Is God guiding me toward this?

[Jesus_is_king]

As of a recent situation that happened with the dog, is God telling me to share that experience for His glory to my church?

As I'm an introvert, this is something out of my comfort zone, & that sounds like Him, as Jesus doesn't just let you stay comfortable all your life. Getting out of your comfort zone is a good thing, especially when glorifying Him.

In order for this to happen, I need God to open up the opportunity to speak with my pastors. But what do I say? Or how do i even approach them? Do I wait until Sunday? Do I wait until Thursday discussion group where only one of my pastors is? (I don't know if he's preaching this Sunday. If it's not him, I don't have any way of contacting my other pastor).

I feel like God wants to say my experience in the sense of that way I can be relatable to people, that seems to be the way people love to hear these things. This way I can say that God brings the good out of the bad, surrender your situation to Him, lean on Him, repent, I don't know what else to say really, I think that's the jist of it.

Also, if I do get a conversation with the pastor who is preaching on Sunday, then please pray that their heart is open to me going up there & God speaking through me. As I tried to follow God's leading before, or at least what I thought was God's leading, but my pastor said "I'll see if God is asking this to happen" or something like that, & it didn't end up happening. Was it a test of my obedience? Or was it that the pastor didn't listen to God's leading? Or was I actually not led by God to do so?

Thank you to anyone who replies or prays for me, God bless you

 

[Articles]

We hear your heart and the stirring within you to share what God has done in your life, even when it stretches you beyond what feels comfortable. The Lord often calls us out of our comfort zones to grow our faith and to use our testimonies for His glory. Scripture tells us, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Your willingness to step forward, even as an introvert, reflects a heart that desires to obey God, and that is commendable.

It is wise to seek God’s timing and guidance in how to approach your pastors. Waiting for a natural opportunity, such as after a service or during a discussion group, is a good starting point. You might begin by simply sharing, "I’ve had an experience recently where I felt God working in a powerful way, and I believe He might be leading me to share it with the church. Could I talk with you about it?" This opens the door for conversation without putting pressure on the moment. Remember, "Commit your works to Yahweh, and your plans shall succeed" (Proverbs 16:3). Trust that God will provide the right words and the right time if this is truly His will.

As for what to say, focus on how God worked in your situation, how He brought good out of what may have felt like a difficult or painful experience. Your testimony can be a powerful encouragement to others, showing them that God is faithful even in hardship. Scripture reminds us, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16). Your story, shared with humility and dependence on God, can be a blessing to many.

Regarding your past experience where it seemed like the opportunity didn’t come to pass, we must remember that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). It may have been a test of your obedience, or perhaps God had a different timing or purpose in mind. What matters is that you remain sensitive to His leading and continue to seek Him. "Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). If this is truly God’s will, He will open the doors in a way that leaves no doubt.

Let us pray for you now:

Heavenly Father, we come before You with grateful hearts for this brother/sister who desires to honor You with their testimony. Lord, we ask that You would open the doors of opportunity for them to share what You have done in their life. Give them wisdom in how to approach their pastors, and fill their mouth with Your words so that Your name may be glorified. If this is Your will, soften the hearts of the pastors to receive this word and provide a platform for it to be shared. Help them to trust in Your timing and to rest in the knowledge that You are in control. Father, we also ask that You would continue to grow their faith, even in moments of uncertainty. May they always seek You first and find their strength in You alone. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Continue to seek the Lord in prayer and in His Word, and trust that He will guide your steps. If this is truly from Him, He will make it clear. Keep your heart open to His leading, and remember that even if the outcome isn’t what you expect, God is still at work. "Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). May God bless you as you seek to follow Him wholeheartedly.

 

[hostadmin]

It is beautiful that your instinct, even as an introvert, leans toward wanting to share what God has done for his glory. That pull out of your comfort zone often is one way he stirs our hearts, and we are grateful you are not ignoring it.

The real question you are asking, how to know if this is God’s leading and how to approach your pastors, shows humility. We think you are already on a healthy path: you sense something, you are testing it, and you want to submit it to the shepherds God has placed over you. That is exactly the right order.

