The Uncaged Journey

This article was originally published in Charisma Magazine. You can find it here:  https://www.charismamag.com/spirit/prayer/37147-why-this-is-one-of-the-most-powerful-types-of-prayer Soundless prayers are often our most powerful ones. Voiceless utterances where we connect spirit to spirit with the Lord become some of our deepest encounters. Maybe it's because all of us is poured out before the greatness of all of Him. We're completely open. Raw. There's no pretense or desire to impress Him with our eloquent words or lists of memorized scripture. We simply exist. Fully yielded  to the One who already knows. With no words left, when we forget how to ask, how to petition, and the sword of the Word feels too heavy on our lips, we come. We thrust ourselves before His grace and mercy, and He meets us. With the strength and gentleness of arms that can only belong to our Lord, He scoops us up and allows us to rest. His strength undeservedly becomes ours, until we can onc

I get it. We all have those days. The days when the world feels more than tilted, it feels like someone picked it up and hurled it into a wall! When you're digging your nails (if you didn't bite them off) into any semblance of what "happy yesterday" looked like. Felt like. That's when it gets tricky. When you try to wring joy out of yesterday's memory, as if God were more present then. God is in the now. Sure you felt Him when things were great. We all do. That's the easy part. But what about today? What about this moment when pain and disappointment sit like a heavy weight upon your soul? How do you find Him now? You find Him in a different way. You don't look for Him to pull you into your breakthrough, although He will. You find Him with His arms wrapped around you. Caring for you in your pain. Loving you. Drawing you into Himself. Into His strength. Into this precise moment. Not into the future and not into the past. He is your ever-present h

We all go through seasons when it feels as if our backs are against the wall. Circumstances around us scream in our face and demand our attention, yet regardless of how long we stare in their direction, nothing changes. At times, we feel powerless. We fight the enemy with declarations of God's Word, we fast and pray, and do everything in the natural to fix what we can, only to wind up exhausted. God Has a Better Way Every opposition we face must be met with faith. We know this. As believers, we've invested our lives in believing what we cannot see with natural eyes or understand with the finite mind. So what do we do when we've done everything we can and feel like our faith has been hijacked by terrorists? The answer—we rest. Rest goes against our fight-or-flight instinct. It feels counterproductive and impractical. Let's be honest—when you're in a battle, resting does not come naturally. Surely the only way to victory is by fighting! Yet right here, in this pl

Today's article is an excerpt from my book, Prayers on Fire , which I wrote with Brian Simmons. I pray it's a blessing to you. ~Gretchen    I’m mesmerized; awestruck over the beauty of your creation. The evidence of your creative genius streams from the heavens with glory. All of earth echoes your name. There is no denying that you are the Master Artist who set before us your most beautiful works of art.  The moon and stars are dazzling, brilliantly glowing against the night sky like jewels mounted in their settings. Still, I’m awed by something even more splendid than the wonders I see above. God, though you’re famous—great and powerful— you know me by name and call me your child. I am your masterpiece. My Father, whose name is known throughout the universe, you have created me to be just like you. Filled with glory, I’ll shine in the darkness, illuminating the world with your splendor and compassion. Crowned with majesty, I’ll stand in authority before

There it is—that wall that has been standing in front of you, for longer than you care to remember. It taunts you. Tries to intimidate you. Reminds you of what hasn't happened. It arrogantly proclaims that its power to hold you back is greater than God's ability to thrust you beyond it. What that wall doesn't realize is that it was erected on a foundation of lies. It doesn't stand as a true representation of your situation. It is an illusion—one that you were created to rise above. Scarlet Lily Photography If you look closely at this barrier to your breakthrough, you'll see that it has protrusions—small steps for you to climb. God took what the enemy built to oppose you, and made a way for you to use it to your advantage. Scaling this wall will strengthen you. As you clamber your way to the top, it will scream, emphasizing the impossibility of your conditions. But you were made for the impossible! Every fiber of your being will want to quit; to succumb t

Life is made up of moments. Some fill the space of seconds, while others span years; even decades. These moments—these encounters with miracles, brushes with tragedy, or pains of heartbreak eventually weave themselves together to form a lens, which we see life through. Often, they  serve as taskmasters, fighting to beat us down and strip away our hope, our dreams, and a healthy way of viewing life. But if we take all of these flashes of pain and submit each one to God, then they must bow. They must yield. Traumas submit themselves to the omnipotence of God, who blows away the dry, crusted remains of tears and miraculously turns them into strength and joy. Scarlet Lily Photography The very fabric of our being and the way we interact not only with others, but with our own thoughts, viewpoints, and expectations, is altered when we surrender the collection of these moments before the sovereignty of God. Our perspective leaps into His frame of reference and suddenly the past looks d

Have you ever had a moment ? You know, one of those moments when you are on the verge of losing it, because the enormity of a problem is screaming in your face? Yes, I have too—just the other day. I'm happy to report that God, in His great mercy, took my moment , graciously pulled me close and brushed off the pollution of discouragement.. Scarlet Lily Photography As a matter of fact, that one encounter with the Lord changed my perspective on trials. I realized how grateful I am for them. Yes, grateful. Don't get me wrong—nobody enjoys suffering! Process with me. How would you know that God is faithful if you never needed Him to come through? How would you be sure how devoted you are to Him, if that love was never tested? To discover His power, you must first need it. God is a good God, and He will never inflict suffering or sickness to prove that He can overcome, but He will prove His love and unlimited power despite these things. Trials reveal where our fa