KEYWORDS: things, spirit, help, jesus, helper, time

Overcoming Distractions and Forgetfulness

Karen Zerby

Excerpt from "Mama's Message of Understanding and Encouragement for Feast 2006"

By Maria FD/MM/FM 3571b 10/05

Feast 2006 devotional

1. A few months ago I was really spinning my wheels in my work and I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Plus‚ I was being so distracted with so many things, my Word time wasn't the quality time it should have been‚ and in general I was very much on the down part of my cycle.

2. I got quite concerned about it since it was lasting for quite a while, and I asked one of our channels to pray for me and ask the Lord for some help. I asked her to get a prayer for me, which I prayed desperately and sincerely several times. Here are some excerpts from that prayer. I'd like to share the entire prayer with you, but it was very long and so is this talk to you, so I think I'd better just share some excerpts of it:

3. (Prayer:) My dear, strong, powerful Love, I need You so desperately like never before. I could never live without You, Jesus. And I wouldn't even want to try. I know I'm such a mess. I just can't function without Your power and love. You so graciously call me a queen, but I know I am absolutely nothing. It's all You, Jesus. If there's anything good about me, it's only You. If I manage to do anything right, it's only You.

4. Jesus, I need Your help now with so many things. I praise You and thank You for the power that You give me to rise above all the things that try to hold me down. I certainly have felt off-target lately. You know my heart, You hear my thoughts, and I'm sure You understand how I've been feeling.

5. I know we're not to judge anything by feelings, but rather by faith‚ but nonetheless, it's hard to shake the way I've been feeling, which is overwhelmed at times. I feel so far behind in the things I know I should be doing. I know this feeling of being overwhelmed is not of You, dear Love. But I need You‚ Jesus, to pull me out of this vicious cycle that I seem to be in, feeling like I'm spinning my wheels and not able to see how to stop.

6. I praise You and thank You for my demon-defeating weapon of praise that always answers when I call! I do believe You have the answers, dear Love. You've never failed me before and I know You won't fail me now. I praise You and thank You for this awesome weapon that lifts my spirit and escorts me into Your presence. Thank You for this praise weapon that will infuse me with the positive medicine of Your Spirit. I need the medicine of Your heavenly elixir. I need Your Spirit and the power of the keys to help me rise above the impossibilities.

7. Nothing is impossible with the power of the keys, even the changes I need to make in order to be able to really hit the mark spot-on, on all the things I need to do. I am nothing, but You are everything, dear Love‚ and I call on the miracle power of the keys of the Kingdom to do through me what I can't do myself.

8. I praise You and I thank You, dear Husband, that as I call on the keys, You will turn every battle into a victory, every difficulty into a blessing, every problem into a solution, and every prayer into an answer.

9. Thank You that when we fight with the keys we can't be stopped. I call on the keys of strength and power and ask that You will please help me with these things. I praise You, Jesus, that You are going to burn and destroy the Enemy's it-can't-be-done lies with Your it-can't-be–defeated power of the keys of faith. I cling to the keys of faith. Transform me, and help me in these areas.

10. Please help me to do better in my Word time. I know Your Word is the fuel I need to keep going. I love Your Word‚ my Dearest, and I know Your Word is what will transform me from the weak and frail human that I am into the vessel that You want me to be.

11. Jesus, I don't feel like I'm hitting the mark in my Word time. Please forgive me for the times I've neglected my personal Word time and instead substituted my work on the Words for my Word time. I know I get lots of wonderful feeding in that way—my whole life revolves around the Word—but I know that that's not enough and I know that You want me to take my personal Word times just like everyone else, dear Love.

12. I want to start afresh. I call on the keys of humility and change, and I ask that You will please help me begin anew. Help me to stick with my priorities and my time with You each day. Help me to rise above the things that hold me back, the tiredness, the lack of organization, the distractions. I call on the keys of determination and stick-to-it-iveness to help me keep on track.

13. Thank You for the wonderful helpers in the spirit that You have given me. I call on Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Focus, the Fairy Angel Fighters‚ and Illuminus to fight for me and help me to have good, solid, quality Word time. Empower these helpers to fight the Enemy on my behalf.

