Church WithOut Walls International-Europe
  • Home
    • Privacy Verklaring
  • DE
    • Weekly Thoughts (D) Wöchentliche Gedanken >
      • Weekly Thoughts (D) Wöchentliche Gedanken - PDF
  • EN
    • Weekly Thoughts >
      • WEEKLY THOUGHTS >
        • John's Monthly Newsletter
      • Weekly Thoughts serie in PDF format
    • About John Fenn
    • About Wil & Ank Kleinmeulman
    • Books written by Ank Kleinmeulman >
      • About Ank - author
    • Online Bibleschool
  • F
    • Pensées Hebdomadaires
    • PDF à lire et/ou imprimer
    • A propos de John Fenn
    • A propos de Wil & Ank Kleinmeulman
    • Vidéo en anglais
    • Nous contacter
  • FI
    • Viikottaisia ajatuksia >
      • WEEKLY THOUGHTS / Viikottaisia ajatuksia
      • Weekly Thoughts / Viikottaisia ajatuksia - PDF
    • John Fennistä
    • TV7
    • Kontaktihenkilö Suomessa
  • LT
    • Weekly Thoughts (LT) Savaitės Mintys >
      • E-Book
    • Straipsniai >
      • Kaip mes suprantame, koks turi būti surinkimas
      • Krikštai
      • Kaip veikia 5 tarnavimo dovanos namų surinkimuose?
      • Grįžimas prie paprasto tikėjimo
      • Garbinimas
      • Namų surinkimai Naujajame Testamente
      • Išgelbėjimas
      • Tikėjimo išpažinimas
      • Kaip prasidėjo CWOWI?
      • Dažnai pasitaikantys klausimai
    • Video LT
  • LV
  • NL
    • Weekly Thoughts - nederlands >
      • WEEKLY THOUGHTS (NL) Wekelijkse Gedachten >
        • Weekly Thoughts NL pdf
    • Over / bio van John Fenn
    • Over / bio Wil & Ank
    • Wat wij geloven
    • Onderwijs - Online Bijbelschool
    • Onderwijs - MP3
    • Boeken van Ank Kleinmeulman
    • Doneren / gift overmaken?
    • Conferentie
    • Artikelen >
      • Hoe “Church Without Walls International” is ontstaan
      • Hoe een samenkomst van een CWOW huisgemeente eruit ziet
      • Waarom samenkomen in een huis?
      • Wat is een huiskerk en een huiskerk netwerk?
      • HuisKerken: Waarom – Wat – en Hoe?
      • Ank deelt over Wat & Hoe van Huiskerken (VIDEO'S)
    • Lokaties van Huiskerken (in NL)
  • PL
  • RO
    • Gânduri săptămânale >
      • Gânduri săptămânale - PDF
  • RU
    • Джон Фенн
    • Сид Рот «Это сверхъестественно»
  • Locations
  • Donate
  • Events
  • TV
  • Contact

What to do when tired, drained, just going through the motions, #2 of 3

12/8/2018

0 Comments

 
Hi all,
Last week I shared point #1 for regaining spiritual strength and energy, which was about personal worship. 
 
Today point #2: supernatural refreshing: I was on a ministry trip in Mexico in 1986, staying with missionary friends. After dinner our first night the missionary handed me a list of 22 names who said they wanted to move to Mexico to work with them. He asked me to ask the Father which people if any should move there to work with them, and anything else He said.
 
I responded with: "These are people that you know, not me. You should be the one to ask the Father who and if they should come." He replied: "I'm too busy to pray. I'm too busy doing the work of the ministry to take time to pray about it. Do this for me please." 
 
That's how life is
It doesn't matter whether you are a missionary on foreign soil or at home trying to keep life together, we've all felt like my missionary friend, too busy with life to take time to pray. In fact that is pretty much the norm for most. There is a solution.
 
In I Corinthians 14: 18-25 Paul is teaching the proper use of a personal prayer language versus one that needs to be interpreted. He told them if you are given the tongue that needs interpreted, speak it forth if the opportunity is there, or allow another person to give the interpretation - or else be quiet and speak the interpretation to yourself. (v27-28) 
 
In this passage Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11 stating it is about tongues: "With stammering lips and another language will I speak to this people."  
 
Supernatural rest and refreshing for when you just cannot stop to rest
Isaiah's full prophecy about tongues says this: "With stammering lips and another language I will speak to this people. This is the rest whereby the weary will be refreshed. This is the refreshing, but they would not hear." (Speaking of Israel's unbelief concerning Jesus)
 
Tongues is the refreshing, the rest, according to Paul and Isaiah's prophecy. On the large scale we can say that receiving the Holy Spirit IS the spiritual rest all seek. But on a personal level it is also a key to our own rest and refreshing.
 
