DISCIPLINE#2 OF 12 - THE WORD OF GOD

 THE BMIC BLAST: DECEMBER 2024

PRAY FOR .....OTHERS

1. Job 42: 7-8: 7 And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

2. 1 Timothy 2:1-2: Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions,and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

One of the greatest honors and privileges in life is to be asked to pray for someone.  This discussion is not about the usual “thoughts and prayers” we hear from the secular world, which is neither thinking or praying to the only Real God in Heaven – Yahweh – Who only listens to the prayers of those who are saved. What we are called to is an intentional and meaningful lifestyle of intercession or praying on behalf of others.

Two verses are selected here for a reason. First, the account of God rebuking Job’s friends in Job 42:7-8 shows that God Himself commanding His flawed servant Job to pray for this three annoying friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Elihu) so He (God) would not punish them for not just incorrect theology, but for all the incorrect things they kept attributing to God.

The lesson we need to take from this, can be summed up with the following:

-          God places such a high priority on prayer for others that He intervene to prevent three obvious sinners from certain extreme discipline, which believers sometimes face.

-          God uses even flawed people, who hold incorrect views at time. Job himself said he knew OF God, but did not KNOW Him (Job 42:5-6)…as in have a relationship with the Father, until he was quizzed by Yahweh in Job chapters 38-41. However, while he said some incorrect things about the attributes of God, Job remained faithful . He refused to curse God “and die”, as his own wife told him to and he made a statement which still rings over the millennia. In his distress, Job said about this dire health and personal tragedy “though He slay me, I will trust in Him”!(Job 13:15)….and the immortal lines which became a great worship song “I  know that my Redeemerlives”. God loved this faithful man, warts and all,  just as He loves us in our sad estate…and God made him  (Job) an intercessor to pray for the well-being of others. Job is our example of the saint who perseveres to the end, against all odds and ends up being the go-to-guy when the Lord needs a man (or woman or child) to step up and prayer for somebody else. We should go and do likewise.

The second chosen verse above “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings (or praise reports) be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1) is very clear and does not need more analysis. This exhortation comes from the Apostle Paul who was personally appointed by Jesus to take the Good News, the Truth and the Word of Life to the rest of the world outside Jerusalem.  His words, teachings and lectures were already considered to be Scripture by the time Peter was writing His books (1 and 2 Peter). Peter explicitly spoke of this in 2 Peter  3:16. So it would be very wise for Christians to listen, read and believe EVERYTHING the Apostle Paul believes. Therefore what we glean from this is that one of the duties of the Christian – is to pray for others! This is one duty we should never shy away from....so let us now pray:

Our Great Father and God in Heaven,  we are so stunned, humbled, privileged and grateful that You, the Ancient of Days, would call even the most lowly like us, to pray for Your saints. What an amazing thing and paradigm to be called one of the intercessors You would listen to, just as You listed to Job when You called on him to pray for his three wayward friends (in that entire book).  Lord, help us to stay focused on the meaningful things of life, which can only be found in  Your Word of Truth; help us to avoid sin and temptation that we may be able to approach Your Holy Altar with the critical requests of others that we may not be disqualified in our prayers, but be heard by You, for the benefit of others. 

Keep us from the evil one. Keep us from all distractions in this convoluted daily noise and corruption of a perishing world. Keep us from our own selves and our tendencies to go off on rabbit trails and being lost in the weeds, sometimes even when we are praying, so that the wiles of the evil one and the Flesh will not keep us from our appointed time with You. Lord may all that we do be for both Your Glory and benefit of others.  

We can live in this world if You sanctify us in Your Truth and keep us from ourselves. We need You Father because we are our own worst enemy. The evil one has no hold on us if we don’t give him an opening. So help us to help others and by that, ourselves remain fixed on the straight and narrow and by doing so, bring Glory to Your Holy and Mighty Name, and we pray all of this in the Name that is above ALL the other names – Jesus the Messiah, amen.

END OF THE AGE TIMELINE FREE CHART!

The signs of the times are all around us, as Bible prophesy unfolds. When you and I get in conversations with family and friends, and consider the state of things around us, invariably, the talk goes to the Second Coming Of Christ or "where do you think this is heading". 

