27 Minutes to midnight extract...
I extracted this from Elisha Goodman's Firesprings website. Enjoy. Click on the link at the end for more.
Time for a reality check...
In case you are wondering…
In the midst of so many wonderful testimonies, why did others fail so
spectacularly – in spite of having done everything they were told to do?
There's an answer to that question.
And we'll go into the Scripture to find out.
But before we go one step further, we need to pause for prayers. Please
close your eyes and take these three prayers with fire in your voice:
-
I speak destruction unto the roots and fruits of the anti-Christ in my life in the name of Jesus.
-
I clear my goods from the warehouse of the strongman in the name of Jesus Christ.
-
Holy Spirit, activate my spirit, soul and body for revival in Jesus' name.
Praise the LORD. Now we’re ready to begin…
We will start today by addressing the question
on the minds of many today:
Why are my prayers not getting answered? In
spite of the fact that I've done all I can to fast and pray?
We'll take that question now. Then we'll take a prophetic look in to 2013.
All in all, we'll address 3 recurring questions that our readers have sent
in.
Question #1:
Why are my prayers not getting
answered? In spite of the fact that I've done all I can to fast and pray?
Answer:
Let's
take a little Case Study from the Bible.
In Luke 2 v 25 – 32 we read:
Now there was a man
in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for
the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen
the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When
the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the
Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my
eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all
people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people
Israel.”
- Luke 2 v 25 – 32
- Luke 2 v 25 – 32
What has this got to do with answers to prayer, you ask.
Let’s look at this more
carefully.
#1: This man Simeon received a definite promise from the LORD. This came
through a very specific revelation. His entire destiny was tied to the
fulfilment of this promise.
#2: Now watch what he did. The
passage says he “waited” for its fulfillment. For a believer who is
expecting something from the LORD, the period of waiting is a special time.
It is a time of prayer. It is a time of fasting. A time of preparation.
Because there is a time and season attached to each and every one of God’s
promises.
Waiting is a time of great spiritual alertness – not a time to sit around
passively and do nothing!
#3: Here comes the most critical part: during this period of “waiting” the
Holy Spirit will move you from time to time to take certain actions – both
spiritual and physical. You have to be sensitive enough in the spirit to
recognize when HE is moving you … and when HE is not.
Herein lies the secret of spiritual success and failure. Ultimately your
time of waiting is meant to prepare you for this. If your prayer and fasting
have not yet sharpened your discernment to the point of recognizing the
Voice of the Spirit, you may be headed for a catastrophic failure.
You have NOT prayed to the level of
breakthroughs
if you have not "heard" the voice of the Holy Spirit
if you have not "heard" the voice of the Holy Spirit
He could be telling you to wait. He could be
telling you to take certain ACTION. Promptly. But if you cannot hear what HE is
saying...
It is almost certain that sooner or later, you will be manipulated by the
spirit of error … speaking through well-meaning individuals and even loved
ones.
If you allow this to happen, it will be difficult to make the right
decisions concerning the issues of life. Such a person will not know her
left from her right, spiritually speaking.
This is the reason many have failed in the past. In spite of prayer and
fasting, they have remained blind, deaf and dumb in the spirit. They remain
second-hand Christians, forever in need of someone else to tell them what
the Holy Spirit is saying.
In this 21st century world we’re living now, that’s a dangerous
place to be. Yes, many prayed and fasted, but they still missed their time
of divine visitation. All because they were not listening to the Spirit when
it mattered most.
There is Good News. As you read on, you will see that there is a way to get
out of this trap in 2013. Let me just point out that there is no problem
that you will face in this coming year that the Holy Spirit does not
already have a specific solution for.
The
one lingering challenge is to know how to obtain His divine prescription for
your life. This is not as hard as it sounds. I am persuaded that any
believer who is willing to remain humble and teachable can learn this.
So if you find that many divine promises have failed to manifest in your
life, you really need to look at this man Simeon here…
- He received a powerful revelation about his divine destiny from none other than the Holy Spirit.- Then he went into a protracted period of “waiting,” i.e. a time of prayer, fasting, holy living, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and Bible study. (Yes, he knew the Scriptures; he was quoting from Isaiah 42 while holding the Baby Jesus in his arms).- When the time was ripe, the man was MOVED and positioned by the Spirit to receive his divine promises.- So it was no coincidence that he was able to see, touch and feel the blessing that he had waited expectantly for, all those years.
Please imagine this…
What would have happened if Simeon had failed to show up at the exact time
that the Child Jesus was brought into the temple?
Do you think the promise would have been fulfilled if he wasn’t hearing and
following the voice of the Spirit of God?
