Tag Archives: god

New Magazine Assignment

Posted on by

This morning, God made it official that I have a new assignment of creating a magazine about the healthy church vs. the unhealthy church. I blame it all on you, the readers. This topic has been one of the most liked of all the ministry blog posts so far. Really, though I do enjoy your likes, so please keep letting me know what is important to you.

Today, I spent the day working on a DRAFT magazine cover. Most of the content, minus graphics and page layout, are already complete for the majority of the pages. It’s just the posts that you have already read. I’m sure the Lord will have some things to add, but for now what do you think about the cover? I need feedback.

What Does God Say About Data Centers & Flock Cameras?

Posted on by

One of the things that I would guess you would actually want from God’s prophet is to hear what God thinks about things being done against you. Oh, I know you don’t want to hear about the things that you and yours are doing wrong. I get that. You want to persecute me for telling you when your pastors are leading you astray because you’re loyal to them.

But would you want God’s prophet to tell you about things that could harm you and your family line? Would you want to know what the devil is going to use to entrap you? Would you want to know where your freedom is being subtly stolen from you?

I’m going to preface the next few paragraphs with this one. Have your own conversation with God. You are responsible to do that. Again, have your own conversation with God and listen for His answers. Please don’t be the one who jumps on the bandwagon against our freedoms just because you are loyal to a particular person. Remember I’m clearly telling you to ask God yourself!

I love President Trump. I believe that God anointed him to save our nation from socialism and communism. Even with that, we have many more enemies that are determined to defeat us. So, the problem is that this morning Trump came out (on Truth Social) FOR data centers. Now, I really don’t like to be against my favorite President. I don’t. But I asked God about Trump’s stance for instead of against data centers. God is strongly opposed to data centers AND flock cameras. Data centers and flock cameras both give way to unwarranted surveillance and injustice.

Let me repeat that last part with emphasis. GOD IS STRONGLY OPPOSED TO DATA CENTERS and FLOCK CAMERAS. Data centers and flock cameras both give way to unwarranted surveillance and injustice. While we might want to trust those in charge of management of those systems, both can be hacked and used to penalize our freedoms.

So as God’s prophet, I am telling you first to go have your own conversation about these subjects with God, and second that if you vote against God or refuse to stand strongly and boldly as He leads, you will be responsible and complicit when our freedoms are weakened. God will see it and discipline or punish accordingly.

Remember that throughout the Scriptures, the Israelites were taken into captivity because they refused God and ignored Him. Please don’t be part of the downfall of this great nation.

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Unity of the Spirit (Continued, Part 3 of 3)

Posted on by

Let’s continue the conversation about the disunity in the churches. Remember that the unhealthy church is a headless body. It tries to operate without the head of the church. God is the head of the church. God is not a book or an interpretation of a book. The unhealthy church body without the head is spiritually blind and deaf. They do not have eyes to see or ears to hear. Their version of unity is a consensus of opinions of man rather than unity with the Spirit. Their doctrine is man-made instead of Spirit-led.

Again, we will briefly recap where we left off in my top ten list of false doctrines in the churches: The FALSE DOCTRINES that we previously discussed are: 1) Mute God; 2) Three Gods; 3) Jesus as a Separate God; 4) Automatically Forgiven; 5) God Needs Counsel; 6) The Holy Spirit is Unable to Anoint; and 7) Women Must Be Silent and/or Women Are Not Allowed to Lead in the Church.

The remaining three false doctrines, of my top ten list, are outlined here:

False Doctrine #8) All are Saved from Hell: Modern Christianity has often done a poor job of expressing God’s heart on the matter of an eternal home and how to secure the coveted destination. Many wrongly teach that God, because He is loving and merciful, cannot have justice or wrath against rebellion and unbelief. Their theology suggests that God would never send anyone to hell. But if there is anyone in hell, and there are, can you guess who sent them there?