Well, Scripture tells us where we are heading - swiftly to a conclusion of all things. The days now may seem horrible, but we know from the Bible that we literally "ain't seen nothing yet"! One helpful resource is this timeline below which was developed by our friends over at the GUIDE TO THE BIBLE Wordpress Blog. I recommended you now link and click over there to view this timeline and read more about this work on this PLUS another free (for download) chart which I will link to in a separate blogpost. This chart is from their brand new book (The Christian's Guide to the Bible), now available at all major retail bookstores worldwide.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FREE END OF THE AGE TIME LINE CHART:

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

Who are “the just” and are the only ones who live, and by whose faith? I can hear the sceptics, asking these questions when this seemingly quaint phrase is used. 

As ancient as modern man thinks the Word of God (the Bible) is, God's Word is written forever in the Heavens, and therefore in eternity. We live in a time where every person does what is right in his/her own eyes, thereby creating their own philosophies which they then extrapolate into an entry card to Faith. Ask anyone these days if they’re going to heaven, and the answer is “SURE”! If they  are a little more honest, the answer would be “I sure hope so”. The few odd ones I have spoken to have literally told me they are not afraid of the “lake of fire”! Good gravy, Gert!  Could they be serious?

In reality, the Just really WILL live by Faith. From biblical Hebrew to the New Testament Greek, the Word from the great God of Heaven is plain. Here is what He says:

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith..." Habakkuk 2:4

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith...." Romans 1:17

"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith....." Galatians 3:11

"Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him...."Hebrews 10:38

I think we are starting to get the idea. The questions for us humans, redeemed and unredeemed are simply: who or what is "the Just" and what does it mean "to live"?

The just or "the righteous" (according to the Sacred Scripture) is the man or woman, boy or girl whose conduct - body, mind and soul - are in alignment with the perfect standard of God. Not that any living person can achieve that perfection. It is precisely for that reason we cannot make ourself "just" or "righteous" in the Eyes of God that He has to save us, rescue us from the pit of Hell and then IMPUTE or credit our account, free of charge. This act of His Grace JUSTIFIES us, makes us ACCEPTABLE in His perfect 20/20 Spiritual Eyesight. There is no other way to be a child of the King and have eternal life. There is no such fiction as reincarnation, purgatory, 100 levels of consciousness of anything else man-made religion concocts.  It is only God the Father, seeing us through the Perfection of Christ, when we repent and accept Jesus as Lord, which can bring us into being made Just in His Sight.

Secondly, being made right or justified by His Grace, we now have eternal life. Indeed shall we live in eternity (or Heaven) with God the Father in the eternal kingdom. However, Eternity actually begins the moment we are saved. At the point of Adoption into the Kingdom, when we are converted from the domain of darkness, into the Kingdom of His marvelous Light, we inherit eternity past, the present and into eternity future. The Holy Spirit, Who is sent to seal us as His, immediately testifies to that fact and if a person does not possess such a transformation, conversion is in perilous doubt.

Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God Who raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same Spirit Who lives in us who are made just and are future citizens of Heaven. He immediately sets to work, to the degree He is allowed, to guide us into the way we should live - IN THE PRESENT. We, the Just, MUST live by Faith - NOW.

We are to live in the Faith, as plainly stated in Scripture. This means we are to eat, sleep, walk, talk, act, speak and think as one whose life is not his/her own, but made right and on loan from God, Who saved us.

The just who shall live by Faith is one whose daily life is fully dependant on God and knows it. Therefore the just who lives by Faith recognizes Who sustains our very breath, bread and eventually the brevity of our earthly life. 

The just who shall live by Faith is one who seeks and pursues the One Who died for us and then gave us a new permanent purpose in life.

The just who shall live by Faith is not only relies on and hopes in the God Who sits on the Throne above, but obeys Him (as stated in Scripture) and trusts fully in Him.

The just shall live by Faith and shows it as a living walking example of the Word of God, and as one whose prayer life jumps out and is a beacon to those who seek authentic intercession and someone to pray for them.  Oh yes, my friends, let us simply just live, love and long to reach others with the only Faith that matters AND saves- Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. Amen.

