Oh... My God

For a few days now I've been thinking about God, differently, I mean.  I'm always thinking about God.  I've just been spending quite a bit of time trying to figure Him out, you know?  Like how does being a believer work? There must be a key or some bottom line principle that makes this faith thing work.  As much as I have read and as much as I have prayed ( probably not nearly enough) I am unconvinced that I have discovered the bottom line.  I believe that I believe in God, but do I really? 

For example, I am so ready to go out and spread The Gospel.  Likewise I am ready to be used as an instrument of healing.  The list of "ready to" goes on ad infinitum to be in the service for others but what about me?  Do I believe in God for myself the same way I believe in Him for others?  Do you ever feel like you're telling people "Hey, you!  God is going to provide for you; I'm praying on your behalf!" but in the back of your mind you're thinking  I've prayed for myself, too, but I need provision today I've got to get a job now"? I have no doubt God will answer their prayer but as for me I've got work to do.  Is my God different than theirs?  And while I am on a roll with the questions how is it that I can easily tell someone that they are more than a conqueror and see nothing but a wimp when I look at myself?  What's really going on?  God is omnipotent.  God is omniscient, omnipresent, Healer, Provider, etcetera etcetera.  That God; their God is my God, too, isn't He?  The great I Am is mine right?  In Malachi 3:6 God, Himself clearly says " For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore he sons of Jacob are not consumed.  How easily we let ourselves be consumed with doubt when God says we are not.  The great I Am that I believe in for others I can most assuredly believe in for myself.  He is that God.  He is my God.

Are you familiar with the saying "Charity begins at home and then spreads abroad"?  Charity in Hebrew is the word agape and it means love, affection, benevolence, and curiously love-feast.  Can you imagine having a love-feast with God and having so much love left over you were then able to spread The Gospel or spread the love?  I think what happens is we have a love- feast with God on the behalf of others and not until they are full do we proceed to the table in a scramble for leftovers.  When they have a great need there are not much leftovers left over.  It is not because God isn't capable of meeting both theirs and our needs- no indeed!   Ephesians 3:20 clearly states "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." We worketh that power for everyone but us I'm afraid!  

We have access to petition our Father through prayer to have our needs met but tell the truth; don't you feel a little guilty when you do and think you're being selfish?  It's as if the devil interrupts our petition to ask if Johnny needs healing more than you need car repairs or if children starving in Africa need food more than your own. He tries to convince you that there is always a need greater than your own.  Thoughts such as those not only undermine the sovereignty of God but they also negate His power working in us.  You certainly can petition God! Philippians 4:6-7  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  If you're not yet convinced then refer to 2 Peter 1:3 whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lusts.  By all means make your requests known; partake!

What does all of that have to do with the key? What's the bottom line and how does being a believer work?  My friend there is one answer to all of the above questions, love.  It is because God so loves us we can petition to Him and make our requests known.  Because God so loves us we can partake of His exceeding great and precious promises.  God so loves us He sent His son to save us from the eternal damnation we deserve because of sin.   His Son sent us the Holy Spirit because He so loves us.  I am reminded of the Greek word sozo.  

Here it is as defined by: The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon

 Strong's Number:   4982   

Original Word Word Origin

sozo from a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saoz, "safe")

Transliterated Word TDNT Entry

Sozo 7:965,1132

Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech

sode'-zo      Verb

 Definition

to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction

one (from injury or peril)

to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health, to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue

to save in the technical biblical sense

negatively 1b

to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment 1b

to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

I would say love does all of that; God's love.  Now, let's all be ready to spread the Gospel and, as Jesus said, "These things I command you, that ye love one another." Let's love one another.

You're Hired! (This is another homework assignment- It will be interesting to see what the instructors think)

Eph 1:3-12  3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;  9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:  10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:  11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:  12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 

Can you imagine yourself after having applied for your dream job?  The above scriptures include the mission statement of the company and your job description.  It also details your sign on bonus.  You don’t necessarily have to worry about job performance at this point- you are holy and without blame before Him in love.  Your salary is according to the richness of His grace.  Now you are sitting in the Human Resources office after being given a job offer.  The HR manager has various forms for you to complete and sign including an I9 form and begins to explain the company’s benefits package.  The manager hands you a form imprinted with the following: Ps 103:1-5 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.  2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:  3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;  4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.  Not only do you have free medical insurance but life insurance is free and without limits.  The owner and founder of the company is truly the best Boss ever.  He is God and there is none like Him. 

