Pray for Needs, Act When Needed
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.’ (Ephesians 6:18); ‘<Jesus said,> “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”’ (Mark 11:24); ‘(16) Rejoice always, (17) pray continually, (18) give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
It is one thing to read a Scripture verse, but then there needs to be a follow up on what we read, and that is prayer. If one walks up to a door, and reads the ‘pull’ sign, one cannot simply say ‘pull’ and the door will open; an action (grabbing the handle and pulling) is necessary to open the door. The same can be said about reading Scriptures in times of need; we can read Psalm 51 about sinning, but we also must follow up in prayer for the Lord to forgive us, or to pray to the Lord for strength after reading Joshua 1. We know God will provide, but we cannot assume that God will provide without us praying to God in humility for His provisions we need. We then must also recognize the opportunities God provides and act upon them.
We may have it given to us or there may be a need to act; the Lord provided manna to the Hebrews in the desert, but they had to go gather it – it didn’t just fall in front of them – and they had to gather it properly; just enough for each day, no leftovers. Scriptures tell us how and why God will provide; prayer will open up the communications on giving us the directions how to proceed. We then must proceed to act in order for our prayer to be answered.
Asking in prayer to leave a situation may result in God sending a city transit bus to pick you up; many won’t get on the bus, waiting for the limo or fiery chariot to come get them, resulting in a lost opportunity to be blessed. How many opportunities have missed because someone thought ‘that’s not good enough’? With God, anything He provides is not only ‘just good enough’, it perfectly fits the need.
There are many verses on why prayer is needed, and that prayer also needs to be done in Faith. As stressed before, God promises Joy, not happiness. Not all prayer results in happy moments, but they do often result in joyous moments. We pray for SW Florida to open up their ears to hear the Gospel, and a hurricane comes. We were not happy (and it should not be construed anyone was happy) that the hurricane hit us, but we should be joyous that the hurricane opened up many to hearing the Gospel, many who were not interested in hearing the Gospel before opened up, as many of us prayed for.
Remember to continue to read Scriptures, pray continually, and engage in fellowship with your Christian family. Let’s hold each other accountable and be there when we are needed. Also remember the Scriptures are there to provide us the guidance and Jesus is standing by to respond to our needs, when we ask Him in humble prayers on needs. Just remember to act when the Lord provides the opportunity!
