01/14/2009
40 Days.
On 01/11/2009 we started a period of 40 days of fasting, praying, talking, studying, meditating, in general just plain more intense communication with God wit the emphasis on drawing closer to Him and not pouncing upon Him a myriad of prayer requests and problems. At that same time we signed up to pray for an hour each day between 6 and 7 PM.
Before we entered into this I had some anticipation just what it would entail and what it would all mean in my life. Just shortly before this time Ana and I had been going through some growing pains as she discerned some things hanging around my present being that were a carry over from the past. Things that influenced my past and were not fitting for the new me that will need purifying to be a fitting vessel for what God wants to do with our lives together.
Sunday night Pastor prayed for us all as a group and some of us individually. During that time we identified those strong holds that Satan had on our lives that was pulling us down in our growth upward. These things keep us from reaching the new heights in spirituality that God has in store for us. Pastor Gala saw this as a hand grasping on our heels pulling backward as we tried to fly upwards.
I identified the Spirit of infirmity which has kept me in bondage never letting me reach my full potential, along with fear, lust, anger, alcoholism and others. I was set free when Pastor prayed for me and for the group. I accepted that freedom and now am living my life with that resolve at the front of my mind.
I fell asleep soundly that night and did not awaken until 4:30 the next morning. What a feeling of peace. But I am still being bombarded with health things as I can feel Satan trying to get his grasp reinserted in my life. This I reject and cast out of me daily, constantly. The power of God within me is far greater than the power of the evil one who rules this world.
I will overcome. I am overcoming. I have overcome. The full effect may take a while but I have freedom of all these things in my life.
It is strange that the next day, when thinking about the myriad of health problems pounding my past life, I realized that the first bad thing I can remember happening to me was when I was I Florida just about to be sent home because of the “Tongues Thing”. A day before leaving I broke out in hives that itched a lot. They went away and fullness began in my throat. This turned out to be Reflux which tormented me for 30 years and has still been an issue.
There was one issue after another that came relentlessly ever since. Three times I should have died but God stayed my being. A ruptured Cerebral Aneurism, a botched Reflux Surgery, and most recently a Seizure while traveling to Kansas. Out of each of these I came unscathed.
I feel that the power of God to keep me alive for the work that is before me was stronger than the spirit of Satan as he tried to take me out. He had kept me unproductive for nearly 40 years.
So this time of intense drawing nearer to God has come at a very crucial time for me. It is just before heading out to Orizaba for the second time to help out with the pastor’s conference there in May-April. This is also a time when we have been making preparations to go full time for a year in Mexico.
This preparation will leave me purged of past wrongs and habits, filled with the newness of God. Cleansed and swept out ready to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into my vessel.
This is a time of preparation for the future events about to take place in Ana and my lives. Together we are heading into the battle field of the 3rd world countries as a tightly woven three stranded cord. Honed and prepared for intense hand to hand combat with Satan and his evil cohorts.
I am truly enjoying this new endeavor of drawing closer to the King of Kings. I had already begun to get up at 4:30 so I could study and read on a consistent basis. I also listen to sermons and teachings on the way to and from work, sometimes praying the whole way. I have begun to write for about an hour a day to hone my new skills there. I have begun to study the “Spiritual harvest” materials at noon time along with some praying and meditating. We pray together for an hour between 6 and 7. We pray before meals, when we get up, when we go to bed, over our poster, for our kids and at other times as needed.
It is an incredible feeling to be so close to the Father is my daily life. I am never far away from thoughts of Him or of our missionary calling. Thoughts of what is in store for us and what will take place and all.
I can only imagine what will take place in the church as 100 remnant core people do the same. What outpouring of the Spirit will overtake the church? What blessings will descend from upon high? What might things will take place as a newness envelops the whole church. People will be drawn to the intense light shinning from the abundance of water flowing outward. The drought will be broken and seeds will flourish in vast fields of harvest and bread.
I am glad that me and my wife are a part of the ever growing greatness of Word of Life. Our involvement grows and strengthens each day. For the Glory of God and the winning of souls.