Tag Archives: praying for a miracle

Twilight

The period of the evening which takes place, between daylight and darkness is called twilight…

In the days of Elisha, there was a severe famine. Outside the city gates there were four men who were lepers. These four men reasoned among themselves,  “Why should we just sit here until we die? If we go into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there, and if we just sit here, we will die also. Let’s go to the camp of the Syrians. Maybe they will save us alive, or if they kill us, we shall but die… And so they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians.

When they got to the camp of the Syrians, there was no one there because the Lord had made the entire Syrian army to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, and the noise of a great army approaching, and they thought that the king of Israel had hired other foreign armies to join with him to fight them...So they arose and fled in the twilight... When the lepers arrived they found an abundance of food, silver and gold. They sent word back to the king and the starving people were satisfied.

I love this story… You can find it in II Kings chapter 7. I am always amazed that at  precisely the same moment that the lepers decided to step out in faith, God began working on their behalf. As soon as they arose to go at twilight, God allowed the Syrians to hear an illusion at twilight, which scared them out of their wits and caused them to leave their treasures. The lepers were on their way, had probably walked all night, but God had already fought the battle for them, He had already solved their problem, and He had begun at precisely the moment that they believed… At twilight.

The next morning, with the rising of the sun, came long-awaited  joy and deliverance…

The Hat Rack

Many years ago, one Sunday morning, my husband and I were visiting a new church for the first time, when an elderly lady came up to us and invited us to her house for dinner, following the service. We gladly accepted her invitation, and followed her home.  As we sat in her livingroom, we shared in a very pleasant conversation, getting to know a little more about each other.. She was a long-standing member at her church and was well-loved by her church family.  Although it was very apparent that she was elderly, her speech and expressions were vibrant, and she was very happy to talk about how much she loved the Lord, and how much He had done for her, as she enthusiastically shared some of her many testimonies. My husband and I each talked a little about our faith experience, and  I mentioned how our two children, very small at the time, were miracle babies, and that I was believing God for another one.

She looked at me, with a smile in her eyes, and said, “You see that hat rack over there on the wall?” I answered, “Yes.” she said, “Whenever the Lord does something for me, I imagine that I’m hanging a hat on a hat rack…and everytime he answers I just keep adding a new hat.  And the next time I find myself frustrated about something that I’m praying for, I  just take a look at that hat rack, and I see all those hats hanging there, and I’m reminded of all the prayers that God has answered, some that I may have even forgotten, and I am encouraged that he did it before and he’ll do it again.” I really appreciated this example and made an effort to apply it in my own life.

Now, when I think back on this example, it reminds me of what young David said to King Saul, when he volunteered to fight Goliath…

“David said… The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine…” I Samuel 17:37

The lion and the bear were hanging on David’s hat rack!!! He just took a look back, and was fully persuaded, that God would do it again. :)

Has it been a while since you took a look at your own hat rack? Surely God has blessed you and answered your prayers in the past… Just take a look back, and like David be fully persuaded that God will do it again.

The River

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God shall help her and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations He hath made in the earth. He makes wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaks the bow, and cuts the spear in sunder; He burns the chariot in the fire,  ”Be still, and know that I am God” I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” Psalm 46

 

Can a Mother Forget?

Sometimes when we’ve been praying for something for a very long time, we begin to lose heart, and wonder if the answer will ever come. I know exactly how that feels. I remember praying and praying for God to work a miracle in my life, and sometimes, I felt that God had forgotten about me and my situation. Of course we know that God sees us always, and knows everything about our lives, but still, it is true of us as humans, that we sometimes think that our situation may not be as urgent to God as we would like for it to be. This is so not true!

At one of my lowest points, the LORD gave me a verse which comforted me and reassured me, and to this day, this verse is very near and dear to my heart. In Isaiah 49:15-16, the Lord says, “Can a mother forget her nursing child?… Yes, she might, but I have not forgotten you… I have you engraved on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”  This is how I understood what He was saying to me through this verse:

1. “Can a mother forget her nursing child?” - Naturally, the answer to this question would be a resounding, “No.”  We all know how attached a mother is to her newborn baby, and so we understand the significance of this question. But…

2. “Yes, she might,” - Although it would seem impossible for a mother to forget or abandon her newborn child, it has happened, as unbelievable as it would seem, sadly, it has been the case for some mothers. But…

3. “I have not forgotten you” - God is saying that His love and care for us is even greater than a mother’s love. Infinitely greater. How so?…

4. “I have you engraved on the palms of my hands” - Here, I pictured the palms of my Savior’s Hands, which still bear the nail scars, pierced for me… And then…

5. “Your walls are continually before me.” - My situation and all that surrounds me, is continually before Him!… Oh, Glory to God!!

