CONVENIOS MUNDIALES DEL PROGRAMA DE NACIONES UNIDAS PARA EL MEDIO AMBIENTE

I'm often asked, "What do you do in your time of seeking His Presence?" There is not a formula for this.

In my life, it varies from time to time but the basic components are as follows:

I go into a private room, lock the door and get on the floor before the Lord. It doesn't matter whether you sit or lie down. What's most important is the attitude of your heart.

Secondly, I repent of any sin in my life and I receive God's forgiveness.

Thirdly, I worship the Lord in both my native language (English) and in the language of the Holy Spirit.

Fourthly, I do the vital prayer of Romans 6:13 that has transformed my life. (Please see chapter 7).

Then, I begin to recall experiences with the Lord (i.e., healings, miracles, provision) where He has manifested Himself in wonderful ways. This creates more of an expectancy and awareness of His Presence as I relive these times.

I tell the Lord: "God, I want more of You...More of You...More of Your Presence, More of Your fullness in my life. Fill me with more of You..." I may repeat this

True Intimacy With God

statement many times as I wait on the Lord and focus on Him. Then, I get quiet and that's when I begin to hear His voice. Often, I begin to have visions and supernatural experiences.

The key here is learning to wait in solitude. I cannot over emphasize the important part of waiting on the Lord until I experience His manifest Presence daily. I don't come out of that private room until I have experienced His Presence.

As you desire to walk in a new level of intimacy with the Lord, I invite you to join with me in praying this prayer out loud daily:

"Lord Jesus, I come now in Your holy Name...unite my heart to fear Your Name and to know Your Presence.

Lord, I want greater intimacy with You above everything else. I welcome Your Presence to rule and reign in my life that You may be glorified."

Chapter 7

7

The Prayer of Romans 6:13

"I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship."

—Romans 12:1 (Amplified Bible) n the introduction of his significant book, Power, Holiness and Evangelism, Randy Clark, who has spent a number of years as a church pastor and additional years traveling as an international conference speaker, highlights a problem evident in the lives of many churchgoers. He writes with considerable understanding:

I

"Is it realistic to even dream of a church that is characterized by unity, power-filled lives, and personal holiness? I believe so...

"One of the most immediate problems in realizing this dream is that the Church as we know it is not transformed; it is not clean and powerful; and it is not victorious. It is not full of healed, delivered, self-denying, transformed believers. Rather, it is often made up of wounded, worn-out warriors. Many of us in our churches—leaders and members alike—carry weights of buried, unconfessed past sins that we were never meant to carry. Many of us suffer

from unhealed emotional wounds that prevent us from responding to situations, as the Holy Spirit would like to lead us. Instead, these wounds cause us to respond, consciously or unconsciously, in ways that are influenced or even controlled by our unhealed pain. Many of us are locked into addictions that are ungodly and unseemly, such as gossip, backbiting, dishonesty, pornography, gluttony, outbursts of anger or hate, uncontrollable sex practices, TV, abiding bitterness, and unforgiveness. Many persons, even leaders in the Church, live in the realm of the flesh by being touchy, easily offended, controlling, manipulative, greedy, and proud. Too many are seeking status and man's approval.

"The result is that our witness is hindered, both by the adverse appraisal of those outside the Church and by our own inability to speak the power of God to cleanse, heal, and give victory when our own lives are not cleansed, healed, and victorious.

"Can this be what God intended? Can this be the Church, able to crash through the very gates of hell? It is my conviction that God intends for His sons and daughters to live power-filled, clean, victorious lives that fully honor Him and that fully reflect the indwelling life of His Son. We may not become perfect in this life, but He draws us to move in that direction. He asks us to put aside 'every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us' (Hebrews 12:1 NKJV)."

Anyone who has ever pastored a church knows the baffling problem described here by Randy Clark. After pastoring for more than thirty years, I have seen first-hand the problem he so vividly describes in the local church. However, I have also come to see—in my own

The Prayer of Romans 6:13

personal life—that at least part of the solution is a proper application of the living truths from Romans 6:13.

The actual day that Davi Silva prayed over me, and my life was so radically changed, was the same day I was introduced by Mike Shea to the liberating truth of Romans 6:13.

And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness;

but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.