03/12/2024
Do you begin to pray fervently with power, but as your prayers continue do you find that your strength is waning? Praying is not only a spiritual exercise, but is also mentally, and physically demanding as well. God sent Jesus an angel to strengthen Him while He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He will send us help too. There are sweet prayers that we find rather easy to pray, and we can sing and whisper them, but there are also those that are like raging storms within us that we must shout in order to be heard above the gale, and that demand a great deal of effort to pray. Regardless of the nature of our prayers today, let’s not grow weary as we offer them. Have you ever had such an occurrence in your life?
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 KJV
I am telling you this because when God performs a miracle or touches us in some good way, it really exasperates Satan and he works overtime to destroy the glory that is God's by causing us to doubt. When God is working in our lives it will draw the attention of the evil one and he will try to interject doubt and fear back into us... Displacing the joy and comfort we find in the Lord. As a result we are prone to becoming weary while the struggle for our souls continues on. You are quite possibly going through such a struggle in your hardships, and I am prone to such struggles too.
In times such as these we need to renew our faith through scripture and prayer. I love today's verse. The key to it is the word "walk". My message yesterday contained the word Pilgrim, and our lives are certainly journeys of faith. We are on a pilgrimage through life and although that sounds romantic, it is a journey of trials and suffering that leads us towards God. Scriptures such as the 23rd Psalm echo this in verses like:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 KJV
Did you see the word walk in this verse too? Well we walk for a couple of reasons; the first is that the journey is long and exhausting. We can't run that far so we walk and pace ourselves. The second reason is that we have faith and trust in Jesus. He is walking beside us and in His presence, and God's promise, we find peace during our journey... We are not afraid; there should be nothing that can frighten us into a run. Isn't that the very next part of the verse? "Thy rod and that staff they comfort me"???
So it is that we are comfortable to be walking in the face of life's trials. We are not panicked into a run because of doubt or fear. Our faith in God sustains us along the way... And the way? Listen to Jesus when He says:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:6 KJV
Jesus is the way... He is the road we follow, the trail through the desert, the path that leads us to, and through, the narrow gate. In Him there is comfort and peace even in the face of great tribulation.
Remember when Satan wanted to sift Peter? Don’t we find it interesting that Jesus didn't ask God to keep that from happening... Do you remember His prayer for Peter?
“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Luke 22:31-32 KJV
Friends, I pray for you today... I pray that your faith be strengthened and not fail, and that through you others will be encouraged in their walk as well. I pray for you that God may bless you and keep you along the way. I pray that your faith will be sufficient for the journey, and his hand ever upon you, because you are His child, His friend, and His love.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the journey we have been on since we first believed; since we picked up our cross to follow your Son Jesus. Thank you for strengthening us in our faith as we have traveled through the hardships we have encountered along the way with Him. Thank you for the words of the psalmist that encourage us daily as we walk towards you, and lead us into a deeper and more righteous relationship with you.
Help us Holy Father when the night sweats come upon us, and the terrors of the day attempt to shake us, sift us, and cause us to doubt. Send us angels to strengthen us, and prayer warriors from within our midst, to intercede for us before your throne. Hear their voices as they pray Lord, just as you hear ours now as we are praying for others; the sick, the dying, those who mourn, and all who are suffering in their lives… we pray for them all. Then bless us with the joy and peace only you can give as we lift up our prayers and see you answer them so perfectly.
Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come, you are with us always, and we feel your presence as you inhabit our places of prayer, and pour out your Holy Spirit over us as we lift our prayers up. Help us Abba to encourage others in their faith, and let your Spirit help us too as we pour our prayers over them like a warm and fragrant oil. Make our whispered prayers to be like fine wine unto you, and the rising smoke of their sweet incense to gently waft over and before your throne. Comfort us in the knowledge of your mercy and grace as we pray, and give us peace and joy in knowing that you will intercede for those for whom we pray.
Hear your Son Jesus as He intercedes for us before the mercy seat on our behalf, and bless us in our prayers even as you bless Him; even as you are blessing those who seek our prayers. Hear the outpouring of our souls Abba, and taste the tears, and the bloody sweat as it drips from us. Feel the depth of our petition as we pray humbly, and fervently, unto you… and then, if it be your will, give us our heart’s desire, and those things for which our souls moan so desperately. Father, feel the love we have for others, and hear our groaning prayers as we lift them up in intercession for them.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
Amen
Rich Forbes