* “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” (Matthew 25:41 NIV)

Suggesting that all are saved who took a one-time oath of allegiance is bogus theology. From that false theology spews so many others. It’s likely why so many don’t seem too concerned about the consequences of their rebellion. They are not afraid of God’s wrath because they don’t believe that He is allowed to be angry with a broken oath of allegiance. If we can break our oath, then God can certainly refuse to be our God. If He’s not your God, then He is not your Savior.

* “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21 NIV)

False Doctrine #9) Forgiven by the Blood/Cross: We are forgiven by the will of God. While the atonement process that happened at the cross gave us direct access to God for a forgiveness conversation, it did NOT replace the need for actually asking for forgiveness from God.

That forgiveness conversation also affords you to ask God questions about how you can respond better during the same temptation going forward. God has a will. The cross or the blood at the cross do not have a will. Those are non-thinking things.

God views your heart and motives. The cross and blood cannot view your motives. God has sovereignty over life and death. The cross and blood do not have sovereignty over life and death. The healthy church distinguishes the difference.

Ask God for forgiveness every time. (I ask God every day if there is anything that I need to ask forgiveness for. I listen for His answer. Either it is a time of hearing that I did good or it is a time for me to learn to do better. But it is always a way to safeguard my relationship with God. I don’t ask a cross or blood to forgive me. I ask God to forgive me.)

False Doctrine #10) Spiritual Warfare is Not Real: If spiritual warfare is not real, then why did Jesus evict evil spirits and cast out demons? Why does the Bible warn to resist the devil and to put on the armor of God? Who did the Lord have a conversation with about Job? Why did Jesus have a conversation with the devil in the desert (Matthew 4:1-10) if the devil is not real?

* “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour?” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

Now that we have studied those top ten false doctrines, we must NOT stop there. There are many more false doctrines that can be addressed. I can name a few to get you thinking: fasting to force God’s hand, baptismal regeneration, and closed communion. In closing, it’s easy to twist Scriptures to create a theology that gives you what your itching ears want to hear. But knowing that God is watching and examining our motives and heart, should make each person hesitant to jump on the bandwagon with false teachers just because it’s easier than the investment of studying and seeking God.

Are there any of you that will insist on truth from the pulpits of the churches?

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Unity of the Spirit (Continued)

Posted on by

As God and I were talking this morning, He highlighted a very important word of wisdom for me to share. And it’s this: the unhealthy church is a body without the head. But the healthy church has God as its head. The unhealthy church has its own interpretation of Scriptures as its authority, while the healthy church has God as its authority. Of course, a headless church cannot function in the miraculous gifts that reside in the head. That is why they are spiritually blind and deaf.

All the manifestation of the Spirit gifts are in the head. There are speaking gifts (tongues, message of wisdom, message of knowledge), hearing gifts (faith), sight gifts (distinguishing between spirits), or supernatural power that can only come from the head of the church (healing, miraculous powers, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy). It’s interesting to me that the passage of Scripture that contains the manifestation of the Spirit gifts (in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11) repeatedly says that the one and only Spirit distributes them. That Spirit is the Spirit of God who is the head of the church. His name is Jesus.

Let’s briefly recap where we left off in my top ten list of false doctrines in the churches: The FALSE DOCTRINES that we previously discussed are: 1) Mute God; 2) Three Gods; 3) Jesus as a Separate God; and 4) Automatically Forgiven.

Let’s continue my top-ten list of FALSE doctrines in the church.

False Doctrine #5) God Needs Counsel: I’m sorry but that is exactly how the unhealthy church prays as if God needs their counsel. If God needs your counsel or advice (or that of your pastors or elders) how wise is He? If God needs group consensus in prayer (aka 50 prayer intercessors) before He decides to be more loving, merciful, or compassionate, why bother with individual prayers? Ok those are intentionally sarcastically worded questions, but I hope they hit. It should be obvious that God doesn’t need our advice or suggestions. He is infinitely more wise and loving than we individually or collectively could ever be. Our hope in prayer should be to learn from God and want His will above our own. We can’t do that if we’re doing all the talking. Prayer without hearing God is just a spiritual masturbation. You’re only pleasing yourself. (Note: God said to say it that way. Don’t believe me. Ask Him yourself.)