14. With my demon-defeating weapon of praise I blast the Enemy's imps to bits! I praise You, Jesus, as I direct an awesome force of Your power into the Enemy's territory to destroy the influence of Obstacon, Oplexicon, Arakan, Apotheon, Pan, Weariness, and Lethargy, and every dirty devil who would try and fight me having quality feeding time in Your Word each day.

15. In addition to Word time, Jesus, I know You want me to do better in honing my gift of prophecy. Please help me. Give me faith and obedience to follow through on this. Thank You for my personal helper, Bright, who will shine the sun on the fog and blow away the clouds of static and open channels of spiritual communication.

16. This is what I want, dear Love, very close ties with the spiritual realm. I want to communicate with the spirit world deeply and thoroughly. Forgive me for the times I've been lazy and not on the attack enough in stretching and honing my channel. Help me now to do better, and take away any pride. I call on the keys of humility and I lay my thoughts and ideas aside. I want to be putty in Your hands. I release the power of the keys of yieldedness to help me flow and be in tune with You.

17. Thank You for Tola and Tor, who wield a mighty force of key power that will fight against any hinderers who oppose me in using my channel. Nothing is impossible to those channels who call on the power of the keys of prophecy. Thank You for the keys of iron and lightning that destroy the attacks of the Enemy and anything that would hinder me from receiving Your words.

18. I praise You and thank You, my faithful Husband, for Sonale, and for the Miracle Workers [Miracle Warriors], and for Zephyr, my personal prayer helper. Thank You for these helpers who teach me how to fight in prayer, and help keep me faithful in my prayer life. Thank You that they will help me learn to persist in prayer until the answer comes.

19. Please help me not to neglect my prayer life. I want to pray more. With so much going on‚ both in the spiritual world and in the physical, I know I can't afford to ever neglect to pray. Everything depends on prayer‚ and my desire is to live in a continual spirit of prayer. Please help me in this area of my life, dear Jesus.

20. Dear Love, I need You so much. I need so much help to be what You need me to be‚ and to do the things You want me to do. I can't do it on my own. I feel the Enemy hot on my heels these days, with the tiredness I battle, and with lethargy and procrastination, and with so many distractions in the physical, interruptions, and a little here and a little there‚ so many little things that really add up to big things at the end of the day. And so many distractions in the spirit as well, along with the many deadlines, projects in the works, and hundreds, probably thousands of details.

21. This is when the overwhelmed feelings come, and the feelings of spinning my wheels. I know these feelings are not of You. You have promised to carry our load. You have promised grace and glory and the power to rise above. "There are no impossibilities to those who wield the keys in faith." Where You guide, You provide, and this is why I stand on Your promises.

22. My dear, capable‚ caring, loving, adorable Husband, I praise You and thank You for being right here with me‚ ready to lift me up out of the turmoil and the rut that the Devil would like to keep me in. I can't possibly figure things out on my own. My own organization is just a disaster if You're not in it. But with You‚ all things are possible. I praise You and thank You that the keys have the power to supersede any lack of natural ability that I have. I don't want to fail You, or my mates in WS, or the Family in any way, dear Love. Please help me to make the most of every day.

23. Thank You for the host of helpers I have, who surround me around the clock, who never sleep and are always ready to answer when I call. I need You and them so much, Jesus, and I praise You and thank You for their presence. I know that the secret to success is learning to work closely with these wonderful ones You've sent to assist me. Please help me to do this, dear Love.

24. Thank You for my weapon of praise that will do all I ask and help me to accomplish all these things. It's all You, Jesus. I am nothing and I can do nothing, but You are everything and You will do through me what I can't do myself.

25. Thank You, Jesus, for this priceless privilege of being Your bride. Thank You for the keys that work miracles, and lighten my load, and give me the strength to fight on. I praise You and thank You for this weapon of praise that will help me to carry out Your will. I love You, Jesus, and I thank You for loving me first. Thank You for taking me as I am. I'm so blessed to be Your bride.

26. I know I can never pay You back, my dearest Husband, but I want to give You everything I have. I want to give You all of me, and I want to do my very best for You. I give You all my heart‚ all my strength, all my mind. Take me, possess me, and do with me what You will. Live in me, move in me, work through me as You please. I love You and praise You, my precious Lover. Your marvelous love is my all in all. You are everything to me.

