God Talk: Extracts from a Journal

Copyright © 2014 Peter Francis.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-1276-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-1277-8 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 1/28/2014

Contents

Preface

God… I Am

Daily Life

Going with God

Less than Perfect

Hovering

Teaching, preaching, healing

Taking time

Now go

Fruit of Repentance

Walk with God

Unshakeable Faith

World, beware!

The Catch

Provision

A Peaceful Habitation

Religion or Relationship

Salvation

Integrity of Heart

Only what is given

Rested

Little children

In the name of…

Knowing

Lift your eyes

Overshadowed

Cleansed by the blood

Don’t just say it…!

Valleys

Wholeheartedly

The Lord said…!

Receive the rain

My Choice

No lies!

Injustice

Without a Shepherd

Sins forgiven

Invitation

A close friend

Behaviour

God With Us

Compassion

Fast and Pray

Following Him

Eyewitness

Utmost fear… and love

Like the wind

Indwelling

Not in Vain

Occupation

Confident

God’s Way

Drawn!

Everyday God

God has made clean

Assurance

Built on rock

Out of Egypt

The Living Word

Find rest

Grow Strong

Supernatural power

Partners

I lift up my soul

Faithful and True

Be…

Appeal

Wellspring of Life

The Power in the Message

Cease Striving

Denial

God’s plans

Found

God delivers

Come

Ask!

Heavenly Wisdom

How Deep?

Remain

Rain in the Desert

More and more

God of the Dark

The greatest

Thirst assuaged

Suddenly

Wisdom

Stand firm

Little by little

All

Foreseeing…?

Great love

Forgiving… and remaining

God’s house

Abounding love

Pouring out

Open doors

Revive me… again

Living in love

Not ruined

Righteousness

Power and protection

One Father

Thank offerings

Walk in love

Foundation or fall

Denied… but

Who are you, Lord?

I trust…

Hid in Jesus

Secret thoughts

His will

In Spirit and peace

Known by God

Consuming fire

Faith exercised

Praying and asking

Standing Firm

The New Creation

Salvation

Getting it right

The Divine Nature

My portion

The way

Suffering

My Dad

Extreme

Life

Clean

Heart and mind

On the mountain

Forsaken

Bibliography

Preface

Books are usually written with a specific purpose in mind – biographies, cookery books, ‘how to’ books etc. In the Christian arena we find books of theology, church history, devotions, missions and prayer – to mention just a few.

This book wasn’t so much written as compiled, from prayer journals that I have kept, almost daily, for a number of years. The prayer journal derives out of the time I set aside specifically to sit with God, read His word, and commune with Him in a time of reflection, waiting, listening and conversing. Some days this time is short in duration, maybe less than an hour. Other times it can extend for several hours. This is what I refer to as ‘God Time’.

There have been days when this time has given me wonderful revelation of God’s love and purpose (often leading me far from the verse of the day) such that I have been blessed beyond measure. This has led me to wonder if others could be touched by my experiences in a beautiful and endearing way.

And so, the book! My prayer is that, as you read and share of my journeying in ‘God time’, it will encourage and prompt you to not simply join in my experience but to give yourself to Him in a new way, setting aside any agenda you might have in favour of sitting at His feet and allowing Him to draw you further into the intimacy of His love.

May He bless you abundantly.

God… I Am

"Can you fathom the mysteries of God?

Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

They are higher than the heavens – what can you do?

They are deeper than the depths of the grave – what can you know?

Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea."

Job 11.7-9

In these few simple questions and statements is encapsulated the enormity of God. Zophar speaks of the height, depth, length and width of God’s knowledge. In Ephesians 3.18, Paul speaks of the height, depth, length and width of Christ’s love. In essence, both are limitless.

For me, this passage stands like a rock, a sure reminder of hope, in the sea of Job’s hopelessness. True consideration of Job’s situation could easily lead to total surrender to the circumstances. And similar scenarios are played out all too regularly in present day living.

Like Job, we need to be reminded of the limitlessness of God’s knowledge and of Christ’s love. No circumstance removes us from God’s knowing. No event can deny us Christ’s love.

As far as the east is from the west, so big is our God, and so far-reaching is His love and concern for us.

Lord God,

I come before You in thanksgiving. I thank You for this present reminder of Your might, Your love, and Your presence with us – with me.

Strengthen me in this knowledge. I yearn to see signs, wonders and miracles occur in the name of Jesus. I dare to hope that I might experience, and minister, such happenings.

All things are possible with my great and mighty God. I declare Your power and presence – without limit – in all the earth, and in every heart.

Hear the cry of my heart, Lord. Reach out to the lost, and work miracles in their lives, in Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.

Daily Life

This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life.

Psalm 119.50 NRSV

This verse reinforces for me the essential connection between my life in God and my earthly life. When trials befall me and I possibly experience distress, these things are caused by and in this world. Discomfort and disadvantage come out of daily life in the natural. At such times it is not difficult to dissociate God. I may be tempted to think of Him as high and lifted up, as distant, remote and certainly removed from my struggles. How wrong I would be to think this way. But how eager Satan is to have me think so!

My life comes from God’s promises. His Word contains the most wonderful encouragement for me. Not least is His constant assurance that He is with me at all times. And this includes, yes especially includes, the rotten and messy situations, the times when I could be tempted (though this is Satan’s activity, I’ll warrant) to feel that I have so let God down that I can’t possibly turn to Him. Anyway, He wouldn’t be there for me. What lies!

