The Shift Is NOW: Are You Ready for More of God?
Pastor Johnathan Ellison
Ready for More: Why Prayer Is the Key to Your Spiritual Shift
What if the very thing standing between you and everything God has for you is a conversation you haven't been willing to have? Not a complicated strategy, not a new program, not a better set of circumstances — just prayer. Real, intentional, face-to-face conversation with God.
That's what this season is about. We are in a series called Ready for More, and the question I want to put in front of you today is this: Are you ready for more of God?
More of God Means More of Everything
When I say more of God, I mean more of his holy presence, more of his goodness, more of his mercy, more of his love. But here's the part we don't always want to hear — more of his discipline, more of his correction, more of his changing our hearts to meet his heart.
Why do we need more of that? Because we are going to continue to encounter more of the enemy's attacks. More of his twisted truths mixed with scripture, more of his spiritual misguidings, more of his temptations. When we are spiritually aware, we can be active in praying through it.
I love what John Bunyan said: "Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan."
Remember — the most powerful force on earth is God's power in answer to the prayers of his people.
The Burning Bush Moment
In Exodus 33:11, we read that when Moses would go into the tent of meeting, "the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend." That is how we need to be communicating with God — with Abba Father, with the Holy Spirit — as one speaks to a friend, face to face.
Last week we looked at Exodus 3:2-6, where Moses encounters something remarkable in the desert. An angel of the Lord appears to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stares in amazement — the bush is engulfed in flames, but it doesn't burn up. He says to himself, "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go see it."
When the Lord sees Moses coming to take a closer look, God calls out to him from the middle of the bush: "Moses, Moses!" And Moses answers, "Here I am." God warns him not to come closer, tells him to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground, and identifies himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses covers his face, afraid to look at God.
Here's what I love about this. Moses was standing before the burning bush — the very presence of God — and that spectacular phenomenon captured his attention. But it changed nothing until Moses received the word of God that came to him through the fire.
Sometimes we need to let the fire rise up inside of us — God's fire — so that we can start to hear him. Let him burn some stuff away. Take off those sandals. Take off that security you've put on yourself to protect yourself so that you can hear from him.
God's "More" Comes With an Assignment
Then we get to Exodus 3:7, and this is where the more shows up. God says to Moses, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land."
And then: "Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people, Israel, out of Egypt."
Moses' response? Basically — whoa, whoa, whoa. He was ready to celebrate Israel's freedom until God said, I'm sending you. Moses pushed back. He said he couldn't appear before Pharaoh. Who was he to lead the people? It wasn't going to work.
The reality is God could do it all by himself if he wanted to. He's God. But it is most often God's plan to work with and through people, as we are workers together with him. As 2 Corinthians 6:1 says, "As God's co-workers, we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain."
God was not unsure of Moses. And God is not unsure of you. He's put you in places to minister and to love on people. He's called you by name, just as he called Moses.
Stop trying to build a case for God of why he cannot use you. Moses made too many mistakes. So have we. That didn't stop God then, and it won't stop him now.
The Wrong Person, Surrendered to the Right God
Here's something I need you to hear: the wrong person surrendered to the right Jehovah can become the right person for an impossible assignment.
The word impossible can bring fear, intimidation, hopelessness, and uncertainty. But nothing has ever happened that caused heaven to panic. Nothing has ever made all of heaven look down and say, "God, what are you going to do?"
God's answer to Moses in Exodus 3:12 is simple and powerful: "I will be with you."
When God calls you and gives you an assignment, he doesn't just leave you. He will be with you.
The Shift Starts With Intentional Prayer
So how does this shift happen? The shift comes with intentional prayer.
When we don't pray, spiritual doors remain closed. When we don't pray, darkness and dark thoughts take over. When we don't pray, joy loses its strength in our hearts. And when we don't pray, things in the supernatural will not shift.
Look around at the world. Other religions — Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism — they intentionally make time to pray, to meditate, to practice their rituals. Church, why is it so hard for us to take time to pray? We have the living, true God who is on your side, who says, I will be with you. We have to make intentional time to pray.
