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YOUR DEEPEST DESIRE - ASK ME FOR A SIGN
Sandy Warner
Sep 27, 2002
Dear Elijah List readers,
As the publisher of the Elijah List, I want to truly ask
you to carefully read this entire story. I was THERE when
this all happened. And I had a similar confirming experience
and I too found myself asking God for TWO THINGS. (You'll
understand as you read the story). Use this story to write
your TWO THINGS and pray them in. Graham Cooke suggested that
we pray these things be answered by year-end.
A comment on the numbers mentioned. God often speaks to people
in special number combinations. An example of that, is that
for years, I regularly wake up at night at exactly 12:23. I have
yet to know why (except that was my parent's anniversary was
on December 23.) As Christians we are not into numerology,
but neither do we say God can't speak to us using numbers.
Many who have dreams see certain numbers in their dreams that
have numbers or wake up at the same time nightly or you
keep hearing a certain number as the Lord speaks to you.
God will use numbers to confirm divine appointments to you.
He does that with me. Bob Jones speaks often of God confirming
things by special numbers. Our guide is the Word of God and
The Holy Spirit, but God will speak in many ways.
The first book we ever carried at the ELIJAH LIST was by
the author of this article, Sandy Warner, who wrote the
book, "101+ Ways God speaks" You can get it by going to
http://theelijahlist.safeshopper.com/356/cat356.htm?391
YOUR DEEPEST DESIRE - ASK ME FOR A SIGN
--- Sandy Warner
swauthor@usa.net
www.thequickenedword.com
In preparation to attend the recent Graham Cooke conference, I was praying
about it and I heard the Lord say. .
“Conference, your deepest desire. What is it?”
This startled me, sobered me and excited me all in one breath. Was the Lord
God of the whole universe asking me what my deepest desire was, and was He
going to give this to me at the conference? Woah. Wow. I thought a LONG time
about this before I answered.
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BUT I HAD TWO DESIRES
----------------------
As hard as I tried, I could not narrow it down to just one request, one
desire. I had two. Healing for my husband and I, and for us to intimately
know Him face to face as Moses did. I could think of many more honorable and
scriptural desires then these. I apologized to the Lord for this, because
the pain and need in my heart had become overwhelming in comparison to all
else. I had prayed and stood for years and years for my husband’s healing,
and the pain of delay had made both of our needs so pressing that it equaled
our desperation to know the Lord even more intimately. I felt the pulling to
choose between them and I just couldn’t do it.
So I waited out the time prior to the conference wondering if this was going
to be the big fulfillment, and how I could live on the other side of this if
we should come home disappointed. So, this is the story of what happened. I
hope this really touches you, because I believe this Word extends a lot
further than my own life right now.
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MILEPOST 222
-------------
On the way up to the conference I saw the milepost number 222. This
particular number is special to me and my Rhema has been sprinkled with it
for years. The number 222 in the Strong's Greek is translated Alexandria. My
name, Sandy is a derivative of that word and the name Sandra means,
“Defender of mankind.” It seems all my life I have been fashioned to be a
defender in some way or another.
When I saw the number, even though I am usually drawn to the number, this
time it was particularly quickened to me. It was so quickened that it
pierced my soul so I asked the Lord why. I have seen the number 222 for
years and He has delighted me with precious gifts relating to the number. So
why was this time so important? I was about to find out.
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THE PROMISE
------------
At the very end of that night’s meeting Graham said the following quoted 7
paragraphs:
“I came here with a prophetic Word. I believe God wants to start us off with
a promise. This promise is rooted in the scripture: Isa 7:11. “Ask a sign
for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the
height above." NKJV
[ Inserted note by Steve Shultz: Before the meeting, I was speaking about
the conference and one prophetic slip lead me to say 7:11. I commented to
Derene and Lisa Cooke, "There's something about 711 and these meetings. So
the first night, Graham's Scripture was Isaiah 7:11. ]
"I believe God is giving you permission to ask Him for one thing. And the
answer is YES.
"I Kings 3:5 says “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at
night; and God said, "Ask what you wish me to give you." NAS
"Be wise in what you ask Him for. James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not
receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on
your pleasures.” NAS
"Understand this that every good gift comes down from the Father of Lights.
(James 1:17) Ask Him for a sign. It could be something spiritual, something
in your relationship with Him. It could be something in the natural. Maybe
you’ve got a loved one with sickness. It could be something to do with
family. Whatever it might be, the Lord is saying, “Ask Me, and the answer
before you even ask, the answer is Yes and Amen in Christ.” What you ask for
is going to itself be a gateway into a new experience of Who God is. God is
going to put a signpost in your life this evening. And when He gives you
what you’ve asked, it will open up a whole new way of faith and a whole new
way of being for you in Christ.
"Close your eyes for a few minutes. I am not letting anyone out of this room
until you know what it is. And the Holy Spirit is going to breathe upon you.
