Is prayer just a placebo ? Faith crisis, please help !

[Kenny_ms]

Great Scott! Marty!

 

[HBEtechnician]

It Seems??? Wow, that ought to be good enough.

It only seems because I'm testing bio electrical exchange and it's systems, and I don't have a clear picture at the moment.

 

[Brother Mike]

My wife and I were driving down the highway in my truck and we saw a van pulled over to the side of the road. And there were people standing in a circle on the other side of the van. As we passed by I said to my wife, "I wonder what is happening over there". Immediately a voice spoke within me and said, "These people have a flat tire. They have a spare tire, but need somebody to bring them a jack". I then turned to my wife and said, "I just heard a voice saying these people have a flat tire. They have a spare, but they need someone to bring them a jack". My wife said, "I heard the exact same thing!"... Well I carry just such a jack in my truck. So I got off at the next exit.... got back on going the other way... got back off and back on again, so I could come up behind them. I pulled up behind them and got out of the truck. They were all watching me and as I approached I said, "God told me you all were praying for someone to bring you a jack". They instantly began jumping and leaping up in the air with their hands raised high over their heads, hooping and hollering praises unto God. True story.

This is exactly how believers are suppose to be operating.

I was sitting in a ditch, and told the Lord I am not speaking anything until I hear from you what to do. Faith speaks, but I have learned getting direction first saves a whole lot of disappointments.

Some guy in a truck pulls along side me, and says, "I was on my way home, and you may not understand this, but the Lord told me someone in the ditch on this country road needed help."

I said, "the Lord would be referring to me."
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Another time on my way to Gma's house, making a left, the Lord said make a right, so I did, then the Lord said look for a man walking, and I did. I found the man (you just know who it is) and stopped and called him over. He had flyers he was handing out looking for his Nephew that went missing, it also was a guy I had spent time in a homeless shelter with who use to listen to me speak.
I asked why he was crying and he told me the story, I then said, "Go home, tell your family he will be found tomorrow safe."

Thanks for sharing Childeye.

 

[childeye]

This is exactly how believers are suppose to be operating.

I was sitting in a ditch, and told the Lord I am not speaking anything until I hear from you what to do. Faith speaks, but I have learned getting direction first saves a whole lot of disappointments.

Some guy in a truck pulls along side me, and says, "I was on my way home, and you may not understand this, but the Lord told me someone in the ditch on this country road needed help."

I said, "the Lord would be referring to me."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Another time on my way to Gma's house, making a left, the Lord said make a right, so I did, then the Lord said look for a man walking, and I did. I found the man (you just know who it is) and stopped and called him over. He had flyers he was handing out looking for his Nephew that went missing, it also was a guy I had spent time in a homeless shelter with who use to listen to me speak.
I asked why he was crying and he told me the story, I then said, "Go home, tell your family he will be found tomorrow safe."

Thanks for sharing Childeye.

Right back at you Brother Mike. Your testimony makes me wonder just how many times I have missed the opportunity to serve God, because I was inattentive. In the story I told, it was because my wife said she had heard the same thing, otherwise I would have probably kept on driving. Kind of sad, really.

 

[reba]

seems this is a member thread off to the Lounge

 

[Brother Mike]

Right back at you Brother Mike. Your testimony makes me wonder just how many times I have missed the opportunity to serve God, because I was inattentive. In the story I told, it was because my wife said she had heard the same thing, otherwise I would have probably kept on driving. Kind of sad, really.

Wow, I was just wondering the same thing when I posted, but did not want to make the post longer............. What if we spent more time in Prayer, and acted on those little promptings instead of ignoring them? We could fill the page with testimonies.

What if we took the attitude that God always wants to speak to us about helping someone, always has someone we can talk to? It is sad, and time to step things up. I was thinking the same exact thing, and having the same Holy Spirit witness, means it's time to get busy and not add that to a list of things we ignored.

thank you for sharing that, it's sad, but I think we can do better. My self absorbed Walk with God has been on my mind lately. Not much a help that way, I have to change things.

 

[childeye]

Wow, I was just wondering the same thing when I posted, but did not want to make the post longer............. What if we spent more time in Prayer, and acted on those little promptings instead of ignoring them? We could fill the page with testimonies.

What if we took the attitude that God always wants to speak to us about helping someone, always has someone we can talk to? It is sad, and time to step things up. I was thinking the same exact thing, and having the same Holy Spirit witness, means it's time to get busy and not add that to a list of things we ignored.

thank you for sharing that, it's sad, but I think we can do better. My self absorbed Walk with God has been on my mind lately. Not much a help that way, I have to change things.

