The other morning I was in my prayer closet with God and it was not going good. I was sleepy, groggy, distracted and simply not connecting with my Father. Have you ever been there? Ironically, only the day before, I had heard an incredibly encouraging sermon on the power of prayer, but here I was, stuck in a rut.
The remembrance of the sermon came to my mind and I perked myself up and thought, “The God of the Universe is here to be with me. What am I doing?” I began to just SEEK GOD WITH ALL MY HEART. I was not asking him for things, praying through a list of requests or following any of my formal prayer routines. Instead, I was just basking in God’s presence, praising Him from the heart and enjoying His love.
That’s when it happened! All of a sudden, I received an idea in my head and my heart that totally shifted my prayer time. The idea had to do with my new book, Born to Grow. The impression on my heart was something to the effect of these words, “Get this book into the hands of as many soldiers as you can.”
Immediately, my spirit leaped for joy! Let me explain why. You see my book, Born to Grow, is filled with fun stories, spiritual truths and practical advice that will be helpful to anyone. The book provides so much hope, grace, joy and peace, but in a way that is entertaining and fun through stories. It is not “preachy”.
I began to think about the soldiers who would be away from their family on Christmas day and how that must hurt so deeply. Then I pictured in my mind one of the soldiers holding my book and reading it on Christmas day and I became quite emotional. I thought to myself, “This is truly a match made in heaven! I can give them HOPE!”
I firmly believe that this idea was not my own. You see, I was and still am excited to get my book in the hands of friends, family members, church members and people who follow me on-line. Unfortunately, that was about as far as my vision had taken me. When this idea came to mind, my eyes were opened to the POSSIBILITIES that could be created if I thought about how I can GIVE THIS BOOK AWAY to others.
It is truly amazing what one word, image, thought or impression from God can do to change your life!
“A person finds joy in giving an apt reply-- and how good is a timely word!” (Proverbs 15:23)
You see, my friend, God is working by the Holy Spirit in your life. He is speaking to you. He is instructing you, guiding you and teaching you. (John 16:13) He is trying to convey the Father’s messages to your heart so that you too can be blessed and be a blessing to so many others.
God loves to “drop” ideas, thoughts and even dreams into our hearts, our minds and our spirits. People have coined this type of interaction with God as a “download”. Similar to a download from the Internet that happens virtually, God will take an idea and spiritually “download it” into your heart and mind in a way that will bring about new perspective, transformation, hope and so much more.
Spiritual downloads from God are a sovereign act of his grace. We cannot earn them or pray hard enough to get them. God just wants to give them freely to his children as gifts. All we need to do is position our hearts to receive from God and work on developing the ability to receive from Him.
If you would like to open yourself up to the Lord to be in a place of receiving fresh downloads from Him to your spirit, I invite you to pray this simple prayer in faith.
“Lord God, I want to know you better. I want to hear you more clearly. Remove all the debris in my life, the worry, anxiety, fear, stress, selfishness or any other thing that may hinder me from clearly receiving from you. I open my heart, my mind and my spirit to you now. Come Holy Spirit and begin to speak to my heart. Give me downloads, Father. Jesus, walk with me and help me to discern the Spirit’s voice.”
Friend, I’m so excited for you and how God is going to minister to you and through you as you receive his fresh insights and “downloads” from heaven! I also want to invite you to partner with me to help these soldiers. For a reduced price of only $10, you can give a solider hope this Christmas. Go on-line today and pick up a copy of Born to Grow for yourself and any family member, friend or co-worker you want to bless and then purchase as many copies as you can afford to help give these soldiers hope.
God bless you!
