Whenever we find ourselves in a pinch, where the concerns of life are pressing hard in on us, our default, over the years, has been to set aside some time to pray and fast. It’s become a default because so often we have seen God bring breakthrough during a time of fasting and more often than not, on the second last or last day.
So towards the end of 2024 we set aside a time for prayer and fasting and seeking breakthroughs from God. We have been so concerned for Kate’s health, the idea of church planting in Newcastle and for the next steps around our Mexico vision. It has been a really pressing time in our lives.
Fast forward to the last day of the fast. I got up early and went for a prayer walk to my favorite local place to pray. It’s called Birmingham lookout and you can see for miles around from up there. As I sat in my favorite place God spoke to me about receiving a fresh revelation of the Spirit of Sonship. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that we who are God’s have received the spirit of Sonship. It was a sweet time of fellowship as I reflected on Sonship.
But what followed that day was the really interesting thing. I would find myself thinking my usual thoughts as I worked and drove and shopped and rested. Just random thoughts that would fill my mind. Like always. The usual worries, concerns and struggles. But then I would hear a voice asking me the question “Are you thinking like a son or an orphan at the moment?”. It was as jarring as it was liberating as God started to show me, in real time, all the places where Sonship wasn’t materialising in my thinking. This went on for weeks. The same question. At various moments in my days and weeks. Each time guiding me back to a refreshed reality of his fatherhood and my Sonship.
It was an interesting answer to prayer. We would have loved instant healing for Kate and more open doors for Mexico but God’s breakthrough and answer was to systematically reveal and eliminate orphan thinking. Something that will bear great fruit in the season to come.