01/26/2022
We pray for something and then wait, but do we do what we have been told while we are waiting? Sometimes the answer to our prayer doesn’t come to us, but requires us to go to it. Much can be lost when we don’t listen for God’s voice in our prayer closets, and then obey Him. We behave as if we are frozen in place, and wait there for an answer before taking another step, when in fact if we are to be healed, or receive the provision we need, then we must begin a spiritual journey, by going the way the Lord has directed us to go.
“And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.”
Luke 17:12-14 ESV
I love this story because the lepers were not instantly healed, and then sent to present themselves to the priests to be pronounced clean… no, they were healed by having faith enough to begin their journey to the temple while they were still infected with leprosy. The healing occurred as they walked, as they were in the process of faithfully obeying, and not because they would believe after being healed. . So, when we ask ourselves “When did the healing come; was it when Jesus spoke, or as they went?” The answer is that it came as they went… by their immersion in faith.
“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Hebrews 11:7 ESV
We can ask the same question when reading of Noah, and the answer is the same; he was saved as he faithfully constructed the Ark, and not miraculously at the moment he entered it. He was saved by being immersed in his faith… which led to his obedience. Neither of these stories (of the lepers, or Noah) is about seeing then believing, but are about first believing, and then seeing…
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 ESV
Have we ever asked for a miracle and then heard God tell us to do something, or go somewhere? If so, did we stay put as we waited for Him to act before beginning to move? Did we think that the miracle had to occur before we would be required to take our first step? Did we believe that God would go before us, while forgetting that He is always with us, and more often than not, He is walking beside us? Was our faith strong enough that we could behave as if we had already received the miracle we just asked for, knowing full well we had not received it yet? In waiting on the miracle to occur, did we not realize that by our first obedient step we would be in the midst of it? In this way have we failed to walk immersed in faith like the lepers did?
“for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV
Let, pray, listen, then act, so that our obedience will immerse us in our faith, and deliver the miracle… the promise.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for answering our prayers, and for calling us to where you are in the process. Thank you for your Son Jesus who walks with us as we journey, and causes our hearts to burn within us as He reveals you to us through your word. Help us to see Father that we are not only meant to walk towards faith, or in faith, but to walk immersed in our faith. Show us that we are surrounded by a spiritual bubble filled with your breath, and that we are thus blessed by each breath we breathe, and traveling in your will with each step we take. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who not only saves us by instant miracle, but leads us as we walk with you in the midst of swirling miracles that are becoming a reality around us. Praised be your name for our walk of faith, and for trusting you to answer our prayers as we walk the path of your will; obedient to you. Have mercy on us Lord, guide us by your Holy Spirit, and strengthen us in faith through your grace which flows through Jesus. Walk with us on the journey you have called us to take, and fill us with your breath so that we will never falter. Wash us in the blood of Christ, your Son, and transform us into His perfect image as we walk the path of righteousness you have prepared for us. Call us your children, and pronounce us worthy, as you prepare a place for us with you… in eternity.
Rich Forbes