I was recently reading a book about prayer. The author spent some considerable time talking about the difference between people of prayer, prayer warriors, and intercessors. “A prayer warrior can pray for a thing to be done without necessarily being willing for the answer to come through himself; and he is not even bound to continue in the prayer until it is answered. But an intercessor is responsible to gain his objective, and he can never be free till he has gained it. He will go to any lengths for the prayer to be answered through himself.” Rees Howells Intercessor, Norman Grubb p. 97.
I have been chewing that paragraph over and over again mulling it over in my mind. I found myself earlier today asking the Lord if He wanted me to be an intercessor and one who feels so burdened that prayers be answered that I cannot be free of them until they have come to pass. Am I willing to go to any lengths or pray until the Lord gives birth to miracles? Reading that statement made me feel like such a novice at prayer. I pray for things like you do but often I lose heart or interest if the prayer answer is delayed for a long season. An intercessor according Mr. Grubbs could be characterized by what the scriptures reads in [Luke 18:1] “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” Intercessors do not lose heart but stay the course until God breaks through.
Rees Howells was an ordinary man who prayed extraordinary prayers and God answered those prayers by transforming drunkards, prostitutes, and those with life threatening diseases. God used his intercessions to transform whole communities. He was tested time and again but he refused to give up and entertain doubt. Elijah was an intercessor and the scriptures reports that he too was a man like we are. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” [James 5:17-18]
When I look at all the things people are facing today I am finding a deeper burden to pray and needing more extended time to pray than at any other time in my life and ministry. There are some who are facing economic devastation. There are those who are facing an onslaught of trial after trial with no end in sight. There are others who are battling rebellion in the lives of loved ones and those who have strayed far away from the Lord. Some are facing loss of jobs, others relational conflict, and still others the pain of losing and grieving over the death of loved ones. Many have been diagnosed with incurable diseases and multitudes live day in and day out in spiritual darkness speeding toward eternal damnation. There are the lives of students and educators in our local town who need prayers continually for God’s protection and peace. We need another spiritual awakening.
Again my question is if the Lord is calling me to a whole new level of prayer? Am I content to be a person who prays? Do I desire to rise above the standard of being a prayer warrior to become a true intercessor. Humbly, feebly, courageously I am asking the Lord to do just that in me. I know my nature. I can get excited about something for a few days, weeks, or months, but to take personally the responsibility to pray and knock on the doors of Heaven until the answers come is foreign to me over the long haul.
There are people I love and have witnessed to who give no evidence of interest or fruit of having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Will I stay the course and intercede for them until they are gloriously saved? I must! Eternity stands in the balance. Many are being strangled by the strong hold of sin. I must intercede for God’s deliverance. Burdens must be prayerfully lifted, provision prayerfully made, and hope prayerfully restored. I am pleading to you to pray for me to become a faithful intercessor. I cannot think of anything I would rather leave in the wake of my life than a legacy of God’s faithfulness told and retold over and over again in testimonies of answered prayer. Only by His strength and resolve will I ever become an intercessor.
Steps To Trust And Obey
1. What burden is God putting on you to take personal prayer responsibility for?
2. How do you need to apply [Luke 18:1] in your prayer life?
3. Over the next three weeks what are you trusting God to do?
Monday, December 10, 2018
Saturday, December 8, 2018
28 Days To Trust And Obey - Day 8
There are times in life when our journey comes to an abrupt halt. We may be merrily on our way through life when suddenly we encounter an obstacle that stands in the way of our destination. Looking up we see the sheer size of the mountain that sits between where we are and where we are going. Climbing over the top of the mountain looks daunting and at times is impossible would take longer than we care to traverse the top even if we could. To alter our course and journey around the mountain would waste precious life and would take too long. There is only one other option and that is to call out to the Mountain Mover.
There is a God who exists and begs to be trusted with the most difficult of trials in life. His power is beyond comprehension. Mountains are but stepping stones for Him. He is massive. He is so strong that all He has to do is speak and what He wills comes to pass even if it requires moving your mountain or mine. He is able to move any mountain. I cannot tell you why at times one person’s mountain is moved while another one’s mountain seems to linger. Trials are abundant and the load people are forced to carry is staggering. That does not alter the fact that God is still a Mountain Mover.
