Tags
deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, fellowship, Fellowship with God, following Jesus, God's voice, knowing God, prayer, Satan, Seeking God, sheep, T.A. Sparks, wilderness
Spiritual wildernesses do exist. Dry spells where you are tempted to believe you pray to a wall as nobody seems to hear your requests, they are real to the one who gets closer and closer to God. As illogical as it might seem, people who do not really seek more from God have less problems with prayer as they do not really expect God to answer them, either, when they keep clinging to pre-formulated prayers and hymns. However, can our relationship with our Creator ever be business as usual…? 🙄 In fact, if we truly want to feed on the living God, we must quit our comfort zone and cherished traditions because seeking God is always an adventure! An adventure that can be both exhausting and rewarding, unnerving and intriguing. Or as T. Austin Sparks put it so well,
“We do feed upon Christ in prayer. To put that in another way, there is an imparting of Himself to His Own in prayer. We may go to prayer in weariness, and rise in freshness; we may go to prayer exhausted, and rise renewed. Is it that we have simply uttered some form of prayer, prayed some prayer? We know quite well if that is so we do not get up very much invigorated. Formal praying does not bring very much Life. Going through a form of prayers sometimes only ministers death. But really seeking the Lord, reaching out, taking hold of the Lord, giving ourselves up to the Lord in prayer, never fails to have renewing, uplifting, strengthening results. You say prayer may wear you out? Yes, but there is a wonderful strength that comes by wearing out prayer. There is vitality given to the spiritual life even in prayer that tires us physically, and we go in the strength of it. Yes, prayer is a way in which Christ is ministered to us by the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a way in which we feed upon Christ; He becomes our Life….” (1)
We never know what we get when we withdraw from people, from circumstances and from everything that might affect our five senses. As much as our carnal nature wants to “control” God and His dealings with us, we cannot put the Holy Spirit in a self-made box and tell Him we want to be blessed with some good feelings (at least) as we sacrifice a (small) part of our time to Him in order to pray to the One who rewards us in secret (cf. Mt 6:6). The same applies to our gathering together for fellowship. Either it is spiritual fellowship where the Lord is our Head who leads our conversation, or it is a man-made meeting where the Holy Spirit is absent. As long as there is at least one believer who keeps seeking to get hold of God’s shirt sleeve, so to say, the Holy Spirit will not withdraw completely. Nonetheless, sooner or later, God demands obedience toward His voice. We cannot expect to be led by God and to submit to man’s thoughts about God’s plans and ideas at the same time. Either we are sheep who know and love Jesus’ voice as we follow Him or we won’t be able to discern His words from human words in these man-made institutions, aka churches, at all. Once again, TAS confirms,
“The life of the believer is inward and everything to do with the life of the believer is inward, and in so far as the believer’s life is outward and dependent upon outward things, to that measure it will be weak; in so far as the believer’s life is dependent upon gatherings and to be ministered to by others and knowing the Lord only in this kind of outward manner, instead of that deep inward knowing Him, alone in secret with the word and prayer, the expression of life will be weak and not constituting spiritual strength to the assembly, but rather bringing in a weakness (a dead weight and even ground for the enemy to work on and from).
“All is now inward and we do recognise that “all” is the Lord Jesus Himself.” (2)
As we long to have fellowship with God and with one another also, we must be cautious to not ignore the enemy’s ways of distracting, confusing, and blinding us by deception. Satan does not want us to seek God and to hear from Him, either. Instead, the devil is jealous to make us believe his lies to make us completely ineffective for God. He pushes our pride, puffs up our ego, and offers us worldly desires of any kind. He even causes us Christians to run around busily by helping others, which is not a wrong thing in itself. However, if our mind, heart and thoughts are occupied with trying to do the will of God without knowing it at any given moment, God’s small and subtle voice inside us will be drowned out over time. A busy life full of religious and other activities outside of us quenches all spiritual life inside us, even if we keep doing good things. Isn’t that a saddening prospect? ☹
I am sure none of us wants to get there. So, we could keep in mind TAS’ words as he points out the difficulties we are confronted with as we try to have fellowship with one another. The most frequent danger that is highly underestimated since it sneaks in unobtrusively is each and any distraction. Maybe, you experienced it yourself what TAS describes here. He says,
“I believe the enemy will get believers, when they are together, to talk about anything under the sun rather than about the Lord. It is easy when you meet together with the Lord’s people to be carried off with all kinds of matters of interest, and not to begin to talk about the Lord; but if you do there is always an enrichment, always a strengthening, always a building up; it is the Divine way. Fellowship is a means of imparting Christ to the believer. And wherever spiritual fellowship is possible, you and I ought to seek it, look after it, and cherish it. There are all too many of the Lord’s children today, who have no chance of spiritual fellowship, and who would give anything to have it. The Lord would have us at least two together. That is His order, and there is something in ministering Christ to one another. There will be something lost unless that is so. These are ways in which we feed upon the Lord.” (3)
What are your experiences with prayer and/or fellowship? Have you met similar difficulties as you wanted to draw closer to God?
