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Q: So I've been burden bearing? That's why I feel so bad?
Now what?
A: 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 parner 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 feeings and do not think to pray.
Q: What about when I pray for separation of other's burdens from me and
nothing happens? What then?
A: 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 uncomfortable 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 or orchastrate people and circumstances for a
person to have a "divine encounter."
Q: How can I know that it's someone else's burden? Maybe it's my
own issues.
A: 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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