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The content of this will change as questions of general interest come in from readers.
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Questions below are in bold. Answers are in plain text.
So I've been burden bearing? Is that why I feel so bad? Now what?
Assuming that there is nothing wrong physically, the next thing is to be aware that you are on a journey with the Lord--and now there is a steep learning curve ahead. He is teaching you His ways. He wants you to become like Jesus in every way, including learning to bear burdens without becoming overburdened. In the process, you have the opportunity to mature spiritually, to deepen your relationship with God, to partner with Jesus in restoration of relationships, and become the person He created you to be. Burden bearing is one way the Lord can work the character and nature of Jesus into you. It may be your path to come into your destiny.
As you begin to learn, the first is to learn your signals. Every person has certain "tells," the signals to you that the Holy Spirit has connected you to someone He wants you to pray with or for someone for whom the burden is too great. You are to learn to bring that burden to the cross. The reason you are so heavy is because you absorb some of the burdens in people around you but you do not bring them to the cross. Rather, you assume that all you feel is your own feelings and do not think to pray.
What about when I pray for separation of other's burdens from me and nothing happens? What then?
The Lord wants us to bring the burdens to the cross so that He can deal with them. But if the Lord simply separates us from the burdens, the other people will not receive the help the Lord wants to give them. Ask the Lord who He wants you to pray for. Note the feelings you have, and pray specifically about those feelings. Assume that what you are feeling is only a portion of what this other person is experiencing. Tell the Lord about it. Paint Him a vivid picture. Pour your heart out, and then ask Him to minister to that problem for this other person. Ask Him to pull that burden through you and onto His cross. The Lord's response is to pour healing, restoring love over the person, and because you are standing before Him, it also goes all over you--refreshing you too!
You don't want to simply be free of a burden because it is comfortable or causes you a problem. Burden bearing is about coming alongside and helping someone else. It is about the other person--not you, although it does affect you. So if you pray and the burden does not lift, that person may need your prayer support over a period of time. Sometimes it takes a while for God to orchestrate people and circumstances to get a person a "divine encounter."
How can I know that it's someone else's burden? Maybe it's my own issues?
You have touched on a good point. We do sometimes have a problem in the very area the Lord wants to address in someone else. We tend to see problems in others more clearly than we see our own. When you ask for whom and what to pray for, pray for the people or person the Lord brings to mind. If you pray for a season and the burden does not lift, a couple things could be going on. First is that some of the burden became entangled in your own emotions. When you "left them at the cross" and walked away they followed because they were entangled. Ask the Lord to untangle the burden from your emotions, your problem, pray again asking Him to draw the burden through you and onto His cross so that He can address it in whatever fashion He knows is best. Then ask for discernment and wisdom to understand what you need to know about your own problem. Listen with an open heart and mind and be willing to receive ministry through others.
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