HEAR FIRST & THEN PRAY... STAY CONNECTED TO THE VINE

As I was getting ready for bed the Lord reminded me of a dream I had some years ago that changed the way I prayed for people.

In this dream the Lord instructed me to pray that a certain individual would have an encounter with Him, rather than me praying for their physical healing in their body. Before I had this dream, I had two dreams that this person was sick in their body with cancer, and from those two dreams I thought that I were to pray for their healing.

The Lord began to reveal to me the importance of this person knowing Him for themselves, and although their body needed healing, so did their soul. They were in danger of Hell's fire.

I can say today that individual have given their life to Jesus, and have grown into an intimate relationship with Him. A relationship where they can go before the Father and petition heaven to receive what already belong to them according to the finish work of the cross. HEALING (Isaiah 53:5).

What is it to live a long life here on Earth healed, and die and spend eternity in hell?

As I type this I think about the many people who are OVERLY CONSUMED with their bodies and the way they look. They are more interested in working out at the gym, cosmetic surgery, and eating habits that are not really biblical than they are in getting to know who Jesus is intimately.

Please don't misquote me. Working out and eating healthy is necessary and vital. However, when we become OVERLY CONSUMED, and Jesus takes a back seat, then those things become a distraction. We must learn to include Him even in the MUNDANE things of life, rather than doing life our way, on our own terms without Him.

I went on a walk with the Lord and encountered a young lady in her twenties. I asked her did she know Jesus, and have she given her life to Him. She said that she was a Christian, but she's so busy with work and working out that she don't have time to pray or really talk to Him 🥹.

I wonder how many more people are distracted and overly consumed with things that lack substance.

Can I say this... JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE (John 14:6). We all need Jesus more than we need anything. He is our LIFELINE, and when we are not connected to the Vine (Jesus) we become spiritually dead, and if not careful this can lead us to our physical death before time (John 15:1-8).

The Father's heart is that we know Him intimately, and live an abundant life that can only be found in Jesus. Let's stop ALLOWING the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy our peace, joy, and time (John 10:10). Robbing us of our time with Jesus by way of distractions.

There is power in prayer, and it's even more so powerful when we are being led by the Holy Spirit when we pray for people and ourselves (James 5:16). His ways differ from ours, and so does His thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). We must choose to get out of His way, and allow Him to lead. This is how people get set free and truly come to know Jesus. Their Creator knows what they have need of before any of us ask (Matthew 6:8). We just need to listen and obey His instructions.

#prayer #distractions #christian #Jesus