February 26, 2001

Monica,

As I pour out new insights, Father continues to give fresh ones. I said in a recent letter that Paul seemed to find a trysting place in physical pain. Paul learned by experience that he could find Jesus wonderfully present in all circumstances, even in a stoning. He had a good reason for his expectation. It was through Stephen’s forgiveness as Paul stood by and approved of his stoning that Paul got loosed to be spoken to. Stephen prayed for Paul’s forgiveness as Stephen was enjoying the glory of God all over him during his fatal [in the physical sense] stoning. When Paul was stoned he knew to expect the same presence, and he was not disappointed.

Paul learned that the joy of his partnership with Jesus Christ would be so real and present that the pain would pale by comparison. [To digress a second, do you know that partnership and fellowship are the same thing? We are called to partnership with God. Powerful stuff!] When Paul said he learned to be content in any situation, he was not advocating pain and poverty. He was simply affirming the truth that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. I also see that the afflictions that he sometimes spoke of were less physical than we have assumed and more a matter of wanting help to deal with spiritual pressures brought against his work. He was very grateful to the Philippians for their "partnership in the gospel." They had supported him with some financial help, but it was their help in intercessory prayer for him that made him so grateful to them in Philippians 1:3-6. He was under a lot of pressure in the spirit realm, and he saw that even Jesus wanted prayer support (but didn’t get it) when the spiritual pressure was coming to a climax.

Paul was glad to have partners in his ministry who would help him fight the enemy in prayer. His fellowship with Christ’s suffering was a partnership in spiritual battle. I thought he was saying he enjoyed physical affliction because he got to draw near to the Anointed One. If spiritual pressure can give Jesus such a fight that he sweated blood, guess what? We better find some close allies in this walk--partners with spiritual discernment. Husband and wife teams flowing in oneness have a good start in this. When the battle gets as intense as it was for Jesus, we will be grateful for discerning partners in the ministry. The first nine weeks of last summer were the worst nine weeks of my 55 years on earth. For me, it was so bad that I asked Jesus why he had led me into hell. I know it was not as bad as what Jesus went through, but I too went through it alone. I am sure in our paths to a deeper walk with Jesus, we have all gone through some battles alone. Pray that the Holy Spirit will join you with an anointing of oneness to at least one partner and beyond that even more partners. The close spiritual partner does not have to be a spouse although Jesus is coming to deal with Satan at the end of the Tribulation in oneness with his bride right after the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

The concept of having prayer partners is good, but it is better when those partners or at least one of those partners is also anointed with you in an anointing of oneness.

Love,

Dad