The paperwork, as always, seems like an insurmountable stack but it’s all good things!  The list of benefits is longer than your job description.  The first form is entitled Benefits  and it contains the scripture Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  The benefits section describes how you are to act and your service to the company.  The next form is titled Renew since this particular company is like no other change is not mandatory; it is unavoidable.  The HR manager explains that the position has a way of changing paradigms.  Old ways of thinking seem to miraculously shift.  Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. There is a form that explains the medical insurance plan.  Unlike Obamacare with its thousands of pages this plan contains four:  Heals, Diseases, Redeems, and Forgives.  Through healing we are preserved.  We can declare by the stripes of Jesus we are healed.  We are given power over all manner of disease.  We are forgiven of our debts as we forgive our debtors.  We have the ability to cover and to pardon.  The major part of the medical plan is that we are redeemed.   We are free because of the ransom paid by Christ and we are His kin.  If that weren’t enough there is an added Incentive Plan.  It contains Lovingkindness so we have favor wherever we go.  It has Mercies so kindness and compassion abound.  Not to mention it also has Bless so we can seek divine help and guidance.  Best of all, although it is hard to choose we have Satisfies nothing can fill us like the Holy Ghost can!  This Employer provides job satisfaction beyond what we could ever imagine simply because our thoughts are not like His.  He will do beyond what we need exceedingly abundantly!  Now where is a pen?  I need to sign my "Welcome Aboard!" papers.

 

Ra'ah: To See or Not To See

After reading Numbers 21:4-9 two verses stand out in my mind and they are eight and nine.  Verse eight because it brought to my remembrance 1 COR 10:13- God will provide a way of escape from whatever you are going through.  He had done it for the Israelites on many occasions previously but, here, as it pertains to sickness and death, it really struck a chord in my spirit.  How many times has God needed to provide a means of escape for us?  Innumerable most likely.  We go about rebuking the devil when really we, like the Israelites, take our eyes off God and get ourselves into trouble.  We miss the mark when it comes to Ra’ah. The Israelites soon forgot how God was a cloud of protection over them by day and a fire by night.  They complained that God spared them from one thing only to lead them into something worse.  I cannot imagine anything that could be worse than 400 years of Egyptian slavery.  Not to mention they did not leave Egypt empty handed but with her wealth.  

Praise should have come from their mouths; not murmuring.  They were blinded by their fleshly desires and did not set their eyes on God.  God made provision for them yet they rejected it.  (Come to think of it Jesus was bread from heaven and He was also rejected)  Their soul loathed the light bread. I can only imagine how much it grieved God to see and hear His chosen people complain so.  It grieved Him so much that He sent fiery serpents to deal with them.  Speaking of serpents if you look up the Hebrew meaning of the word, the 5172 meaning according to Strong’s, the last part of it says learn by experience; diligently observe.  Essentially He sent serpents to remind them to Ra’ah.  Clearly they did not learn from their experiences with God.  They failed to diligently observe His ways.   How quickly do we forget the faithfulness of God and go through one circumstance after another complaining and asking why me?  It is by the grace of God that we are not in areas where fiery serpents in the physical sense are around us but those spiritual ones are more than enough to contend with.  We would not have to contend with them if we Ra’ah and learn by the experience of the Israelites and our own experiences that God is faithful and is with us each and every step of the way; His way.  Psalm 86:11 says “Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth…”  Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life”.  We should be ever mindful to Ra’ah and say teach me Jesus;  I will walk in Jesus.  Jesus is my life!  When the Israelites Ra’ah the serpent on the pole they were healed.  When we Ra’ah our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we can decree and declare by His stripes we are healed.  By His resurrection we have life! Let us not forget that Jesus overcame the world.  Let us not forget that God is for us.  