False Doctrine #6) The Holy Spirit is Unable to Anoint: The unhealthy churches like to allow for the service (innate) gifts while mostly denying the existence of the miraculous gifts that require a manifestation of the Spirit. That’s likely because their God is confined to the pages of a book. But the healthy church knows that God is not dead. God’s supernatural power can be delivered to and through whomever He chooses and whenever He chooses without the permission of the body of the church.

False Doctrine #7) Women Must Be Silent and/or Women Are Not Allowed to Lead in the Church: We have too much Scriptural evidence against this false doctrine to not chalk this one up as a significant win for the enemy. The devil has deceived generations of the church into disqualifying God’s anointing on half of the Kingdom simply based on gender. The same one and only Spirit of God anoints women for ministry as anoints men. The unhealthy church demands that women are inferior in the Kingdom. Remember that God is the head of the church, and we (men and women) are the body of the church.

We’ll finish with discussing false doctrines 8, 9, and 10, in the next post.
,

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Unity of the Spirit

Posted on by

The healthy church walks with the Spirit of God, but the unhealthy church has “Him” locked in a book that they lord themselves over. As one who walks with the Spirit of God and hears His voice daily, the differences between the healthy and unhealthy church are monumental. I’m afraid for the generations who will be deceived into spending their lives stuck in the unhealthy church and living as if they have sovereignty over God.

Let’s talk about why there are denominations in Christianity. First let’s remove two big blocks of Christianity from this mix: Catholicism and Mormonism, and intentionally focus in on just Protestant churches. If there were truly unity of the Spirit in Christianity, there would be no need for denominations. Each denomination is a division based on different doctrinal interpretations.

Division is the opposite of unity. So, please don’t think that there is unity of the Spirit where there are denominations in the church. Each denomination carries with it a different set of rules or doctrines. That would not happen if all the churches were walking in unity with the Spirit of God. The individual denominations make no effort to settle doctrinal disputes as if God should be happy with disunity. Instead, they each stand boldly on their own interpretations of Biblical texts as if God doesn’t have a say.

What do you think are the major differences in doctrine in Protestant Christianity? Did your list include any of these that made my top ten?

The top ten FALSE DOCTRINES in the churches that I see are:

1) Mute God: This one just floors me. Asking God about doctrine isn’t an option if God cannot speak. Did the devil ever get a bigger win with that false narrative planted in the churches for generations? However, in recent years, the churches are moving towards revelation that God does speak to those in covenant relationship. You don’t need to be sitting in a church pew or putting money in an offering plate to have real relationship with God. Perhaps the churches have enjoyed that false doctrine of “mute God” so that they could preach dependency on organized false religion.

2) Three Gods: There is not a trinity of gods. Christianity is a one-God religion, also known as monotheistic. Now, I don’t have a problem with identifying different roles of God. God is the Father. The Father did make Himself known for a limited time in Son of Man flesh and reveal His name as Jesus. The Father is Spirit, also known as the Holy Spirit. But to be clear, those are roles or positions of God, not separate Gods. There is NOT a God sitting next to another God on thrones in Heaven. If a pastor is praying to God talking about a second God, you can be sure that he/she doesn’t have a relationship with any of their supposed (three) “Gods”. The false “trinity” doctrine is another big win for the devil. If you’re confused about who your God is, then it’s much harder to be in covenant with only one God. If you’re not in covenant with only one God, then you won’t hear His voice in prayer.

3) Jesus as a Separate God: Jesus is God. Jesus is not a separate or subordinate God. Jesus is the one and only, Alpha & Omega. There was no God before Him or no God after Him. He is the one and only God and Savior. If you are worshipping Him as a lesser God than the “real” God, you are deceived.

4) Automatically Forgiven: If everyone is automatically forgiven because of the blood of the cross, who is in Hell? Listen, just because you make an oath of allegiance to follow God, doesn’t mean that you actually follow through with that wholehearted allegiance. If there were no consequences for breaking the covenant oath, why wouldn’t everyone just hedge their bets by reciting words to earn a “get-out-of-hell free” card? If you were saved by the blood that was shed on the cross over 2,000 years ago, why would you need access to a Savior who is alive today? We DO have access to God in prayer because of the cross. We can have forgiveness conversations with Him and learn from Him how to strengthen ourselves against temptation. We must actually have the conversation and be forgiven by God. We are not automatically forgiven.

