MY CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD

Welcome to the OABG Daily Blog and Podcast!

Y’all I just love when God tells me something the day before I need it. Has that ever happened to you? Yesterday he told me to serve Him simple, don’t overcomplicate it.

This morning, I found myself hearing that word just in time. I was trying to implement some new prayer routines that I have recently learned and one of the things that my mentor said he does in the morning is read the Lord’s prayer a few times. And I thought, humph, that’s easy enough. I am usually trying to sound like an old Baptist deacon some mornings and feeling like if I don’t do it the way that I did it that one time I know I felt the Holy Spirit move that I may miss the move.

SMH (shaking my head). That’s totally not it Fon. And you know how God confirmed it this morning? I was turning to read Acts 25 for the Scriptural Bible Study and I landed AGAIN on Matthew 6! I do not have this page earmarked! I repeat, I do not have this page bookmarked in any way, but God wanted me to see it. Why, because I read this: When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they will be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. Therefore you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
help us to honor
    your name.
10 Come and set up
    your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
    will obey you,
as you are obeyed
    in heaven.
11 Give us our food for today.
12 Forgive us for doing wrong,
    as we forgive others.
13 Keep us from being tempted
    and protect us from evil.

Matthew 6:9-13 CEV

Now many of us know the Lord’s Prayer right. But how often do we use it? I know it’s a template for prayer and I always thought when you got deeper in the Word, you should be saying more. But verses 7-8 say otherwise. Even though this is the template for prayer, whatever we adjust it to should still follow the same simplicity! WOW! I also heard about the ACTS prayer template too, and it’s very similar to the Lords Prayer. It’s simple. I realize that religion has taught me in error that I need to a long drawn out prayer. Nope. The template is straight from Jesus himself, so why not just do what he says do?

Okay, so the ACTS Prayer is: Adoration. Confession. Thanksgiving. Supplication. I found this cute picture online that I thought really made it uber simple…LOL

Isn’t that really simple to pray?

So anyway, as I prayed this way this morning, I still got on my knees and prayed in the Spirit as well, but I realized that the hour is to be spent in prayer TIME, not praying the entire TIME! Now that’s a revelation. LOL! I prayed and then I sat and listened to the spontaneous thoughts that popped in my mind (I recently learned that’s a way that God speaks to our hearts). So wrote down what I heard and here is what He said to me:

• Just keep being led by Me. I know the desires of of your heart and they are coming.

• Just keep thinking: Saul to Paul

• Keep praying even though you can’t see the pursuit.

• Trust My Word.

• Keep your focus on Me, not them. Because when you focus on them, you get distracted and consumed with what’s happening or what’s not happening.

• Don’t be distracted because that takes your focus from Me (I realized that the devil uses distractions a whole lot).

• Frustration means you’ve taken your eyes off of Me.

• Overthinking means you’ve taken your eyes off of Me.

• Trying to figure it out, means you’ve taken your eyes off of Me.

• When you’re focused on Me, you’re at peace and you have joy. You’re in faith. You’re trusting My Word and My Voice.

• Go ahead and let NCIS go. You keep thinking about letting it go because you know there are parts that don’t agree with your beliefs. So instead of trying to ignore those parts, just let it go and stop watching it.

Don’t you just love it? God talks to us specifically when we take time to listen. He said all that and then said, stop watching NCIS. I had been watching that show on Netflix and they talk about voodoo and one of the characters is very dark and of course the whole premise of the show is them investigating a murder so there is death all up and through the show. I like the figuring out who did it part, but God is saying, not at the risk of hearing all the other stuff that goes against your beliefs.

—-

Now before I go, let’s talk about Acts 25.

Here we are at the point in the story were Paul is making an appeal to Ceasar because the Jews are still at it. They still trying to ambush him (same plan they had two years ago that didn’t work). And let that be a point to note. They still at it two years later!! Sometimes the circumstances we are in go on way longer than we expect, but we have to keep our focus on Jesus. The Tony Evans Study Notes say it like this: No matter how grim your circumstances appear, do not forget the glorious truth that God is in control. Trust Him to accomplish His will for your life as he sovereignly directs your path.

So they still trying to get Paul and now they trying to get the new Governor Festus to see their side of the case, but the Governor ain’t seeing it. And you know why right? Because it ain’t nothing to see. They have wrongly accused Paul. We know that. The governor knows it. Paul knows it. And they know it too, but still trying. They relentless with it, but God is in control of this whole thing.

Paul once again, calmly made his defense in verse 8 saying “Neither against the Jewish law, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in any way.” But Gov. Festus tried to do the Jews a favor by asking Paul if he wanted to go back to Jerusalem to be tried there? Paul was like…bruh, I am standing at Ceasar’s tribunal where I ought to be tried. He said I have done no wrong to the Jews and you know that. This is me paraphrasing of course because I know you already read it. See Paul wanted to go to Rome, the highest level of earthly authority with a message from the supreme authority: Believe in the Lord Jesus.

In the end of the chapter King Agrippa came to visit Gov. Festus and said they wanted to hear Paul speak, so here was Paul getting the opportunity to talk to a human king about KING JESUS! Can you say orchestrated by God!! Gov. Festus was cool with letting King Agrippa talk to him because he needed King Agrippa’s help to write up the charge against Paul (which he didn’t have). He didn’t want to look like a fool sending Paul to the emperor with no real charges. He even said in the last verse of the chapter: For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.

And that’s where we stop for today y’all. Now I want you to go ahead and read chapter 26 tomorrow where Paul presents his case before King Agrippa. But we will pick up on chapter 27 on Monday okay! Be ready! Because it’s getting juicy huh?

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Be sure to press play above or listen on the Anchor app to each episode as I always go deeper on audio.

YOUR ASSIGNMENTS

1. What did the Lord God say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?

2. How will you make your prayer life more simplified?

   REMINDER: Don’t forget to read the Scriptural Bible Study below and see what the Lord says to you about it.

SALVATION PRAYER

If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.

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