A grounded insight that might help with the memory of the last time, when your pastor said he would see if God was asking it to happen and then the door closed: pastoral caution is not a rejection of you or necessarily a sign you misheard God. It is a common and wise part of discernment. God often uses the body to confirm or redirect what we think we are hearing on our own. So you might say to the pastor you can reach (Thursday sounds perfectly fine), simply, “I think God may be prompting me to share a testimony about something he taught me recently through a hard situation with my dog. I’d love your counsel on whether and how that might fit.” Keep it low-pressure. The pastor’s role is to weigh and help, not to immediately approve. And if the answer is “not now,” it may just be about timing, not about your obedience.

As you wait and reach out, ground that sense of leading by quietly praying that God’s Spirit would give both you and your pastor a clear, peaceful unity. You do not need to script a perfect speech; just tell the story simply, as it happened, and trust that God uses our honest, clumsy words. Your desire to point people to his goodness in hard things is right: God really does comfort us so that we can comfort others.

We will pray with you now, friend.

Father, thank you for this sincere desire. Give clarity and a calm spirit. Open the right conversation at the right time, and fill this dear person with courage rooted in your love, not in self-confidence. Let any door you open be unmistakable, and give the pastor wisdom to guide well. In Jesus’ name we ask.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body​

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

You speak of a desire to declare what God has done, and this is well. David said, “O God, You have taught me from my youth, and until this time have I declared Your wondrous works.” You have been God’s pupil, and now your heart longs to open your mouth and tell of His mercy. But take heed: the comfort you received in that experience must first be God’s own comfort, fresh and sure, before it can flow to others. “Be not content unless you get the Truth from the mouth of God. Say in your spirit, ‘I will not be comforted unless God, Himself, shall comfort me.’” When He does, then, like David, you become God’s pupil‑teacher, and your word will be with power.

You feel timid, an earthen vessel. Yet “when He undertakes the work, then we become as conduit pipes that are full, even to bursting, with the drink that you require! Your soul shall be satisfied even out of poor earthen vessels. But it must be God’s work.” Do not fret over what to say. If this is His doing, He will give you words. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,” He saith to all His people. You need not be eloquent; you need only to tell what you have seen and felt of His quickening power.

Concerning the closed door you met before: “He was chastened, but he was never cast out, he still continued as God’s pupil.” It may be God tested your obedience, or it may be He was teaching you that comfort from man alone is of little worth. “Rightly so, if the comfort came from man, if the comfort were doubtful and ineffectual. Wrongly so, when right comfort was presented to him, comfort from God.” Wait upon Him, and if the work be of Him, He will set wide the gates in His time. “Sometimes rebuke is better than comfort, and spiritual quickening and especially true sanctification, are more greatly to be valued than any measure of comfort whatever!”

Now, as to approaching your pastors, remember, “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.” It is the Christian’s business to open gates, not to force them. Speak humbly, and trust God to turn their hearts. “God can comfort to purpose, therefore the Apostle did not say, ‘I hope you will enjoy the comfort I have given you, or that, perhaps, your minister, next Lord’s‑Day may give you.’” Pray and then step forward, believing that if the Lord has purposed this, no man can shut what He opens. “Comfort one another with these words,” and do not fear the face of man.

Above all, see that the comfort you offer flows from the Word of God. “This is my comfort in my affliction,” saith the Psalmist, “God’s own Word.” Flee to that Word continually. Let it quicken you; then you shall have a living word to speak. And if at times you tremble, remember, “He who writes his own death warrant, signs it and feels that he deserves to die, he is the man for whom the Lord Jesus Christ sets open the door of mercy and says, ‘Come unto Me, for I have absolved you. You are a free man. Be of good comfort. I died to redeem just such souls as you are.’” Lay hold of that pardon, and out of the joy of your own forgiven sin, speak comfort to the weary. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s dear Son, cleanses us from all sin!” Rest in that, and let your words be but the echo of His voice.

 

[usha rani]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

The testimony of God does not depend on excellency of speech or a polished delivery. What presses on your heart is a simple account of His working in your circumstances, and this is the very material He uses. The desire to turn a personal experience with your dog into an occasion to glorify Him is not a matter of eloquent proclamation but of declaring what you have seen of His goodness. You worry about what to say, yet the substance is already formed in you: God brings good out of what seems bad, and He calls souls to lean upon Him. This is not a message that requires the ornaments of human wisdom; it requires only the courage to speak it.

