If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7.
Prayer has been made the means of obtaining blessings that would not otherwise be received. The patriarchs were men of prayer, and God did great things for them. When Jacob left his father’s house for a strange land, he prayed in humble contrition, and in the night season the Lord answered him through vision. He saw a ladder, bright and shining, its base resting on earth, and its topmost round reaching to the highest heaven…. Afterward, while on his return to his father’s house, he wrestled with the Son of God all night, even till break of day, and prevailed. The assurance was given him, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men.”
Joseph prayed, and he was preserved from sin amid influences that were calculated to lead him away from God. When tempted to leave the path of purity and uprightness, he said, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Moses, who was much in prayer, was known as the meekest man on the face of the earth. For his meekness and humility he was honored of God, and he discharged with fidelity the high, noble, and sacred responsibilities intrusted to him. While leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, again and again it seemed that they must be exterminated on account of their murmuring and rebellion. But Moses went to the true Source of power; he laid the case before the Lord….
Daniel was a man of prayer, and God gave him wisdom and firmness to resist every influence that conspired to draw him into the snare of intemperance. Even in his youth he was a moral giant in the strength of the Mighty One….
In the prison at Philippi, while suffering from the cruel stripes they had received, their feet fast in the stocks, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praise to God, and angels were sent from heaven to deliver them. The earth shook under the tread of these heavenly messengers, and the prison doors flew open, setting the prisoners free…. We should be continually loosening our hold upon earth, and fastening it upon heaven.—Signs of the Times, August 14, 1884.
From the Heart p. 22
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Joyce as she recovers from surgery. Rose
—-Please pray for several relatives who are in end-stage disease. B
—-I’m asking for prayers. I am not feeling well having a hard time breathing. Michael
—-Please pray for Ethan to continue to come to the ten days of prayer at our church. E
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Dear Friends,
These days can follow an ongoing battle on the daily news that started six thousand years ago. This battle teaches us how one seemingly little digression from God’s will can have grave consequences not only for ourselves but for others as well.
In Abraham’s case, his “little digression” changed the course of history. Abraham was told by God that he would have a son who would be not only the heir of all his riches, but more importantly, be the one through whom the Messiah would be born. Years passed. Abraham waited for the promise to be fulfilled, but it did not come. He became impatient. When Sarah suggested Hagar as the solution to the problem, it sounded reasonable to him. He did not wait for the Lord to fulfill His promise in His time. Instead, he took Hagar as his wife. That bit of impatience brought much sadness, not only to Abraham and Sarah, but the world is still reaping the results of that one moment when his faith faltered.
Ishmael was not the child of promise. God declared, “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee.” Gen 17:21 Isaac was born in God’s appointed time and brought great joy to his parents, but in Abraham’s heart was always the cry “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” vs18
How easy it is to get impatient and want all our plans to be carried out immediately. How often we take things into our own hands as did Abraham. We may want a good thing. We may even desire something that is for God’s glory, but it may be that God is saying, “Wait a little while. The time is not right. Be patient.” It is so hard to wait, yet, the price of impatience is high.
“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Ps 27:14 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: Ps 37:3-7 May we daily give ourselves to our loving Redeemer and allow Him to work in and through us that we will not digress from His will and way is my prayer.
Rose