I have experienced this. I have felt so wretched at one time in particular that I carried for a long time the sense of having let God down. I carried it, that is, until God challenged me with a clear reminder that He had forgiven me, and so should I. How liberating! How wonderful to know something of the extent of His love. And what a reminder of the life that is in His promises.

Loving Father and Source of All Life,

I thank You that You have drawn me to You. I thank You that You accompany me on every step of the journey as I allow You. I thank You for the many and wonderful promises in Your Word that give me life.

Yes, Lord, my life is in You – all of my life. I receive You into my struggles, I look to You in the time of temptation, I rest in You when I am weary, and I seek to abide in You at all times.

Your Word is filled with promises. I seem to discover fresh assurances each day. I thank You for the truth of each and every promise and I pray the reality of all of them into my life.

Thank You, Loving Father, Glorious God. Amen.

Going with God

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Heb. 11.8

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Gen. 15.6

Why did Abraham go out? Did he have an idea of God’s grand plan for his life? Did he envisage a super-ministry for himself? I think not! In fact, I don’t think Abraham’s focus was so much on himself. Abraham had faith in God, and his motivation was dependence on God arising from his relationship with God. Abraham believed God. I take the literal meaning of this as: to steady oneself by leaning on something. Furthermore, the grammatical form implies continuing permanently in this attitude.

I don’t want to be consumed, or even bothered by how I’m going to manage the many worldly concerns and arrangements that crop up. I yearn to follow Oswald Chambers’ words:

Suppose God is the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him, what an impertinence worry is! Let the attitude of the life be a continual ‘going out’ in dependence upon God and your life will have an ineffable charm about it which is a satisfaction to Jesus.

(Chambers 1927, p.8)

Lord God,

I look to You. I look to relationship with You. I don’t want to know what You are going to do. I want to know You – deeply, intimately, personally. I want to trust You completely. I choose to steady myself by leaning on You – permanently. I want to ‘go out’ continually in dependence upon You. I want nothing to be between myself and You.

Would You help me with this? Please speak to me and guide me. Please show me the way forward. You called Abraham to go to a new place, a strange place. I do not read of him badgering You to tell him where he was going. You told him, and he went.

I believe in You, Lord. I will go out in surrender to You and I will rejoice in the wonderful things You do. I give myself whole heartedly to You. Hallelujah! Amen.

Less than Perfect

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,… Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,… David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife…

Matt. 1.3,5,6

The genealogy of Jesus is far from being pure in as much as He is directly descended through a pure blood line. I wonder if God used this varied descent to illustrate to us how His love can create something pure out of conditions less than ideal.

The thread is continued through Mary’s conception while she was betrothed to Joseph. Joseph’s initial reaction was to quietly divorce this woman who had become pregnant by another.

Then the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and affirmed the divine origin of Mary’s conception, after which Joseph remained faithful to Mary and honoured our Lord with an earthly father and home.

I can be so encouraged by this beginning to the life of the Son of God on earth. My own history is far from perfect, and I continue to make mistakes even as I commit to journey with Jesus. Will God abandon me because of this? I think not! He has said He will never leave me. This is good to hear but I don’t read it such that I can be careless in myself. I am in covenant relationship with my maker and I have my part to play out, even though I might do it less than perfectly.

Father God,

As I read the genealogy and earthly origin of my Lord Jesus I take encouragement that my own imperfections do not disqualify me from being healed, cleansed and enjoyed by You. I commit myself to You in the covenant relationship that we share. I bring my failings before You and I ask Your forgiveness.

The forebears in the genealogy of Jesus were less than perfect, but they were forgiven. How powerful is Your forgiveness!

I look to the journey that is ahead. My desire remains to honour You every day. I ask You to lead me only into those things that You would have me do. I pray that You will continue to mould me into the person You want me to be.

I thank You for times like this present moment when I can quietly sit with You. I may not be fully aware of all that You impart, but may I be ever open to receive.

I thank You for this new day. I surrender it to You, and ask that You lead me. Let us travel together, and enjoy each other. Thank You, dear Father in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hovering

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Gen. 1.2

Since the beginning the Spirit has been there. Before the world began, while still shapeless and devoid of any life, there was yet life – the life of the Spirit of God.

And this is the richest life that is available to man. God has been there for us since the very start. His power was over all the earth. It still is, although it is often hidden and ignored because He has given both Satan and humanity certain power in transient measure.

The power of evil and the worldly often threatens. Yet the Holy Spirit remains – mightier than anything else, ready to enter any situation and bring Godly input.

Lord God,

I thank You for Your Holy Spirit and the presence that is so obviously in my life. I surrender in full measure. I ask You to fill me, to overflow me, and to lead me ever in Your Holy Spirit.

Your presence was on the earth before man came into being. I ask You to be active upon the earth today. Your Spirit is needed.

Dear God, please enter into areas of conflict and stress. Please work by the power of Your Spirit to bring relief.

I ask You to be present in the church in fuller measure. Fill the whole of Your Body with Spirit power. I pray for unity and strength. Let the world see the life that is available in You.

You are present on earth, Lord, in the form of Your Holy Spirit. Bring further manifestation. I pray for healings and deliverances, salvations and releases of power. I ask for these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Teaching, preaching, healing

Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Matt. 4.23

The threefold ministry of Jesus – teaching, preaching, and healing had begun. Jesus started in His home area of Galilee. He was to go also to Judea