THY WILL BE DONE: PRAYER- "BE PRACTICAL"

PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM NEHEMIAH'S PRAYER

I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving-kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 

7 We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 

8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 

10 They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”(Nehemiah 1:4-11)

There are so many great prayers in the Bible, they can fill many books and sermons about their content, meaning and message. One of the greatest leaders and men of God of all time, is Nehemiah, the first Governor of the Judean district (where Jerusalem was) after the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah was chosen by God to rebuild the city after the remnant of the Jewish people had withstood 70 years in exile, in pagan Babylon. As Nehemiah began to rebuild the wall, he faced a lot of opposition, taunts and real enemies from people like Sanballat, Tobiah and their Arab friend. Still Nehemiah and the faithful remnant stayed focus on rebuilding their portion of the wall (read the rest of the Book of Nehemiah), while keeping a vigilant eye open for danger. This is a great example for God's people for all time about practical living in the face of evil while persevering.

This entire prayer of Nehemiah's, to the Lord (see verses 4-11 above) stand out as one of the most powerful in all Scriptures, as the Lord not only granted victory but did it in a spectacular way.  So what was it about this was so powerful that the Lord my God responded with overwhelming victorious response. Let us briefly look at how Nehemiah wasted no time or word and was both practical and proactive in his methodology of praying.

Verse 4: "I was fasting and praying..." -  While some Christians do not fast or even believe in fasting, I can testify to the fact that an intentional fast signifies a willing heart open to hearing from heaven. Fasting sharpens the senses, and especially the spiritual senses as our hearts are more in tune with the Holy Spirit Who is our guarantor that God will hear our prayers. In dangerous times, the practical thing to do is to pray like Nehemiah - in submission, and temporarily depriving ourselves of the things of this world.

Verse 5: “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God...". Practical praying gets to the Point by acknowledging openly and truthfully, the Sovereign Power of God - His Might, His Majesty and His Mind Which attends the affairs of mankind. He responds any way He wishes, because He is sovereign over all.

Verse 6: "let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant..." Practical praying is pro-active in immediately asking the Father for His full attention to your petition, problem or issue. Notice how, after you read the entire verse above, after Nehemiah asked the Lord's full focus on the matter at hand, Nehemiah went on not just to confess the sins of the people but HIS OWN SINS. In verse 5, the Judean Governor praises and acknowledges the Sovereignty of God, and in verse 6, the petition and confession begins. This is our cue to lay are our souls bare before Him. Every hidden sin must be confessed before God and repentance must begin.

Verse 7: the confession and repenting of sins continues and Nehemiah uses the Plumb Line of Scripture to show just how horrible the departure from God's statutes was. We are in the same boat. Nothing in modern life matches up to Scripture and almost everything in life today, violates the Word of God. The road to restoration continues down the path of repentance.

Verses 8 and 9: "Remember the word..." Here Nehemiah "reminds" the Lord what He said He would do to His people if they strayed and while He disciplines, He is divinely merciful and loving like the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son. Practical praying for a solution is first to KNOW the promises and proclamation of God and secondly, how to apply them appropriately and recall these promises, WITH GREAT AWE AND RESPECT - back to Him! We can say something like "Heavenly Father, remember when You said "If Your people return to Your Word, obey Your commandments and statutes You will hear from Heaven, and if Your people who are called by Your Name....Lord I long to follow You more intentionally and walk in ALL Your Ways, please hear my prayer as I stand on Your Promise to hear from Heaven and heal....."

Verses 10 and 11: Notice that Nehemiah, in essence summarizes, presents and then yields to the Lord with expectation in the positive result. He is actually practical, concise and given the fact that the Holy Spirit included this short prayer in Scripture. Some of the most practical (and effective) prayers in Biblical history have been short, to the point and sweet. When Peter started walking on water towards Jesus, than took his eyes of the Lord and started to sink, he did not pull out his book of prayer from the Christian bookstore and launch into eloquent speech. Peter simply cried out "LORD, SAVE ME"...and He did! Here Nehemiah summarized effective in Verse 11 "I beseech thee"...."may Your Ear be attentive"....and I "revere Your Name"...so "make Your servant successful and grant Him compassion"

That is it! With this in mind, in spite of obstacles, in spite of serious spiritual attack, with this prayer as the foundation, Nehemiah led his people to a victorious conclusion. They were buffeted by Ezra the Scribe reading from the Word of God for hours, aloud, to ALL the people.  The lesson for us is this: be practical, be fully prayed up, be clear and be buffeted by the Word of God.

