Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. — Isaiah 58:10
Over the course of the past 4 years, I have had some major encounters with God and experienced true intimacy with His Holy Spirit. As I reflect back over the time, the memories and the moments, what stands out most is their simplicity.
There weren’t any flashy lights involved. No music set prepared. Nor a stage.
Prayer during Childrens Centre Los Niños Thanksgiving basket distribution in a grocery store parking lot in Bulverde, TX — November 2016
What was present, without fail, was the power of prayer.
Prayer always led the way. Every time the Holy Spirit showed up and showed off, prayer always came first.
And with prayer also came an expectancy to see His miracles.
I’ll never forget the day when the Lord showed off through avocados.
I was grocery shopping with Lupita, director of Childrens Centre Los Niños, a nonprofit serving families primarily in Comal County, for their weekly food distribution the following day. And per usual, we went in without a list made prior fully dependent on the Holy Spirit to show us what to buy and how many of each. This is common practice within their ministry.
You pray, ask and expectantly wait to hear the answer.
This week’s answer was especially rare because it included avocados. While many don’t bat an eye when buying this healthy fruit, for a ministry operating 100% on donations, budgeting normally didn’t allow for such luxuries.
But this week, we both clearly heard: AVOCADOS.
The next day, as the families came one by one to pick up their produce & meals, His miracle was revealed. A mama walked through the door and the moment she saw the avocados, she broke down crying.
The avocados :) during Childrens Centre Los Niños’ weekly food distribution in Bulverde, TX — March 2nd, 2018
Unbeknownst to us, she had cried out to the Father the night before longing for avocados. Her salary didn’t afford her the ability to spend money on such a highly priced fruit and she had been longing to not only eat them again, but also to share the fruit with her children.
And as our Father so faithfully will, He answered her prayer through our very own.
He blessed us with the opportunity to not only lean on & depend on Him for the answer, but also to witness the miracle He was working through our hands and feet that day.
He cares about the details. The details of our prayers. Our heart. And our thoughts.
He doesn’t care what your stage or home look like, how new your flooring is, whether you have the best sound equipment or furniture, a prepared message or a matching outfit.
It’s the details of our heart that matter to Him. The secret places we keep hidden from the world. The cry of our insides to know Him and turn to Him for ALL things.
Bible story time during Childrens Centre Los Niños’ ‘He is Risen’ event in Bulverde, TX — March 23rd, 2018
And the details of our time.
Our present time on Earth is a gift from heaven. How are we choosing to spend the precious time we have been gifted?
Are we choosing to walk out His word, laying down our lives in order to serve His children? To spread the good news and lead others toward salvation?
Or are we choosing to spend His precious gift on ourselves and our worldly desires?
The world will pull us in so many different directions. And rarely will that direction draw us closer to our Father. It more often than not will lead us toward the warning God gave in His word: “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” — 1 John 2:15-16
If you’re reading this and you feel the conviction or a stirring in your spirit, stop what you’re doing and PRAY.
Ask Him what steps He’s calling you to take. Ask Him what He thinks about you. And as you listen for His answer, remember, He is FAITHFUL. And His promises are true.
Lean in, press in, pray and wait with expectancy to hear His answer!
Step by step, day by day, He will cause us to draw near. He will align our steps with the path which was originally intended for us and walk us out of any place we’ve traveled which wasn’t ours from the beginning.
From His heart, to mine, to yours,
— Amanda
