OUT OF THE BOX

Christians often fail to realize the real importance and necessity of prayer. Many remain at a shallow level in their prayer experience not realizing the depths that can be attained as they enter the presence of God. One of the mysteries of prayer is that people think they know what it is while in fact real prayer is probably one of the least understood of spiritual experiences. So many Christians have walked into the foyer and think they have experienced the whole house. Not only do they fail to actually enter the house itself, but they also fail to realize there are things to do in the house. For those of you who are interested, I have begun a study on the subject of "Praying in the Spirit" on my other blog (The Secret Council). Just click on this link:   http://councilroom.blogspot.com/ Billy Long

[Below is a re-print of an article I posted in June 2008. The story is full of spiritual implications, but I will point out only a few of them.    - Billy Long ]  Mark 6: 45-52. "Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side...Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by." “He made His disciples get into a boat.” The “boat” is significant because it represents a context from which we can not easily escape. The disciples, on that small boat in the middle of the sea, could not simply change their minds and walk away from the problems and issues at hand. They could not escape the process; they had to ride it out. The Lord desires to work deeply and significantly in our lives, but He knows that human nature wants to run from the fire and will attempt to escape if it has the option to do ...

[Below is a re-print of an earlier posting from Sept 2009. This article will encourage you to stand in faith trusting God in His power, wisdom, and love to be able to perform His will in your life as you surrender to Him in faith and obedience.]  -Billy Seeing so many things that could discourage us and seeing the failures of God's people we are tempted to lose heart and faith and to think that there is no use trying. We have seen what we thought were the wrong people succeeding and the wrong people failing. Like John the Baptist we have seen the glory and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God!" Then we have sat in our "prison cells" and said, "Are you the one or do we look for another? Did I miss it?" We have stood on the mountain top and cried out, "This is it!" And we have crawled on the valley floor crying, "Where did it go?" We have said, "Lord, I'll never leave you nor forsake you" and later denied Him before the ...

A friend of mine was having to make a tough decision in an area where there appeared to be some tension between practical wisdom and what the Spirit of the Lord was leading him to do. Below is an email exchange of our conversation. The unusual nature of the topic may spur some of you to comment. My friend's email Billy, I wanted to shoot a quick note your way with an update letting you know that I'm about to take a major leap of faith and leave my current job with no other job lined up to step into. I know many people would consider this to be CRAZY, especially with the current state of the economy, but, at the risk of sounding like a spiritual nut, I truly feel as though it's the direction God is moving me in. I've been praying for wisdom/clarity of thought in what steps to take next, and I'd be much appreciative for your prayers as well. This is the first time in my life I've stepped away from something without having something else in place to move int...