THY WILL BE DONE: PRAYER - "BE POSITIVE"

God loves the Christian who appears to have swallowed a dozen lemons as much as He loves the Joyful happy warrior who approaches the Throne enthusiastically, day after day!  The former’s approach to prayer is often filled with fear and trepidation to the point where the prayer life is stunted,  fellowship stymied and active relationship with the Father, stayed. The joyful happy warrior however sees his/her waking up in the morning as an opportunity to jump at, in order to meet and greet the Lord daily!

Both conditions define Christians who pursue and those who pout. Who is God more prone to respond to? Both, because He looks at the heart and the request which the Holy Spirit reconfigures, according to Scripture. The edge that the joyful person has is abundance….joy unspeakable, joy unfathomable…and why? Because the Joy of the Lord is your Strength (Nehemiah 8:10b). The latter is the domain of the praying Christian who approaches our Maker with faith, gratitude, humility, love and respect. In other words, a combination of all of these attributes and a willingness to be in His Presence in proactive intercession brings forth fruit and fuel which are both priceless and without comparison. A positive attitude in prayer becomes the Christian as it simply glows off the countenance!  

Consider this: Moses’ brother Aaron was the first official High Priest of the Faith (Melchizedek is the first ever on earth). Aaron’s famous Aaron blessing is direct from God and the portion which pertains here is  “The Lord bless you and keep you…..the Lord make His Face to shine upon you, and give you shalom (peace): Numbers 6:26. There is no more powerfully positive blessing and prayer than this. You can’t teach “positive” we just have to come to a full realization of how great a salvation we have, what that salvation cost Jesus Christ and how incredibly blessed we are to the point that we cannot help but fall at His Feet and even at the mention of His Name. There are many who reject the Lordship of Jesus Christ and simply call Him Savior. Savior, He is. However, if Jesus is NOT the Lord of your life, then something/somebody else is and there is no way there can be a complete relationship with God.

As always, Scripture is our road map. How we pray and stay positive is to start from the foundational truths of the Word, remain in the Word, pray the Word and thereby become fully reliant on the Word.  There is something to acknowledging and praising God in prayer as soon as you set yourself to pray in His Holy Name. “Bless the Lord oh my soul, all that is within me, bless His Holy Name” (Psalm 103:1) Think of the power that underlies this statement which the Holy Spirit placed there for our instruction!

Let us begin to work from the very heart of this verse for a minute, which is “all that is within me” (Psalm 103:1a). This is pro-active sacrificial worship straight from the very depths of who we, as 100% committed followers of Christ, is foundational in having a positive attitude of prayer. When you and I approach the Lord, with expectation and when you approach Abba Father with total surrender, you and I are operating under the Scriptural Definition of Faith. This is right out of Hebrews 11:1 “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for (expectation), the evidence of things not seen”!

Now about this “evidence” – those who are saved, redeemed, rejuvenated, born-again – we HAVE the evidence! He is the Holy Spirit! He is the SAME, the VERY SAME Holy Spirit Who raised Christ from the dead. He, Holy Spirit, IS the evidence! If this is not understand, we have more work to do to teach Him. So back to Psalm 103:a “ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME”? Well, all that is within you and I - is the Holy Spirit! 

With that in mind, how can we NOT be positive in our Prayer Life?! Impossible. The equation is simple: Holy Spirit (the Evidence within) and the Expectation equals dynamic fuel. This powers us to the state of being positive in prayer!

Next: "Be Practical"

SPEAK LIFE: LESSON 1 - PRAY WITH LOVE

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. (Philippians 1:9).

So many lessons on prayer, pleading and pressing in are laid out for us to grasp, learn and apply throughout Scripture and especially the New Testament, that one would have to be blowing past them at warp speed to miss these bold colors. Our great teacher and sent one from the Lord - Paul - was the master at illustrating Jesus' love for people in the way he described his modus operandi for enhancing their spiritual lives.

