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Many Christians often experience wonderful seasons of prayer and immediately following those times find themselves in the midst of a raging battle. Some have learned to tarry with God, but not walk with him. They have been filled with the Spirit of God but haven't learned to be led by the Spirit. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He taught them first to place their focus on God. When we see Him, it will result in seeing ourselves in an entirely different light. When we see His holiness, we will see our sinfulness. When we see how big He is, we will see how small we are. It's that view of God that drives us to cry out for His leadership in our daily walk.
Moses met with God in a
special way. He would often pitch a tent outside the camp. He would then go
into that tent and there he would meet God. Those times were special to Moses.
They were the foundation of his leadership of the children of Israel. But he
said something very interesting to God at the close of one of those meetings.
"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here"
(Exodus 33:15 NIV). God gave him assurance, "The LORD replied, 'My
Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest'" (v. 14 NIV).
Perhaps the secret to
Moses life and leadership could be found in what happened in that tent. He not
only secured the presence of God but His leadership as well. Moses was a great leader because he learned to be a great follower. He could lead because he had
been led.
The key to being led by
God's Spirit is learning to remain in a spirit of prayer. Sometimes I wish that
I could stay in the quiet place of prayer and never leave. Those times are very
special. But we must never see them as an end in themselves. God has a plan for
each of our lives. Those solitary moments in prayer prepare us for the battles
of life. We don't abandon His presence in the battles, but we must learn to
practice His presence in them.
God will often lead us
into special times of prayer to prepare us for such battles. Several years ago,
I was told by a medical doctor that I had polyps on my vocal cords. My entire
life centers around public speaking. So, those were pretty traumatic words to
hear. I was told to spend two weeks in absolute silence. When the doctor told
me that, I knew that God was wanting to do a deep work in my life. Those two
weeks became two of the most wonderful weeks of my life. Not only did God heal
my vocal cords, but He manifested Himself to me in a very special way.
But I didn't realize
that that time was simply a preparation for what happened during the next
six months. I experienced some of the most volatile times in my ministry and
life. I preached when massive demonstrations broke out in Peru, and I walked into a war zone in the Congo. I saw
thousands respond to the gospel. I'm so thankful that I had that special time
with God before going into the battle for souls. But I'm also thankful that God
will walk with me in the midst of the battles of life. He'll meet with you, but
He also wants to go with you. Learn to "pray without ceasing."
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