Closeness and Intimacy with the Lord

These comments come from David Paul who is the chairman of the Board of Elders at Wintonbury Church (posted by Dave Blough):

First of all, I can honestly say that this 40 days of prayer and fasting have been wonderful for me personally. I have been able to fast successfully from what I needed to avoid during this time except for a couple of occasions when I unfortunately gave in.  Otherwise, by the grace of God, this has been one of the clearest stretches for me.  It all actually started earlier on June 1^st when the Lord convicted me and it has been a great time of closeness and intimacy with the Lord during this period, especially during the past 20 days and I praise Him greatly for that. I pray that each one of us is experiencing God in a special way at this time. Amen!

Speaking To My Heart

These comments come from Dave LeBlond who is an elder at Wintonbury Church (posted by Dave Blough):

The discipline of fasting and praying has been invigorating for my relationship with the Lord – He has been speaking to my heart. This has deepened my intimacy with God.

At first I was taken aback and feeling somewhat selfish that I was hearing things about my life, my personality, etc. I prayed, Lord please give me direction about the opportunities for Wintonbury and for Connecticut. Help me have a heart for our church and for the cities and towns in our state, and for the 6 opportunities. But as I continue to pray, day after day, I realized that He had to do more adjusting in my heart and attitudes before I could be fully useful to Him in hearing about the opportunities we’re facing. I need to slow down. I need to listen. I need to ignore those knee-jerk reactions that would tempt me to respond in the flesh, not in the Spirit. As a matter of fact, on day 2, He showed me a specific reason behind some of my behaviors that I’ve wondered about for over 30 years – somewhat of a personality breakthrough. I could not have known that if I had not taken the time to meet with Him and listen. I so much appreciate the intimacy and I’m so grateful for how He cares for me so personally.

He has been moving me to be more alert for needs around me – to see people and situations through His eyes. To ask questions, like “Lord, how should I handle this situation?”, “What do You have for me to do here?” and “How do You want me to represent You here?”

And as He continues to work on me, He is giving me direction on my place in the body – the bigger picture of how we as a body should respond to the needs facing us – the opportunities and the need for the gospel to be brought alive all across Connecticut.   

If you relate to what has been happening with me, I encourage you to continue to listen, continue to meet with Him. I’m seeing in my own life that beautiful promise in James 4:8 that if I draw near to God, He’ll draw near to me. As Curt Brey pointed out, God’s always been there – it’s me who needs to show up.

Let’s let Him speak to us, guide us. He’s moving among us, in us and through us. I see evidence of it the blog posts, new songs, and in what He’s doing in many of you. And, what about last Thursday night?  Wow! 

Remember, we are His body. He trusts us to do His work. And we all have a unique part to play. We need to be listening to hear His Holy Spirit for direction. It’s so beautiful to see God working. I really love the song that Brother Marichal and the Citadel choir sang to us/with us Thursday night “I love you, you need me…I can’t live without you…I won’t harm you, with the words of my mouth…you’re important to me, etc.” what a beautiful picture of the body being together, staying together and recognizing “on purpose” how important we are to each other.

We want to hear from God – not just what we “think” we should hear or even what we “expect” to hear, but exactly what “His” plan is for us. The 6 opportunities are just that, opportunities. It’s about how we proceed or “not”, as we talked about at Lakeside. These opportunities are the direction we believe the Lord is leading us. But 1 or 6 or 60 opportunities are useless without His direction. Unless the Lord builds the house, we build in in vain – Psalm 127:1.

Let’s worship Him by presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice, pleasing to Him…Romans 12:1-2. Let’s keep listening – I’m talking to myself, here!

Increased Spiritual Activity

These comments come from Brett Carlson who is an elder at Wintonbury Church (posted by Andre):

Making a commitment to the Lord to “fast and pray” for the 40 day season (and by God’s grace alone, keeping that commitment daily) I have noticed INCREASED spiritual activity in my life. As you possibly are aware, I have a passion for prayer and that discipline has been fruitful over the last 12 years; adding the “fasting” element is taking me to a new place.

The spiritual activity I am sensing from the enemy is very real (In-my-face stuff, accusations, spiritual finger pointing, brief episodes of feeling hopeless, without direction and it goes on and on). God is in control and He is reigning even though my “feelings” which are irrelevant, mean nothing. Truth is truth and I will leave it at that.

