Prayer walking is just what it sounds like... Praying while Walking! Today I clocked in three miles in about fifty minutes, covering just about everything and everyone on my prayer list. As I was walking and talking with God on this aerobic hike, it dawned on me that I was not alone. God was with me... listening, hearing me out, suggesting ideas, bringing light to situations, showing me truths, sharing secrets... and all while receiving my praises and requests.Alone means...
solo -- single -- by oneself,
unescorted -- unaccompanied,
partnerless -- companionless,
"by one's lonesome."
Prior to my salvation experience in 1983, I struggled with an eating disorder. Upon conversion, the disorder completely disappeared. It just went away. Maybe I felt that I no longer needed to be in control? Or perhaps I felt such love, that the thought just never crossed my mind again? They say that sometimes actions like that are symptoms of a deeper problem within. Once the problem within is resolved, the symptoms go away. I don't know... but it was miraculously gone. I was delivered from that evil bondage that had its grip on me.
Several years went by, and then one day, when I was feeling very insecure and alone, I found myself eating a little too much, and heading to the bathroom to purge. The dark voices in my head were reeling me in like a fish on a hook. As I locked the bathroom door behind me, knelt in front of the commode and proceeded to make myself sick, I heard a loud voice say,
"What are you doing?"
I'm not sure if it was an external voice or a voice within my head, but regardless, I knew who speaking to me. It was God.
"You're not alone," He said. "I'm in here with you... all the time!" Your body isn't your own anymore! This isn't what I have for you. Let's talk."
Needless to say, that put a damper on the whole secrecy issue of this eating disorder thing. He wasn't going for it. And neither was I. Going back to that old bad habit was not an option. We nipped it in the bud.
I know it sounds ridiculous, and thank you for bearing with me through such an awkward conversation... but it's a true story and it certainly drives the point home. As a born again Christian, I am filled with The Holy Spirit, never to be alone again!
1 Corinthians 6:19 says...
"You're not alone," He said. "I'm in here with you... all the time!" Your body isn't your own anymore! This isn't what I have for you. Let's talk."
Needless to say, that put a damper on the whole secrecy issue of this eating disorder thing. He wasn't going for it. And neither was I. Going back to that old bad habit was not an option. We nipped it in the bud.
I know it sounds ridiculous, and thank you for bearing with me through such an awkward conversation... but it's a true story and it certainly drives the point home. As a born again Christian, I am filled with The Holy Spirit, never to be alone again!
1 Corinthians 6:19 says...
"Don't you know that your body is the temple
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from God?
You are not your own."
So I'm not really single, solo, or by myself... ever. Christ is always my escort. I am always on His arm. He accompanies me everywhere I go. He's my partner... my full-time companion and my friend. I'm never "by my lonesome!"
"He's the friend that sticks closer than a brother."
Proverbs 18:24b
Yet sometimes the enemy of my soul, the father of lies, the deciever tries to trick me into believing that I'm lonely. Sometimes he just gets into my head!
Lonely means...
- isolated
- friendless
- no one to turn to
- forsaken
- abandoned
- rejected
- unloved
- unwanted
But God's Word tells me otherwise,
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5
Did you ever wonder why it's so easy to miss God's voice, and even easier to pick up on the station that plays all the golden oldies -- LIES? I know that I don't purposely try to muffle out God's voice. I want to hear Him!
I've found it necessary
to stay tuned in to Gods voice...
otherwise, the devil will tune in to me!
I can do that by filling the space in my head with good things... with God things. Philippians 4:8 says...
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about such things. "
For me, that means that I listen to a lot of Christian worship; read a lot of God's Word and inspiring literature; and think about the things of God. I make it a point to fill myself and my life with things that are spiritually nourishing. It also means that I filter out, shut off, and say no to Spiritual Junk Food... things with no spiritual value... things that don't promote, (or even have the tendency to take away from), my spiritual growth.
Because I'm not alone, I take into consideration what my divine partner wants and what will make our relationship grow. I don't want to offend The Holy Spirit. So, my television is turned off a lot. I'm careful about what I watch, what I listen to, what I read and the conversations I'm around. That doesn't mean that everything has to be "religious." There's a lot of great things to choose from.
I guess it comes down to this:
I want to hear Him... as often as possible and as clearly as possible, so I'm going to do the things that will help make that happen.
With that said,
I'm walking in Red shoes,
making good choices and
listening for His voice.
Gail
