From the Desk of Steve Shultz:
There is no question that God is doing a new thing inside all of us. We will come out of this forever changed, transformed and strengthened for what's ahead.
This is an awesome, encouraging word from Jennifer Miskov of California. We've been posting some prophetic words recently about this being a season of new birthing. Many are ready for it!
I agree with Jennifer here...our generation is pregnant with birthing the next great awakening. We are expecting to see and be a part of the billion soul harvest that's been prophesied by Bob Jones and shared with many others.
Enjoy this word and let it prepare you for the awakening that's here. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
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Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
elijahlist.com
Jennifer A. Miskov, Anaheim, California
Create in Me a New Heart
I read a Bible verse the other morning that caused me to approach prayer differently in this unique season. In Psalm 51, David is responding to the Lord after he got exposed for his sin with Bathsheba by the prophet Nathan. In his repentance and longing for reconnection, he cries out to the Lord and says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10 NIV).
As I looked a little deeper into this verse, I discovered that the word used for "create" (bara'), here, matches the one used in Genesis 1:1 where God created something out of nothing in the very beginning. Psalm 51:10 in The Message Translation reads like this:
"God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life."
David was not simply asking God to reform and reshape his heart. He was not asking God to redeem what had gone wrong in his heart or to restore it to make it whole again. He was also not asking Him to fix what had been broken. From a place of repentance, David was pleading with the Lord for a new beginning, for a fresh start, for a brand-new heart.
Psalm 51:10 in The Passion Translation says, "Create a new, clean heart within me..." David was asking God to create a brand-new heart to replace the old. He was willing to let the past die, never to be resurrected again, and instead receive a new heart. He was willing to be rebirthed into a new season. This was all in the context of wanting to be in closer relationship to God.
As I continued meditating on David's prayer for a new heart, I was also reminded of the following verses:
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws." (Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV)
Reformation of the Old
In these two passages, God promises not simply to reform our hearts but to give us brand-new ones. There is a removal of the old and a reception of the new. This is such a radical exchange. Reading these verses stirred my heart and made me wonder if God wants to match this new epoch we're stepping into with a brand-new heart.
In the midst of this pandemic, one of my prayers up until now has been, "God, please reform my heart. Refine it to become like gold. Change whatever needs to be changed in my life and ministry so that I am in perfect alignment with Heaven. I invite the fire of God to come and purify my heart, thoughts, motives, and passions. I sense there is more—not just for me but for us all. God, give us a reformation... (continue reading)