27. And that's the end of my prayer.

28. Well, after that, after I had called desperately upon our dear Love for His help, things started going so much better. It was miraculous! It wasn't anything that I did or could have done, it was just His love and His mercy and His grace. When we do what we can do, which isn't really much at all, He takes over and does all the rest. He's so wonderful!

29. Well, I told you I was just going to read you excerpts of this long prayer and I ended up reading almost the whole thing. I'm sorry, because it's making this talk so long, but I just could hardly help it because I thought maybe it would be a help and a blessing to you too.

30. Of course, praying in itself is not enough, as Dad has told us so many times. We also have to put feet to our prayers. We have to do what we can do, but then if we're willing to put forth the effort, Jesus will multiply that effort and we will in turn see the miracles start to happen.

31. I had to be humble enough to ask my co-worker, to tell her my problems and to confess them and ask her to pray for me‚ and ask her to help me and to ask the Lord for help for me and for this prayer. And then I had to be desperate about it and really pray and mean it with all my heart, which I did. And then I had to determine I was going to do my part. In order to give the Lord the cooperation He needed, I was going to just really put my whole heart into it. And that's when the miracles happened.

32. One of my other co–workers was always forgetting things and it was getting to be quite a problem for him. I suggested that maybe he should ask the Lord for a spirit helper to help him to remember the things that he needed to remember. The Lord was very faithful and gave him the spirit helper that he asked for, but along with the spirit helper, the Lord gave him some very wise counsel that I was just reminded of here and thought maybe I should share this with you‚ because it's a very important point. It has to do with how we can make the best use of our spirit helpers and what they can do for us, and what they can't do.

33. This was his prayer:

34. Lord, I feel really bad that I keep forgetting things, some of them important things. I just seem to keep forgetting things, things I should be remembering because they're right there staring me in the face. Am I not checking in enough on each situation? Some days I seem to do fine, but days like yesterday and today I just seem to lose my focus and forget the most simple, obvious things even from one moment to the next. I can ask for a spirit helper to help me remember things, and maybe that's the solution. Please show me if that will be the answer. I don't know if there's something that I'm not doing or that I'm missing the mark in. I write things down and then I forget to check the notebook. It's becoming very frustrating, and I really need a solution. Please help me understand what I can do to turn this area into a strength in my life. I'm sure You're bringing it up now in order to do just that, but I'm at a loss as to how to go about it.

35. And Jesus was faithful to reply, and He said:

36. (Jesus:) First off, you aren't going to just snap your fingers and everything is going to change overnight. So don't get discouraged when you battle hard to gain some ground, yet you still fall sometimes. Just pick yourself up and try again. You're having to change on a lot of fronts at once.

37. (Mama:) And maybe that's … I'm interrupting this prophecy, but I just want you to apply it to yourself. Because a lot of you are also having to change on a lot of fronts at once.

38. And the Lord continues:

39. (Jesus continues:) You're learning to work under more shepherded conditions. You're learning to flow with the constantly changing conditions rather than having a routine. You're learning to judge your time better. You're learning to keep notes on everything and to plan step by step. And you're learning to face a myriad of details without it becoming a blur that causes you to grind to a halt‚ unsure what to do next.

40. It's an intense time in many ways, and you're going to falter a little here and there. But, humbling as it may be when you have to face yet another blow-it, just look at the circumstances under which the mistake happened. Rather than scrutinizing the failure, let your helper show you what went wrong‚ and change to a new plan that will prevent it from happening as much as you can.

41. I'm going to send you a helper to counsel you in the area of remembering things, but some of these battles are going to have to be fought step by step. The key is first of all not to get discouraged with yourself. You don't have a problem thinking you're doing so great. If anything, you have to fight to kick the Devil back when he tries to flood you with what a screw-up you are. Keep plowing ahead. There aren't any easy shortcuts to this victory other than continuing to, step by step, knock out the Enemy's attempts to undermine your efforts by getting you rushed or unfocused.

42. Your spirit helper will be able to assist you, but he can only place the thought or check in your head. You have to learn to go slow and check and check again. Your spirit helper won't be able to help you very much if you don't form the habit of stopping even when everything is moving fast and there's pressure to "get things together." You just have to stop, pray, and be open to things which don't necessarily fit into the mold.