Take your time. Don’t pick the first thing that comes. If you’ve got 2 or 3,
just ask the Lord, so which one of these is it, or is it any of these?
"He’s saying to you, ask Me for a sign. Ask Me what you want Me to do for
you? Because some of us have gotten to a place where we no longer ask God
for things. And tonight we’re going to break that. He loves you with a
passion. He wants to open your eyes and see the totality and the majesty
that He wants to declare to you. Ask Him for a sign, the answer is YES. Holy
Spirit, come and breathe upon us. When you know what it is, I want you to
write it down. And when you’ve written it, I want you to stand as a
declaration that you are going to stand in this thing. Whatever this thing
is, it is going to be a catalyst in your spiritual development. An
unmistakable act of God that will change the way you think for the rest of
your life. This is where the Holy Spirit gets to kiss you.” {end of Graham's
quote}
------------
THE REQUEST
------------
I closed my eyes and said, “Uh oh, here I am again.” So this is what the
Lord meant when He was preparing me for the conference. I was caught between
two of my deepest desires; healing and intimacy. Only this time, the tension
was worse.
Graham specifically said either yourself or someone else. I thought of the
years of pain in my husband’s need for healing. I thought of my own. I
thought of our pursuit and desires for deeper intimacy with the Lord. People
were standing up all around me and I felt the tension grow as I sat there.
Finally I made my choice. I said, “Lord I know if it were my husband’s
desire, he would choose to know You better. But I choose healing for him. He
has suffered too many years. He’s grown weary in the waiting.” “However
Lord, if there are 2 requests I ask to know you face to face like Moses
did!” “And Lord I am not sure what Graham meant about the sign part. I don’t
know if Graham meant that You are going to give me a sign that You are going
to answer these things, but You can pick the sign. I love Your signs!” Once
again I apologized to the Lord for my seemingly wrong priorities, and I
stood.
---------------
THE REVELATION
---------------
As I was standing there I felt the Lord was asking me why I chose healing
for my husband. I knew He knew the answer, but I didn’t know until that
moment. The answer bubbled up from the depths of my being. Of course love
conquers all and when two people are married, they really do become one. We
celebrated our 26th this year. But even deeper, my pain of waiting for the
Lord to answer had decayed my relationship with the Lord.
My prayer life was dying from the hopeless decay of delay. Deep down inside
I was hopeless that I was not getting through anymore. I have many wonderful
gifts and I hear the Lord in such joyous ways. But my prayer life had become
wounded.
Prov 13:12 NKJV
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree
of life."
In my past journey I have had many, many prophetic intercessory assignments
from the Lord. I have been given the blessings of seeing and hearing what He
is going to do in the body of Christ, then partner in standing against the
obstacles for such. The wound of delay had affected me so deeply that I was
losing my zeal for being an avid defender of mankind, the very nature of my
calling. I was stunned by the revelation.
As I thought of this, the Holy Spirit brought back a phrase Graham had said,
“God is going to put a signpost in your life this evening.” I burst out
laughing and in that instant I knew, I understood. It all made sense.
The Lord set me up! The signpost 222 on the way up to the meeting!
----------------
HIS FIRST ANSWER
----------------
This was His answer to me: “Sandy as often as you see the number 222, it is
now to be a reminder that WHATever and WHOMever you defend, the answer is
and always will be YES!!!!!!!!!” Only the Lord can turn one small tiny
request into something large enough to encompass the whole world. Only God
can do that. And that is the kind of language that He speaks. Even without
any answers in sight, I had the awesome joy of connecting with His love at
that moment. I knew deep inside my knower that He was rescuing me on levels
where I did not know how to rescue myself.
Ps 2:7- 8 NKJV
I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I
have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your
inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.’
------------------
HIS SECOND ANSWER
------------------
On the way home, I was marveling at all of this, and I suddenly remembered
that if there was a milepost 222 on the way up, there would also be a
milepost on the way down in the other lane. I was excited. My eyes were
pealed with the headlights on every post as they passed.
I wanted to know what I would see near this milepost! Finally 222 came. It
was pitch dark except for one thing. I saw a bright red light in the air
just beyond the sign. It was a cell phone tower. I laughed with joy! I knew
EXACTLY what that meant that my precious Abba answered BOTH requests!
I have lots of Rhema (dreams, etc) where the Lord is either calling me on
the phone, or I am calling Him! And I also have Rhema where the reception
has static and poor reception.
My request since 1984 when I wrote the first edition of the book, "101+ Ways
God Speaks" (and How to Hear Him) [ note by Steve: this book can be obtain
at:
http://theelijahlist.safeshopper.com/356/cat356.htm?391has ]has been to
hear the Lord more and more and more and more and I have wanted to hear him
CLEARLY. I have wanted complete intimacy with Him. I knew that Jesus only
did what the Father wanted and so if I could hear Him at all times, there
would be no need for any other gift. That may sound kind of simple, but upon
that precedent I figured all life could flow. I wanted to hear Him with what
I called clear speech… just like Moses.