Paul's teachings have become stock and the standard wherein we must pattern our lives to become more Christ-like, and therefore live the life which God has called us to live. What gave Paul such authority? Well, it was more like WHO! After Jesus knocked him off his horse on the road to Damascus as he was about to do another round of killing and jailing Christians, Jesus Himself taught Paul in the Arabian desert for three years on how to impart the message and use his vast knowledge of the Law and the Prophets to explain He, of Whom, the Law and the Prophets spake - Jesus the Messiah! That gave the Apostle the authority, so when he says "be imitators of Christ" like I am - listen!

The best example of a brother in Christ, who loves people and loves fellow believers is found in these three short verses. The love shown here spoke not just volumes but absolute life to the brethren, who were stuck in the same weather military complex of Philippi alongside pagans...sort of like how we are. But Paul, building on the theme of Love, which he started in 1 Corinthians 13, continues on here. Also, please remember that Peter confirmed all Paul's letters to the churches at this time as carrying the very weight of SCRIPTURE! So there was no difference between the authority and inspiration of Paul's Words as there was with Moses in Deuteronomy! Let us now then, follow these simple steps to love someone else to Jesus, and thus, speak life to them!

PRAY:

-  THAT YOUR LOVE MAY ABOUND MORE AND MORE: This resembled the Father’s love in John 3:16 “for God SO loved the world”. This agape selfless and sacrificial love is actually really easy to come by, once the love and Life of Christ abides in you and I! In these trying days, our love for fellow Christians and especially those under heavy duress, persecution and worse in the pagan parts of the world should pour out of us like ice cold milk on a hot summer day. We cannot do anything to help our persecuted brethren in the Islamic or communist countries, but we sure can pray for them. 

If western churches spend even 10% of the time loving on and praying for our brothers and sisters being beheaded and worse,  the western church would become more aligned with the Will and Purposes of God. Many people are drawn to us when we show this kind of love! Our love can also abound in material ways. Prayer, in love, leads to action which leads to real ministry to the hungry, hurting and humble. We know by the joy in our very spirit, that our prayer for particular person(s) that our intercession has feet that walk out our faith.

-  IN REAL KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT: To really pray effectively for the benefit of anyone, including ourselves, we have to basically know what we are talking about. This requires a true knowledge of the Holy One - Yahweh and the Father as well as the correct literal interpretation of the Scriptures. So first, we pray because Scripture commands it. We pray because we love God and want to know Him as much as we can, on this side of Heaven. Still even if we pray 24/7/365, we will never know even half of what we will know about God one day in Heaven! We can only know Him through the Scriptures and even then, even through intentional expository study according to the Full Counsel, whereby Scripture explains Scripture. Unlike other religions, Christianity is thinking person's religious system whereby the One True God of Heaven reasons with us because His Ways are higher than ours, yet simple enough to comprehend. 

Therefore, we are a people whose faith is built on transparent knowledge and awareness of not just our created surroundings, but the Creator Who giveth all things unto us....and things which include WISDOM! Knowledge of the Holiness and Heavenly Abode of the Almighty as we love others to Jesus leads then to discernment and Godly wisdom. We MUST use discernment while praying for another. There are several reasons for this: we do not/should not mislead those for whom we are praying with false claims of things which God has not said or revealed. Name it and claim it word faith frauds are the worse offenders of this false prayer paradigm and do more harm than good, while not exhibiting Godly love at all. Godly discernment in praying in love for the needs of another is the outflow of an intentional lifestyle full of obedience and humility. The person who lives Micah 6:8 is one whose discernment is the living definition of Biblical thinking in ALL areas of our own lives. 

Remember our own brother - the Apostle Peter said the following about Biblical discernment that God "has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). So let us lay hold of this knowledge and wisdom so that when we pray and love on another and/or speak life through our Godly conduct, that we do so ENTIRELY in line with Scripture. These are the only prayers which the Father honors. To do otherwise, is to not love God with our Heart, Mind, Soul and strength (body) and therefore - not to love "our neighbor as ourselves".

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWO:

VERSE: 

Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." (Matthew 26:38)

PRAYER:

Father God, oh Most Sovereign and Holy One of Israel,  thank You for the privilege of being a servant of the Savior Who asked that just as the disciples were asked to “stay and watch”, I pledge my all to do the same. Father You said that ALL Scripture was given for instruction and reproof and I take that exhortation from Jesus to “stay” as my orders to remain, abide and even rest in Him until death, whether that death is natural or through persecution.  Lord, we know that Your Word is rich and deep in meaning, in its many uses here, and other places where You called us to ABIDE in THEE, as it was in John 15:4 and elsewhere.

