She Speaks '12 - The Prayer Room: Yet Another Surprise

There's still so much to say about She Speaks, but today I want to focus on the prayer room. If you've never been to a prayer room, specifically the one at She Speaks, I want to share one thing...it is holy ground. God is there!

It is a great place to go and be alone even in the midst of 650 women, but it's also a place where God speaks. You see each year the P31 women pray specifically for everyone who will attend. They also "randomly" place our name under a name of God...3 years ago I found my name and God spoke powerfully. Needless to say I was looking forward to a similar experience this year!

So Friday night I found myself in the prayer room, I spent some time quieting my heart and just soaking it all in and then moved to the front of the room to find my name. I circled around looking at every paper, recognizing some names, stopping to pray and wondering where mine would be. I wondered what God had to say.

I came to the very last table, the very last paper and there it was, Jill Beran, attached to the sheet that said, "Jehovah Saboath - The Lord of Hosts, The Lord of Armies." And my first thought, that's the same place it was 3 years ago. My thoughts continued and I came to the conclusion, yes, the battle still goes on.



I then read the rest of the sign and jotted down these words, "The Lord of heaven will always fulfill His purposes, even when the hosts of His earthly people fail." I quickly wrote down the scripture verses and then attended my first session.

Later that night, my roommate and I were talking about our names of God and how we were each surprised to find our name under the same name as when we previously attended.

Honestly it was a bit of a left down; I was ready for something new, ready for the battle to be over. By the next morning God had given me something new.

I was up and a bit nervous about my publisher appointments, but the emotion that had hit hard was doubt. I mean really, me meet with a publisher, one the same gal who'd accepted Renee Swope's book.

Then God spoke to me, Jill, I'm the Lord of Armies, 3 years ago that calmed your fears as you felt opposition from outsiders, but right now you are your own worst enemy. Ouch, that hurt a bit, but it was (and is) so true.

Friend sometimes it's others who fail, but often times it's ME!! Though that happens, God's purpose will prevail. Does that mean I went to the meetings and received a contract for my book? No and perhaps I never will, but it does mean I walked in with confidence and complete trust in the ONE who'd brought me to that place.

1 Samuel 17:45 was one of the references listed on the Name of God sheet. It says, "David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."

This verse, one I'd actually unpacked a bit in chapter 2, helped. Through these words, God reminded me, He is a consistent God. His Word is alive. He's not going to move us on until we've learned the lesson He is currently teaching, even if it's been three years!

And the thing with God is there is always more to learn, not sure why I was surprised! Friend, can I encourage you today if something He's done or said has left you surprised or wondering, don't just accept it as fact, dig in and ask Him to help you understand. I believe you will find a message, a powerful one, just like I did. And you will grow in the process, just yesterday I dug even deeper and for the first time found myself reading commentaries instead of just listening to my pastor quote them.

I have much to learn about Jehovah Saboath and I have to believe there's much more God wants to teach you as well!!