Well, since we're talking about it. I'm not sure I know the formula that tells the difference between God's prompting and my vanity. How exactly is altruism recognized?

 

[Brother Mike]

Well, since we're talking about it. I'm not sure I know the formula that tells the difference between God's prompting and my vanity. How exactly is altruism recognized?

I hear God, and sometimes just like your testimony, my wife will ask.... "Has the Lord talked to you about." We practice not mentioning things to each other until the Lord says something so we don't "ADD" stuff in. It's easy for the mind to want to fill in the blanks since God says something, and most the time it's not in line with what we were actually thinking.

For example, your thinking of going someplace and doing a certain thing, and then you hear much like you heard about the Jack.. "Go to this place"

That is not the go ahead of going there, and doing what you planed though, the instruction was just to go there. Hearing God and separating you and the devil from the Holy Spirit takes practice and discipline by just sticking to exactly what you heard.

The Lord will sound exactly like He did when you were told about the jack.

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(Joh 10:4)

The scripture says "They Know" and you don't get to know, unless you have heard it before. So, something comes up inside you, you could think. "That sounds like the same voice that told me about the Jack."

The issue is not God speaking, the issue is we don't listen, and have discounted him telling us things over and over and over. Most the time we reason the Lord away with our "VAIN" thinking as you put it.

We start by stepping out. If it's the Lord it's true, if nobody shows up, or not true that it was just you. However, God can work with someone that responds all the time, not someone that reasons him away.

Jiggle the Handle:
Wife was running late, she is about to walk out the door and it comes up inside her.... "Jiggle the upstairs toilet handle" She said to herself, I don't have time for that.
She gets home and toys are bobbing along in the downstairs living room with a big hole in the ceiling running water down. Over a half of inch of water covered the bottom floor. She calls me up, mad, crying, saying it's going to take weeks, it stinks.

Just then the Lord spoke to me inside (Not a voice) The Lord said, "You tell that women, I told her to jiggle the stool handle before she left." I said, Honey, did it come up in you to jiggle he stool handle before you run out the door? BAM, it all came back to her. Her thought, Her saying to herself I don't have time, and off she went.

Now the wife was happy, because at that time in her life, she did not understand How I heard God on so many things, and she finally saw that she actually Heard the Lord.
Despite it taking two weeks to get the water out as it would seep back in through from the walls and panels, she was happy and excited to hear God again about something else.

There is free teaching on hearing God. years back, teaching like this with scriptures really helped me out.
http://www.flcbranson.org/listseries.php?xml=rss/SpiritLed.xml

The list of Holy Spirit related things if you don't like the first link I posted. Most have the video.
http://www.flcbranson.org/freedownloads-serieslist.php?category=Holy Spirit

Time to hear God again, keep a spare jack, and your testimony makes me know it's time to shake the cobwebs out of my own life, and get to listening again. There is a danger of getting "USE" to spiritual things also, and complacent.

 

[childeye]

I hear God, and sometimes just like your testimony, my wife will ask.... "Has the Lord talked to you about." We practice not mentioning things to each other until the Lord says something so we don't "ADD" stuff in. It's easy for the mind to want to fill in the blanks since God says something, and most the time it's not in line with what we were actually thinking.

For example, your thinking of going someplace and doing a certain thing, and then you hear much like you heard about the Jack.. "Go to this place"

That is not the go ahead of going there, and doing what you planed though, the instruction was just to go there. Hearing God and separating you and the devil from the Holy Spirit takes practice and discipline by just sticking to exactly what you heard.

The Lord will sound exactly like He did when you were told about the jack.

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(Joh 10:4)

The scripture says "They Know" and you don't get to know, unless you have heard it before. So, something comes up inside you, you could think. "That sounds like the same voice that told me about the Jack."

The issue is not God speaking, the issue is we don't listen, and have discounted him telling us things over and over and over. Most the time we reason the Lord away with our "VAIN" thinking as you put it.

We start by stepping out. If it's the Lord it's true, if nobody shows up, or not true that it was just you. However, God can work with someone that responds all the time, not someone that reasons him away.

Jiggle the Handle:
Wife was running late, she is about to walk out the door and it comes up inside her.... "Jiggle the upstairs toilet handle" She said to herself, I don't have time for that.
She gets home and toys are bobbing along in the downstairs living room with a big hole in the ceiling running water down. Over a half of inch of water covered the bottom floor. She calls me up, mad, crying, saying it's going to take weeks, it stinks.

