By Nita Johnson

NOLA Revival Services June, 2011

From last week…

Some people can learn to walk with God over 40 years. For Moses, it took 80 years. Abraham walked with God for many, many, many years. But some of us here will be given 3 years, some will be given 5, some will be given 7, some will be given 10. Why the difference? The one who is given the smaller space of time is not really serious. God will take you around the mountain once or twice and when He sees that your heart is not serious, He lets go. When He lets go, the desire for union leaves.

Where did Moses run? He ran out to the desert, a place away from every creature comfort. He ran out to places unknown. He ran out to the backside of the desert. When he ran, he did not know it was going to be a 40 year stint. He was thinking it would probably be more like 1 or 2 years. Never did he dream it would be 40 years on the backside of the desert, away from all of the comforts of Egypt. His season out there was very difficult for him. He learned how to become a man of prayer. That is what God needs you to do. Become people of prayer. If you do not become people of prayer, it shows Him that you are not really serious about entering into union with Him. As you are becoming people of prayer, also become people of the Word. Learn to love the Word. Learn to hug the Word and depend on the Word like you would on food. It is prayer that opens up the Word. It is prayer that opens up your heart. It is prayer that spills these two – truth from the Word and the love of your heart – into the same pool. He joins the two in prayer. He prepares your heart for the placement of these great diamonds, jewels, and precious truths through prayer. If you do not have a prayer life you will learn to judge everything in the Word by your mind. Some people are very intelligent. Some are not. Think of the many interpretations of the Word that are given to the body of Christ through people who are not people of prayer. They have interpreted the Scriptures through their mind and intellect. They have figured things out through the soul realm. They do not really know what the truth is. Then they start feeding that junk to the Church and the Church gets all fattened up on “truth” that is not truth at all.

It is very important to have a prayer life. How did Moses gaze steadfastly at his heart’s desire, hold staunchly to his purpose and endure to the end? Did he walk in continuous joy? Did he enjoy great times? He endured great opposition and hardship. How did he do it? How did he maintain his gaze steadfastly on the One who is Invisible? Only through prayer. It is a beautiful calling and beautiful path to become a person of prayer, to enter into His throne room and come to know Him and the wonders of His person. It is wonderful to begin to know how He thinks, how He feels, what He is doing in the earth, and what He is doing in you. How does this happen? Think about what happens when a man and a woman meet. He kind of likes her. She kind of likes him. They begin to flirt as people do in the flesh. She is flirting with him. He is flirting with her. She knows what to say. He knows what to say and they like each other a little bit more. Their relationship continues to grow. In the end, he becomes in her eyes her knight in shining armor riding on a white horse.

A man can say everything right when he is courting. They go through this ritual and then he pops the question because he knows she is going to say yes. She says yes. Then they get married and reach a place of deep intimacy. Through the process of meeting, flirting, and courtship, her gaze starts to focus more and more on him. If he does not call, she gets nervous. If he calls and is moody, she gets depressed. If something is not going right with him, she has to take control. If something is not going right with her, he has to take control. Men are fixers. Things are changing. Her focus is becoming more fixed on him and his on her. It is the same with the Lord.

The couple gets married and the mutual focus is even stronger because now there is intimacy. After 20 years, she can almost read his thoughts. She even acts like him and he acts a little like her because they have become closer to being one. Intimacy does that. It also helps you through very difficult times. When looking at some marriages, you have to wonder how in the world they made it. It is because God put something in their heart when He said: the two shall become one. It is the same with Jesus. He is calling us out of the outer court (Egypt), and calling us into the inner sanctuary of the knowledge of God. You can learn some things about Jesus in the holy place, but the things your heart is craving you can only learn in the holy of holies. That means that you have to leave Egypt (the spirit of the world) behind. You have to abandon your desires, lusts, passions, and attitudes (everything the Bible condemns). There is no other alternative.

You cannot look at the Lord ten years from now and say: I did not know any of this, Lord. The Bible puts it right there before your face: this is acceptable, this is not acceptable. Every day you are making a decision: do I want Him bad enough to let go of the things I need to let go of even if it means suffering to get rid of it? You will never know if you do not have a prayer life. That is the only way it can happen. We need intimacy with Jesus. Only in intimacy can you learn His heart and find your heart and the strength to let your heart go. What happens in a walk like this? What happens when intimacy begins to occur? Jesus becomes very jealous, possessive, and passionate for you. He, in His jealousy, will do many things to separate you unto Himself. When He starts investing Himself in you in that way, He does not want you going out and dumping yourself into the world and polluting and contaminating the work that He has invested in you. He will pull you closer and try to develop in your heart a hatred for these things. If you do not learn it easily, He will help you learn it the hard way. He is invested in you. It takes commitment. You cannot stay on the fence: Oh, I want a little bit of the world this way, a little bit of my will this way, and I want a little bit of God. Well, actually, I want a lot of God but I really do not want to let go of some of my will. He will draw you near and teach you to hate the things you once loved and at the same time He will show you sides of Himself. He will show you His face. He will show you His heart. He will let you feel and experience His tender and noble heart. He will let you weep with Him over the things that hurt His noble heart. He will let you weep with Him. He will let you begin to see sin the way He sees it. It is devastating. He will let you begin to see the world the way He sees it. It is devastating. He will let you start carrying burdens that were way too heavy for you before.

After a while, it will become more normal and natural, because you have seen Him and known Him and you have walked in the grace, the enlargement you must go through to carry the heavier burdens. He is not going to give the same burden to a child that He would give to His wife. He will not whisper into the ear of a child what He will whisper into the ear of His Bride. He will not blow on your sacred heart if you are a child. He will if you are His wife. The relationship grows. It deepens and develops until you cannot bear to be apart from Him. You know that His heart is tender, noble, precious, and sacred. You want to protect it even from your sin. Walking with Jesus is not easy but it is the most wonderful thing you can have in life. When He sees that you want to walk closer with Him, He will give that to you. Amen.

In His Amazing Love,

Nita Johnson