(1) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/openwindows/003403.html
(2) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/004567.html
(3) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/openwindows/003403.html
“In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks’ wishes that what was freely received should be freely given and not sold for profit, and that his messages be reproduced word for word, we ask if you choose to share these messages with others, to please respect his wishes and offer them freely – free of any changes, free of any charge (except necessary distribution costs) and with this statment included.”
Michael said:
Well, Susanne, you have pretty well described my experiences with the Lord and with seeking fellowship with His saints. I would much rather feel His presence and feel His love flowing between me and Him and His saints in a powerful way than find myself in these times where I totally feel unplugged from anything spiritual. Yet, I know that when God calls us apart unto Himself in a deeper way, He removes all the props that our souls would rely on to “feel good.” As I read your article I was reminded of all the times that David in the Psalms cried out to God because he was feeling surrounded by his enemies and cut off from the Father. When we read the prophets in the Old Testaments we see that they struggle with this same thing. Some were even cast into prison. The people of faith spoken of in Hebrews 11 were not having a nice warm and fuzzy “Christian experience” either.
As Sparks said in your article, God allows these times to purify us and make is seek Him out in prayer. Normally, I would have spent the day fishing on a local lake, but this isolation I have been going through made me spend more time alone in prayer. I think that this is exactly what Isaiah was speaking of when he wrote,
“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? LET HIM WHO WALKS IN DARKNESS AND HAS NO LIGHT TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD AND RELY ON HIS GOD.” (Isa 50:10, ESV2011)
Then there is this excerpt from David’s life,
And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. BUT DAVID STRENGTHENED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD.” (1Sam 30:3-6, ESV2011)
Thanks for the insights you have shared with us in this article, dear sister.
“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…’” (Luke 11:1, ESV2011).
Yes, Lord, teach me to pray as only you can. Amen.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Amen to your prayer, Michael. You are very welcome as to the insights shared on here.
This was another comment by you that WordPress would move to the trash folder without asking me before. No clue why this happens so often. 🙄
Your examples taken from the OT have been very encouraging for me as they show that the people of God has always been trained that way by Him (I mentioned a similar thing in my reply to Fred below). It is like ‘weaning from spiritual breast-feeding’ as John of the Cross once put it so properly (I was paraphrasing him here). You wrote,
“BUT DAVID STRENGTHENED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD.” (1Sam 30:3-6, ESV2011)”
Michael, this is a very good reminder to not seek our strength in our circumstances that are rarely (never?) the way we want them to be. He must become our strength in all things!
This verse from Isaiah about walking in darkness without light fits in here very well, too. I wonder what Jesus meant as He said later,
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12 ESV)?
From context I would say that this statement followed immediately after Jesus forgave this woman who had committed adultery. Not without the admonition to not do it again. “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (Jn 8:11 ESV)
We can only sin intentionally if we do not walk in the light as He is in the light. Following Him makes it more difficult to remain in severe sinful conditions, if not impossible due to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. In the light everything gets clearer and clearer over time. We see the traps we once ignored unintentionally so that we won’t stumble over these things again.
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Michael said:
Susanne,
I am seeing in this discussion with you that verse in Isaiah along with what Jesus said in John 8 fits together. I thank the Lord for sharing these words above with me. Let me put your last paragraph in this comment in my own words…
“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his Servant? LET HIM WHO WALKS IN DARKNESS AND HAS NO LIGHT TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD AND RELY ON HIS GOD.” In reality we who seek to obey His voice, find that this walk often leaves us in the dark as we try to rely on our own understanding, but we are instructed to, “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART and LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. In all your ways acknowledge Him and HE will make your paths straight.” Jesus assures us that “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Growing from leaning on our own understanding of spiritual things or why trials come our way, into a life that follows His leading no matter what… whether it seems right or not… THIS is where and when we “have the light of life.”
Everything that Daddy does with His children is done to bring them from the darkness of this world into HIS Light. More and more, due to this process, we are learning to trust in Him alone until we finally see that ALL things we are going through DO work together for our eternal good and are there to conform us into the image of His obedient Son. They are all there in our lives to build up our faith into perfect obedience. We go from doubting to faith, walking in darkness to walking in His Light, and from sin to perfect obedience by the working of His grace in us.
Thank you, Jesus, that we are being saved by Your light and life. Amen.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Wow!!! I am impressed, Michael! 👍🏻That has been a great instruction for me! 😊 The way you explained the process of spiritual development by even including another one of my favorite verses (i.e. Proverbs 3:5-6). Could not be said better, my brother!!! 🏆🏆🏆
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Michael said:
Thanks so much for encouragement, Susanne. This came from one of those moments where I first prayed an He replied. 🤗
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
You are so welcome, my brother. Verrrry good, Michael!!! 🎉🎈🎊😉
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Pingback: How to water dry land spiritually « A Wilderness Voice
Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Thanks a bunch for the reblog on AWV, Michael. 🙂
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Michael said:
You are more than welcome, Susanne. Your article is very appropriate for the time we are in. “We do feed upon Christ in prayer.”
