A Message for Raphael

What are you holding on to that's stopping you from flying, Raphael?

What's eating at you, Raphael, at this season in your life, that's stopping you from reaching the next dimension of what God has for you?

Tonight, my purpose in coming, is to say to you, Raphael, "Let it go."

Release everything that's holding you back from this season in your life.

God has something for you to do, Raphael, but you can't go any higher with that weasel attached to your breast.

This is the moment. This is the season. This is the time for you to simply forget those things which are behind, and reach to those things which are before and simply, let it go.

I'm preaching to you Raphael. God sent me here to tell you you're not a chicken. You're an eagle. And if you'll let go of those little weasels in your life, if you will drop the weasel, you can fly.

It's your season to fly, Raphael. The stage is set. The time is right. The blessing of the Lord is here. This is your time to reposition yourself and let go of the things that are limiting you. It's time for you to fly.

I'm gonna pray that you drop the weasel, that you reposition yourself, and that you come into your season, Raphael, because I believe you can fly, I believe you can touch the sky.

the power of His presence

acts 16:19-26
19When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."

22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

just as we are...

"...I realised that my image of God,.. determines my degree of honesty in prayer. Do I trust God with my naked self? ...From my side ,the wall seems like self-protection; from God's side it looks like a lack of trust. In either case, the wall will keep us apart until I acknowledge my need and God's surpassing desire to meet it...
...The most important purpose of prayer may be to let our true selves be loved by God..."

10He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who
fear him;
12as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
14For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust. -Psalms 103 (ESV)

Prayer is a rest!

"Too often we think of prayer as a serious chore... must be scheduled around other pressing activities. We miss the point...

"God is inviting us to take a break, to play truant. We can stop doing all those important things we have to do in our capacity as god, and leave it to Him to be God." - Simon Tugwell

Prayer allows me to admit my failures, weaknesses, and limitations
to the One who responds to human vulnerability with infinite mercy." - Philip Yancey

Joining The Stream

Decided from yesterday onwards to read "Prayer" by Philip Yancey all over again... and to pray to Daddy God as I read each chapter every day... and it was good...

Philip was at the source of a stream on top of a mountain, seeing how the stream is formed, joining with other rivulets and flowing downhill.

...thinking about prayer, most of the time I get the direction wrong. I start downstream with my own concerns and bring them to God. I inform God as if God did not already know. I plead with God, as if hoping... to overcome divine reluctance. Instead, I should start upstream where the flow begins.

When I shift direction, I realised that God already cares about my concerns...more than I do. Grace, like water, desends to the lowest part. Streams of mercy flow. I begin with God, who bears primary responsibility for what happens on earth, and ask what part I can play in God's work on earth...

With this new starting point in prayer, my perceptions change... Thanksgiving and praise surge up as a natural response, not an obligation.

Indeed, as i tried this, "thanksgiving and praise surged up" from within me. hee.