Just then the Lord spoke to me inside (Not a voice) The Lord said, "You tell that women, I told her to jiggle the stool handle before she left." I said, Honey, did it come up in you to jiggle he stool handle before you run out the door? BAM, it all came back to her. Her thought, Her saying to herself I don't have time, and off she went.

Now the wife was happy, because at that time in her life, she did not understand How I heard God on so many things, and she finally saw that she actually Heard the Lord.
Despite it taking two weeks to get the water out as it would seep back in through from the walls and panels, she was happy and excited to hear God again about something else.

There is free teaching on hearing God. years back, teaching like this with scriptures really helped me out.
http://www.flcbranson.org/listseries.php?xml=rss/SpiritLed.xml

The list of Holy Spirit related things if you don't like the first link I posted. Most have the video.
http://www.flcbranson.org/freedownloads-serieslist.php?category=Holy Spirit

Time to hear God again, keep a spare jack, and your testimony makes me know it's time to shake the cobwebs out of my own life, and get to listening again. There is a danger of getting "USE" to spiritual things also, and complacent.

Even as I read your post, I hear Him saying to pay attention. I hear Him saying that the cares of the world shut Him out. My question would be, how do I know when the cares of the world are inhibiting my walk with Him? I honestly think He's saying, I ask too many questions. I need to believe.

 

[Brother Mike]

Even as I read your post, I hear Him saying to pay attention. I hear Him saying that the cares of the world shut Him out. My question would be, how do I know when the cares of the world are inhibiting my walk with Him? I honestly think He's saying, I ask too many questions. I need to believe.

The cares of the Word do shut him out of our hearing. Hearing the Lord is exercise of your inner man to hear. We don't hear the Lord with our ears (That might be that angel of light showing up)

I can give tons of things in a long post, but if your suppose to pay attention, then watch the link I posted at your time and pace.

If your going to be used of the Lord, You have to have the confidence and ability to hear God. Look at all these pat answer scripture advice on the forum, mostly worthless. Scripture is right, but direction from the Lord concerning the issue (With Scripture) is what sets someone free. Knowing when the Lord prompts you to get involved, not to get involved.

This post here for example.
http://christianforums.net/Fellowship/index.php?threads/praise-and-prayers.60320/#post-1102362

Edward is posting for help, I have known Edward as a friend for a few years through this forum. He gets advice that He is suffering, and bla, bla, bla....... Well, hearing from God and getting direction means you don't have to suffer, you get the answer.

I ask the Lord about it. I can't use my faith for everyone, but Edward my friend is asking for help.

Now, just like Danial, I expect an answer. That is the believing your talking about. It has to really be like Father and Son thing, you have to get that mind in you.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
(Jas 1:5-6)

The Lord says this. You tell Edward he disobeyed me years ago. Mind you, I have no idea what Edward's issue is because He never mentioned it in the post.

So, Edwards issue is not a devil issue or having to suffer issue. His issue is a Edward Issue between Him and God.
Post 11
http://christianforums.net/Fellowship/index.php?threads/praise-and-prayers.60320/#post-1102362

Post 14 Edward says that is exactly right. Now I know what is part of the issue, not the full issue.

So, I tell Edward just to call me, God has a plan, not sure what that was at the moment, but I know God does, he always has a plan.

Then the Lord tells me something else. I can't tell you as it's personal and Edward would have to share it, but it sounded crazy, and a major drastic move that would change his whole life. I ran it by the wife, and the wife said that sounds right. I know it was right.

So, finally Edward called me today, and I told him what the Lord said before He told me everything. That way, I don't add things through my knowledge.

It was right. Now Edward knows it was not just his thinking and confusing on what to do.

That is a big ministry of the Prophet, confirming what someone has heard from the Lord. Much like you and the wife did, it works exactly the same way. Once the wife confirmed it, and it was established on two witnesses, then you had clear direction.

like in Acts, it says "It seemed right by the Holy Spirit to them."

If we practice not violating our conscience.......... "Like leaving the dishes until morning" and respond, then it gets a lot more easy to hear God on things. We spend most the time reasoning things out, and not doing anything until later.

If we practice not ignoring the check in our heart (Lack of peace about something) then we will see God leads us all day like this. The wisdom from above is peaceable............ You will have peace about it.

Even going to the store, check your heart. Some believers don't make it back from a simple trip to the store.

You can watch the video links I gave. That is my Pastor, Keith Moore, who trained under Brother Hagin for 20 years.
If a man can hear the Lord, and get direction for all things, that man has it made.

Be blessed.

Mike.

