Birds.

LONG. Worth the read.

All you children of the 80’s….you know all about that original Nintendo, Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt!

Thursday morning, I had breakfast with some friends and there is always Spiritual discussion to be had. One friend, Angel Reaves, shared about prayer team this past Sunday morning. We have a prayer team that prays before, during, and after every service. Angel shared that “during prayer Sunday, I began to see black birds 🐦‍⬛ up in the atmosphere trying to steal seed sown along the path. So we began to pray and come against those ‘robbers’.”

Matthew 13 (my favorite parable) tells us the parable of the sower. There are four types of soil…..representative of how our hearts look. They can be hard, they can be shallow, they can be captivated by the world, or they can be tender and receptive. Four types of soil……but One Seed -the Word of God – that was down for all of them. For the hard heart, the seed was down but birds came along to try to snatch said Seed away before there could be any lasting effect.

Birds.

Behind our house, there is a creek. And a lot of trees. And a lot of birds. My husband, Kyle Hudgins, has become quite intrigued by the birds. He downloaded an app – Merlin Bird ID – that can “listen” to the chirps and sounds of the bird to identify them. He can literally sit on our back porch, click “listen,” and have results within seconds that “these types of birds” are there. Their chirps make them identifiable.

This morning, I went to our Saturday prayer service. Angel’s word about birds came to mind and I got the “Duck Hunt” picture in my mind. Our son loves to duck hunt and does a lot of work in the early hours to get where the ducks are to “take them out.” I thought about how I often pray for the “soil of hearts” to be tender and receptive to the Word of God and the work of God. Today, I was prompted to shift my focus to the “birds” trying to snatch away the Seed.

As I read cards begging for God to intervene in people’s marriages, to heal their sicknesses, to lead them into community, to draw them to God, to give them wisdom in decision making, to help them share joy in their workplace…..I felt the need to call out the birds. It’s time to take out the things that are trying to steal what God is doing around us. The birds of….
💥 inferiority/envy
💥superiority/pride
💥division
💥deception
💥shame
💥perversion
💥addiction
💥gossip
💥double-mindedness
💥unbelief
💥self-sufficiency
💥bitterness
💥greed
💥idolatry

WE SEE YOU, BIRDS. And it’s time for you to GO!!!

We are in a fight, y’all. Yes, I pray for hearts to be tender and receptive to Holy Spirit. And I’m also praying that those “birds” get taken out so He can do the work in our lives that will change eternity and the trajectory of all we do and are!!

Help us see the birds hovering over our homes….our churches…..our workplaces…..our friendships…..our country…..our relationship with Jesus…..and LET’S TAKE THOSE BIRDS OUT!

🙏🏼🐦‍⬛💥