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Thanks again, my brother.
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Kenneth E Dawson said:
YEA SUE ITS LIKE I ASKED AN ELDER IN THE CHURCH I WAS ATTENDING AT THE TIME—-WHO IS THAT SITTING NEXT TO YOU ? HE SAID…THATS MY WIFE! THEN I SAID….WELL IS SHE A PERSON OR A BOOK OR MABEY A MANICAN? HE WAS VERY SURPRISED AT THAT THOUGHT.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Interesting, Ken. I need to admit that I did not fully understood what you were referring to here. I guess you compared the elder’s wife with our image of God?
The fact that this man was surprised at that thought could have been a hint that God spoke to him through you back then.
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Anna Waldherr said:
Inspiring, Susanne. ❤
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Thank you so much, Anna! ❤
🙂
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Fred said:
Interesting. At the moment I feel very far from GOD. I don’t pray nearly as much as I used to. I go to pray and get distracted or I just pray for mercy. My prays if I get them in are short, not long like they used to. I want to get back to GOD but am struggling to get to the point I was in the past. I guess it is because I am very disobedient, I struggle with that like Paul did in Roman’s chapter 7.
Also speaking of fellowship, I did find a group that I like and felt was good. They did close down the facebook group but keep the Wednesday fellowship going. In reading what you said I know at times this fellowship talks about the flat earth a lot. I do not even believe the flat earth but it has been a major distraction for me. It seems like one member may have unintentionally made the flat earth an idol. I don’t even think he knows it.
Anyway, I am discouraged but the title of your message did help in that.
Oh, and I stopped going to church. There is a member there that I know is also a member of a cult and that has me greatly concerned to go there.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
I am sorry to hear you are discouraged, Fred. 😦
What I think is one of our main problems is the fact that we want to FEEL God’s presence while praying, esp. as we did in past times. However, it seems God wants to take us beyond our feelings and past experiences and train us in walking by faith, even in darker times. Our old nature and our soul hate that. I was just reminded of the following, pretty serious part, I think, of Jesus’ words concerning our spiritual path.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:57-62 ESV)
Especially verse 62 nails it. I am often reminded of this verse when I am tempted to look back and to start out to feel sad about (seemingly) having lost God’s presence. Actually, I know He is still around, but I want to FEEL it, too. Nevertheless, for Him, nothing has changed. God simply wants us to walk on by without trusting in our soulish emotional life anymore since as soon as we rely and depend on our (good) feelings alone, Satan can get us immediately. I presume that that is another big danger.
The length of our prayers is not so important, I believe. It is more about trying to seek Him. He knows we are weak and that we give up – AT ONCE – when He does not show up in our timing. And He rarely does, doesn’t he? It is a struggle, indeed, until He has us at the point of utter helplessness where we cry out to Him to finally do with us as HE wishes. I am not yet there at all!
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Fred said:
Yes Major struggle. I some times think of the old testement when the isrealites
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Did you think of these Scriptures about the meat pots of Egypt, Fred?
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 2 Mo 16:2-4 ESV)
I just saw that God spoke to them about the future as He promised to rain bread from heaven. They could not have both, either meat, earthly bread and slavery (in bondage) or heavenly bread (manna) aka Jesus Christ, the Bread from Heaven. As hard as it is, we must go on…… until this happens by God’s grace.
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Fred said:
I think of this one
“King James Version Numbers 13:32
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.”
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Oh boy, that speaks of our weaknesses and fears at the sight of the enemy! 😦 If we have lost sight of HIM, the devil seems to be sooo gigantic!! I do not whether the following verse is always comforting when our faith is wavering, yet Jesus confirmed, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Mt 28:18 ESV)
PS
I just posted a short comment on your latest blogand it disappeared into nirvana…? See http://seekingbibletruth.com/2018/10/07/a-few-things-that-i-believe/#comment-856 scratching my head…. 🙄
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Fred said:
I approved it. 🙂
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Thank you! 🙂
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Adriana Patricia said:
Hermoso artículo y es lo que he estado escuchando de parte de Dios en este tiempo, acabo de terminar de escribir otro libro y tiene mucho que ver con este tema, es un gozo ver como el Señor nos habla por Su Espíritu en una unidad perfecta que viene solo de Él. Gracias Michael y Susanne por bendecir mi vida a través de sus escritos XOXOXOXOXOXO
Adriana Patricia said,
“Beautiful article and it’s what I’ve heared from God in this time. I just finished writing another book and it has a lot to do with this topic. It’s a joy to see how the Lord speaks to us by His Spirit in a perfect unity that comes only from Him. Thanks Michael and Susanne for blessing my life through your writings.”
XOXOXOXOXOXO
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
De nada, querida Patricia! ❤ Me alegra oír que te sientes bendecido por lo que escribimos. 🙂
Mucho amor para ti y un abrazo gigante,
Susanne XOXOXOXOXOXO
I said,
“You are welcome, dear Patricia! ❤ I am glad to hear you feel blessed by what we wrote. 🙂
Much love to you and a giant hug,
Susanne”
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