TILL YOU SPOT THE CLOUD

Last night, in one of my random conversations with a close friend, I grumbled of a prayer that I have been hoping that God would have answered by now. On and on I expressed my broken expectation as I tried to dissect why that prayer was yet to be answered.

In his usual calm and sober manner, the friend reminded me of the story of Elijah and his servant. Immediately after proving to the Baal prophets that there is only one true God, Elijah goes on to pray for rain. One would expect that after such a powerful showdown with the Baal prophets, Elijah's prayer for rain would be answered immediately. However, Scripture records that the sign of rain did not come immediately. Elijah bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. After each prayer, his servant would go and to look toward the sea for a sign of rain..

The trend continued. he prays, his servant goes to look towards the sea. Six times, there was no sign. He continued in prayer.
On the 7th trip to look toward the sea, the servant came back with a good report : at last, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is risibgbfrok the sea"

At the end of the conversation the friend said to me, "Do not be discouraged, what you are praying for is in God's will and He will answer it. What we don't know is "When".
This is my encouragement to you as well. It is human to feel discouraged, but just because the cloud did not appear during the first round of prayer doesn't mean it won't be answered. Pray until your cloud appears

WORRY LESS;PRAY MORE

I love Sundays because they are an opportunity to rest,rejuvenate and refresh. And of course to reconnect with God and people.It is a day to renew after a long week, in readiness for another week.
 

So on this particular Sunday, a few weeks back, I go to church as usual. Then these tiny toddlers;children I mean, are asked to minister.They step on the pulpit and with all the vim and vigour, begin to sing at the top of their voices: 

"Why worry when you can pray". 

They dance on and on and on. You know how children sing as if demanding an answer? That is exactly how they sang and danced. Like they were actually waiting for the congregation to explain,with illustrations, their reasons for worrying.

You see, there are those verses that I have read so many times but never really heeded to Matthew 6:25-34 is one such:  
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

For some reason, when there is cause to worry I could worry quite a lot, about literally anything.Of course I had heard men of God thunder Phillipians 4:6 a thousand and one times but I think this once, God decided to use a younger and softer mouthpiece to remind me

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

After the little children had ministered I was ready to go home. I think the sermon was already half-preached for me. On this Sunday,the children had touched the right nerve. They had given me a better alternative.A way to redirect my energy.

Today, I encourage you too to re-channel your energy.Rather than being a professional worrier like I was, be a prayer warrior. Those many worries that are wearing you down, take them to the Lord instead.He is the only one who can give you peace for today and hope for tomorrow.

PRAYER IN THE WILDERNESS

Dear Lord,

When You don't do things the way I want You to do them, remind me that You have a better way because You are able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all I can think or imagine; that You know the end from the beginning and You know the good plans You have for my life.

When the voices without  cloud the voices within and the inner voice seems no longer existent,speak louder than the voices without, cleanse the wax in my ears that I may hear you. If you do not speak any louder, please give me the discernment of Elijah to discern your voice, not in the thunder, wind or earthquake but in your tiny little whisper.

When the uncertainty of the future overshadows the faith of the present and the future seems so bleak, give me the faith that can ace through the thickest cloud of doubt.Lead me to the silver lining.Remind me of the successes of the past and once again let me believe that I can make it. Help me to know that You who has brought me this far, are able to take me even further. 

When my strength seems weakness,strengthen my strengths and help me to (like dust),rise above my perceived weaknesses and present limitations.When ability seems inability and what I could once do seems like all I cant do,remind me that all ability comes from you, me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

When my life seems to have lost meaning and I walk around like a headless chicken,with no purpose. When I start flowing with the wind while being swayed in all directions by the trials and tribulations of life,calm the storms within  and around me and once again give my life a new meaning.

When impatience gets over me and I want all results instantly like coffee, remind me the value of hardwork and of waiting on You because no matter how many promises you have made they are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus and they will come to fruition in due time.

When all is said and done and the achievements of the present outweigh the failures of my past and a sense of self pride and vain conceit seem to puff me up,remind me of where I have come from and once again make me humble. Give me a good memory that I may never forget the stone from which I was cut.

If ever any of these happens, Lord,Remind me that in the wilderness of life, You are there with me.I need not be afraid.

In Jesus name. 

Amen.