What I found to be most curious, though, is verse nine.  Moses has had quite the experience dealing with serpents, right?  Exodus 4:2-3  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said a rod.  And he said, Cast it on the ground.  And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.  In other words Moses got out of dodge!  Does God have a sense of humor or what?  You would think He knew that Moses had enough of serpents!  He certainly could have sent scorpions or something else.  At any rate, Moses understood the concept of Ra’ah.  He kept his eye on God and not his fear.  Moses remained obedient and set about accomplishing the task God had given him.  Equally curious to me is why God was not more explicit in His instructions to Moses beyond "make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole".  After all He gave Noah explicit instructions on how to make the ark.  The tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant had exact measurements and explicit instructions on how they were to be made but this life saving structure He left totally to Moses' own design.  Moses chose to make it out of brass but why?  Let’s take a look at brass and its symbolism in a few scriptures.

Jeremiah 6:28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron, they are corrupters.  Brass symbolizes the corruption that spread through the Israelite camp.  If you have one complainer in the camp it won’t be long before you have a multitude of them.  That verse perfectly describes the Israelites as they put their eyes off God and on their circumstance. They began to disregard God and Moses by speaking against them.  Ezekiel 22:18  also compares the Israelites to brass when they have gone astray:  Son of man, the house of Israel is to me dross; all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.  Dross, according to Merriam Webster, is the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal.  It is waste or foreign matter.  In Hebrew it is the word, soog and it refers to refuse.  Dig a little deeper and you will see it defined as to go back,  turn away, and it also says backslider.  Israel had turned into a nation of backsliders with their complaints.  

As believers we need to go through the wilderness and even the furnace but the point is not for us to be abandoned or consumed. We need to be purified and sanctified all the while keeping our eyes on God as we go through each process.  We should not get discouraged when we follow the way the Lord leads us.  Pure gold has gone through the fire to be rid of its impurities.  We are more precious than gold to our heavenly Father.  What does it take to rid us of our impurities?  

Let’s take a look at another scripture, Daniel 2:39, Daniel is interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream.  He says "And another a third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth".  Doesn't that sound like Christ,  the very One represented by the serpent on the pole? I see why God didn’t have to give Moses any further instructions on what to do. Moses knew what he was doing!  They say curiosity killed the cat but with the Bible curiosity reveals mysteries.  Besides I’d rather kill parts of me through learning rather than going through the wilderness and furnace all the time!  Amen?  I don’t need a fiery serpent to learn by experience.  Lord I pray not!  i don’t need a fiery serpent to diligently observe God.  I will Ra'ah; look to Christ.  Jesus the Christ bears rule over all the earth!  Jesus the Christ bears authority over sickness, infirmity, and death!  Jesus is the resurrection and the life, Ra'ah! Keep your eye on Christ and don't you dare blink!  Heavenly Father keep my focus on You!  By the stripes of Jesus Christ I am healed and I won’t dare blink.  I thank You, Father for Your precious Son who bears rule over all the earth.

The Black Box

Of all the things I wake up with today it was ‘black box’.  Even for me it was a little strange but then as more words came and in light of the recent tragedies involving Asiana Airlines and the train that derailed in Spain, both of which had black boxes, it became less strange even as the images presented on television of those events began to replay in my mind.  I wish I could say the first thing I did when I eventually got up out of bed was begin to write, but no, I had to handle a nature call- quickly!  You would think even that would be a normal routine- usually it is but not this morning.  My two year old nephew was outside the door knocking and saying “Open up, I must defeat you!”  Ironically what he was saying went right along with the conversation I was having in prayer and with the black box.  Anyway, after washing my hands I opened the door to find Timmy wielding his Power Ranger sword in his full armor- a T shirt and a diaper, in a stance that indicated he was ready for combat.  I love that kid. Skillfully avoiding mortal injury I decided to look up black box on Wikipedia and what I found was interesting.  Here is what I found:

Black box

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In science and engineering, a black box is a device, system or object which can be viewed in terms of its input, output and transfer characteristics without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). Almost anything might be referred to as a black box: a transistor, an algorithm, or the human mind.

The opposite of a black box is a system where the inner components or logic are available for inspection, which is sometimes known as a clear box, a glass box, or a white box.[1]

If you read further along in the article you will see this:

Other uses of the term

• In aviation, a "black box" (they are actually bright orange, to facilitate their being found after a crash) is an audio or data recording device in an airplane or helicopter. The cockpit voice recorder records the conversation of the pilots and the flight data recorder logs information about controls and sensors, so that in the event of an accident investigators can use the recordings to assist in the investigation. Although these devices were originally called black boxes for a different reason, they are also an example of a black box according to the meaning above, in that it is of no concern how the recording is actually made.[2]

As it relates to you and me the black box is our heart and mind.  The data it records, input, are past experiences.  The output is how we choose to live our lives in response to the input.  Sometimes we live as Asiana Airline, although we haven’t necessarily crashed, we fly too low and don’t reach the altitude or heights God has set for us to soar.  We even miss His runway- that place where we know we are on solid ground.  We are virtually flying too low and too slow being outside of God’s will and timing.
 

