Healing begins with a broken heart. One who has never been broken often fails to recognize pain, need, hunger, loneliness, and poverty. One who chooses to stay broken clings to the security of neediness and ignores the pain, need, hunger, loneliness, and poverty of others for his own. But for the one who has been broken and healed, broken and has forgiven, broken and been forgiven – that one loves much.
The more a heart bleeds, the more potential it has for love to flow out, or, the more potential it has to sew itself shut and dwell in egotistical narcissism as long as possible. The one who has been forgiven much, loves much. The one who has been broken much either considers only itself and its every selfish need in bitterness and fear, or, considers the brokenness in others most of all.
There are so many things that God has shown me over the last 19 days. There are so many things He has done in me and through me during this time. It would take a book to explain it all. Maybe one day I will take that journey. Or, if you ask me, I would love to tell you all about it. For today, I have just a few truths to share.
I am so extremely, amazingly, beautifully humbled and thankful for the glimpses of glory I have seen so clearly recently. These days He has given to me have each felt like Christmas – Christmas Eve, even. Each day has been met with great anticipation, wide-eyed wonder, and undeserved, unbelievable gifts.
But, it began with brokenness. The more my bright eyes beheld, the more my heart began to break. The need in every life everywhere is overwhelmingly great. As I sought to help and hoped to heal, I was given the greatest gift I have ever known – a gift I had not even asked for. That gift is joy. Real, true, unadulterated joy. Joy inside. Joy despite. Joy deep. Joy uninterrupted.
There can be absolutely no doubt this gift was given to me by God himself through the laying on of hands and prayers of a faithful, fearless fellow Christian. Never once before this time have I ever experienced such freedom and freshness in my faith. What God did through the prayers of his servant was nothing short of miraculous.
Not only was I immediately emptied of angst and worry, I was immediately filled with joy unlike that which I had ever known. I was also given a great desire and urgency to pray constantly. Me- a girl who writes books about why I cannot seem to pray and struggles to pray at all.
But now, God. Now, GOD! God leads my prayers in a way I have never known before in nearly twenty years of Christianity. God is using my prayers to lead and direct me to people and places and actions and needs like never before. He has given me a great boldness to both pray and preach the gospel to anyone and everyone who will listen. He has taken away my fear. He is showing me things I should and would not know. I know beforehand things I later come to see. He is moving me, guiding my every step by His Spirit and confirming his direction with unmistakable signs and wonders. And I am amazed like I have never been amazed before. And if you will not ask me about it I will tell you anyway because you can’t make this stuff up and God will have glory because of it.
He gave me new knowledge, new eyes, new compassion, new strength, new joy, and yes, even a brand new life growing inside of me all at the same time. God gave me rest in the earthly realm and realness in the spiritual one. His message was one of comfort, joy, healing, and hope. Judgement, restoration, and revival are what he has shown to me. Joy, healing, and powerful, effective prayer are what he has given to me.
God does not want His people to be stagnant. He is moving and His people are to be moving. He is moving his people. Still water is dead water. Stagnant water is diseased water. God is building his house in great power – and that power is prayer. His living water will be rushing through it at all times lest he shut the doors and close it up. He spits out pretense and all who set themselves up against his purposes through prayer. God seeks to demolish strongholds and bring boldness to his people through prayer.
The seeds are planted firmly in the ground. May the Lord bring a great harvest of hope, healing, and regeneration through obedience to public and private prayer and the laying on of hands. May it be what he uses to break the spirit of pride, pretense, rigidity, and position in our families, churches, communities, governments, and nations. Amen.
Everyday Encounters With the Creator 