Here it is in a nutshell…

God loves you, more than you can imagine, He has not forgotten you, and  your situation is continually, always, before Him… Hold on. :)

 

Under The Mulberry Tree

 ”Quietly waiting and listening, anticipating a blessing.”

There is a story found in 2 Samuel, chapter 5:17 - 25, where David has just been anointed king over Israel, and when all of the Philistines heard this, they set out to fight against him in battle. The bible says that the Philistines “spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim”, and here’s what I love about David; he always asks the Lord first before he does anything! ( I would love to go much deeper on this subject, but that’s another post, so please stay tuned!)  The bible says that “…David enquired of the LORD, saying “Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt Thou deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.”  So David went to battle with the Philistines, the LORD was with him, and he defeated them.

Not long after this the Philistines regrouped, and returned to attack David again. You would think that David would just “take them on” in confidence, knowing that God was with him before. and so naturally he would be victorious again, but no. David again enquired of the LORD, and it’s a good thing too,because this time the LORD had different battle plan in mind for him. (This is so exciting I can hardly wait to write it!!)

God told David that he was not to use the same strategy to defeat the Philistines as he did last time. This time, he was to come up from behind them, waiting in ambush under the mulberry trees… The LORD said “… When you hear the sound of a rustling in the tops of the mulberry trees, get ready to attack, for then shall the  LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.” And David did as the LORD commanded him; and smote the Philistines…” AWESOME!!!

This is so exciting! It was actually as if God Himself was in the trenches with David, and from the heavens, He would “tickle” the tops of the mulberry trees, to signal David that He was with him, and would go before him, and would give him the victory!

Just imagine David and his troops, quietly waiting and listening, in anticipation for God to do something great on their behalf. Now, imagine yourself in the same position…

“Quietly waiting and listening, anticipating a blessing!” God Bless You. :)

Faith Unlimited

Taking the limits off our faith, releases unlimited possibilities…

          “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”  Mark 10:27

Like a Lion

Bold. Proverbs 28:1 says,  ”… the righteous are bold as a lion.”  and in Hebrews 4:16 we’re told to come boldly before God’s throne in prayer. This is what Caleb did.

You can read about Caleb in Joshua chapter 14 verses 7-14 , and interestingly enough, the name Caleb means “bold”. Here’s his story…

Caleb was 85 years old when the Israelites reached the promised land. He was one of only two men who had survived the 40 year wanderings in the desert. After being freed from slavery in Egypt, he and Joshua were chosen by Moses to spy out the land that God had promised them. There were 12 men in all, one for each tribe. When they returned from their travels, 10 of the spies were terrified, and reported that it would be impossible to defeat these cities because they considered themselves and  their own people to be too small in comparison.  But Joshua and Caleb believed that God had led them to this good land and had faith that He would give them the victory.

The people believed the 10 spies. God was angry with them and because of their unbelief, they would have to spend the next 40 years walking around the desert until they all died off, leaving only their children and grandchildren to be the ones who would inherit the promised land. But God honored the faith of Caleb and Joshua.

Joshua became the leader of his people after the death of Moses, leading them into the promised land, dividing the Jordan River, and marching onto victory in the battle of Jericho. Caleb now 85 years old had remained strong in faith, and courageous in battle. In the face of battle over the land that Moses had promised would be his inheritance, Caleb boldly responded, saying:

“… the LORD hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake His word to Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now lo, I am now eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: As my strength was then, even so is my strength now… Now therefore give me this mountain,… the LORD will be with me, then I will be able to drive (the inhabitants) out, as the LORD said…Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb.”

He got what he wanted. Caleb was bold in his faith as a young man, and even as an old man, who knew that there was nothing too big to ask God for, and his boldness was evidence of that faith.

By faith, we are the righteousness of God in Christ, and “the righteous are as bold as a lion.”