The remaining six of my top ten false doctrines in the church will follow in a separate post. It’s a lot to take in all at once.
,

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Prophecy

Posted on by

The healthy church knows that prophecy is a manifestation of the Spirit of God. She knows to expect warning, caution, or rebuke through God’s prophets as was always modeled in the Scriptures. However, the unhealthy church mocks God’s messengers and neglects that God has spoken. They refuse to humble themselves and to take the message delivered through God’s prophet directly to God and seek Him for the change needed.

God called the prophets. They didn’t earn their ‘title’ of prophet through attending seminary or being born into a royal family. They had no tangible proof that they heard God call them as a prophet or that they were relaying a message from God. In other words, there was no certificate or specific eligibility requirement. God did the choosing and that was all there was to it.

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV)

The prophets carry a message from God through hearing His voice. The unhealthy church wrongly classifies prophecy as speaking wants into the air or through speaking Scriptures. That’s not prophecy. The ancient prophets (and even prophets today) were PERSECUTED for bringing hard words of warning, caution, and rebuke.

* “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—” (Acts 7:52 NIV)

* “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12 NIV)

* “Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.” (Matthew 23:34 NIV)

While there is a service gift of prophecy (described in Romans 12:4-8) that is an innate analytical ability to see strengths versus weaknesses, the prophecy found in the miraculous gifts (outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11) is a manifestation of the Spirit of God. In the miraculous gifts, God specifically and deliberately spiritually manifests to speak to and empower the prophet. Often there are stated severe consequences for refusing God.

* “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.” (Jeremiah 1:17 NIV)

If you study the Scriptures, particularly in the books of the prophets, you will see that God always anointed His prophets with a message of caution, warning, rebuke and even impending judgment. He frequently delivered words about an adulterous people who bowed down to false gods and ignored their Creator God. The unhealthy church wants prophets to speak encouragement while they ignore God’s voice. But because the prophet’s life and the prophet’s family line are at stake, the prophet will refuse to be silent and will speak unfiltered as God directs.

* “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” (Isaiah 30:9-11 NIV)
,

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Women in Ministry

Posted on by

The unhealthy church loves to sideline women labeling them as unqualified for God’s anointing. But the healthy church values God’s anointing on women and embraces their leadership qualities.

This subject is personally frustrating to me as a woman who has been hearing God’s voice daily for more than 23 years and one who has personally experienced every manifestation of the Spirit gifts delivered through me. I truly believe that women are generally naturally more receptive to receiving God’s presence then are men. (But don’t believe me. Ask God yourself!)

The Lord regularly speaks through me in tongues of angels and tongues of men. Like the apostle, Paul, I also speak in tongues more than most of you. Remember that Paul said “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” (1 Corinthians 14:18 NIV) However, with all the connection that I have to God, because of my gender, the unhealthy churches refuse those gifts of God through me and other similarly anointed women. Why?

There were women leaders recorded throughout the Scriptures. There were women prophets, women apostles, women evangelists, women teachers, women disciples, and women deliverers. What nonsense is the devil strategically placing in the unhealthy churches that causes them to intentionally wrongly divide Scripture away from God’s heart?

Let’s look at the Biblical texts to study about women and the roles they have held throughout generations as described in both the old and new testament manuscripts.

