Deut 3:33“Indeed, He loves the people;
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone receives of Your words
Prov 6:19 The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.
There are a number of problems we have when trying to hear from the Lord. A rather interesting problem we come up against without realizing it is the problem of not hearing Him for our steps!! I came across this quiet often when working in a Christian healing ministry.
People (Christians) came in for prayer and one of the most common prayer request was for direction. For example; people came in wanting a job, housing, a ministry, and so often to just find out how to handle relationships. They would tell us that they wanted that job, or this house, or that ministry. Now don't get me wrong. I know the Lord cares about what you want, and He wants to give you the desires of your heart. However, He also wants a say in what those desires should be and how to go about getting them. Very specifically, He wants to be able to guide your steps.
Before He can get you a certain job, He might need to get you a certain education, from a certain place, which starts on a certain day, at a particular school, which you can get into at a certain time, by meeting with a certain person, after a particular thing has been accomplished. So, you can't get what you desire unless you desire to let Him guide your steps!
The Lord understands this but we don't. So we don't seek Him for what steps we need to take but only for the final things we desire at that moment. He often wound have me explain this to people coming in for prayer. It wasn't that He did want them to have a house, car, job, and relationships in their lives, but He had trouble getting them to listen to Him for the steps they needed to take to get them.
It seems like an easy thing to understand, but it turns out to be a hard thing to put into place in our lives (this seeking the Lord and listening to Him for our steps)
I remember a couple of times He had me put a person up against a wall, and having them ask our Lord Jesus Christ for what step to take next. They wound stand there and look at me like as if telling me, 'Are you seriously asking me to ask God for what step to take'? YES - THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING! WE NEED TO SEEK THE LORD FOR EXACTLY WHAT STEP TO TAKE NEXT!
When they finally realized that was what was being asked; they would get quiet and finally start seeking to hear a word from the Lord. Sometimes they would wind up standing there for five or ten minutes, while they waited on the Lord. Then suddenly they would hear Him talking to them, and it would amaze them.
I specifically remember a man who was typical of this. It took Him a bit to calm down and actually seek the Lord and wait for the answer. He must have stood there ten minutes and those in my prayer team started whispering in my ear saying that he was just not hearing from the Lord. I told those in the group I was leading to just wait on the Lord. Finally, the man suddenly bent down and jumped with both feet, like a frog, as far as he could.
He was laughing with the biggest smile you could imagine on his face, saying that the Lord had told Him to just jump with both feet. He had come in so stressed and unsure, and he was leaving so happy with faith in the Lord. This Christian man had come in not knowing how to pick up the voice of the Lord, and he was leaving certain that he had heard from the Lord.
Understanding that we often need to just calm down and seek the Lord for the next step we need to take is understanding indeed!
Am 22:37 “You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone receives of Your words
Prov 6:19 The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.
There are a number of problems we have when trying to hear from the Lord. A rather interesting problem we come up against without realizing it is the problem of not hearing Him for our steps!! I came across this quiet often when working in a Christian healing ministry.
People (Christians) came in for prayer and one of the most common prayer request was for direction. For example; people came in wanting a job, housing, a ministry, and so often to just find out how to handle relationships. They would tell us that they wanted that job, or this house, or that ministry. Now don't get me wrong. I know the Lord cares about what you want, and He wants to give you the desires of your heart. However, He also wants a say in what those desires should be and how to go about getting them. Very specifically, He wants to be able to guide your steps.
Before He can get you a certain job, He might need to get you a certain education, from a certain place, which starts on a certain day, at a particular school, which you can get into at a certain time, by meeting with a certain person, after a particular thing has been accomplished. So, you can't get what you desire unless you desire to let Him guide your steps!
The Lord understands this but we don't. So we don't seek Him for what steps we need to take but only for the final things we desire at that moment. He often wound have me explain this to people coming in for prayer. It wasn't that He did want them to have a house, car, job, and relationships in their lives, but He had trouble getting them to listen to Him for the steps they needed to take to get them.
It seems like an easy thing to understand, but it turns out to be a hard thing to put into place in our lives (this seeking the Lord and listening to Him for our steps)
I remember a couple of times He had me put a person up against a wall, and having them ask our Lord Jesus Christ for what step to take next. They wound stand there and look at me like as if telling me, 'Are you seriously asking me to ask God for what step to take'? YES - THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING! WE NEED TO SEEK THE LORD FOR EXACTLY WHAT STEP TO TAKE NEXT!
When they finally realized that was what was being asked; they would get quiet and finally start seeking to hear a word from the Lord. Sometimes they would wind up standing there for five or ten minutes, while they waited on the Lord. Then suddenly they would hear Him talking to them, and it would amaze them.
I specifically remember a man who was typical of this. It took Him a bit to calm down and actually seek the Lord and wait for the answer. He must have stood there ten minutes and those in my prayer team started whispering in my ear saying that he was just not hearing from the Lord. I told those in the group I was leading to just wait on the Lord. Finally, the man suddenly bent down and jumped with both feet, like a frog, as far as he could.
He was laughing with the biggest smile you could imagine on his face, saying that the Lord had told Him to just jump with both feet. He had come in so stressed and unsure, and he was leaving so happy with faith in the Lord. This Christian man had come in not knowing how to pick up the voice of the Lord, and he was leaving certain that he had heard from the Lord.
Understanding that we often need to just calm down and seek the Lord for the next step we need to take is understanding indeed!
Am 22:37 “You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.