On the other hand, as in the case of the train, we are traveling too fast trying to make up time or force God’s hand.  We get a word from the Lord and, instead of waiting on His perfect timing; we set our minds to do things our way instead of co-laboring with God.  Yes, we are on the right track but we are too busy being on the track and not really listening or following the Holy Spirit’s instructions.  In this case, when there’s a turn, or God wants you to change direction- be it a new spiritual gift, a deeper relationship or fellowship with Him, we totally miss the turn and overshoot the destination- we come off the rails.  
 

The Lord is looking for our black box to analyze it and repair the damage.  Jeremiah 29:11 says

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  (NIV)  As Timmy would say He wants to defeat the hurt and pain.  He wants to put the sword to offenses.  Without acknowledging it we have crashed and the debris of our lives is spread out all over the tarmac.  Parts of us have died but we keep going like the energizer bunny;  dead dreams, lost ambition, lost hope- we’re going and going and going hobbling and limping facing the world with a smile but on the inside we have fully retreated and hidden ourselves from the world to avoid the input of more hurt.  Jesus wants to restore all that was lost.  He wants you to soar like an eagle at the altitude He has set for you; not fear.  
 

Ok, I just have to stop a minute to note that Timmy just came into the room with a black box on his head- one of those soft storage things that ordinarily has books or toys in it.  He just tried to take off running with it still on his head but his mom stopped him to tell him to take it off his head saying ‘You can’t run with a black box on your head!”  No you can’t.                 

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box

Say What?

I can recall having a brief conversation with a friend about speaking in tongues.  If I remember correctly she told me that her mother told her one wasn't a true believer unless he spoke in tongues.  It is an often controversial subject and it can be an uncomfortable experience to be around people speaking in tongues when you don't understand what is going on.

My first experience in a church that spoke in tongues was when my mom sent me to one of her friend's church.  I didn't know who her friend was for one thing so the entire experience was awkward.  My mom had a knack for sending me to churches that she was invited to- but that's another story!  I now attend a church where the congregants speak in tongues so God knew what was up back then even if we didn't.  The experience was frightening.  I can't lie.  I thought I wound up in one of those devil movies that always had a church scene with people chanting.  I wondered how I could escape when the people realized that I wasn't one of them and began to turn on me.  I guess I am admitting I had a wild imagination as a child.  Let's just say I was scared.  Of course nothing happened but the experience left me confused.

Fast forward, oh, however many years it was to when my daughter and I decided to join my brother's church.  We were taken into a small room where two beautiful, patient souls were waiting for us to start speaking in tongues as evidence that we had received the Holy Spirit.  Talk about awkward!  We were some babbling fools. I'm surprised I didn't start chanting like Angela Basset did in " What's Love Got to Do With It?"  Afterwards, when we left the room and were alone I asked her if she was really speaking in tongues or just making it up.  We were both just making it up feeling the pressure to perform.  So that was that until I joined my present church.

It was during a Sunday service and to tell you the truth I cannot recall if anyone else was speaking tongues at the time.  I certainly wasn't in a small room with someone looking at me waiting for me to speak in tongues (that came later when I joined).  I simply began to speak the language.  Looking back I can say the experience I had as a child, scary as it was, was the seed being planted.  When I finally arrived at a place where I was comfortable (not that my brother's church wasn't comfortable- I really liked it there) but the place where God called me to be planted and watered, he gave the increase by activating the gift of tongues that was always in me. 

