Love

I choose to trust God today. A ram is on the way.

In spite of his sorrow, Abraham trusted God. His heart wasn't soaring with joy. He wasn't dancing up the mountain. But he put one foot in front of the other. Walking through the darkness of the situation; obeying His God's commands.

Unbeknownst to Abraham, something else was walking up that mountain. Quietly. Out of sight. On the other side of the mountain. Something else was putting one foot in front of the other. Only Abraham couldn't see it.

For every step Abraham took, a ram on the other side of the mountain took a step.

All Abraham saw that day was his solitary journey of pain. As he got closer to the top of the mountain, his dread must have increased. I wonder if he asked himself any questions. I would have. I would have wondered why hadn't God intervened? Why hadn't God stopped this testing? Couldn't God see that Abraham was a man of faith? Why test him in this way?

But there was no answer. There was no voice from heaven. And so Abraham kept obeying his God's command. He put Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice his one and only son.

And just at that very moment, at the very last second, when it looked like the end had come, God spoke, stopping the sacrifice. Abraham looked up and there caught in the thicket was a ram. Abraham took his son off the altar, replaced him with the ram, and offered the sacrifice to God.

Abraham named that place "Yahweh-Yireh" or "The Lord Will Provide." And the story was written down for generations of God-followers to read. It was written so that you and I today would read it as we face our own hopeless situations. It was captured in print so that you and I would know that God is already planning for our provision. We don't see it. We don't hear it. But we can trust that our God is at work. On your behalf, and on mine.

I choose to trust God today. A ram is on the way.

Whatever He lays on your heart, pray it!

In a strange, mysterious way -- which I will not fully understand until my Father explains it in person -- God has chosen to enlist His children to accomplish His purpose for reaching the world and establishing His kingdom on earth! Mind boggling isn't it, when you stop to think about it? That an omnipotent God would ordain both the prayers of His people and the answers He desires to give them (Is. 65:24).

Have you ever considered that your prayers literally change the direction of your life and play a significant, strategic role in the Almighty God's work in an individual's ministry?

                         

Listen:

...this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.(Phil. 1:19) You do not have because you do not ask.(James 4:2)

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.(James 4:3)

...pray at all times in the Spirit,... be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.(Eph. 6:18)

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray... Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him... Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.(James 5:13-16)

...praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word.(Col. 4:3)

esus' first miracle was turning water into wine. There was a need: the wine was gone and the celebration was not over. It was a simple request from His mother: "They have no wine." The wine came through a single act of obedience, as men responded to Mary's directive:

"Whatever He says to you, do it."

Jesus' hour had not yet come, but the wine was given. Someone asked and others obeyed.

O Beloved,Take a moment.Sit down.Think.

Let the Lord take your hand and walk you back in time. Let Him show you what has happened in your own life because of a prayer and an act of obedience.

You did not come to this place in your life alone. Somewhere along the way, someone prayed. Someone obeyed. Here you are now, reading this devotional. What is God saying?

He's telling you to remember the significance of a single prayer -- a single act of obedience. You may not see the outcome for a long time; in fact, you may not know it until you reach heaven.

But then -- then Beloved -- you will know fully how vital your life was to the work of the Kingdom of God. Then you'll realize that your prayer and your obedience were crucial to a chain of events having eternal value (2 Cor. 4:17). It brings tears to my eyes and awe to my heart to think of the utter delight that will be yours, precious one, then, if not now, when you see how God usesyour prayer... your obedience.

Now, Beloved, "WhateverHe says to you, do it." Whatever He lays on your heart, pray it! Knowthat it will not be in vain. Great shall be your reward in heaven"(Matt. 5:12).