Heavenly Food Stamps

May 25th, 2012

Come and Get It

Here’s a real Pentecost gift, for charismatic Christians.

Pentecost is Shavuot, the holiday which commemorates the gift of the Torah. God gave it to Moses on Shavuot. It is also the day on which the baptism with the Holy Spirit came to Christians, in the Upper Room. We call the Torah “the law.” We believe it is the expression of God’s will, in written form. And we believe that when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, God puts his law in our hearts, in a more flexible way which addresses needs very specifically.

This only works if you worship God in Spirit and truth. If you pray in the Spirit, and you are sincere, it works. There are plenty of tongue-talking Christians who are way off the path.

Last night I was watching Perry Stone, and he talked about the keys to a good prayer life. I’ll link to the video if I can find it. The teaching was very powerful. Some parts, combined correctly, were particularly strong. I’m not sure he understood this, but I got a big revelation while watching it, so I am passing it on.

Here are some scriptures he cited, with some surrounding text included:

1 John 5:14-15: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

So God grants the requests of faith-filled believers, if they pray according to his will. But how do you know what his will is, not just in the Torah, but specifically, in the moment?

Romans 8:26-27:

“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[a] 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.”

When you pray in the Spirit (in tongues), the Holy Spirit is interceding through you, supplying the words. Your prayers will conform to God’s will.

Later, he cited Joshua 1:8. I’ll give you more than that:

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Add that to the other scriptures. Consider this: to us, the indwelling Holy Spirit is an augmentation of the law. The Old Testament is full of shadows and symbols. The law, written on the outsides of animals, prefigured the baptism with the Holy Spirit, through whom God writes his law inside his children. So when you see Old Testament advice concerning the law, you should ask yourself how it may apply to your relationship with the Holy Spirit.

This tells me we will walk in power and blessings if the law does not depart from our mouths. See the above passage. We are to “meditate in it day and night.” The Hebrew word translated “meditate” is defined this way: “to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication, to ponder.”

We are to murmur in the law day and night. If we do so, we will prosper, and God will defeat our enemies. Obviously, you have to read this in pari materia with the rest of scripture. You can’t run a porn empire and expect this to work. Don’t be stupid. But if you apply it with common sense, it should work.

This is just a confirmation of what I already believe. The more I pray in the Spirit, the better things go. I can’t drink coffee any more, because the Spirit gives me so much energy, caffeine keeps me awake. I can’t smoke cigars, for the same reason. I feel good. I enjoy life tremendously. God heals my physical problems. He has guided me into a magnificent church. He has brought me great friends. I enjoy the things I do. My character is improving. I could go on and on.

In the video, Perry Stone talked about his father praying in tongues for 20 or more minutes at a crack. He recommended that. He was impressed by it, as he should have been. But when I saw that, I realized how far God had taken me. Fred Stone was an amazing man, but I’m praying in tongues a minimum of an hour per day, and that doesn’t include prayer with my understanding. Prayer in tongues is the gym of the Spirit, and without much effort, I’m becoming a supernatural powerlifter.

Joshua tells me something I already knew. I need to remember to pray in the Spirit throughout the day. I try to do that, but now I have more incentive.

The things that happen to me astonish me. I sit in the Garage of Blues at night, praying in the Spirit, and then I pray with my understanding. Power rushes through me. Sometimes I actually feel little pains, as though something were pumping my bones up with air. Faith comes up inside me like a geyser. Sometimes I feel I’m going to be lifted out of the chair. And life gets better, for me and the people for whom I pray.

It’s not a big burden. Through John, God told us his law (“commandments”) was not burdensome (1 John 5:3), so I should not be surprised. Prayer is not boring. How can a visit with God be boring? He created the stars. He has the answer to every problem. How can that be dull? When did we decide that was dull? I’m getting addicted to it. I hate the idea of missing prayer. It’s like going without food. You don’t need character and willpower to make it to meals, do you? I sure don’t.

I hope this helps people. God didn’t give me what I have because I’m wonderful. I’m not the one whose righteousness paid for it. Anything I have, you can get.

Give it a shot. Try it for a month. And forget the garbage charismatics tell you about giving your house and your car to God. That’s just a distraction. When the Spirit gets a grip on you, you will know when to give.

One Response to “Heavenly Food Stamps”

  1. rick Says:

    Steve I have enjoyed watching the Lord mold and shape you over this past year or so. The key as I see it, is that you have given Christ preeminence in your life. When He has the chief seat at the table, He serves a wonderful and bountiful meal.