PLEADING WITH GOD
Suggested Reading: Genesis 25-26
A couple at the Nazareth Village in modern-day Nazareth, exhibiting life as it was in the first century.
Key Verse: Genesis 25:21
“Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
Isaac and Rebekah had been married for 19 years but had no children. Isaac became desperate in his prayers. He believed the promise and God gave double…twins. Rebekah prayed also and she received a special word from God (25:23). However, the girl with the ambition to water the camels now took things into her own hands and tried to produce God’s plan rather then letting God do it. Human effort is necessary, but to revert to our own resources alone, after having prayed and received God’s provision, may not change the final outcome, and will cause heartache along the way.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father God, above all I desire Your will as expressed in Your promises. Grant me the grace to wait on You, making my time and effort available to You, and at the same time to know that You are working all things according to Your will. Like Isaac, I plead fervently with You in prayer. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Over the years in the service of Christ, I’ve done my best to plan and work for the fulfillment of God’s purpose as revealed in His Word. Twice I pushed initiatives through the Board of Directors for Crossroads which a majority favoured, but not all. Both times proved to be mistakes. I learned to ask the Directors to take the issue home, pray fervently, and come back to the next meeting to vote again. If we still could not agree unanimously, we dropped the matter, or changed course. Like Rebekah, I’m a “Get it done” person. God has used this drive, but I must be careful. The Crossroads Directors unanimously approved the sponsorship of this daily blog. You could e-mail the Chairman, Don Simmonds, and let him know what you think about the Board’s decision…dsimmonds@crossroads.ca.
In Christ’s love and service,
David
REMINDER: If you are reading the email version and wish to post a comment on my blog, go to www.100words.ca and “Leave a Reply.”
Good morning, David. This morning I was up at 5:00 … too early to read your Blog. Went for a walk on this beautiful morning and meditated while listening to the early morning birds. Anticipating your Blog at 6:00, my mind reflected on the days when we had early morning bread men whom would deliver fresh warm bread to the door basket. Just as you promised, your Blog arrived spot on 6 a.m.! Again, I am revitalized and renewed … reading scripture, seeing Reynold’s picture, hearing your words and praying your prayer! Thank you, and please keep writing and inspiring us all.
Years ago I headed down a career path that I was sure was for me. My education, my resources, my inclination all led down this path … I convinced myself that it was the right path for me. The problem was, I didn’t have the aptitude, the personality or the leadership skills to take on such a career. In short, God knew this wasn’t for me. Doors were closed in this field, and I quickly became despondent. In my desperation, I pleaded with the Lord to lead me down the path that I should go, I prayed and prayed that He show me the way. One day while out for a stroll, I looked up … and there was my answer. It was as if a light went on. God led me to the right place and to the right people where It totally changed my career path to a path of fulfillment, tailor-made for me. I won’t say the career I’ve been on hasn’t been without it’s challenges, but God has always been there guiding and leading the way, showing me that it was indeed the right path for me. Prayer changes things!
Everyday I struggle with letting God take the lead.
Being an unemployed teacher I pray everyday for God to show me the way toward employment. Everyone tells me to be patient and pray for patience and yet it is extremely hard to wait and listen to what I think is God’s silence. If I had choices right now I would be tempted to do as Rebekah and take matters into my own hands! I keep wondering did I miss God’s leading? It is not easy and I pray for peace within as well as patience. I wonder what God has in store for me?
“Lord, I am Willing to wait and listen for your leading!”
“Delight yourself also in the LORD, and HE SHALL give you the desires of your heart. “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him and He SHALL bring it to pass.” Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him and HE shall bring it to pass
I think we have at least three things to contend with on a daily bases our “humanity”, the “worlds view on what makes one a success” and “evil (satan and his evil realm)” that we struggle with this issue of waiting on the Lord. This view that you are not successful or good enough unless you measure up some how takes our eyes off of God and puts it on “ourselves”, which is a diversion tactic from any or all of the things first mentioned. I too have been waiting for direction from the Lord for quite some time. What the Lord has been teaching me is that these times of uncertainty really make me lean on Him more and takes away any control or power I may think that I have on any given situation. Our times of waiting is a gift from the Lord really, for in these times (that have been allowed by God for our good) God may be doing His greatest refinement, polishing, and preparing us to be used by Him according to His perfect timetable and according to His perfect will. I am finding that after years of waiting that the very thing I thought could be my demise was indeed going to be used to bring Him glory in helping others. Our greatest fears that may result in temporary immobolization may hold the very gift you are to share with others for His glory and honour for who best but you could relate and emphasize with others who are going through exactly what you have already endured. May you be encouraged brothers and sisters in the Lord for great is His faithfullness! Thank-you David for your continued faithfullness in bringing us this blog each day- God Bless!
One of my favorite pagsases of scripture is Matthew 6:25-34. We cannot even fathom how much He cares for us… even our teeth. 🙂 What a sweet Father He is to you. Thank you for sharing how He is loving on you. So glad your teeth are better. I’m not fond of dentists and don’t have good teeth either… I don’t imagine the work you had done was very fun. By the way, I look forward to reading your blog during my nightly blog reading after everyone has gone to sleep. I love hearing your heart and reading how God is speaking to you. It moves my heart.
I read lst. Thessalonians 4: 13-18. Does this mean that when we die we
will just go to sleep and not experience any kind of heaven, until Christ returns?
Thankyou, S. Ireland
Dear David,
Thanks so much for the good read first thing every morning. I will keep you in my prayers. God continue to Bless you sir and your blog.
I love that he beat around no bush. He was about the mitnsiry of God. This Scripture brought so many questions to my mind.*Is someone else having to encourage your husband? Pray for your pastor? Feed those in need? Live by example? Love your child? Equip the saints?Here is the definition of Somnolent for anyone else who might need it.som no lent (s?m’n?-l?nt) adj.Drowsy; sleepy.Inducing or tending to induce sleep; soporific.One adjective for the word was hypnotic as though it put others in a trance as well. Interesting. We must guard ourselves against this!