43. You forgot the printout you were working on yesterday because you had set it aside to carry it. You were so concerned that you might forget it if you put it in your bag that you kept it out; but then in the gathering up of your things, you took what you were used to taking and it escaped your attention. Had you sat down for a moment and gotten quiet before you walked out the door, you would have opened your eyes and seen what I was showing you.

44. So this helper I'm sending you will have a double task. He'll be there to remind you and bring things back to your remembrance; but even more important, his job is going to be to help you to learn to tune in to the details and to go slow. You can't go fast and keep track of every detail. It just doesn't go together.

45. Because your nature is to go fast, it doesn't take too much pressure to push you into that mode. This is where your helper is going to focus most of his training, and you will be getting that training. It will mean that sometimes you will have to go slow even when all else is running fast. There's a lot to do, but you'll get it done much faster by walking circumspectly. You can't do that when you are moving fast and when you're trying to stay focused on what you're trying to do. It takes patience, which is faith.

46. (Mama: ) Now the channel sees a vision of his spirit helper, and what he gets from his spirit helper is the following feeling:

47. Oh, I understand now that the pressure is not from anywhere else, but it's my own spirit that is getting under pressure. Okay‚ I understand that I have to flow with that rhythm, the steady, calm, unrushed spirit of patience and faith. How can I stay in this frame of heart and mind and spirit? It's really nice. I don't feel pushed or rushed by the circumstances. I don't feel like goofing off either, but it's just a steady, flowing attitude. I don't understand it, but for some reason I know that I don't need to analyze it and understand it.

Then Jesus continues:

48. This is the one whom I have created to help counter the Enemy's lies that you have to place yourself under pressure to accomplish anything. I don't drive you, so if you're feeling pressured or rushed, who's making you feel that way? Either yourself or the Enemy.

49. This doesn't apply to you, My love, but sometimes people unwisely allow others to put them under pressure. In cases where people feel pressured by others‚ they should lovingly explain their situation to those involved and seek Me for the solution.

50. The toughest part is going to be remembering to get quiet and calm. Then your helper will be able to enter into your heart and help you, give you checks, even guide you to think of things that you otherwise would not have thought of.

51. The key is that you have to remember to use him. Put up notes by your bed, or on your computer monitor, on your door, and wherever you feel a need to be shielded against getting hurried or stretched. You'll see things you never noticed before. You'll catch the things that you would otherwise forget about. Yes, it takes more time. But it means you'll be walking circumspectly in the spirit, praying as you go, and remaining calm and attentive so that you are open to My checks.

52. To be walking circumspectly in the flesh is to struggle to mechanically cover every base. In that state you may become very organized, but it will only be on the surface‚ because as soon as multiple new circumstances arise, you'll find yourself struggling to keep things straight and you'll start forgetting more and more.

53. You didn't realize how much your mode of operation was in need of change. I have designed this time of tight, close shepherding to break you out of your molds of doing things the way you think is best. This spirit helper is going to be there to help you, but it's going to take your stopping and asking for his influence to calm you and help you regain your perspective on life.

54. Right now, when you try to remember things, you often end up forgetting even more, because you are trying to juggle too many things in your mind. This battle is not going to be won by mechanical means; the victory can only come as you stop, rest in My arms, and cease from the pressure. Pressure you will always have with you, but it's up to you if you will choose to stop, and with each step let him guide you. Then you'll have a change‚ and this can become your strength.

55. You probably will not be known for speedy accomplishments and how many hours of feverish activity you can put into a day, but you will become one who accomplishes much more of value, one who can do what I know needs to be done without all the floundering around, doubling back, and wasting valuable time and energy, when all it takes is stepping into My calm and spirit of faith. It's entering the dome. You can do it any time, and this one is going to be your helper. Use him wisely and he will help you to become the person that you are not by nature. (End of message.)

56. (Mama: ) As I listened to this prophecy again, I realized that it's probably instruction that so many of us need in these days of so much stress and strain and so many things to do. I thank Jesus for reminding me of it amongst the hundreds of prophecies that I have been privileged to read lately. I hope this helped you. Or even if your problem isn't exactly the same, and maybe you don't forget things all the time‚ perhaps you can adapt it in some way and learn from it.