If you can bare with me by going back to a time when you were around babies.  They coo and babble.  It may not sound like much to a person who is not that child's parent but in time the parent will know what that cooing and babbling means for that baby.  By the baby's sounds the parent will know whether the child is happy or beginning to become upset.  Even as I listen to my four month old nephew I have noticed he has the same way of cooing- like the same patterns.  I may not understand them but I know the pattern changes when he is about to get upset.  Even with my two year old nephew who is mostly beyond the cooing and babbling, yes mostly, I look to his mother to interpret what he is saying.  That is how I look at speaking in tongues and explain it to those who are uncomfortable with it.  It is a return to a language that your parent, the Father, knows as interpreted via the Holy Spirit.  It is your own sounds and patterns that only you and He knows that the devil cannot understand.  Just as a child develops and learns to speak, so will you with your heavenly language.  You will become more comfortable with something truly personal and between you and God.  You will speak it and then listen and words will just come across your mind in your natural language; the Holy Spirit speaking to you.  You will get words, sentences, phrases, visions... Like it did for me it will bring you to a new level of relationship with Christ.  Your friendship will develop.  The Holy Spirit will instruct you and teach you.  When you need it He will correct you. 

He will do it anyway if you don't.  What I am saying is that it's nothing to be afraid of but definitely something to seek knowledge and understanding of.  Have you ever gotten mad at someone and just started mumbling about them under your breath?  The next time you have the inclination to do so speak in tongues.  Like the scripture says edify yourself because if your that upset with someone that person is not about to edify you!  You'd be surprised at how quickly an eeyashanamakosha ( or whatever the spirit gives you) will calm your nerves and keep you from going upside someone's head!  If we as believers are returning to our first love, Jesus Christ, why not also return to our first and heavenly language?

Suggested reading:  Mark 16:17, 1 Cor 14:4-5,18, 26; 1 Cor 12:10,

The Prophet and the Prayer

To my knowledge the first recipient of prayer was Abimelech.  His was a life and death situation.  God Almighty Himself spoke to Abimelech saying, “Behold, thou art but a dead man.  Abimelech plead his case to God and God, being just as He is, found Abimelech to have integrity in his heart.  He instructed him thusly:  “Restore to him (Abraham) his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live:  and if thou restore her not, know that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. We have Integrity of heart, life and death, the prophet and the prayer. Genesis 20:17-18  So Abraham prayed unto God:  and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. 
 

It took several times of me reading the story about Hannah to even barely begin to understand the power of prayer.  My basic understanding was this.  Hannah desired to have a son after many years of being barren and tormented by Penninah.  She prayed for a son and vowed to the Lord that should He give her a son she would in turn give him back to the Lord for his service.  The Lord accepted her vow, Hannah had a son, she honored her vow and gave her son to serve the Lord, BOOM! End of story.
 

But Hanna’s was not an ordinary prayer.  The scripture says she was in bitterness of soul and wept sore.  She did this without making a sound at that!  The Bible says she “spake in her heart”- which made me think about the integrity of Abimelech’s heart, while only moving her lips.  She was in such a state that Eli, the prophet, thought she was drunk! She plead her case to Eli, just as Abimelech had done with God,  telling him that she had poured out her soul to the Lord out of the abundance of her complaint and grief.  We, in our finite wisdom, think we trouble God with our prayers but Hannah poured out her soul.  She held nothing back.  We strive for abundant living and then we have Hannah whose complaint to God was abundant.  Hannah’s grief was abundant!  The pastor of my church frequently speaks of people being so close to crazy well Hannah was right there.  She was so close to crazy she implored of Eli not to count her as a daughter of Belial!
 

 To back up a bit in 1 Samuel 1 verse 12 it says that Eli marked her mouth while she was praying.  I don’t know if Eli was a lip reader or not but if he was he couldn’t read Hannah’s lips.  He didn’t understand the words that were coming out of her mouth.  In verse 15 Hannah tells him she was a woman of sorrowful spirit, I can’t help but wonder if Hannah was praying in the spirit.  What she did though, since Eli was marking her lips, was enough for him to tell her to “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.”  He didn’t even ask what her petition was!  Talk about the fervent prayer of the righteous availing much.  But there they were again- the prophet and the prayer, life and death, and integrity of heart.  Hannah conceived and bore a son. 

I don’t know who told Hannah to pray.  To my recollection Hannah didn’t have a vision where God told her the prophet would pray for her to have a son.  Hannah prayed and then the prophet prophesied that she would receive her petition.  I got that.  What I didn’t readily get was when the time came for Hannah to take her son to the temple she wasn’t simply fulfilling her vow to the Lord, she was cheerfully offering her first fruit.  She rejoiced to do so.  In fact she prayed another notable prayer. 