My whole Christian life I have faced one mountain or another. Most of them seem to come in the financial form but I have faced the mountains of the death of my parents, a sister, and grandparents. I have known the sinking feeling of unemployment and the hopelessness of mounting bills and a shrinking income. I have battled the dark thoughts of depression while clinging to a shred of my faith. I have stared paralyzed in despair at mountains of every sort and size.
Even as I sit in my office I am staring at several other mountains. They are large as some mountains go. From my perspective I see no way around it or over it but I do know the Mountain Mover. As I was reading Mark 11:22 this morning I was captured by the words, “Have faith in God!” People talk a lot about that but to take that to heart and to live your life according to that principle is easier said than done. Have faith in God. Trust God in all of life. Live with the firm assurance that God will come through. Journey through life with the rock solid conviction that God is trustworthy and He is a Mountain Mover.
Do you and I really believe that? At the core of our being do we really believe that God is able and that He will move our mountains when we trust Him for it? Let’s be honest. All of us have known people who had mountains but they were not moved. People die. There are ones who have prayed fervently for God to heal and they watched helplessly as their loved ones slipped into eternity. There are those who have prayed fervently for their businesses to turn around only to watch their dreams, hopes, and faith go down the drain. There are countless people who prayed for the restoration of their marriages only to watch spouses traipse off to the divorce court without any seemingly remorse. Farmers have cried out to God to send rain but stood by watching their crops burn up wondering why God did not help. I have seen many mountains that were not moved.
So in light of all of that, how can I be so confident that God will come through and move my mountains or your mountains when we need Him to? What makes me so sure that if I trust Him – God will intervene and be the mountain mover I need him to be? The one you need Him to be. In essence it is His character. God can only be faithful for that is His nature. What about those situations I just mentioned above. How is God faithful when the rain does not come, the marriage is not restored, and the body is not healed? We may not interpret His work in this world as being faithful. There are many unanswered questions and whys that haunt all of us. Still God is faithful. He works His plans and accomplishes His purposes and moves the mountains when they need moving and leaves them where they are when they serve His purposes. His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours [Ps 55:8-9]. Again it comes down to having faith in God. [Mark 11:22]I am referring to a deep seated trust in the darkest of nights, the most confusing of circumstances and the hardest of times.
I have spent the better part of the last twenty five years walking by faith. It has been a hard road. The trials never stop. They are relentless. I no more than see God answer one prayer and move one mountain than I look down the path and there are others standing in my way bigger than the last one. It is wearisome at times. It is only wearisome because there are times when I choose not to have faith in God and try to figure it out for myself. I have become adept at praying prayers with my solutions attached and trying to convince God to do it my way which He never does. He knows what He is doing and does not need my help.
Today I sit looking at other mountains. They are big and there is no way around them. I have no answers or solutions. The truth is I have been forced to learn to walk by faith. It has not been my choice most of the time. I have faced numerous mountains that left me no other choice but to cry out to the Mountain Mover for help in faith. In His time and in His way He comes through. I am often amazed, always humbled, and awed by the power and creativity of God in moving my mountains.
What mountain or mountains are you facing today? Do you have faith in God? I am not referring to some sentimental feelings but rather rock solid conviction that God is your Mountain Mover. That is what I believe because I have no other options or choices. He has put many mountains in my path to strengthen my faith and to bring more glory to Him. I can promise you that if I had not experienced first hand the power of God I would be one of the first to cry foul and testify that Christianity is a farce. In integrity I cannot do that. God has, does, and will continue to be my mountain mover.
Today I am going to relax, ask the Mountain Mover to come to my aid, and sit back and wait on Him to intervene. I don’t know how it will happen or even when it will come to pass but I know God will move my mountain. Trust Him today to move yours as well.
Steps To Trust And Obey
1. How would you define faith?
2. Read Hebrews 11:1.
3. How does your definition line up with that verse?
4. What THINGS do you need to trust God to do for you?
5. Do you believe your God is able to do this?
There is a God who exists and begs to be trusted with the most difficult of trials in life. His power is beyond comprehension. Mountains are but stepping stones for Him. He is massive. He is so strong that all He has to do is speak and what He wills comes to pass even if it requires moving your mountain or mine. He is able to move any mountain. I cannot tell you why at times one person’s mountain is moved while another one’s mountain seems to linger. Trials are abundant and the load people are forced to carry is staggering. That does not alter the fact that God is still a Mountain Mover.