Over the last few months (through prayer and asking for deeper insight from Him) the Lord has alerted me to share some “concerns / possible direction” with the body. As circumstances and people present themselves, in God’s timing, I have shared this concern.

This is a good concern, this is a powerful concern and I believe it has stirred up the attention of the enemy. If I stop sharing, he, the enemy wins. If I continue to share he loses and his kingdom will be impacted greatly over time. Amen.

For those of you reading this 40 Days of prayer and fasting highlight this season, I am experiencing the same spiritual attack as back 12 years ago (I shared the details with all of you at Easter this past March) as I drove to the Stonington Clinic when I needed some help. Accusations, in my face, belittling comments, just downright evil from the depths of hell are real. I was going through a season of my life where the Lord was re-equipping me for Kingdom use then (praise the Lord as some buds are budding I think) and here we are again.

As the INCREASED spiritual activity just described is from the enemy, the Good News is that the Lord has been increasing His spiritual activity as well.

Having a “heightened awareness of what is really happening and a keener sense of discernment is truly a gift from above. As the days go on and the awareness of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed all over the state of Connecticut, the battle will go on.

Some of you are aware of this activity and we need to pray earnestly for each other and the leaders of these involved churches each day. On one occasion this week, my wife Tammy prayed over me and God granted me relief from this oppression. Just yesterday, my brother David Paul prayed with me after our men’s group in my office and my brother David Blough prayed with me and for me over the phone. Prayer is the key, my friends; please pray as if our lives depend on it and in reality our “spiritual lives” do depend on prayer.

Be “Pre-Prayered”.

  

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. ~Deuteronomy 31:6

God is Able

In response to the 40 Days of Worship, Autumn Brooke wrote a beautiful song which she is offering as a gift to you. Click here to visit Autumn's website, read about how God inspired her new song God is Able and download the song for free. And she invites you to share it freely, as well.

I love to see how God invites us into conversation with Him. Not only does He speak, He inspires us to respond to Him - with words spoken or written or sung. Or perhaps we respond with no words at all, but in wordless languages of service, art, compassion, justice.

After you visit Autumn's site and download her gift to you, please come back here and share with us some of the ways God is calling you to respond to Him. What a blessing we will be to one another. ~Nichole 

Autumn Brooke is a gifted musician, singer and songwriter; and she also serves as a worship leader at Wintonbury Church. 

  

Day 11 | Recognizing God's Voice

Submitted by Nichole Perreault: 

Recognizing God’s voice...that’s a phrase packed with will all sorts of potential reactions. Here’s some that come to mind:

Oh, so now you think God is speaking to you. Great.

I don’t hear God. I pray. I meditate. I sit in silence. But guess what? Crickets.

Umm...does this mean I’ll hear a voice? Or have a vision? Or fall down on the ground and start screaming and hollering? Because I really don’t want to cause a scene. Just sayin’.

God has already spoken. The Bible is His final word.

Are you hearing voices in your head?

How do I know if what I hear is from God?

I’m actually kind of afraid to hear from God. What if He’s angry with me? Or worse...what if He doesn’t say anything at all?

And of course there’s the unspoken fear of many comfortable Western Christians:

What if He tells me to sell all my belongings, shave my head and move to Zambia? ‘Cause that happens...like all the time...right?

Listening for the Lord, hearing from Him and then understanding what He’s saying can be scary and frustrating. But it can also be exhilarating, freeing and life-changing.

I am grateful that some of my first experiences as a Christian included Listening Retreats. At those retreats, I learned that God speaks to us and that He speaks to us from a place of deep love. He speaks to us because He wants to connect with us, powerfully, intimately. In fact, He longs to speak to us. He is, after all, the Living Word.

In my life, God has spoken to me thousands upon thousands of times – through pictures, impressions, writing, other people, scripture, music, books, nature. And He doesn't only use hymns and sunsets. Let’s not limit Him! For crying out loud, He spoke to Moses through a burning bush that didn't burn. What?! So don’t judge me when I say that while I was reading The Hunger Games, God revealed to me that I was starving for love; and I won’t judge you when you say God restored your self-worth while you were listening to Perfect by Pink. (It was the PG version you were listening to, right?)