Female Prophets:
Miriam (Micah 6:4)
Deborah (Judges 4:4-5)
Huldah (2 Kings 22:14)
Anna (Luke 2:36-37)
Phillip’s Four Daughters (Acts 21:8-9)

Female Apostles, Evangelists, Deacons & Teachers:
Junia, an apostle (Romans 16:7)
Priscilla, a teacher and missionary (Acts 18, Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Timothy 4:19)
Pheobe, a deacon (Romans 16:1-2)
Lois & Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5)
Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11)
Nympha, church in her house (Colossians 4:15)
Euodia & Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3)

Female Disciples of Jesus:
Joanna (Luke 8:3, 24:10)
Mary, the mother of James and Joseph (Matthew 27:55, 28:5-7)
Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:38-42, John 11-12)
Salome (Mark 15:40)
Susanna (Luke 8:30)

Female Deliverers:
Deborah (Judges 4:8-10)
Jael (Judges 4:17-22 and 5:24-26)
Esther (Esther 4:14)

In some protestant Christian divisions of the church, women are forbidden from leading prayer or teaching if a man is present despite that we can clearly see in the Scriptures, that woman had leadership and teaching roles with men present. In some divisions of the corporate church, women are not allowed to teach doctrine or discuss doctrinal anomalies despite that there were women prophets, apostles, and evangelists mentioned by name in Biblical texts.

While there are a few texts in Paul’s writings that seem to exclude women from speaking, those are thought to be situational rebukes of specific heresies surrounding women “deities” rather than corporate doctrine. Who but the devil wins in devaluing half of God’s anointed vessels from ministry? How have the unhealthy churches fallen prey to such negligence against God’s heart?

The healthy church seeks God on these matters and doesn’t disqualify His ambassadors based on ethnicity or gender. It has been fewer than 100 years since the unhealthy churches disqualified black men and women from serving in ministry (or even attending church with white people). How does the devil keep blinding churches from truth and continuing that scheme seemingly without corporate church opposition?

Has your church visibly opposed the spiritual crimes against women being perpetrated in the unhealthy churches?

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV)

Additional note regarding elders:
I submit to you that 1 Timothy 3:11 and Titus 1:6 (in original context) also gave WOMEN of one-wife husbands leadership authority. Paul specifically calling for “husbands of one wife” proved that polygamy was an issue at that time. However, polyandry (one wife with two or more husbands) was rare or non-existent. Still Paul called out that women ministrants needed to be the wife of a one wife husband. In either case, for men or women, being married or single was not a deterrent from leadership authority. (Paul wasn’t married during his ministry.)

“Women — in like manner grave, not false accusers, vigilant, faithful in all things. Ministrants — let them be of one wife husbands; the children leading well, and their own houses,” (1 Timothy 3:11-12 YLT) ~ Young’s Literal Translation

“ if any one is blameless, of one wife a husband, having children stedfast, not under accusation of riotous living or insubordinate –” (Titus 1:6 YLT)

Some will use these two passages with modern day language translations to promote that women cannot be elders. But the original language does not say that. But don’t believe me. Ask God yourself!

Note: “Polyandry is a rare form of polygamy, which broadly refers to any marriage involving more than two spouses. In polyandrous arrangements, multiple men are married to a single woman, often sharing responsibilities, resources, and familial duties. This contrasts with polygyny, where one man has multiple wives, which is far more common worldwide.” ~Ai assist

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Missions

Posted on by

Warning: You are probably not going to want to hear what I have to say.

We are at war! We need to equip warriors! We need to train warriors! We need to defend truth with our best investment. Gone are the days when the church can afford to be passive on political matters. Gone are the days when the church can afford to ignore God’s specific leading. Gone are the days when the church can view missions as building splash parks and sending shoe boxes to foreign nations.

If the church doesn’t rise up here at home, we are going to lose our nation to the enemy’s schemes. I’m not just talking about homelessness. In fact, that is the least of my concern. Are we a nation that pleases God? If our churches are not training true Christians, those who are willing to fight against injustice with spiritual weapons and strength from God, we will be defeated.

More and more, I see anti-Semitic leadership developing in this nation. Tucker Carlson, once a MAGA warrior, is now spewing anti-Israel garbage. If someone with his viewership can highjack the narrative seemingly overnight, how fast could we lose God’s favor on our nation? Tucker is just one of a growing number of media influencers gaining traction towards tainting our nation’s stance against the devil’s schemes.

I’m begging you to SEEK GOD about this. Please, for the love of God, STOP doing stupid things with God’s money. Really? You’re going to send shoeboxes of meaningless stuff over to other nations when we are in a war to maintain our nation’s sovereignty? Listen, those countries would much rather have God’s favor on them, like we have experienced.