1 Sam 2:1-10 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7 The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them. 9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. KJV
 

Correct me if I am wrong but this is not a Lord, thank you for my son prayer. It is a prayer of victory and it is a prayer of knowing the Lord intimately through prayer.  Hannah’s prayer is filled with wisdom- proverbs even!  How could Hannah know these things about God unless He revealed them to her through prayer?  She prayed for a son. Not only did she receive a son she also received the God who raises up the poor out of the dust.  She asked for a son and also received the God who brings down to the grave and raises up!  She asked for a son and knew that there was no rock like our God.  Now that’s a prayer and, to me, praying in the spirit.   Come to think of it, since the prophet told Hannah her petition would be answered one can’t help but assume that Hannah didn’t pour out her soul to only ask for a son.  She wept sore asking God for everything that was making her crazy enough to make her appear as drunk!  There’s a song that says “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer”.   People of God every time you pray pour out your soul to God.  Let’s not forget to worship.  Hannah worshipped God before she conceived and then God remembered her.  If your prayers aren’t getting answered check the integrity of your heart.  Every prayer is a life and death matter.  God is concerned about every aspect of your life and wants to preserve you from death be it spiritual or natural.  Worship causes God to remember you- it gets his attention and He dwells in tehillah praise.  Your praise is every bit as important, even more important, than your prays.  When all is said and done rejoice.  Rejoice in the Lord always!

Suggested reading:  Genesis 20, 1 Samuel 1, 2

Seventy Times Seven

Un-forgiveness is such a heavy, unnecessary burden to carry.  Even if you have the right to be angry, do you have the right to withhold forgiveness?  If you know the story of Joseph you know that he had plenty of reasons not to forgive his brothers.  But he forgave them as it shows in the following scriptures:  Gen 50:15-20 15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him. 16 And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 17 So shall ye say  unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are thy servants. 19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass,  as it is this day, to save much people alive. ASV

What would have happened if Joseph not only did not forgive his brothers but allowed what they did to him keep him from fulfilling the purpose God had for him?  Joseph was thrown into a pit and abandoned by his brothers, sold into slavery and later imprisoned.  Those things alone would give anybody the reason to be angry for a lifetime.   Joseph did not let those dire circumstances cause him to become bitter and full of hatred.  In fact, when he saw his brothers again after some years, he was happy to see them.  Can you imagine being happy to see the person that mistreated you and sold you into slavery?

 

How can you, at this day and age be sold into slavery?  The answer is un-forgiveness.  Let’s say, for example, you’re going along with your life just fine and then you see the person that did you wrong or someone says something that triggers a bad memory?  All the hurt and bad feelings that you thought were dealt with come raging back to the surface and you find yourself angry again.  That, my friend, is the bondage of un-forgiveness.  Un-forgiveness has friends, too! One of them is sickness.  In the article Granting Forgiveness or Harboring Grudges: Implications for Emotion, Physiology, and Health by Charlotte van Oyen Witvliet it describes the result of research done on forgiveness.  It states “This study examined the immediate emotional and physiological effects that occurred when participants (35 females, 36 males) rehearsed hurtful memories and nursed grudges (i.e., were unforgiving) compared with when they cultivated empathic perspective taking and imagined granting forgiveness (i.e., were forgiving) toward real-life offenders. Unforgiving thoughts prompted more aversive emotion, and significantly higher corrugator (brow) electromyogram (EMG), skin conductance, heart rate, and blood pressure changes from baseline. The EMG, skin conductance, and heart rate effects persisted after imagery into the recovery periods. Forgiving thoughts prompted greater perceived control and comparatively lower physiological stress responses. The results dovetail with the psychophysiology literature and suggest possible mechanisms through which chronic unforgiving responses may erode health whereas forgiving responses may enhance it.”  It goes on to say this: ‘forgiveness "may free the wounded person from a prison of hurt and vengeful emotion, yielding both emotional and physical benefits, including reduced stress, less negative emotion, fewer cardiovascular problems, and improved immune system performance. . .”

There’s a saying “Forgiveness sets two people free”.  Make a point to set someone free today.  Forgive and cast the sin into the depths of the sea. 

Suggested reading: The story of Joseph Genesis chapters 37, 39-45, Matthew 18:21-35, Micah 7:18-19