There are just some things that we know we shouldn’t do,
but often time restraints keep us from thinking clearly. That’s something Brandy experienced a few
weeks ago.
Her day began as usual, but not long after Brandy left
the house the supernatural world became real through the help of neighbors.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Argentina;
Bangladesh; Barbados; Edmonton, AB, Canada; Equatorial Guinea; Waitara,
Taranaki, New Zealand; Tanuku, Andhra Pradesh, India; Dasmariñas, Calabarzon,
Philippines; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Antilyas & Kasrouane, Mount Lebanon
Governorate, Lebanon; Mazabuka, Southern Province, Zambia; Providenciales,
Turks and Caicos Islands; Fiorano Canavese,
Piedmont, Italy.
USA
– Fairfield,
Fontana, Temecula & Vacaville, CA; Castle Rock & Westminster, CO; Belle
Glade, Brownsville, Johnson, Pembroke Pines & Timber Pines, FL; Peachtree
Corners, GA; Pearl City, HI; Chester & Reisterstown, MD; Owendale, Saginaw & Sebewaing, MI; Cumberland, Cranford, Glassboro, Milltown,
Pine Lake Park & Williamstown, NJ; Canby, OR; Ephrata & Linglestown, PA;
Sherman, TX.
I am so thankful for your visit and hope that you come
back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Prayers.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge
(below).
Keep your motor running …Not!
Brandy had just dropped her one year old son off at
daycare and was heading to work.
Realizing that she had forgotten a package to be mailed that day, the
young cook made a quick turn around and returned home.
Not wanting to be late for work Brandy left her vehicle
running leaving the door wide open as she made haste into the garage to
retrieve the parcel. At the same time
her roommate Leslie was coming out of the house on her way to work, when she
saw a strange man lurking near the back of Brandy’s truck. Keeping silent she dialed 911.
The man had lowered the tailgate and
started to put his bicycle in the back of the truck when Leslie called out to
her friend in the garage. Seeing he had
been spotted the man pulled his bike out of the truck bed and tried to make a
getaway.
Running away the “almost robber”
started disrobing, tossing his very identifiable bright red jacket in a bush and
a greyish sweatshirt in a yard a few houses away from theirs. Ditching his bike, back and forth he ran from
house to house trying to find a place where he could make an escape. His efforts were to no avail, because every
home on the street had a fenced in back yard that was joined together at some
point!
Auto Zone
Hardly believing what they saw, the
two girls watched in fear from their front porch as the “would be thief” tried
to find shelter by hiding in the bushes.
The easterly morning sun made plain where he was by revealing his
shadow. Abiding in man’s shadow surely
wasn’t a safe haven for him.
Within minutes the police converged
on the neighborhood like a swat team ready for action. Tension grew when the armed officers drew
their guns. Tracking the steps of the criminal
they swiftly moved wasting no time apprehending the fellow and arrested him.
The following day the two women
learned that the auto thief was definitely not in the right zone and had a list
of priors and warrants for his arrest as high as the truck itself!
It Was Prayer
Last week, after the event, Leslie
saw her neighbor getting out of his vehicle when she motioned for him to come
to the fence that divided their yards.
After hearing the details of the almost robbery that literally took place ten feet from their home, he went inside his
house and shared the news with his wife. Immediately
she knew why the man’s plan to do evil was destroyed … it was prayer!
Something unbeknown to Brandy and
Leslie is that their neighbors are not just Christians, but gateway to Heaven’s
courtyard prayer warriors. In prayer
each night the middle aged couple activates the promises of God by giving voice
to Psalm 91, calling on His angels to form an invisible cover of protection
over the entire community.
The Favored Saints Prayer
I’m not going to rewrite history by
giving a long dissertation about all the ins and outs that pertain to Psalm 91,
but will share that it’s one of the most powerful songs of prayer in the Bible. Scholars refer to this passage of scripture
as the “Favored” Saints Prayer, because of its limited access to the Throne of
the Almighty.
Although there are only sixteen
verses, it is packed with promises of God for those who dare to enter "the
secret place" reserved for a chosen few.
It is clearly broken down into sections describing what each is for and
the privileges that pertain to those who God makes these assurances to in His
“circles”.
A Guest of God’s
Prayer isn’t foreign to anyone, not
even those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior. People “pray” or call out to a
higher authority whenever they’re in a situation they can’t face alone.
New believers learn to pray from the
time they’re babes in Christ, but they don’t always know how to do it with the
authority they received upon salvation. Although God hears the prayers of all
His children, not every person that prays is invited into the Throne room of
God as His guest in the inner court.
There’s a reason for that.
Let me explain what I mean without
going into too much detail about the kinds and types of prayer. What I’m referring to involves fellowship in
prayer with God where an individual “dwells” or “abides” with the Lord. It’s a place where friendship is formed and
builds upon the foundation of trust.
Only those who put their complete
faith and trust in God enjoy the full benefits found in Psalm 91.
The Inside Scoop
Scripture tells about such
relationships like that of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Elijah or Enoch, and these are
only a few mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. Don’t get me started with the New Testament folks
or this article would never get finished!
The trust between the covenant partners was so great that miraculous things
happened and angels were a common sighting.
Take Abraham for our first example.
His relationship was valued by GOD so strongly that He made a covenant with old
Abe that no one could break, ever! (Abrahamic covenant ceremony Genesis 15) Talk
about being on the inside track for a news scoop, Jesus and His angels popped
in for a meal before sharing with His friend the plans about destroying Sodom
and Gomorrah.
