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The first time I came to the United States, I was surprised by the cultural difference that existed between my home country of Australia and the USA. Some differences were glaringly obvious, such as driving on the opposite side of the road, the curiously strong accents and the difference in the food. I did not realize, however, how much I assumed that things in America would be like things in Australia. I had a perception about the country I was coming to that had not been formed by experience, but through the media and second hand knowledge. Growing up watching American movies and television programs caused me to think that what I had seen was reality (because you should always believe what you see on television right? What was I thinking?) Thankfully, the day that I stepped onto American soil, I crossed over from head knowledge to experiential knowledge and what I had only known from a distance, now I knew in reality.

Any one can tell you that to have an effective relationship, you must have intimacy on some level. You cannot hope to pursue a relationship with a girl or guy unless you have first expressed your interest and then taken them out on a date to get to know them. To walk in understanding of the uniqueness of an individual, a culture or a country you have to step beyond a distant critical analysis and enter into a relationship of “knowing”. The problem is that most of us have grown up within an analytical education system and the lack of experiential knowledge that accompanies the bare boned facts we are presented with, limit our ability to really “know” a subject. The beauty of experiential education is that it can greatly magnify the knowledge retention of the student. This principle is just as true when it comes to the realm of theology, or the study of God. The description of Jesus in John’s gospel describes him as the “word of God made flesh” meaning that Jesus was the physical expression of the very nature of God. Part of the intent of describing Jesus with such terminology was to reveal to us that God desires to be known and that he desired it so much that made a flesh and blood description of His nature so that we could know Him, not just from a distant analytical viewpoint, but from a touch, see and feel reality. We use words to describe things that we see, touch, taste or experience but those words alone do not equate to actually having touched or tasted or seen. Words do, however, help take that which we see and experience and make it available for others to experience. The fact that John described Jesus as the “word made flesh” helps us to understand that what God had been trying to tell us about who He was throughout history He now revealed in a flesh and blood body so that we might not just know about him from a distance, but know Him intimately. His desire was that we would be restored to the place that Adam had when he walked with God in the garden and enjoyed communication, intimacy and friendship with God. When it comes to our relationship with God, the apostle Paul puts it eloquently like this,

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” Ephesians 3:14-19

Paul makes it clear that all of the strengthening with might, all of the rooting in faith and all of the grounding in love is so that we could know the love of Christ and in doing so be filled with the fullness of God. Paul understood that it was not just enough to know scriptures about who God is, it had to be translated into a “knowing”, an experiential knowledge about God, because this was the kind of relationship that God had planned for His people. Paul was inviting us to not just know about God, but to know Him on an experiential level. The prophet Hosea described it like this,

“Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:3

Hosea recognized that the greatest journey we could ever go on would be the journey of the discovery of God. This scripture also tells us that the pursuit of the knowledge of God actually enables the releasing of His nature toward us. As we pursue the knowledge of God, the result will be that He will come to us like the rain. It is the spiritual principal of faith at work in us. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is the seed that is planted in the ground that brings forth the harvest of what we are asking for, but it is not the harvest itself. Faith is the miracle of a seed going from dormancy to bringing forth fruit. Scripture tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, so faith must be at work even before we can begin the process of discovery, just as a seed is awakened in the earth to become a plant without anybody seeing it happen.

Faith works to awaken our souls to the knowledge of God and then works to enable us to continue to pursue the knowledge of God. As we allow faith to operate in us, we then enable the truth of who Jesus is to us to be released to us, first as a Savior, then as a Friend, then as a Bridegroom. This enables us to see the plan of God in history and His nature and character as a Father. This is the goal of all of our faith, to know God.

TO BE CONTINUED…

For more information or to download the e-book and audio prayers set to music, you can check out the Joseph International store or go to www.proclamationprayer.com

www.proclamationprayer.com

For a lot of us, 2011 holds many unanswered questions. However, due to the fact that it is the beginning of the year, most of us (at least in our minds) have tried to implement some changes in the way we live, the way we think or the way we respond hoping that this will change the outlook for this coming year. Some of these things will work, but the majority of them will disappear before February begins. Why is this the case year after year? Why is it that the things we really want to change are the hardest to implement? The reason why most people fail in their attempt to bring change is because they lack the proper tools to implement the changes in our lives.

If you want to lose weight, for example, you need more than just the desire to lose weight. You need to change the way you eat, the way you exercise and then you need some serious accountability. Without at least all of these three things, your weight loss will become a temporary reality and you will spend the rest of the year in shameful failure.

If you want to change your financial situation, it takes more than just a desire to have more money to accomplish that. You have to monitor what you spend, choose wisely when you do spend and then have an accountability structure in place that keeps you honest.

Most importantly, if you want to see a change in the way you relate to God, it takes more than just a strong desire to see more of Jesus. That desire may be a foundational aspect, but to activate the spirit of God within you takes some spiritual work.

Most of us know the scripture that says, “faith without works is dead” and although that does apply to the acts of service we do in our churches, toward the poor and in various other places (how we love our neighbor, how we treat our spouse), one of the most important ways that our faith is implemented through works is related to the spiritual battle over our souls.  The weapons of our warfare are not physical, they are spiritual, therefore the works that faith is called to do is largely a spiritual work.

How many of us believe that when Jesus walked the earth, the kingdom of heaven was evident in everything he did? How many believe that it was because Jesus lived in agreement with His Father that he was able to do far greater things upon the earth? Jesus ability to do the natural work was a direct result of his faith to believe who His Father was. Faith, then, becomes the necessary tool to see the working of the kingdom of God upon the earth, the necessary tool to see more of God in our lives and the necessary tool to transform us day by day (“without faith it is impossible to please God”).

If faith is the necessary tool that we need to see more of God, how do we plant the seed that will bring forth the fruit of faith in our lives? Faith comes from hearing what the word of God says about who He is and the surest way for that to happen is when it comes out of our own mouths. What comes out of our mouths transforms our minds and when our minds become transformed, our hearts come into agreement and faith is released.

If you want to see the indwelling spirit’s activity increased in your life this year, it will take more than just hoping and begging God for more. Think of it this way. When we do not activate that which we already have, we cannot ask for more and hope to get a satisfactory answer.  My 2 year old daughter is learning this right now. If you already have food on your plate and you ask for more, you are not going to get any more till you finish what you already have. We have so much already that we have yet to activate due to a lack of understanding and a lack of the right tools so we better start using what we already have.

As a musician and a worship leader, I have spent the last 13 years traveling to different churches all over the globe. The majority of believers, although well intentioned, are walking in unbelief and cynicism toward God. They may outwardly profess Jesus, but inwardly they are full of unbelief. This year, we are going to see that changed. But to see that change, we need the right tools to do it. Over the course of the next few months, I want to share with you a tool that has enabled me to walk in divine favor in my family, relationships, finances and vocation. It has enabled me to walk in a daily increase of the presence and nearness of God in my life and it has radically transformed the way I think about God. Not only that, it is a tool that can be done anywhere, anytime with nothing more than your own tongue.

Stay Tuned.

Ben Woodward

You can find out more about what I am talking about at www.proclamationprayer.com. There, you can buy the handbook and also listen to and download free audio prayer tracks!