follow those who believe in Him. So many times I hear things like, "I probably deserve this" or "I must have done something wrong" and maybe we do or maybe we did but the truth is this, the glory of God cannot coexist with sickness and disease. I believe God will allow certain things to afflict us for a season in as in the case of rebellion but God does not afflict us with sickness Himself. Our own sin will bring illness upon us but through the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ we can expect complete healing!
Jesus doesn't want us to suffer, He has so much compassion for us in our suffering that He went to the extent that He did to see that it would be covered. He sent the Holy Spirit to us to MAKE SURE that we would receive the fullness of salvation! If God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow doesn't that mean that the healing that is available to us today is the same as it was then through the Holy Spirit? Jesus didn't leave anybody hanging, He healed anybody who wanted it everywhere He went!. Matthew 4:23 says, "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people." It is our great honor that we have the means to heal God's people through the same Holy Spirit today as Jesus did back then and we should be moved by the same heart of compassion that He had.
How can we be healed? Well, there are many ways. I'm not sure why God planned it all that way? I suppose because He is super creative and awesome and maybe He wants to see how far we're willing to go to get it? The bible says that there are some sicknesses that can only be healed by prayer and fasting, other times we see things like Jesus making mud with His spit and applying it to a blind man's eye. Then there are instances where all you have to do is simply believe. The bible says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move a mountain. I consider some sicknesses to be mountains. The issue of Hashimotos was a mountain for me, I couldn't see beyond to the other side though until I climbed to the top. Apparently, this sickness is a mountain range for me but that's OK because I will become strong through the climbing (whatever that looks like) Amen! Anyway, laying on of hands is one way to impart healing from one person to another. I've spent some time laying my own hands on myself too! I can't tell you how many hours I've spent with my hands on my head praying for God to heal my brain. It works! I do that with other parts of my body that are hurting as well. Think about it this way, your hands are God's hands. We want to be careful never to say things like, "my stupid back" or "this headache is killing me", we should be saying things like "all pain must go in Jesus name" or "I am made whole through the blood of Jesus and I loose myself from all infirmity." We must believe and declare our healing for it to become a reality. Laying on of hands together with prayer and declarations are one way to attain healing.
This book is full of prayers that you can read out loud and I really do encourage you to read them outloud. Actually, I can't emphasize enough the importance of doing it out loud because it makes that much of a difference. It will change the atmosphere around you as well as edify your spirit man. Trust me, it works even though it may feel weird at first. So, here are a a few of the prayers to read. If you want to go on and read more, I encourage you to get into the book of Psalms and read some of those. Psalms 18, 23, and 91 are a few of my favorites but you may find your own as you get into it. Tomorrow I will go through Chapter one of the book and discuss another avenue to healing. Enjoy!
Healing Declarations
By the stripes of Jesus I am healed. He took my sickness; He carried my pain. I believe it is the will of God for me to be healed.
In the name of Jesus, I break every curse of infirmity, sickness and premature death off of my body.
In the name of Jesus, I speak to every sickness in my body and I command it to leave.
Every hidden sickness and every hidden disease, I command you to leave my body in the name of Jesus.
I release miracles of healing in my body in the name of Jesus.
Thank You, Lord, for healing me and delivering me from all sickness and all pain in Jesus name.
Casting out and renouncing the spirit of infirmity
Forgive me, Lord, for allowing any fear, guilt, self-rejection, self hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness, sin, pride, or rebellion to open the door to any sickness or infirmity. I renounce these things in the name of Jesus.
I break, rebuke and cast out any spirit of infirmity that came into my life through pride in the name of Jesus.
I cast out any spirit of infirmity that came into my life through witchcraft in the name of Jesus.
I am redeemed from all sickness and disease.
I loose myself from every infirmity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)