Here's the secret to your success in 2019: Go up the mountain to the Lord and Stay there.

Written by On Friday, 04 January 2019 10:15
Here's the secret to your success in 2019: Go up the mountain to the Lord and Stay there.

No.

It does not have to be an actual physical mountain but if you can get something close to it, why not?

I recently visited such a place within these very corners of Kenya; a beautiful place that depicts the very meaning of what a prayer mountain ought to be. Tucked up almost discreetly off the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, it’s a place they say where Divinity meets Humanity.

As you walk towards the highest point of the prayer mountain you will find a small Chapel aptly called the Mt. Sinai Chapel. It was while I stood next to this Chapel that God talked to me and showed me the role of the Mountain as I flipped the Bible pages chapter by chapter through the book of Exodus.

The irony of it was not lost on me.

In Exodus 24:12 The Lord says to Moses. “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.”

This was not the first time that Moses was going up Mt. Sinai but this was the time that Moses went up and stayed 40days and 40nights; which is the significance of the phrase stay here.

In this “microwave generation” [and I hate to use that cliché phrase] we have become so accustomed to quick fixes, quick results, quick answers that we have absolutely lost the value of “sticking with”. There are things that God wants to say and do that require much more than a 30min-1 hour prayer session. We need to develop the ability to every so often go and meet with God for days on end so that we can get the full value of our meeting with him.

A couple of times I have gone on a fast on an issue say for two or three days and true to God’s nature before giving an answer to my prayer item He would spend some time dealing with my heart, my motivation and my sin before He actually speaks about my prayer.

If you are in a hurry and don’t have the staying power you might stop just when he is ready to speak to your issue. We need to learn how to stay there.

I have visited a couple of prayer centers and I find it interesting that even when the place is not necessarily mountainous; people still refer to them as “mountains” or “prayer mountains”. I suppose it’s because prayer is the one act that elevates us to sit at the same level with the Godhead. The heavenly places that Paul writes about in Ephesians 2:6; couple it with fasting and the heavens literally open up before you.

Why don’t we take advantage of this as much as we should?

As you consider what 2019 holds in store for you, I propose that you take some time and go up the mountain both physically [if you can] as well as simply setting time apart to do extended prayer and fasting.

You will certainly not regret it as the benefits of the mountain are immense.

The mountain is a place of:

1. Separation:
To be able to hear from God, we must turn off the noise. It is said that everyday God speaks to us it’s just that we are hard of hearing, or we have not trained our ears to hear the voice of God. Separation takes us away from the distractions of life so that we can have our eyes and ears solely fixed on the audience of one. God called Moses away from the camp and to the tabernacle so that he could get instruction from God. We also see Jesus pulling away from the crowd many times so that he could talk to His Father [John 6:15; Matt. 14:23]
 
2. Introspection
Like I mentioned earlier, it’s always been a thing between God and me that when I come to him with a specific prayer issue that weighs heavily in my heart, He will first take time to make sure that my heart is properly positioned. The bible says we pray amiss when we pray with the wrong motives, when we pray that we may spend what we get on our own selfish pleasures. 
 
If God is going to answer your prayers, you can bet he will spend time making sure that your heart is the right place. You might even find that your prayer point changes to reflect the will of God. I heard a preacher once say that we human beings are really terrible at judging ourselves, judging our hearts and our intentions. Often we think selfishly or think of ourselves better than we really are and yet think we are perfect. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to expose our hearts …and many times it will take more than a half an hour a day.
 
Introspection also helps you analyze whether you accomplished the last instruction that God gave you, if not, what went wrong and how can you re-strategize?
 
3. Confrontation
Confrontation means to face up or deal with a problem sometimes combatively. It should follow that once your heart is exposed you will need to confront what it is that God has shown you. Sin and strongholds need to be brought down so that God can act in our lives. It is possible that you are making certain bold prayers about 2019 and yet you have something that prevents the power of God to act on your behalf. It could be a sin or a wrong belief system that needs to bow before your God so that you can receive what you need to receive from Him.
 
4. Instruction
Fourthly, the mountain is a place of instruction. 
You will notice that when Moses went up the mountain, he came down with an instruction for the people of Israel [read Ex. 19:3; 19:21; 25:1, 8; 31:18, 34:32]
 
God will always bless work that He commissioned. If you want success in 2019 and beyond, you should probably make sure that you are doing what God asked you to do to begin with. A quick study of Noah and the ark, Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, David/Solomon and the temple, Ezra and rebuilding the temple etc. you will find that God is a God of specific detail and instruction. Let’s be honest, it’s going to be very difficult to hear these very specific instructions if you have not separated yourself to intentionally hear from God.
 
5. Resolution
This is the point at which your New Year resolutions may come in because guess what? They are based on God’s instructions and not on what the world has told you should become your goals and ambitions. Your resolutions ought to be as a result of your interaction with God.
 
The world is split on the actual value of New Year resolutions. While the beginning of the year is a good time to set some commitments for yourself, as believers, resolutions should happen anytime we have a discussion with God. Every time we receive an instruction, we should resolve to get it done because He always gives us instructions that are to benefit us and not to harm us. He wants to see you prosper, do well, walk in your calling and purpose. God wants the best for you.
 
6. Impartation
Impartation as used biblically by Paul in Romans is the giving and receiving of spiritual gifts. This is an important aspect for your success because God gives power to accomplish that which He has asked you to do. If your instruction and resolution are not followed by power from on high then you might as well not even start. It’s not for no reason that Moses told God that if His presence does not go with them then they will not move.
 
It’s interesting how much we think we can achieve by sheer human will power and to even want to go that route is crazy; yet, God promised us and gave us the power to do His work. The Holy Spirit manifesting in the various ways is our secret to success. Four or five times the book of Ezra states that Ezra received good success because the hand of God was upon him. When you are at the mountain, ask that God will fill you with the Holy Spirt. Your secret weapon. 
 
I do pray that you will experience good success in 2019.
 
Godspeed.
 

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