My whole Christian life I have faced one mountain or another. Most of them seem to come in the financial form but I have faced the mountains of the death of my parents, a sister, and grandparents. I have known the sinking feeling of unemployment and the hopelessness of mounting bills and a shrinking income. I have battled the dark thoughts of depression while clinging to a shred of my faith. I have stared paralyzed in despair at mountains of every sort and size.
Even as I sit in my office I am staring at several other mountains. They are large as some mountains go. From my perspective I see no way around it or over it but I do know the Mountain Mover. As I was reading Mark 11:22 this morning I was captured by the words, “Have faith in God!” People talk a lot about that but to take that to heart and to live your life according to that principle is easier said than done. Have faith in God. Trust God in all of life. Live with the firm assurance that God will come through. Journey through life with the rock solid conviction that God is trustworthy and He is a Mountain Mover.
Do you and I really believe that? At the core of our being do we really believe that God is able and that He will move our mountains when we trust Him for it? Let’s be honest. All of us have known people who had mountains but they were not moved. People die. There are ones who have prayed fervently for God to heal and they watched helplessly as their loved ones slipped into eternity. There are those who have prayed fervently for their businesses to turn around only to watch their dreams, hopes, and faith go down the drain. There are countless people who prayed for the restoration of their marriages only to watch spouses traipse off to the divorce court without any seemingly remorse. Farmers have cried out to God to send rain but stood by watching their crops burn up wondering why God did not help. I have seen many mountains that were not moved.
So in light of all of that, how can I be so confident that God will come through and move my mountains or your mountains when we need Him to? What makes me so sure that if I trust Him – God will intervene and be the mountain mover I need him to be? The one you need Him to be. In essence it is His character. God can only be faithful for that is His nature. What about those situations I just mentioned above. How is God faithful when the rain does not come, the marriage is not restored, and the body is not healed? We may not interpret His work in this world as being faithful. There are many unanswered questions and whys that haunt all of us. Still God is faithful. He works His plans and accomplishes His purposes and moves the mountains when they need moving and leaves them where they are when they serve His purposes. His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours [Ps 55:8-9]. Again it comes down to having faith in God. [Mark 11:22]I am referring to a deep seated trust in the darkest of nights, the most confusing of circumstances and the hardest of times.
I have spent the better part of the last twenty five years walking by faith. It has been a hard road. The trials never stop. They are relentless. I no more than see God answer one prayer and move one mountain than I look down the path and there are others standing in my way bigger than the last one. It is wearisome at times. It is only wearisome because there are times when I choose not to have faith in God and try to figure it out for myself. I have become adept at praying prayers with my solutions attached and trying to convince God to do it my way which He never does. He knows what He is doing and does not need my help.
Today I sit looking at other mountains. They are big and there is no way around them. I have no answers or solutions. The truth is I have been forced to learn to walk by faith. It has not been my choice most of the time. I have faced numerous mountains that left me no other choice but to cry out to the Mountain Mover for help in faith. In His time and in His way He comes through. I am often amazed, always humbled, and awed by the power and creativity of God in moving my mountains.
What mountain or mountains are you facing today? Do you have faith in God? I am not referring to some sentimental feelings but rather rock solid conviction that God is your Mountain Mover. That is what I believe because I have no other options or choices. He has put many mountains in my path to strengthen my faith and to bring more glory to Him. I can promise you that if I had not experienced first hand the power of God I would be one of the first to cry foul and testify that Christianity is a farce. In integrity I cannot do that. God has, does, and will continue to be my mountain mover.
Today I am going to relax, ask the Mountain Mover to come to my aid, and sit back and wait on Him to intervene. I don’t know how it will happen or even when it will come to pass but I know God will move my mountain. Trust Him today to move yours as well.
Steps To Trust And Obey
1. How would you define faith?
2. Read Hebrews 11:1.
3. How does your definition line up with that verse?
4. What THINGS do you need to trust God to do for you?
5. Do you believe your God is able to do this?
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