There's a Crack in Your Armor Perry Stone

4. G OING WHERE WE ARE NOT CALLED There is a difference between being called and being burdened . For example, you might have a burden for foreign evangelism or foreign missions, but that does not necessarily mean that you are called to be a missionary and permanently live in a particular nation. Your calling might be to oversee prayer teams, organize missions groups, or provide financial support for others to make a missions journey. During my ministry I have seen men and women have a God encounter that turned their world upside down. In their zeal to follow God, they began seeking what ministry they could do for the kingdom. At times their zeal exceeded their wisdom, and they quit school, quit their job, or made a sudden transition when no doors were opened. Stay where you have been planted, grow where you stay, and create fruit while you grow. God has the keys to lock and unlock doors, so don’t force doors open that are shut or shut doors that are opened. 5. S PENDING MORE TIME WITH MEN THAN WITH G OD After being called into the ministry, I was still a teenager traveling to small, rural churches and preaching to mostly Christians. One of my spiritual mentors, a man mightily used of God to demonstrate His power, called me into his office and said, “Perry, if you are to be used by God, you need to spend more time with God than with men.” His words pierced my spirit, and I felt convicted for my lack of prayer time. From that moment forward, and to this day, my average day includes spending eight to ten hours in study and prayer or meditating upon the Lord—usually a combination of all three. If you’re