Ask Before You Journey
Attention modern-day Believer… Are you stuck on life’s journey?
Many Believers in Christ find it hard to relate their modern-day faith walk to the ancient text of the Hebrew scriptures…
“Ask Before You Journey” is a continuation of a word I shared earlier this year, titled “The Journey,” where I shared 12 steps in my personal faith walk over the course of 26 years as a Believer.
Before you plan to take on any endeavor it is important that you begin to evaluate if the desire is inspired by the Holy Spirit, or if it is inspired by your own soulish desires.
“So they said to him, ‘Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.’”—Judges 18:5
Many of us have been in a season where we have been trying to take on way too much and have been spending way too little time with the Lord in order to prepare for the journey He’s taking us on.
>>>Are You Struggling on Life’s Journey?<<<
How do I prepare for the Journey?
For most of us, becoming a Believer was easy, but now we’ve got to walk out that life. How do we take the next step?
1) Get quiet before the Lord and ask…
“And the priest said to them, ‘Go in peace. The presence of the Lord be with you on your way.’”—Judges 18:6
Remember the story of Moses? He had to come to a place where he decided that he wouldn’t go anywhere without the Lord’s presence.
Our own individual lives need to be lead in the same way. We need to be willing to ask the Lord about our plans before we take new things on.
Isn’t it better to hear the truth than to spend months or years wasting our time?
It’s time to get quiet with the Lord.
Ask Him if your plan is going to succeed, you need to hear clearly from Him.
Once you have a concrete plan of action…
2) Pray for protection for your family and possessions…
“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.”—Ezra 8:21
You may not believe me when I say this, but God cares about your possessions. He cares about your family. He cares about the smallest details of your life.
You know that when things get torn up and damaged in your life, it robs you of your time and financial assets.
The more time you spend putting out fires, the more time you lose ground in the spiritual realm.
Be prepared in advance for the attack. Know that when God gives you a vision, the enemy will try and remove you from the assignment.
Pray for protection, ask for His blessing, and look for key scriptures to help sustain you for the journey ahead.
>>>Do You Know How to Pray for Protection?<<<
3) Ask for new angels to guide you along the way…
“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”—Psalm 91:11
Anytime you prepare for a new season, ask the Lord to release new angels to guard your footsteps.
Then, and this is the difficult part, ask Him to have them help you stick with the plan. “Lord, don’t let me go to the right or the left here! Let me stay on the straight and narrow path.”
4) Remember the strangers, the fatherless, and the widow…
“The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.”—Psalm 146:9
You need to understand that in the scriptures the term, “wicked,” doesn’t actually refer to sinners. It refers to Believers who choose to follow after the dictates of their own heart, instead of listening to the Lord.
We must understand that each one of us, no matter the ministry that we are in, has a responsibility to the strangers (those living outside of God’s plan), the fatherless, and the widows.
We are responsible to show the love of God to them… We are ambassadors of God’s heart.
Make it your goal to include these three in your prayers and support. No matter what ministry you are in, you can find a way to sow into those who need to know His loving touch—that He cares for them.
5) Be accountable to someone you trust…
“Who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well.”—3 John 1:6
Next, we need to make it a priority to find prayer partners we trust to help lift us up and hold us accountable to the goals we’ve set for the journey.
We need to be accountable and seek counsel from those in leadership above us, as well.
Above all else, we need to take time out to get quiet before the Lord, making sure that we are listening to His direction and seeking His face more than we are seeking His hand.
>>>Want to come in agreement with our prayer team, for your new beginning?<<
If you’ll do the little thing, He’ll do the big thing.
Taking one small step in faith has a huge impact in the spirit. Don’t be afraid of humble beginnings.
If you’re anything like most Believers I know, you’ve experienced your share of setbacks and failures. Many, like Abraham and Sarah, developed a plan to help move God’s promises to them along—way before God was ready to take those steps Himself.
In other words, we’ve each gotten tired of waiting on the Lord and have tried to take matters into our own hands. That’s why I’ve listed the steps above.
Asking first is a huge sign of spiritual maturity, because it shows that we trust our Heavenly Father, and that we are not afraid to hear the answer, “No,” and moreover, that we are well aware of the responsibility that comes when we hear that His answer is, “Yes.”
>>>Take a step of faith! Schedule a 1-on-1 personal prayer time with us!<<<
The Promise
God’s Word is a legal, binding document that lays out principles for Believers to live by in order that they accomplish all that He has called them to accomplish.
Listen to these words that Paul speaks in Romans 8:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
“As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This is the promise to all of those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and purpose to walk in their divine purpose through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Isn’t this exciting news! Nothing, NO ONE, can separate us from the love of God. No matter the rejection of the past, it has only made us stronger—able to endure through to the very end.
Won’t it be wonderful to one day look into the eyes of our Heavenly Father and hear Him say, “Well done! You completed all that I asked of you, and more. Well done, my dear one, you have finished and finished well!”
We hope that you have enjoyed this time of review, as I’ve shared a recap from my recent message, “Ask Before You Journey.”
If you are struggling to take time out and spend time with the Lord, we want to invite you to join one of our prayer team members over the phone for a unique 1-on-1 prayer time. Let us seek the Lord with you and come in agreement that the dreams and desires of your heart will be fulfilled.
God bless you as you journey! I am believing for great things to come as you continue on this pathway with Him! May each one of us look at our own reflection in next year’s mirror and say, “I look more like Yeshua every day!”