-----------------
Num 12:6-8 NKJV
-----------------
If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a
vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is
faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and
not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD.
Before telling him any of this, I asked my husband what he prayed for. He
said, “Well it was really hard to choose between my healing and wanting to
know Him better.” I smiled with that inner prophetic poker face. He paused
and said, “I chose to know Him better since I can’t live without Him.” I was
touched at his answer and then joyously told him I had him covered and
spilled the whole story!
. . . But the Lord didn’t stop there, He had more delights to come.
----------------------
THE PROPHETIC BLOOPER
----------------------
The next AM Graham says, “Hey do you know what? I made a mistake last night!
When we were doing the prayer thing at the end, you know, ask me for a
sign….I made a mistake. And the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night
and said: “There’s a lot of people praying right now because you made a
mistake!” I’m thinking, so what did I do wrong? He said, “We agreed that
sign would be anything they want personally for themselves. What you said
son, you tacked this thing on that it could be for you or it could be for
someone else. And Gray, that was not what we agreed.” And I thought, oh
You’re right! So Lord what do I do? He said, “Aren’t you so thankful I can
cover all your mistakes?” I’m thinking on this occasion, extremely so! So I
SHOULD have said last night, that anything personally in your relationship
with God, you can ask for and the answer is yes. So this is what we are
going to do! Those of you who asked something for somebody else, the Lord
says, “You can KEEP that one, AND you can ask for something for yourself!
And those of you who asked something for yourself, you get to ask something
for somebody else!” {end of Graham quote}
I was probably the loudest voice in the audience on that one! I had already
asked for my 2 requests, one for my beloved husband, and one for myself. It
was a prophetic blooper, thoroughly ordained by the Lord. The Lord had the
whole thing set up, mistakes and all! He is the most loving awesome God!
--------------
CONFIRMATIONS
--------------
This was all confirmed the last meeting of the conference when Paul Cain
spoke. He was not there the first meeting when we had prayed our requests.
He said, “I believe the Lord wants to give you the desires of your heart!” I
grinned at my husband. On the way home, in relation to what Paul Cain had
said, we revealed to one another our prayers. My precious husband had prayed
for my healing, and I had prayed for his. We both thought of the old
Christmas story about the poor couple on their first year of marriage. She
had cut her long hair in order to sell it to buy the gold chain for his
watch, and he had sold his watch in order to buy the beautiful hair pin for
her hair. My eyes filled with tears and I thought that we are completely and
100% covered in our love and in His love.
Matt 25:40 NKJV
And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch
as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
-----------------------------------------------
HE KNOWS US EVEN BETTER THAN WE KNOW OURSELVES
-----------------------------------------------
After the conference was over I realized that for years I have stood for the
day when I would know my Heavenly Papa as Jesus did, and walk in Jesus’
anointing and even do greater works, as the scripture says. (John 14:12)
After all was said and done I felt like I had blown my window of opportunity
for this lifetime request. When one is hurting, sometimes they cannot see
past the pain. All they want is to be set free. I believe many, many people
are in that place right now. What a loving Papa we serve! In the middle of
the night this is what I heard: “Could you believe for twice as much? An
anointing as Jesus walked, and more. Your on!”
My heart melted in one big blob. His love is so tender and He wants to reach
every hidden recess.
--------
SUMMARY
--------
Beloved of the Lord, there are so many in the body of Christ that have grown
weary with delayed promises and delayed prayers. Do not be weary in well
doing, for He is our loving Papa. Through the years of pain and delay, the
stakes, rewards and recompense have only grown higher and the Lord has
multiplied the answers to your requests. You shall have a 7-fold return on
anything stolen from you, and double portion joy for all your shame.
As the Lord has schooled me in the Quickened Word writing ministry, I
believe that my forerunner life and the Word that springs forth from such,
is a living parable for others. Because of this I know that my conference
story is multiplied to you too. I want to share with you that the Lord is
not only asking those at the conference, but He is also asking you and
giving you the same opportunity to ask Him for your deepest desire and for a
sign that His answer is "YES!" Choose wisely my dear ones, for great joys
await you in the answers, which will be much greater than you can imagine,
conceive or think.
“Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will crush your enemies as I have
promised. Ask for anything you like, and make it as difficult as you want."
(NLT)
This is our time and opportunity to make our deepest desire known to God, to
be strengthened, and then STAND that He has heard our prayer and that His
answer is YES.
As one final word, we are entering into Psalms 103 for the new year 2003
(starting on Sep 15, Day of Atonement.) As you read that Psalms, notice how
it centers around 2 themes: healing and intimacy with our Papa, all to be
passed down through our families. Praise the Lord!
Lovingly,
Sandy
Email: swauthor@usa.net
www.thequickenedword.com ~
101+ Ways God Speaks can be obtained from THE ELIJAH LIST at:
http://theelijahlist.safeshopper.com/356/cat356.htm?391
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