Knowing God - He Prays For Us

Heb 7:25

Wherefore he is able also to save them

to the uttermost that come unto God by him,

seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Jesus lives to make intercession for us.  This means that He is praying for us.  He is standing in the gap to pray for us.  He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God through Jesus.  We have a twenty-four hour prayer meeting going on for us by Jesus Christ.  THIS is absolutely incredible.  If you and I ever feel forsaken or lacking the kind of love and support we wish we had from His people, we can rest in the fact that Jesus, Himself, is praying for us – as you read this!  What a glorious and comforting truth.  He is interceding for us according to the will of His Father and we know that the Father hears Him.  We can find great strength and comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ lives forever to pray for us.  Enjoy this truth today and be sensitive to how the Lord may be leading you based on His prayers and intercession.

Knowing God - He Stretches Towards Us

Ps 40:1

 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

                                                                 

The word ‘inclined’ here means; to stretch or bend down.  When we cry to the Lord we are lifting our voices towards the Lord.  We are being someone who stretches towards the Lord seeking Him to move in our lives.  Here, we see that the Lord stretches towards us.  Our God leans into us and our lives, hearing our cries and tenderly involving Himself in that which concerns us.  He wants us to hurl our cares upon Him, because He cares for us!  Our God loves us.  Our God knows the numbers of hairs on our heads.  The enemy so wants to classify our God as a distant God that involves Himself in some sort of impersonal way in the affairs of His people.  This is not so!  Our God inclines unto us, stretches towards us as a Father longs to hold his precious child.  Don’t believe the adversary’s constant smear on our God’s nature and reputation.  Our God inclines unto us and hears our cries!

Proverbs - Ship Ahoy!

Prov 31:14

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

Ship Ahoy!

A merchant’s ship goes from its home port to a foreign port with the intended purposed to load cargo much needed in its home town.  We are to be like this ship.  A merchant’s ship will take cargo from its origin, drop it off in another, load up from there and unload goods from the distant land to its place of origin.  We can go to the Lord, in His heavenly place, and take the cargo from our world.  We can bring Him our concerns, joys, anxieties and fears and drop them off in His presence. Then, as we are emptied, we can fill up with the goods that the Lord wants to put into us and take all of it back to our place of origin.  Perhaps you could start your day considering yourself a merchant’s ship.  Take those cares to the Lord and pour out your heart before Him.  Take on His wisdom, peace and counsel and bring them to all those who surround you.

Knowing God - He Hears and is Near

Prov 15:29

 The Lord is far from the wicked:

but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

The Lord Is Near and Listening

Here the Lord lets us know that having Him hear our prayers is likened to having him near to us.   There were no phones in bible days.  The act of listening meant, being in the very presence of the one who was speaking.  Being in the presence of the Lord is absolutely wonderful but have you considered that He is in your presence as well?  He hears the prayers of the righteous.  He is attentive to our petitions, praise, concerns and words.  He is not far for those He considers righteous.  He is listening and He is near.  You don’t have to wait for Him to answer the phone.  He hears.  He is near.

Proverbs - Consider the Answer to Your Prayers

Proverbs 30:7-9

Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with food convenient for me:

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

This is a precious prayer of a servant of God.  He is asking the Lord to remove from him empty things and lies.  He doesn’t want his mind filled with lies nor his life filled with empty pursuits.  He doesn’t want to be a person who has his identity in his financial status.  He is hoping for middle ground that would lead him to be content and protect him from sinning against the Lord.  When we pray and ask the Lord for things how many times do we consider what would produce maturity in us?  It would be a healthy take on our prayer time to bring different answers up before Him, considering what sorts of temptations they might bring into our lives.  The prudent man will foresee evil and hide himself

Knowing God - The Lord Opens Eyes

2 Kings 6:17

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The Lord Opens Eyes

Elisha could see something that the young man couldn’t.  How often the ‘young men’ in our lives can’t see what we may see.  Instead of trying to persuade the young man to see it, Elisha prayed.  Then, the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw.  Our God is able to open eyes to see things that they couldn’t see before.  He illuminates perspectives and spotlights things that are often hidden in the shadows of distraction and deceit.  The Lord heard Elisha’s prayer for this young man and He will hear ours as we ask Him to open the eyes of those we love.  What a faithful and personal God we serve.  May He open our eyes and those around us to all that He is and is doing in our lives! 

Knowing God - God Can Ask Us to Do Impossible Things

John 4:16

                              

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

The Lord Gives Difficult Commands

Jesus tells the Samaritan woman to get her husband and come back.  The woman is unable to do this because she is not currently married to anyone but, rather, living with a man.  Could the Lord have been referring to her first husband because that is the one the Lord would have considered her husband?  Or could He have been giving her a command she was unable to keep to show her the incredible need she had for the One who was truly the companion she had been looking for in the many lovers she had had?  The Lord may, indeed, give us directives we find ourselves unable to meet.  This should not lead us to discouragement or dismay but lead us to Him.  The Lord has the right to pose any sort of question or command to us and He has purposes behind these.  If we are unable to carry out His command, we need to be frank and honest with Him allowing the dialogue to continue and do the work He wants to do in us.  When the Lord gives us a command let us be sensitive to our inadequacies and bring them to Him.  He knows it all.  He has reasons for asking, let us respond with honesty and humility trusting He is wanting to reveal Himself as the answer for all things.

Knowing God - HE performs all things for You!

Ps 57:2

 I will cry unto…God that performeth all things for me. 

God performs all things for us.  He is a God who cares about you. He wants us to cry out to Him and He wants to answer our prayers.  He is a kind and good God who will act on our behalf.  He loves us and is actively involved in the lives of His people – His individual people.  This is quite the concept.  If we really begin to grasp the personal involvement of God in our lives, we would walk so securely in His love.  God is acting on your behalf.  God is acting on my behalf.  We can thank the Lord for His involvement in our lives and enjoy the truth that He performs all things for us.  What a wonderful God we have! Have you sensed that God is involved and wants to be involved in all things in your life?  Approach your day today thanking and praising Him that He is a God who performs all things for you!

Knowing God - He is the Most High

Ps 57:2  I will cry unto God most high;…

God is the One who is most high.   There is no one higher.  He is higher than all other authority.  We need to cry out to the One who is the most high.  There are things that come down in our lives from those who are high and they affect our lives.  We need to cry out to God knowing that He is over all.  All things were made by Him and for Him.  He can see everything from being the most high.  He can move authority as He desires, because of being the most high.  He has access to all provisions because He is the most high.  He has all strength to give us, because He is the most high.  What do you need?  Cry out unto God, the Most High!