The LORD trusted Moses’ faith in Him to
give him the sacred Ten Commandments in private meetings where they fellowshipped
for long periods of time without interruption. (Exodus 20) The anointing and favor of God fell on Moses’
second in command, Joshua, because he learned how to spend time with the Lord as did
his leader. How many people do you know asked
God to stop the sun from setting and He did it? (Joshua 10:12-14)
Who else in history strolled with God
all the way to Heaven without dying, because the Heavenly Father valued the fellowship
of a friend so much He didn’t want it to stop? (Enoch - Genesis 4:21-24) That’s really sitting at ringside in the
court of God wouldn’t you say?
The favor of God on Elijah was so
strong that Elisha asked for a double portion of the anointing before he
witnessed the Prophet ascending to Heaven in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:9 -11) I can hear him now … ”Where can I get some of
that?”
Abiding in His Shadow
It was during a difficult time when I
first learned how to pray and understood that angels only move into
action when they heard the Word of God spoken.
Knowing this was another good reason to memorize passages of scripture,
especially in times of danger.
Breaking down the psalm there are key
elements that believers sometimes overlook.
From the opening the psalmist (not really known, but believed to be
Moses due to Psalm 90 being written by him), share the key to being invited
into the secret places of the Most High God.
In order for us to dwell (live or abide)
under God’s protection, we have to trust Him and actually go where He is when seeking
our refuge. Only those who dwell
with God get a place under His shadow to be covered from the works of the
devil. It’s like if you’re caught in a
rain storm but your husband has the umbrella in the car! (That just
happened!) Without a covering of protection
believers are vulnerable and prey for satan.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most
High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you
from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”
(Psalm 91: 1-4 NKJV)
When you abide with God, there’s safety in
His presence because His shadow always goes with Him. It’s a secret place for the favored because
of their personal relationship and abiding communion with God near His mercy seat.
It’s a privilege to be a guest with the Lord
where He pours out protection, refreshing, comfort and favor to those who love
to sit and chat without seeking “favors” all the time. God values those precious times and is a
rewarder of those who seek Him and not His handouts.
They’re His Angels
Another promise of God for those in
the secret place is that He sets angels over any situation that comes against
the person who has taken refuge under His shadow. They are His angels, not
co-workers of satan or flunkies that lost access to the Throne room of
God.
Not only do “shadow dwellers” have
God’s protection, they have angels ... that's plural, not singular angels surrounding them.
“ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you,
nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
for He shall give His angels charge over you,
to keep you in all your ways.”
even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you,
nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
for He shall give His angels charge over you,
to keep you in all your ways.”
(Psalm 91: 9-11 NKJV)
If you read the life accounts of the few individuals I
mentioned there would be no doubt that they spent a lot of time under God’s
shadow. Angels were everywhere pulling
them out of situations as only God’s servants could.
He Did it for Them, He’ll Do it for
You
Like Brandy there are times that we
make innocent mistakes in judgment, and it’s those times we really need the
angels of the Lord surrounding us as a shield to guard against the enemy. She trusted in the fact that the neighborhood
was a pretty safe one and didn’t expect evil biting at her tires.
Brandy’s vehicle (or anyone else’s
for that matter) didn’t get stolen because of diligently praying the Daily
Favor of Psalm 91. Angels prevented the
man from fleeing, the officers captured a “wanted” criminal and no one was
harmed.
Taking Psalm 91 to heart and trusting God as your refuge
will allow anyone who believes in Jesus to abide in His shadow of
protection. If we set our love on God, what
God did for the people in the Bible, He will also do for you or me.
He promises to be with us when we’re in trouble. God will
answer our prayers, honor our relationship, deliver and satisfy us with long
life. Personally God will reveal the
benefits as Kingdom heirs, and we will experience the fullness of our salvation.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore
I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name.
I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name.
(He has a personal knowledge of My unmerited
favor, love, and kindness. He trusts and relies on Me,
knowing that I will
never forsake him.)
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver
him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, and show him
My salvation.”
(Psalm 91: 14-16 NKJV emphasis mine)
When someone truly loves and trusts you,
keeping that person safe and showing them endless favor is something you just
want to do!
This Week’s Challenge:
Neighborhood Prayer Watch
Praying over our neighbors should be one of the first
things on our list when we go before the Lord with our petitions. Safety is a number one priority for us when
we think of our family, so shouldn’t we be praying for anything and
anyone that could come into their path each day?
We have no control over what happens around us when it
comes to what people do, but we can make sure that when “stuff” happens we’re
already under the “Shadow Protection” plan of God. Whom shall we fear when we’re standing in the
shadow of the Almighty?
From this point on our challenge is to make sure that
every day we pray Psalm 91 over our neighborhood and put God’s angels to flight
in keeping everyone safe. Get it down
deep in your soul that God’s protection acts as a shield around the Righteous
who take refuge in Him.
Be more than an “ordinary” Christian, be a “Shadow
Dweller” and the favor of God will always surround you as a protective shield of
armor.
“ For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
with favor You will surround him as with a shield.”
with favor You will surround him as with a shield.”
(Psalm 5:12 NKJV)
Standin' in the Shadow of the Almighty by Phil Driscoll
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Until next time, take refuge in the
shadow of God’s favor!
“I’ll shadow you with My favor.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
When used,
the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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