03/26/2020
Has your life been impacted in some way by the Coronavirus epidemic, or the attempts being made by governments to combat it? Perhaps you are watching as it is making life hard for someone you love, know, or are aquatinted with. Regardless of whether it strikes close to home, or is far away, we can’t escape the feeling it leaves us with. When we are in trouble, hurting, afflicted, or watching the suffering in someone dear to us, we are tempted to separate ourselves, and then, as the silence of God continues, a sense of helplessness, and loneliness sets in. As Christians we are never alone; nor without help, even when our prayers are met with silence God is with us always... this is our promise, and our firm belief.
“My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.”
Psalms 25:15-16 ESV
What should we do as we wait on God to remove a plague, or otherwise act in our lives? When we are looking to Him for rescue, healing, or any number of things, what should we do, and how should we do it? To find the answer to this question we need only look at what happened when, just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus sent His disciples back to Jerusalem to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He told them to wait, but not how long, or how they should go about waiting, yet they already seemed to know what to do as they obeyed, and patiently awaited the promised comforter...
“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Acts 1:14 ESV
Today we pray, and ask the Lord to save us from this virus that threatens to take the weak, the sick, and the aged, from among us, but do we all pray together, of one accord, and are we in constant prayer regarding our desire for His salvation? We know that plagues, and famine, are not meant to last forever, so as we pray for this particular one to be lifted are we in spiritual agreement, and of one voice in our prayers? Are we praying for our own relief, or His will to be done? Are we devoted to this effort regardless of how long it might take? When we pray for our society, and all who will be infected, can we say together, and for one another...
“The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.”
Psalms 25:17-18 ESV
So we pray, and we wait, but are we doing these things out of a sense of fear, and desperation, or do we wait in certainty, and expectation? The disciples waited and prayed, but they did not doubt; then it happened...
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
Acts 2:1-2 ESV
Are we certain that we too will hear the mighty wind... the sound of God coming in answer to our prayers? How about the sound of rain upon our tents, and homes, as our prayers are answered and the drought is ended with God’s amazing answer...
“After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth."
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain." So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.”
1 Kings 18:1, 41-42 ESV
Are we truly expectant, and confident in our prayers, do we bow down with our face between our knees, or do we pray as if we are performing; simply because we have been told to? When we pray we should hear the sound of wind, or rain, echoing in our words as we speak them, and Whether we wait a few minutes, days, or if it takes three years, our expectation should lose none of its confidence, and our faith be unwavering in our belief that today God has heard us, and today His will will be done... the answer for which we have waited will come.
We have employed the wisdom of man in an attempt to save ourselves, and it has nearly destroyed us as a people. We have sought cures for this virus, but they have escaped us, so today let’s begin our earnest prayers together, asking for forgiveness, and mercy. Let’s rededicate ourselves to God as a people, and listen for the wind, the rain, yes, the sound of His coming... whether it be God’s arrival to heal us now, or the second coming of Jesus to lift us to judgement, and eternity.
So we pray, we wait, and then we continue on expectantly in our prayers. We may hear God’s silence today, but we continue to listen intently for the rush of wind, and the roar of falling rain which are the harbingers of answered prayer. We pray for Him to perform a miracle, and we also pray for His creativity, and ingenuity to be poured out on someone as He inspires them to develop a cure. We ask that his will be done, and then we rise to the sound of His arrival to see it occur, and to receive it.
Prayer:
Father, we pray that you will lift this far reaching epidemic from your people, and perform your miracle of healing once more. Even as we pray Lord, we listen for the sound of the wind, and rain... and we listen all the more intently for your small still voice that speaks to us of your mercy and grace that heals us. Holy Father we thank you from our suffering, and we pray that all those who have hardened their hearts to you, or chased after false gods, will see the error of their ways, and come to you in contrition, and with a sincere desire to know you as their God. This is the day that you have made, and despite our present hardship, and the fear that Satan attempts to use against us, we will see only you, and will rejoice in this your day. Holy Father, gather your children to you in the midst of Famine, drought, or this current plague, and turn their heads to you from the brink of their dying, from the near certainty of their demise. Feed them in the wilderness, and quench their thirst from the rock. Let your Word become their hope, their armor, and the truth in their lives. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. Praised be your name as you lift us up in the storm as examples to those who know only fear, and live without the hope that is you. Great are you Lord, and wonderful is your provision, healing, and redemption. We worship you Holy Father, and sing of your mercy, even as we face the scourges that come upon the world. Hear our prayers Father as we ask that your will be done, and that souls be saved, even if it means that we must pick up our cross, and feel the thorns round our heads. Open the eyes of the lost, and make this a quick harvest Father... returning us to a time of peace, and comfort in you. Pour your grace upon us through your Son Jesus, and lift us from all suffering now, and forevermore.
“I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!”
Psalms 66:17-20 ESV
Rich Forbes