Sure, secular books and pop music are probably not the first place you should run to for a fresh word from the Lord. But live your life close to God, walk among the deep, green fields of His scriptures, keep always your ear bent toward His voice and you will hear Him. I am confident of this.

One of my deepest desires is that everyone – including every one of you – will experience the voice of God. I know what He has done for me, how His words have quenched my thirsty soul. And I want you to know that too.

Below is something that I have found very helpful when learning to listen to God and discern His voice. I pray that it is helpful to you also.

Recognizing God’s Voice

Adapted from Into Abba’s Arms by Sandra D. Wilson

God’s voice………

• calls and encourages us with the gentleness of a shepherd who leads his sheep.
• is quiet and deeply internal.
• speaks in accordance with His character and His word as revealed in scripture.
• is merciful and gracious toward us, convicting of specific sin leading to repentance.
• is grounded it truth & hope, focusing on the here and how.
• is practical and simple, speaks to the ordinary & mundane.
• brings hope, freedom, peace, gratitude.
• focuses on changing us.
• produces more empathy for others.
  
  Remember: you are His treasured possession, His beloved, He speaks from a place of deep, rich love for you.

The enemy’s voice …….

•  threatens, demands, intimidates, like a wolf driving the sheep into a panic.
•  is intrusive, a thief seeking illegal entrance.
•  speaks ½ truths & uses scripture out of context.
        “You are no good"
        “Nobody loves you.
        “You can’t do anything right."
        Tempting Jesus in Matthew 4:6
• accuses & condemns us personally which leads to a burden of shame.
• is grounded in the past and negative experiences, or the future & its worries.
• is often impractical, complicated, spectacular, feeding our desire for approval & applause.
• brings apathy, despair, anxiety, dissatisfaction.
• focuses on changing others.
• wants us to envy, judge and despise others.
  
  Remember: the enemy is the father of lies and the author of confusion, and can masquerade as an angel of light

Other possible voices………

Your own, parents, friends, spouse, etc. 

When you feel stuck or confused or you don't know whose voice you're listening to, ask God. Personally, I think He loves it when we ask Him questions and then listen for His answers. I am praying for you - that you give yourself the gift of time spent alone with God and that you hear Him speaking to you. 

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. 

---Nichole Perreault is the Communications Director at Wintonbury Church. If you would like to read more about her experiences of listening to the Lord, feel free to visit her blog.

Day Five: Hearing Anything Yet?

Hey Wintonburyites!

Are you hearing anything yet? I've heard some really good reports...very encouraging! One man at our elder prayer time said that he had the most intimate experience of the presence of Christ in his life. Another told me that he has been fasting from TV and is seeing the benefits of pursuing the Lord with the freed-up time already. He's fired up! These are the EXACT kinds of fruits that we're hoping for...a deeper, wider thirst for the Living God who alone satisfies our souls!

This drenching outpouring is being reflected at the Days of Worship events as well. I have spoken to several people who have attended at least one event who are reporting tremendous times of worship with God's people. One told me that she had the most powerful worship experience in her life at the first event at Wellspring. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing about the marks of spiritual revival...get ready because we're starting to see the early buds peeking through! Come Lord Jesus, Come!!!!

Day Two Reflections: Fasting Guidelines

Dear Wintonburyites!

As we head into Day Two, I am wondering how everyone is doing. I know that for me, I had to fight off my urge to visit ESPN.COM yesterday! I was dying to know what was going on with the Patriots and the Huskies but the Lord gave me strength. Instead, I stopped myself and prayed...isn't that the point of fasting? To concentrate spiritually on the Lord and what He is telling me? To seek Him passionately as we state in our Purpose Statement?

I spoke to several people today who told me how they are already sensing a closer walk with the Lord. Waking up and reading God's Word instead of worrying about the day's events and concerns. Fasting is all about humbling ourselves before the Lord and being reminded that He is our very life.

For those of us who have not done much fasting before, here is a guide from Campus Crusade for Christ that is very good. I hope it might answer some of your questions about fasting and also help keep you from potentially harmful physical side-effects if you aren't careful! Let's continue to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness! Amen!