Week 3 Surrender To The Spirit’s Work In You

Ocean, wide flowing Ocean, Thou,
Of uncreated Love;
I tremble as within my soul
I feel Thy waters move.
Thou art a sea without a shore;
Awful, immense Thou art;
A sea which can contract itself
Within my narrow heart.
Federick William Faber

Week 3 was all about confession, David’s sin, and Psalm 51. But somehow, the Lord took me to surrender this week. I was profoundly moved by Day 4, all about the Holy Spirit and His work in me. I have been thinking a lot about the presence of the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives. I loved what Tozer said - the Spirit-filled life is “the normal state for every redeemed man and woman the world over. It is ‘that mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory’” (Colossians 1:26 KJV).

Christ in us IS a mystery, but oh, how His presence in us changes everything - our choices, our lifestyle, our purpose. I have been actively conscious and intentional, following the example of Brother Lawrence, and practicing the presence of the Lord. I’ll stop for a moment during my day and just speak with the Lord, thanking Him that I am not alone.

This study is so timely for my life. In fact, I prayed the prayer in Psalm 104:27 “They all wait for You to give them their food in due season. You give to them, they gather it up; you open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.” The reason for my prayer was a particular need and I just said “Thank You Lord that you give in due season. I’m waiting for You, Lord.” I saw the Lord meet my need specifically and exactly the same day - how cool is that!!!

I loved the practical application in the Adore God In Prayer section on Day 4 and listed out all my surrenders. One surrender in particular was from Proverbs 3:5 - I surrendered my desire to understand what’s going on and what God is doing. I said, “Lord I’m giving this desire to understand to You - You don’t have to explain what You’re doing - I am choosing to trust You whether I understand or not.

Well, friends, until we share again. God bless you.

In His Love,
Catherine

Week 2 Worship and Adore God

I couldn’t resist posting this video of The Revelation Song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. I’ve also posted another version of this song by Kari Jobe showing worshippers in adoration of God. You’ll find it at the end of this post. Both are powerful. Let me know which one you like the best.

This week in Passionate Prayer we studied “Prayer When You Want To Adore God.” We lived in Psalm 104 and what a joy it was for me to meditate on the words. I saw things I’d never seen. It’s amazing how just a very simple phrase paints such a huge picture. I LOVED “He makes the clouds His chariot.” Octavius Winslow devotes a whole chapter in his book, Help Heavenward, just to this one phrase. Here’s what Octavius Winslow says, “Oh, it is because we have such shallow views of God’s love that we have such defective views of God’s dealings! We blindly interpret the symbols of His providence because we so imperfectly read the engravings of his heart. Faith finds it’s difficult to spell the word ‘love’ as written in the shaded characters of its discipline; to believe that the cloud which looks so sombre and threatening is the love-chariot of him who for our ransom gave himself unto the death because he so loved us!…He makes the clouds his chariot; and soothed with this assurance, the beclouded, benighted traveller may be still and know that he is God.”

I love those words from Octavius Winslow - sometimes the clouds of life have seemed so threatening. Oh how strong we become in the Lord when we turn our eyes to His greatness and glory and then worship and adore Him! I loved Tozer’s words this week, “From the effort to understand, we must not turn back because the way is difficult and there are no mechanical aids for the ascent. The view is better farther up and the journey is not one for the feet but for the heart.” Didn’t you love those words in Day 2!! So we took the ascent in Psalm 104. I loved the fact that God sends forth “springs in the valleys” (verse 10). But I think my favorite insight this week was in Psalm 104:27-28. I saw how faithful the Lord is to feed His creation, from the trees who need water to the birds of the air, the lions, and finally, man. We can trust God to give us food in due season. What I saw is that God has perfect timing for all His good and perfect gifts (see James 1:17 also). We wait (watching always I trust), and when He gives, we gather (verse 28). Now I know where Amy Carmichael got the title of her wonderful book, Thou Givest, They Gather.