So Father, we stand on this statute. We adopt the sorrow and pain of the Suffering Savior, Whose saints – our brethren – are in chains and persecuted worldwide for His Sake. We adopt the sadness and the severity of the state of  mankind, who is lost beyond imagination, yet refuses to be found by the Hound of Heaven, Who seeks to redeem men’s souls. We ally ourselves with those who watch and are alert to the destruction of the family, the devastation of the home, the dying nature of our churches, the diluting of the hard-won and Blood-bought Gospel of Truth and Salvation and we are ever watchful of the pride which bring the dangers of falling. 

Lord,  please listen and strengthen at this perilous hour and may we never let our collective guards down, thereby giving the enemy an opening where we are marginalized and Your Name is pushed to the side.  Father, may we ALWAYS be tuned in, via Your Holy Spirit to the Word of the Revelation, through Thy Word, and by being connected moment by moment to Thee in Holiness and Truth, that we will be alert to the wiles and wickedness of this age, through Christ our Soon Coming King, amen. 

BLESSED ASSURANCE (Psalm 20:1-3)

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;

May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

2 May He send you help from the sanctuary,

And strengthen you out of Zion;

3 May He remember all your offerings,

And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah (Psalm 20:1-3)

There are so many people looking for hope, a way out, an answer or a straw to grab on, in these last days. In fact, most people do not even know we are living in the last days (but that for another day). The hopelessness, aimlessness and general frustration with the fast-moving uncertainty of modern life rise above the peace, joy and understanding of what it really takes to cope with daily living.

Whether most, who live, breath and immerse themselves fully into the systems of man recognize it or not, there is a way to begin seeing daylight at the end of the proverbial tunnel - which is NOT the headlights of the freight train of despair driving desperately towards you. We, who are called by the Name of the Lord of Heaven's Armies (or the LORD OF HOSTS) know this way. While we may be called childish, simpletons and worse for believing it, the Spirit of God Who lives in all true believers testifies more than once per day to the validity, authenticity and accuracy of the Sufficiency of Scripture to address EVERYTHING THAT AILS MAN!

The Book of Psalms is the acknowledged Prayer Book of the Bible, to those who know how to find comfort, hope, wisdom and healing there. Psalm 20 is one of those which just stands out like a lighthouse calling and warning and signalling the fact of our blessed hope and assurance in the Lord! So today, is the first of a multi-part look at this wonderful divinely-inspired Scripture!

The first three verses of Psalm 20 (seen above) is a blessing for the one who doubts, is in pain and needs the Hand of the Lord. God is eternal and so is His Word. What He spake not so long ago (in the last 4000 years) to the human authors of Scripture stands to this day. So knowing the firm foundation of His Word, we stand on these words of every page of every section of every Bible ever produced. 

Pray each of these verses for the following:

Verse 1: That the Lord will hear your prayer, cries and petitions in that He will turn His Ears to thee. The Lord does not hear the prayer of an unrighteous or unsaved person, unless that person is crying out to Him for salvation and forgiveness. So examine yourself first, to see if ye be in the Faith, then repent of all thy sins, that He may listen, hear from Heaven and heal thy land and thine true estate (state of being). After He hears you, pray that He defends you by sending His Holy Angels to watch over you and protect you from the evil one and those on this earth sent to cause you harm trouble and long-suffering.

Verse 2: Pray that all kinds of help will be sent from Heaven in whichever form God deems fit. He knows your situation and what you need to be defended from. He knows if you need relief from debt, financial ruin, physical or emotional harm or other dangers. Trust in the Lord your God and lean not on your own understanding and He, HE will defend your path and life,

Verse 3: While we don't do sacrifices like those in the old testament and while God does not need our puny money or things, He does need our obedience. King David writes for the Lord in Psalm 51 that the LORD "does not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart" (Psalm 51:16-17). So first remember that you and I do nothing which the Lord wants. What He desires is our brokenness before Him. He acknowledges our obedience, our submission and our surrender to His will. This implies us sacrificing our own fleshly and sinful desires and breaking away from it, so we can be acceptable unto God, through Jesus Christ, amen.