LOOK MY WAY

Last weekend a friend was kind enough to invite me to their church for the umpteenth time; or should I say was "polite" enough to honour an invite that had been extended some Sundays back. Well, either of the two. So I attended the service and I must say I had a great time in the Lord's House. Thank you for the invite. I will come again. I am still nursing the blessings.The entire service was just exactly what I needed at that moment.The praise, adorable worship, deep prayer, cheerful giving and timely sermon were just a succession of blessings.

The sermon was the climax of it. The preacher  was a guest speaker from a different church but the message was what a guest like me needed. The theme verse was 2 Chronicles 16:9

This was not the first time I was hearing that  scripture but for some reason it sounded more real than ever before. I could now relate to the Scripture .In our younger years God was painted as some old man with a rod waiting for someone to wrong Him so He can punish them thoroughly. Here is the scripture painting the true picture:

 God's eyes are scanning the earth.. Looking NOT for someone to punish but for someone to help :-)  Someone to strengthen. The same words are echoed in

1 Peter 3:12 NIV

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

During Elijah's time, as God's eyes were scanning the earth they landed on the Widow of Zarephath who had just one meal left and then she would die. It is easy to pick her helplessness and hopelessness in 1 Kings17:12

¹² “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

To think of it,Elijah was sent  to her, not because he was hungry per se; after all the ravens had been dutifully doing their job,  but because the woman was in need.

The same eyes were scanning the earth and landed on a barren woman who was crying out to the Lord for a child. She had prayed so much that words had turned to sobs. As Hannah prayed, the Lord looked down upon her and granted  her a child; sorry children.

I contrast this with 1Peter 5:8 New Living Translation

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

From Job's time it is evident that he indeed roams looking for somebody to "finish". 

Isn't it encouraging to know that much as the devil is prowling around looking for someone to devour, the Lord is scanning the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are truly seeking after Him?

As I write this; my prayer  for you is  what the preacher prayed for us; that as the eyes of the Lord scan through the earth looking for someone to strengthen that they will look your way. May the gentle saviour not pass you by.

THE STORM CALMER

It's been a tough week for me.Here is why;
 I love peace: to have peace of  mind and heart and to be at peace with God and men. That directly translates to the fact that anything that disrupts my peace serves to spoil my day.. So this has been one such week; with lots and lots of noise and quarrels on what we do and what we don't do. This affected me in every sense; right from my devotion to my happiness; so much so that I did not have the peace to seek The Prince of Peace. It is ironical don't you think so?  I think so too. 

So after two days of auto pilot mode it hit me that we seek what we lack; not what we have. So I humbled my proud self and decided to go back to the foot of the cross. I picked from where my consistent Bible reading had stopped. it coincidentally happened to be Mark 11.

As I read through  I came to the point that says if we pray for anything  with faith God will grant us and that if we hold a grudge against anyone we should forgive so that God will forgive us

24.Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25.And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Well i must admit that is the kind of verses that makes you feel stupid for reading it. You mean all this lack of peace would have been solved with peace if I simply asked for it? Then as I continued to reflect I was reminded of the verse that we do not have because we do not ask in
James 4:2.....You do not have because you do not ask God.  Let's say this added salt to injury.
Peace was just a prayer away??? More than stupid I felt foolish. 

I decide to read on and on and that takes me to chapter 12 where I read about the Pharisees and i  get that pharisaic feeling. I get the conviction that while faulting others I forgot to see the fault in myself. It strikes me that I have looked at  others through a microscope and at myself through a telescope.. No wonder I felt like the right one in all this hullabaloo. the spirit of God was reminding me that I am as terrible as man and in that case woman; can be. And i agree I can be terrible..  So there I am again repenting for being pharisaic.

That was the end of my Bible reading. I had a good share already. So i took the time to repent of my self-righteousness and to ask for peace moving forward. I was then reminded of the Philippians 4:6-7 that I should not be anxious about anything but in prayer and supplication I should make my request known to the Lord and He would give me a peace that surpasses all human understanding.

I get up ready to start my day. I feel energized rejuvenated and enthusiastic about what lies ahead. I know that I  know that things will not be the same again. Peace is my portion and love too.

I write this a day later and I am glad to report that there is so much peace here. Not because I prayed hard enough but because the Prince of Peace STILL lives.The Jesus who calmed the storm 2000+years ago can also calm the storm,  in our lives, in our offices, in our homes, whenever, wherever, whether internal or external storms.

"PEACE BE STILL" Jesus says to your troubling situation. "PEACE "