I hope you took the time to pray through Psalm 104 - powerful words to help us worship and adore God. If you haven’t stopped to talk with God and commune and worship Him using these words, then I encourage you to do so. And then, be encouraged with these videos of The Revelation Song - one is by Phillips, Craig, and Dean and the other is by Kari Jobe. I like them both for different reasons. I’ve been using them for worship and adoration this week. Enjoy. And I look forward to continuing on in this adventure, this quiet time experience of Passionate Prayer. Blessings and Love, Catherine

Meet Kari Jobe: After I watched this video of Kari Jobe leading worship through The Revelation Song, I thought, “I want to know more about Kari Jobe.” So I went to her website to find out more about her. She’s a worship pastor in Texas, leading others to worship God. I’ve included a video below of her sharing more about herself and her ministry. I love hearing her talk about worship and I thought since our whole focus is worship and adoration this week, that you would be encouraged by her words. Blessings to everyone and enjoy!!

Here’s another version of Kari Jobe doing the song - now you have all 3 of the best I could find online. Enjoy and delight in the Lord by worshipping Him. Bless the LORD, O my soul!!!

Week 1 Spiritual Breakthroughs With The Psalms

What a week of study we have had in Week 1 of Passionate Prayer - A Quiet Time Experience. The title of this week was Praying With The Psalmists. What I didn’t count on as I studied this week was that sometimes when you pray with another person you may experience an amazing spiritual breakthrough. That’s what happened with me this week. I’ve studied and lived in the Psalms for about a guzillion years! And my favorite writer of psalms is, hands down, David, the man after God’s own heart. This week the Lord showed me something incredible about David. I saw it while studying in Day 2 of Week 1. I read Psalm 19:14 where David called the Lord, “my Rock and my Redeemer,” then I stopped and thought, “How personal the Lord was to David. He wasn’t simply a Rock, but my Rock, my Redeemer.” And then, my eyes were opened to something new and powerful. David, the shepherd boy who became king, was extremely needy and dependent on God. He always carried with him a sense of helplessness and inadequacy. No wonder he often said, when he drew near to God, “But who am I?” I believe this is what made him such a man after God’s own heart. He was so utterly dependent on God that he could know Him intimately. He knew God as his Rock, for he knew his need for stability and security and found God to be the Rock, a sure foundation. He knew God as His Redeemer, for he knew his need of redemption and salvation, and found God to be the One who redeems and saves.

Discovering this amazing basic truth about David shows me that I need to cultivate a sense of need, dependence, and even helplessness, for then I will run to God and rely on Him. And when I do, I will find Him to be utterly reliable, a help and refuge in time of need, and a strong and mighty deliverer. This truth is so diametrically opposed to what we learn in the world. You’ve got to get stronger and stronger, not weaker and weaker, at least in the world. But in God’s economy, the weaker you are the stronger you become in the Lord. That’s why Paul said, “Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). So take heart, if you feel inadequate for the task, and in need of help. Your need drives you to a new dependence on your God. He loves those who trust in Him. And remember, TRUST is total reliance under stress and trial.

Oh what discoveries David made about God. I loved these words in Psalm 18:1-2 in The Message:
I love you, God–you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God–the high crag where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.

What did God teach you this week in the study? Did you have one of those amazing spiritual breakthroughs? Was there a verse that just touched your heart? Or a favorite quote? Feel free to share your insights in the Comments here on this blog and also at the Passionate Prayer - Quiet Time Experience section at the Quiet Time Cafe.

Enjoy your study in Week 2, Prayer When You Want To Adore God.

Blessings to everyone as you draw near to God in His Word. And God bless you as you continue on in the great adventure of knowing Him.

The Adventures of Cath

I often say that it is truly the great adventure of knowing God. And so it has been over the last two months. I’ve spoken at three retreats and conferences, filmed 15 messages on location in Idyllwild, California, and I’m immersed in my 20^th book, Quiet Time Moments For Women, a devotional book filled with nuggets from God’s Word. And yet, I’ve got to let you in on a secret—I’m not tired. The Lord has given me extra energy and wisdom to do what He’s called me to do and I’m thanking Him with all my heart!! I want to share some of the highlights from my adventures over the last month. There are so many and I wish I could share ALL my pictures. For now, here are just a few. Meet Valerie, one of the most amazing, on fire for the Lord Christians I’ve ever met in my life. She went online to Christian Book Distributors looking for a book on prayer. Guess what book she found—the 30 day journey of Passionate Prayer. When she showed me her book, I almost fell over. If you’ve ever read any of the 30 day journeys, then you know that I always encourage others to dialogue and interact with each day of reading. Well, let me tell you—Valerie knows how to do exactly that.