When you consider approaching your pastors, shut the doors of your mind against vainglory and inward turmoil. The question is not whether you possess the skill of a gifted speaker, but whether the heart that offers this testimony is free from the desire to appear unto men. If you seek a platform so that you may be seen, then even behind closed doors the sickness remains. But if your soul burns simply to magnify Christ and to comfort others with the comfort you received, then wait upon God to open the door. The uncertainty about which pastor to approach or which day to choose can be laid before Him who stands at the vestibule and opens or closes according to His wise purposes.

The courage found in the Apostle Paul and Silas did not come from a comfortable setting. They sang praises at midnight while their feet were fast in the stocks, and the prisoners heard them. That testimony was not given from a place of ease but from a place of affliction, and the earthquake that followed was God’s own doing. Your feeling that this leading is outside your comfort zone is no proof against it; it rather resembles the pattern of those who glorified God not when they were at leisure, but when they were pressed and constrained.

As for your past attempt, where the path seemed blocked when the pastor hesitated, do not let it become a snare of endless questioning. Was it a test of your obedience, or a failing in the pastor, or a misreading of God’s leading? The day and the hour of such outcomes are not always given us to know. The Lord may lead you to the very door and yet not open it at that moment, and this too is for your good. He does not always grant us to see the working of His hand at once, but the proof often comes afterward. If your heart was set to obey, the readiness itself was not wasted. The failure of an opportunity to materialize does not mean the impulse was false; it may mean the season was not yet ripe.

When the hour does come and you sit with your pastor, do not approach with the anxiety that demands a certain response. Present the matter simply, as one who has witnessed the mercifulness of God. For a sincere testimony is a kind of mercifulness; it is a protector and an intercessor, dear to God. When such a merciful account is offered up in purity, it travels with great confidence and often wins a hearing even where obstacles stand. Ask that the pastor’s heart be open, but your part is not to manage the outcome; your part is to be faithful in the telling. Let the substance be nothing more than Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and the way His goodness reaches into common sorrows. If He wills that you speak, He will prepare both the ears of the hearers and the mouth of the speaker. If the door remains shut, you will have lost nothing of your obedience, for the Lord sees the sacrifice you were ready to lay upon the altar.

 

[Silas]

What a joy it is to see a heart stirred to share what the Lord has done, even when it pushes you far beyond your natural comfort. That very discomfort often tells us something: Jesus rarely calls us to stay where we feel safe. He bids us step out, not to showcase our own strength, but to let His power be seen in our weakness. Your desire to make much of Him through something as ordinary as a moment with a dog is exactly the sort of thing He loves to use. Personal testimony of how Jesus meets us in real life carries a peculiar weight; people may argue with a sermon but cannot argue with a changed heart. When you simply tell what He has done for you, you leave the Holy Spirit room to work in ways you cannot control.

At the same time, the timing and the setting matter deeply. We read in Scripture that even Paul, after his dramatic conversion, did not rush immediately to center stage. There was a season of being built up and proven, and later, when he finally had the long-awaited opportunity to share in Jerusalem, the Lord warned him plainly that many would not receive his testimony. Yet Paul testified anyway. The response of others was not his burden; his calling was to be faithful with the opportunity. That holds true for you as well. If the door opens, what others do with your words is between them and God. Your reward is not tied to visible results but to a sincere witness given in love.

I hear the uncertainty in your heart, and I remember your earlier experience when a pastor decided not to move forward. Rather than seeing that as a failure on anyone’s part, consider that God often tests our willingness and then asks us to wait. A wise shepherd knows the condition of the flock and the right season for each voice to be heard. Those who lead the church carry a heavy weight; they will answer for how they guided the sheep. That is why Paul so often asked for prayer, that he might speak clearly and discern carefully. Pray for your pastors right now. Ask the Lord to give them tender hearts and sharp discernment. Then approach them simply. You do not need a polished presentation. Just tell them what you have told us here: you sense God may want you to share a simple, honest account of His goodness through that recent situation, and you are willing if they believe it is wise. Then leave the outcome with Him. If they say yes, trust that the Spirit will give you words in the moment. If they say not yet, accept their protection as a gift, and know your obedience in the waiting is just as precious to the Lord as any public word.

Be of good courage. The same God who stood by Paul when he was afraid and uncertain stands by you. He sees your longing to glorify Him, and He will make a way in His time. Whether you stand before the whole church this Sunday or simply keep cultivating a quiet life of faithfulness, your testimony is already being written. Keep leaning on Jesus, and let every step, whether forward or waiting, be an opportunity to trust Him more.