As Pearson said, "There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer."
If you're married, start by praying with your spouse. Your marriage will be better for it. Men — we'll talk football and sports all day. Why not talk to God first? Let me tell you, your wife will love you even more when you lead in prayer. Then it extends to your family, and then it joins with the rest of the church.
In Acts 1:14, we read that the early followers of Jesus "all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary, the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus." And Acts 2:42 tells us, "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Supper, and to prayer."
That's what we need to be doing.
Are You Willing to Be Burdened?
Here's a question I want you to sit with: Are we willing to be burdened for the purposes of Jehovah above our own?
Because usually everybody wants God to use them — until the assignment starts to hurt.
We want compassion without inconvenience. We want revival without losing sleep. We want strong families without making sacrifices. We want people saved without having to go and speak to them about Christ.
We say, Lord, use me. But what we sometimes mean is, Lord, use me as long as you don't change my schedule. Use me as long as it doesn't cost too much. Use me as long as I can remain comfortable.
That's not surrender. That's negotiation. And Moses lost his negotiation, and you will too.
Christianity was never designed merely to make us comfortable, because God wants to make you Christlike. As Jesus says in Luke 9:23, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it."
Three Strategies for the Shift
Your ability to combat the devil is only as strong as your relationship with the Lord. So here are three strategies to help you make the shift.
1. Daily Submit Yourself to God
James 4:7 says, "Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Submitting and humbling yourself takes you out of the equation. Whatever you want, Lord. It's taking on the heart of John 3:30 — "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
Prayer is that connection to God. It's like connecting to straight power — you get completely recharged.
2. Resist the Enemy by Closing the Doors
If you leave the doors open, the burglars don't need to break in. They just come in and ransack the place. Hurts, pains, traumas, betrayals, unfairness — all of these open spiritual doors. But the more we are in prayer, the more we can close those things off to the enemy.
The big door I want to address is the door of unforgiveness. As 2 Corinthians 2:10 says, "Anyone you forgive, I also forgive... in order that Satan might not outwit us, for we are not unaware of his schemes."
A major spiritual shift begins when we begin to value forgiveness over unforgiveness. Jesus said in Matthew 6:14, "If you forgive those who sin against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Forgiveness doesn't mean you no longer feel pain. Forgiveness means you are no longer holding that person or situation hostage for the pain they caused. We've all had people betray us, stab us in the back, mock us, hurt us in some way. But I don't want to hold anybody hostage, and I don't want to stand before God and have him say, I gave you an opportunity to forgive that person. Why didn't you?
3. Confront the Enemy Every Day
We confront the enemy every day by claiming and declaring God's truth. Proclaim God's truth over your mind, your thoughts, your temptations. Every day I speak to the atmosphere of my home to be holy and filled with the joy and the presence of the Holy Spirit. I speak to my mind and say, My mind belongs to the Lord. I rebuke every thought that comes against me.
That took 30 seconds. But do we believe what we pray? Do we mean what we pray?
The devil has a little power, but he has no authority under the name of Jesus.
Putting It Into Practice
The shift is not two days from now. The shift is not next week. The shift is now. As Galatians 4:4 reminds us, "When the right time came, God sent His Son." The time is now.
And when we pray, Colossians 1:11 promises we "might be strengthened with all the power that comes from his glorious might." When we pray, God shifts his kingdom plans into gear in our lives. When we pray, darkness loses its hold over our minds and hearts. When we pray, the power of the enemy is weakened and destroyed. When we pray, spiritual doors are opened that only God can open.
So here's where to start:
Pray daily — submit yourself to God every single morning before the day gets loud.
Pray with your spouse or family — united prayer begins at home.
Close the door of unforgiveness — identify who you need to forgive and begin that process today.
Declare God's truth out loud — speak to your mind, your home, your heart. Mean it.
Don't give up — if you've been praying for something for years, did God tell you to stop? Maybe he's answering in a way you can't yet see.
The question isn't whether God is ready. He is. The question is: Do you care enough to become available?