Yesterday, 3.16.24, at around 2am, God woke me up. I was still quite sleepy, but I know that when God wakes me up, it is for a reason. Normally I would pray and just listen for His voice and for further instructions. However, this time, that did not occur because I got distracted and then thrown completely off course due to turning my radio up and catching the end of a reggae song that I love (“I’m So Special” by Movado). And then, another reggae song that I love came on after that, and I listened to it, and turned my radio up as high as it could go.
After the song went off, I grabbed my phone, checked the time (it was 2:32am), and then, instead of getting back on track and praying to see what it was that God wanted me to do, I went on social media (Facebook – Yolanda Billingslea). The first post in my feed was from a relative who is my enemy due to her betraying me and knowing about a plot to have me killed (and more) and going along with it and watching me be tortured for quite some time. Meanwhile, that is not the point, nor is it the subject of this Blog Post.
So, I read her Facebook post and immediately I felt her brokenness. I felt all her pain and despair, and I felt it very strong in my spirit. Normally, I would just scroll past her posts quickly, intentionally not reading any of them. However, this time, not only did I read her post, but I lingered on it and re-read it several times. And I knew at that moment that God wanted me to pray for her. That is what God woke me up to do.
Every time that God wakes up earlier than I would normally get up, it is because He wants me to pray for someone, and He would put that person on my heart (this happens during the daytime as well).
I am always in agreement with what God wants me to do, and when He wants me to do it, and so I told myself that I would pray for her, but I did not do it at that moment. Nope. I did not. Instead, I continued to scroll through posts on Facebook, I even watched a gospel video (a group singing Shirley Caesar’s “Satan We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down”), and I watched it several times, because I loved it. And if that wasn’t enough, I then got up and sat at my kitchen table for a little while and ate some popcorn. While I was eating popcorn, I could not help thinking about the relative that God wanted me to pray for. Not only was I still feeling her pain so intensely, but I could also feel her loneliness, and I know that she self-medicates (she has Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)), and I also know that - that combination is no good. It makes matters worse.
Meanwhile, it was not until after I ate my popcorn and listened to a gospel song that I needed to feed my spirit (“Bless Me” by Donald Lawrence), while praying to God for my needs (asking Him for increase and to enlarge my territory… to move me out of my current apartment + more) that I then prayed for my relative.
Immediately after I prayed for her, and I did pray very deeply for her, God got all on my case. Yes He did! And it did not feel good. I actually felt a lot of guilt afterwards, but I prayed that guilt away, and God took it away. You see, God/the Holy Spirit does not bring things to our attention/get on our case to condemn us, but instead, He does it to convict us and correct us and teach us.
What God showed me was that as soon as I became aware that I was to pray for my relative, I was supposed to intercede for her at that very moment because there was a need. She had a need for prayer. But not only that. It did not stop there. God also pointed out that as soon as he woke me up, instead of turning the radio up and listening to reggae songs, I was to do as I normally do, which was to pray and seek His guidance/direction/instructions and be obedient.
God had allowed me to feel my relative’s pain and loneliness very deeply and the reason for that was for me to pray at once, and I did not do that.
However, moving forward, I will always act (move) as soon as God/the Holy Spirit leads me/instructs me to, and I will do so, so diligently. I encourage you to do the same because someone’s life may very well depend on it; someone’s life may depend on your obedience to an instruction that God/the Holy Spirit gives you. That is what God showed me, and that is what I already knew.
When God/the Holy Spirit puts it on your heart to pray for someone, to intercede for them, doing so at once could, for example, cast out the spirit of suicide from them, taking the suicidal ideations out of their mind, therefore saving them from taking their life.
Imagine putting off praying for someone who God just told you to pray for and He showed you their desperation and despair… and you pray for them an hour later. And within that time, they take their own life. That would be tragic, and you would be guilt-ridden.
God knows us and for Him to trust us with the things that He that He trusts us with (i.e., things about people’s lives or situations that they never shared with us), it is because He knows that He can. And He expects us to be responsible with the Spiritual gifts that He has given us, and to move accordingly.
… For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required, and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. – Luke 12:48 (NKJV)
Before I end this blog, let me add something very important:
After everything (after I prayed for my relative and God finished getting on my case for delaying my prayer for her), I grabbed my other (I have two cellphones) to put it on silent/do not disturb because I knew that I would sleep late, and at that moment (which was about 4am) I saw that – that relative had texted me at about fifteen minutes prior to God waking me up to pray for her. So that was confirmation for me from God that she needed prayer because things were weighing heavy on her mind.
_______________________
Be encouraged! God loves you.
Love and peace,
Yolanda Billingslea (Ms. B)
FYI: My Facebook Page name is Yolanda Billingslea (my profile picture has "Unbreakable" across it). Be inspired and encouraged by my daily posts.
_______________________
Scriptures:
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. – 1 Timothy 2:1
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. – Mathew 4:44
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. – Luke 6:28
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. – Mathew 6:14-15
Concerning Spiritual Gifts, read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Comentarios