Preparing for Visitation: Part 1

Isaiah 58:6 “This is the type of fasting that I am after: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?”

Many times we ask the question in regards to a season of fasting as prayer: What is it that I expect to happen as a result of this time of consecration unto the Lord?

The real question should be: What does the LORD expect to happen as a result of my time of consecration unto Him?

The answer to the later question begins with the first verse of the text that will be central to this time that we have set apart to seek Him, and His ways for our lives, families, and ministries in the year 2007.

If you have heard me say it once, then you have probably heard me say it one thousand times, “Expectancy is the birthplace for the miraculous.”

I can only speak for myself, but I need a miracle for 2007---no, let me correct myself---I need MANY miracles in 2007! There are things that I desire to occur in this coming year that will not and cannot happen short of a miracle. Having said that, I want to position myself for the miraculous in this coming year in ways that I failed to in 2006! This begins with “expectancy.”

Expectancy = confident belief and anticipation concerning the probability of a future event.

Can we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ walk in that type of expectancy on a daily basis? Can we walk in a confidence and an anticipation that transcends the seen and instead relies upon the unseen? Do we really trust in the Lord to the degree that it produces in us a heightened probability in regards to the things that He has placed upon our hearts and lives?

I believe that the Word of God provides us with the answers to all of these questions. We are shown the manner in which we can position ourselves in the pathway of miracles!

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

Because of the ministry that the Lord Jesus has so graciously called me to do for His Kingdom, I am constantly inundated with messages, emails, comments, etc regarding what other people think about me, Raven Ministries, or how/what we should be doing.

The thing about it is—at the end of the day—I am only concerned about the “Thoughts (He) thinks towards (me).” Those are the thoughts that really matter. Those are the thoughts that bring with them the expected end of Jeremiah 29:11! Those are the thoughts that lives, ministries and even nations are changed and transformed by! Those are the thoughts that we need to be focused upon in 2007.

If Melanie and I had headed the “expectancy” of others concerning our lives and ministry to the Lord Jesus Christ we would have been in trouble! They said:

“Your marriage will never last more than a year.” It has lasted more than 20!
“You will never be in the ministry.” They obviously missed on that one!
“You can’t feed hundreds of people.” We’ve fed tens of thousands!
“You can’t start RAVEN in New Orleans.” We have them across the Nation.
“No ONE will listen to you on the streets” Thousands have come to Christ.

This “expected end” or expectancy is the manifested product of “seeking Him (praying) with all one’s heart.” Your anticipation concerning the things of God will be equivalent to your dedication to seeking the face of God!

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

When we seek Him diligently through dedicated times of prayer and fasting it transitions us from a place of im-possibilities to a place of Him-possibilities! THAT is the place that I want to dwell in!

The English prefix “im” means not or without. For example; Something immovable is a thing that is without the ability to move. Something immoral is something without morals. To be impetuous is to do something without thinking. If I am forced to improvise I must advance without a plan.

Because I live in the realm of HIM-possibilities instead of impossibilities I should always be able to MOVE (“in Him we live and move…”) and walk in a righteous MORALITY (“be ye Holy for I am Holy”). My mind should always THINK His thoughts (“as a man thinks in his heart”) and His PLAN should always be before me (“the steps or plan of a good man are directed by the Lord”).

Expectation should be our motto through this season of fasting and prayer!

Next time: What should I then expect- loosing, undoing, setting free, breaking yokes!