More Thoughts on Prayer

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8

I just finished jotting down some notes on peace. In doing so, it became more and more apparent how our peace relates to our faith. When we are operating in His peace, our faith increases to believe for greater and mightier things. Our faith increases as we pray. As we cry out day and night, He will see that we get justice quickly against the adversary! As we gain victory, we can believe for greater things. We must continue to press in - not for the removing of our circumstances, but the moving through our circumstances to see the salvation of the Lord! It is there that His glory is revealed and we are made overcomers. It is also in this place where the Lord will find faith on the earth.

We must press in, not only for ourselves and our present situations, but also stand in the gap for our communities and cities. As I was studying peace, I noticed Jesus speaking about individuals in Luke 10:5-7, but then he followed up in verses 8-15 with this:

"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. "

"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths."

He was referring to whole towns/cities, and how cities would receive us as we came in to pray, minister, etc. He followed by acknowledging whole cities and how He viewed them and referred to them. As our faith increases in and through prayer, we can come before the righteous judge and ask for judgement to come against the adversary that stands against our cities, and judgement will come quickly to those who pray day and night.

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." Luke 2:25

When Simeon prayed and stood in the gap for Israel, the messiah came! The prayers of a righteous man avails much. Whether Jesus came because of Simeon's prayer isn't clear, but Ezekiel 22:30 says, "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it..."

Let us, too, stand in the gap and pray for the salvation of the Lord to come to our cities and state!

Entering His Rest

With our recent financial woes unfolding in this nation, it is becoming increasingly harder to maintain our peace. I know for myself, I wanted to be in a much better financial position when these storms came. The Lord has pressed upon me the importance of "making ready" for years, but I felt like I had failed. I felt like I should have been more prepared for this time. But I felt the Lord saying that if we had acheived my goals of being debt free, off the grid, more self-sufficient with food, etc., I would miss the Glory of Him. It will be more glorious, and require more faith, to see Him provide in lean times than in times of plenty. The events that are taking place now are so He can reveal His glory to His people. I use this example to the point of exhaustion, but when the Hebrews left Egypt, they had nothing. When they came to the Red Sea, they waited on the provision of the Lord and He parted the seas and they walked on dry land. I'm tired of trying to find row boats, or jumping in to swim, struggling to fight in my own strength instead of waiting on the Lord. But in order to wait on Him, we must enter His rest. His peace "surpasses all understanding. (Phillipians 4:7)" He has given us authority to speak to the storms and calm them - we are overcomers in Him! (see Luke 8:22-25). Christ died at the place called Gilgatha - "the place of the skull". He came to crucify our minds so that we may live by the spirit - as Paul said, we are to live by the renewing of our minds. I don't want to get distracted here; my point is we need to keep our eyes on Him and walk by the spirit in the midst of trials and tribulations in the natural.

In talking about the coming Kingdom, Jesus said, "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all." Then, when the flood subsided, Noah released a dove to go out to see if it could find safety on dry land. The dove returned when it could not find a place of rest, but when it found safety, it went out and left. Just as in those days, today we need to say "'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you...Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.' Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near. (Luke 10:5-6, 9-10)" We must enter His rest and walk in His peace to navigate these times. When we walk in His peace and rest in Him, the Kingdom is near - the Kingdom is at hand! Jesus was so aware of the peace within Him and who He was in the Father, that when He was touched by the sick woman in the crowds in Luke 8:45, 46, He felt the something leave Him. We, too, must be this in tune with the Father. It is also interesting to note, in verse 43 it says "she had spent all she had on doctors" - Jesus did what man could not do. The peace we have in Him will draw the world to us, and ultimately to Him. He is preparing His people with the present circumstance to turn our eyes and our hearts toward heaven. Wait and see the salvation and glory of the Lord!