Consecration 2012
GO IN AND SHUT THE DOOR
You will experience a more successful fast if you purpose to send adequate closet time during your focused prayer and fasting.
Closet Time: If you don’t already have an established daily closet time with the Lord, then this is an excellent opportunity as Bishop Allen often says to “Make It Happen!!!”
Matt 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Starting you day with God is a habit that will support your faith and growing intimacy with the Lord. During your Daniel Fast, be sure to set daily time to come before God. First to empty out and allow God to expose every sin and eight that so easily besets us. Then to strengthen our relationship with God, to know him, that he may be our Lord.
For Instance did you know that PRAYER is not just a verb (an action word), but it is also a noun (a place). That often times in scripture when PRAYER is mentioned it is actually referring to the PLACE (the closet) not the action (to pray). One can not effectively PRAY until one is in the PLACE. This place is often a geographic location (i.e. bedroom, work cubicle, bathroom, or in a mountain top) but it is not limited to such locations. It is more a state of mind, condition of our spirit, a state of consciousness where we are free from all noise (audible and mental). It is often the geographic locations that aide us in getting to the PLACE….A STATE OF QUIET, STILLNESS OR REST….That is why it is no surprise that Samuel heard God call his name for the first time when he laid down to sleep. He was in a STATE of rest or in a PLACE to hear from God. 1 Samuel 3:1-10. My heart leaped when I found out that the next time Samuel heard from God was at Shiloh. 1 Samuel 3:21. This is revelation because the Hebrew meaning for Shiloh is “PLACE OF REST”. If you want to hear from God, then you MUST get to the PLACE. This is why the Psalmist said “Be still, and know that I am God…” Psalms 46:10. It was at Shiloh that not only did God meet Samuel, but he also revealed himself there. If I were in church right now I would ask you to tell your neighbor “BE STILL AND LET GOD SHOW UP”. This revelation and so much more in waiting for us in the PLACE (the closet). I believe with all of my heart that God is waiting for us in the closet to reveal himself to us. To spend time with us, to be intimate with us, to download mysteries unto us by his Spirit. Block time out of your schedule, obey God’s prompting to get up early or to steal away at lunch. Shut out the noise, GET IN THAT CLOSET AND SHUT THE DOOR.
PREPARE OUR HEARTS TO HEAR FROM GOD
One of the Psalmist’s most important petitions before God was “Create in me a clean hear and renew a right spirit within”. David knew the importance of being in right standing with God and the influence this had on his relationship with God. A wise and anointed Pastor friend once told me that no matter what is going on with us in ministry, NOTHING is more important than keeping a clean heart.
When we really understand the full weight of this principle, then we also understand that this impacts our conversations, our opinions, our thought life, our behavior, our relationships, what we watch, what we hear and our business practices. All of these have direct bearing on our relationship with God and our ability to hear from Him.
WARNING: When the condition of our heart is not dealt with honestly, we become vulnerable to strong spirits of delusion. This is a sobering thought in light of the scripture that has countless examples of men and women of God who were deceived by seducing spirits and many NEVER knew it or paid great consequences. Miriam, Aaron, Cain, Korah, Saul and even David (when conducting a census) who suffered great lost as a result.
1 Samuel 3:7 states that Samuel, while working in ministry, did not actually know God nor was the word of the Lord revealed to him. This let’s me know that faithful service is not enough nor is it number one with God.
Psalms 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? 4. He that hath CLEAN hands, and a PURE heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6. This is the generation of them that seek him that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
Now that we have the basics for effective closet dwelling down, let us press into his presence. There is no substitute for actual time before God. I have learned that the spirit of wisdom and the revelation in the knowledge of time is actually unpacked in the closet. And the more closet time we book, the more of Him is revealed. Here are a few nuggets to consider as we set Kingdom Order.
1 1. Keep a clean heart. Cherish and protect your relationship with God.
2. 2. Stay in prayer (the place, state of consecration)(this keeps you hearing sharp)
3. 3. Be sensitive and obedient to God’s prompting to visit the closet.
4. 4. Learn to be still before God. This is where He usually speaks
5. 5. Be obedient when He speaks.
6. 6. Learn to cherish your closet time and you’ll become hooked.
7. 7. When hooked, your appetites will shift. God will actually start to manifest Himself in you and through you. (An open reward Matthew 6:6)