 

[YosefHayim]

I think, perhaps, since scripture says God answers according to his will, that if it is not his will then it could be a placebo. If we really want something that is not God's will, then things can get psychological.

But Jesus is the LOGOS. The Logic, the Reason, the Word. I think scripture has a lot to say about psychology. Hosea 4:6 says there is destruction in lack of knowledge. The New Testament talks about watching the way you thinks, and not conforming it to the way the world thinks.

Pray for discernment, both psychological and spiritual. In Greek "soul" is Psyche.

 

[childeye]

The cares of the Word do shut him out of our hearing. Hearing the Lord is exercise of your inner man to hear. We don't hear the Lord with our ears (That might be that angel of light showing up)

I can give tons of things in a long post, but if your suppose to pay attention, then watch the link I posted at your time and pace.

If your going to be used of the Lord, You have to have the confidence and ability to hear God. Look at all these pat answer scripture advice on the forum, mostly worthless. Scripture is right, but direction from the Lord concerning the issue (With Scripture) is what sets someone free. Knowing when the Lord prompts you to get involved, not to get involved.

This post here for example.
http://christianforums.net/Fellowship/index.php?threads/praise-and-prayers.60320/#post-1102362

Edward is posting for help, I have known Edward as a friend for a few years through this forum. He gets advice that He is suffering, and bla, bla, bla....... Well, hearing from God and getting direction means you don't have to suffer, you get the answer.

I ask the Lord about it. I can't use my faith for everyone, but Edward my friend is asking for help.

Now, just like Danial, I expect an answer. That is the believing your talking about. It has to really be like Father and Son thing, you have to get that mind in you.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
(Jas 1:5-6)

The Lord says this. You tell Edward he disobeyed me years ago. Mind you, I have no idea what Edward's issue is because He never mentioned it in the post.

So, Edwards issue is not a devil issue or having to suffer issue. His issue is a Edward Issue between Him and God.
Post 11
http://christianforums.net/Fellowship/index.php?threads/praise-and-prayers.60320/#post-1102362

Post 14 Edward says that is exactly right. Now I know what is part of the issue, not the full issue.

So, I tell Edward just to call me, God has a plan, not sure what that was at the moment, but I know God does, he always has a plan.

Then the Lord tells me something else. I can't tell you as it's personal and Edward would have to share it, but it sounded crazy, and a major drastic move that would change his whole life. I ran it by the wife, and the wife said that sounds right. I know it was right.

So, finally Edward called me today, and I told him what the Lord said before He told me everything. That way, I don't add things through my knowledge.

It was right. Now Edward knows it was not just his thinking and confusing on what to do.

That is a big ministry of the Prophet, confirming what someone has heard from the Lord. Much like you and the wife did, it works exactly the same way. Once the wife confirmed it, and it was established on two witnesses, then you had clear direction.

like in Acts, it says "It seemed right by the Holy Spirit to them."

If we practice not violating our conscience.......... "Like leaving the dishes until morning" and respond, then it gets a lot more easy to hear God on things. We spend most the time reasoning things out, and not doing anything until later.

If we practice not ignoring the check in our heart (Lack of peace about something) then we will see God leads us all day like this. The wisdom from above is peaceable............ You will have peace about it.

Even going to the store, check your heart. Some believers don't make it back from a simple trip to the store.

You can watch the video links I gave. That is my Pastor, Keith Moore, who trained under Brother Hagin for 20 years.
If a man can hear the Lord, and get direction for all things, that man has it made.

Be blessed.

Mike.

I like the two witness part. I like the peaceable part. As far as the conscience goes, It took me a long time just to find balance there. It seems I hear the devil way better in my conscience, than I do God.

 

[Brother Mike]

I like the two witness part. I like the peaceable part. As far as the conscience goes, It took me a long time just to find balance there. It seems I hear the devil way better in my conscience, than I do God.

The conscience is easy if you train to guard it, and not train to over ride it.

I really should was the car this weekend...... Well, it's not that dirty. (Wash the Car!!! Hint, hint, hint.)

And don't think you a expert on hearing the devil, we all are.
You can be an expert of not putting off things that come up, and not leaving them on your conscience. You practice that, then you Hear clearly when God says I need this done, I need you to go here.

You could also just listen to the link I gave you, who knows, might be something there that makes sense and changes everything.

You got this. Hearing God is awesome, and we have to practice setting flesh aside and focus on spiritual things.

God and can speak all day to us in our spirit, does us no good if we don't have the flesh still enough to hear.

cough.... cough... those links I posted.

Your the blessed.

Mike.