One day I was on a trip, very tired, looking for rest and refreshing, and this passage came up out of my spirit. I laid down on the bed where I was staying and started praying in tongues lightly, almost under my breath. My mind shifted from wandering to focusing to what was coming out of my spirit, and 10 minutes went by before I knew it. I felt recharged from the inside out. After a few times of doing this I've estimated for me, about 10-15 minutes doing that is equivalent to a 2 hour nap. 
 
You can try it too, and realize each person is different, but this works for me when I absolutely cannot stop to recharge. 
 
Supernatural rest and refreshing on a daily basis
We must first change out mindset to the culture of New Testament truths away from auditorium church culture. 
 
Christian culture encourages the setting aside of personal prayer time either before you start your day or after the day is done, scheduled like we might schedule a trip to the dentist. Christian bookstores are filled with daily devotionals with 'you need to set time aside for God' advertisements, usually accompanied by a verse from a Psalm.
 
Of course in Christian marketing varies by product. Something like ''I have cried to you, Oh Lord, and in the morning my prayer will come before you", from Psalm 88:13 works nicely if you want to guilt a person into morning prayer. Or for that too busy in the morning person or insomniac they present, "At midnight I will rise and give you thanks for your good laws." from Psalm 119: 62, lol.
 
And for the strongest guilt just cover the whole day with Psalm 55: 17: "Evening and morning, and at noon I will pray..." LOL
 
I learned early on in my walk that I don't have the discipline... 
...to set aside time for Him like an appointment. My schedule and family and the ebbs and flows of life prevent me from saying 'every morning from 4: 45-5am I will pray and study.' I refused even back then to be guilted into condemnation that I wasn't doing enough in the Lord that way. 
 
"Hmmm....let me see Lord. I've got that presentation at work so I can't get with you this morning, but I can schedule my lunch early so let's get together then. And if that doesn't work let's see about tonight...tonight is 'Survivor' on TV, oh I don't want to miss that. So if I miss you at lunch I'll give you between 10 and 10: 15 (22:00-22:15) after the show is over."
 
I don't disagree on the need to spend time with the Lord, I just reject the culture of condemnation that makes me a 2nd class citizen of the kingdom if I don't get up at 5am to pray along with the flavor of the month devotional. 
 
The New Testament truth is that Christ is in us 
So we take Him with us wherever we go, whatever we are doing. That means prayer and fellowship with Him can be continual. It also means you'll feel in your spirit when to set life aside to be with Him. Both work together in balance. 
 
That communion and fellowship with Him, is prayer. You don't get up in the morning and 'get into' fellowship with the Lord - as long as you are breathing you are in fellowship in the sense He is in us 24/7. All we have to do is shift attention to Him and start our thoughts to Him. Then be quiet and listen for a response which may come in peace, assurance, a words. 
 
Christ is in us, we are called into fellowship with Him. (I Corinthians 1: 9) Just talk to Him throughout your day! He isn't "up there", He is inside you! You have only to shift your attention to Christ in you...and what I find is that as I pray in tongues while looking down inside my spirit, I feel that rest, that peace, that warmth of His presence in me. 
 
I have disciplined myself that when I'm not talking or working on other things, often when driving, to pray in the spirit. It is the moment of rest in between a whirlwind of activity. So I seek that rest. I discipline myself to enter into that rest by when possible, shifting my attention to pray even just a couple of sentences in the spirit. 
 
When I'm in a store walking down the aisle or on the computer and have a neutral moment, I pray lightly in the spirit, maybe just a line or two. But I keep coming back to it through the day. A sentence or two here, a sentence or two there. Always 'keeping the motor running' under my breath when I can turn my thoughts towards Him, for it is that rest, that refreshing, from the spirit to my soul and to my body. 
 
What happened with the missionary's request? 
I took the list, went to my room, told the Father: "Father, you know I don't want to do this, but I am here staying under his roof, ministering under his authority on this trip, you know I would never ask this of you. But will you go with the flow on this please and give me something on each of these 22 people so _____ can be at peace, thank you." And He did, which I wrote down, presented it to the missionary who looked over my notes, shook his head up and down, had a few questions here and there, and said, "Bears witness. Pretty much what I thought too, thanks." And that was that. 
 
Closing the series next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

      John Fenn

      If you want to subscribe

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    RSS Feed

Church WithOut Walls International.eu (C) 2023
to donate
Photo used under Creative Commons from widakso