God’s heart is going to turn from us if we don’t start seeking Him with real sincerity. We must invest God’s money in God’s missions. We must stop using missions as a way to advertise “generosity”. We must, instead, start equipping our nation for true revival back to God’s heart. Invest in training people to hear God’s voice. Make it your top priority! Quit turning people into drones that worship religion, and start building a nation who actively listens to God. If you can’t invest in that, get out of the pulpits before God comes against you personally. Because the day is quickly coming when the Lord will no longer put up with your apathy towards His heart.

In the last few decades, our country has imported a nonsense theology against life, liberty, and truth. We import third-world religions and think that we must somehow assimilate with their ungodly values. We have imported a growing neglect for righteousness. If you are blind to it, then please open your eyes. Stop giving God advice and start seeking His counsel.

“‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.” (Leviticus 26:14-18 NIV)

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Politics

Posted on by

Recently we were called to civic duty to vote in a primary election. Do we also have a spiritual duty to seek God about how to vote? Do we need to seek Him for His specific will? Does God want government leaders who know Him in office? If you answered “yes” to those questions, did it occur to you that none of that was mentioned from the pulpits of the churches?

I purposely listened to many sermons to hear if they mentioned seeking God on how to vote. Not one of those messages included an encouragement to seek God for voting instruction. Not one! Why?

God sent the prophet Samuel to intentionally find and anoint one person, a shepherd boy, to be the future king. He chose David, not one of his brothers? Why?

God has a very specific will that we should not ignore. But did you vote in the primary election without seeking Him? Will you seek Him for how to vote in the general election? For candidates? For Amendments? Do you think that God doesn’t want you to know His exact will for you regarding politics?

Ask yourself this too. Why was I allowed to post repeatedly the names of exact candidates that God told me to vote for (always with the instruction to have your own conversation with God) but your church was not? Why might that please God or anger Him?

And, I ask you to consider if the above lack of seeking God is the same reason that the churches can invest tens of thousands of dollars in Christmas shoe boxes or to repave a church parking lot, but cannot invest in paying teaching ministers to equip congregants to hear God? Are all of their public works aimed at pleasing someone other than God? Which is more appealing to God teaching truth or sending dollar store play things to foreign nations? Ask Him!

“For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.” (Isaiah 30:9 NIV)

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Stands Strong Against Injustice

Posted on by

Does the church even know what justice is? Can it be trusted to want God’s will against injustice? Individually or corporately are we reluctant to understand God’s need for justice? If we were the one who was falsely accused, would we then desire God’s justice? If we were the one who was abused, would we want God’s justice against our abuser? Is the church afraid to discuss God’s justice because they fear it being directed at them?

“And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. (Psalm 50:6 NIV)

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6 NIV)

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’” (Matthew 25:41-43 NIV)

The healthy church understands that God sees right from wrong, good from evil, and every heart motive. We know that He is sovereign and delivers discipline and punishment as only He can. King David was confronted by the Prophet Nathan for conspiring to kill Bathsheba’s husband and to coverup the affair that produced a child. God’s punishment was to kill their firstborn child. That wasn’t karma. That was God’s justice.

“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19 HCSB)

So, understanding that God sees injustices, does that make you want to pray differently? Could you be praying contrary to the will of God when you pray for healing or provision for someone who God is disciplining and punishing? Do you not think that God is sovereign and can do as He pleases? Or do you instead think that the devil is somehow more powerful than the Lord making it impossible for Him to heal if the enemy were the one delivering the trial?

God is not waiting for you and one-hundred of your closest friends to convince Him how to make His next move. If God needed our advice, He wouldn’t be much of a God. Would He?

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. (Isaiah 46:10-11 NIV)

To be clear, I am not saying that every trial is a discipline or punishment. Trials can be used to equip us or position us. But God surely doesn’t need our advice in any case. So, wouldn’t it be best to seek God for His will in how to pray? Seek God rather than advise God. Maybe there is something that God would like to explain to you.