Look at one of the pages in her Passionate Prayer - 30 Day Journey book. Every page was like this! I was just blown away. In fact, I was so thrilled with how she reads a book that I took numerous pictures for others to see. What you see here, my friends, is a heart for the Lord. Here is a woman that I was privileged to spend time with for a weekend at the Carlsbad Community Church Women’s Retreat. Valerie isn’t even from that church. After she read the book, she looked in the back, found our phone number and called our office. She found out about the retreat and was able to attend. Be encouraged by her. If we all followed her example, I think there might be a fire of revival that would spread everywhere.

Then, I had the unique opportunity to teach at the Shiloh Community Church Women’s Retreat held at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, AZ. What an amazing location for a retreat.  I intend to return and spend some good time alone with the Lord—just drawing near to Him and soaking in His Word. The Shiloh retreat was a smaller group and we had some great one-on-one time - the Franciscan Renewal Center was a perfect location for our time together. We shared on what it means to trust God and I talked about God’s names. I met some wonderful women and even met a friend from Campus Crusade days at Arizona State University. As a matter of fact, here’s a great story. I often talk about how the director at ASU CCC, Elmer Lappen, one evening asked us all for memory verses. He looked right at me and said, “Cath, let’s start with you. Give us a verse by memory.” Well, I hadn’t memorized any verses. So I quickly said, “John 11:35 Jesus wept.” Well, everyone laughed. Everyone, that is, except for Elmer. Elmer looked me right in the eyes and said, “Cath, ALWAYS be prepared to make a defense for the hope that is in you.” I learned a big lesson there. I went home and memorized the longest verse I could find in the Bible. The next time he asked for verses, I quoted mine, he smiled and said, “Cath, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one before.”

Why would I share this story? Because when I shared it at the Shiloh retreat, a girl came up to me afterwards and said, “Catherine, I was there. I remember how funny that was.” I got tears in my eyes because it was a tangible confirmation of how the Lord has worked in my life. What a beautiful moment to meet her and be reminded that the Lord who was with me then is with me now. To God be the glory.

The following weekend my husband and I made the trek up to Idyllwild, CA with all our filming equipment. We spent four long days filming in between street paving, buzz saws, barking dogs, burglar alarms sounding, and squirrels dropping tree branches on my head during the filming. The squirrels had personalities all their own. At one point, WHILE I was speaking on camera, a squirrel leaped at me, almost landing on my shoulder, and then ran the other direction. What did I do? I kept on going. It was a very productive film shoot. And once the footage is edited, we will have new high definition messages for DVD and the internet soon for two different books I’ve written.

The next weekend, I was privileged to speak to 200 women in Los Angeles at a women’s brunch. I shared about A Woman’s Heart That Dances and taught how to have a quiet time. Afterwards, many women came up to me and shared how much they had longed to know how to spend time with God. And now, they couldn’t wait to get started. When I hear such amazing responses, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to share simple, yet effective, principles of quiet time and intimacy with God. I love telling others about the great adventure of knowing God.

What an adventure with the Lord! And the best is yet to come. As the psalmist has said, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You! (Psalm 84:10-12). Right now I’m writing my 20^th book. Can you believe it! And I’m planning for 2010 and beyond. The Lord is planting a big idea in my heart – I’ll share more later, but I’m working on it as we speak. I’ve been studying in Isaiah these days and we’ve just begun a new study of Passionate Prayer – A Quiet Time Experience. If you’d like to join us in Passionate Prayer, just order a book and then connect with me online at Cath’s Community and share your insights at the Passionate Prayer blog. We also have a forum at the Quiet Time Café dedicated to this study.

Have a great day and I’ll share more soon.