He knows who He is

When I pray, not only do I feel as though I learn about God's character but I also get to know who I really am. In Exodus 3 & 4 Moses encounters God and gets just a glimpse into how majestic and beautiful the Lord is. Moses also realizes that he is not worthy of this calling that God wants him to live out. Moses was filled with fear and doubt but God gives him a miraculous sign. God turns the rod into the snake and then back into rod and that is an awesome experience within itself but the part that floored me was when God tells Moses to reach into his cloak. He reaches in, pulls it back out and it is leprous. God tells him to put his hand back in his cloak, then to pull it back out and it is restored.

That moment when Moses looked down at his leprous hand is a powerful illustration of how Moses felt about himself. He already knew of his own inadequacies and it is as though at that moment he realizes God finds out that he is inadequate. But we know God knows us, even though sometimes we don't like to get real with Him. Then, when he reaches back into the cloak and this hand is restored it is as if God is telling Moses that His grace is enough, which we later see with Paul's thorn in the flesh.

God calls us. He called Moses. God knows who we really are. He knew Moses, even when Moses wasn't so sure. But what we have to realize is that God knows God. He knows who He is.

Just let your faith in Jesus Christ lead you to answer the call God places before you. Don't let doubt get in the way. Over the next two weeks, my prayer is that He continues to change us and that we can align our lives with the lives He is calling us to live.

God is the Solution

What a beautiful morning! Whenever I wake early to pray, those seem like some of the best times I have in communication with God. The spirit of expectancy that came over me this morning when I was praying about these next 21 days is indescribable. Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. Rather, He told His disciples, "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." It is so awesome that God answers prayer in the best way EVERYTIME and when we are praying in according to His will, we get to see it answered in the same light that He sees it. When I am on my knees in prayer, those are the times where God shows me who He is.

I am very excited about the fasting part of this 21 days of prayer. When I fast, I love being able to carve out that extra time with God during that time in which I would usually be doing the other practice. Fasting really stretches me; it helps me grow closer to Him and increases how dependent I am on Him.

I was reading Rodney's blog from last night before I posted this morning and it reminded me of something Filipe and I were talking about. In the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, when the Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation was so dependent on God that prayer was the only answer when someone would ask how they are doing what they are doing, God seemed to have an overflow of blessings for them. I pray that whenever someone hears or asks about how God is advancing His Kingdom at Northwood Assembly, we can give Him the glory and say, "It's because we pray to Our Father."

John 3:8 says, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit, just like wind, is difficult to understand. But proof of the work of the Spirit is evident and undeniable when He begins to move. Let Him move in your life.