I think most would agree that the fabulous year 2020 we all anticipated has been less than we bargained for in moving forward in our plans or vision. For me, practically every "road" I've traveled on stepping out in faith has been challenged and blocked by the enemy satan.
Even though it’s been difficult at times and I’ve had to take it a
little slower, my goals have not changed in what I want to accomplish in my
life that will please the Lord.
There’s
something else I’d like to add, God’s plans haven’t changed either! Knowing this, where do we go from here?
Read: Strength to Finish the Vision Part 1
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When Life Throws You Bricks, Build A Wall
What do you do when everything you’ve tried doesn’t seem to work and you
keep hitting a brick wall in finding answers?
Let’s see, you can quit, but that would please the devil.
You can try to find alternative solutions, which will probably delay
plans for who knows how long until something clicks. Then there’s the pressing on choice that might
be difficult, but in the end could get you to the prize of the high calling on
your life.
Which have you chosen these past months during the COVID-19 crisis? Here’s what I decided to do.
When I came up against something that appeared to be a brick wall in not
being able to find solutions, I turned to the scriptures for examples of
situations to help me. Over and over the same passage has helped me
persevere when everything looked like it wouldn’t or couldn’t succeed.
Here’s what I discovered. When life throws you bricks, build a
wall. That’s right, a spiritual prayer wall
that the enemy cannot touch.
Instead of thinking the things satan is tossing at you will prevent you
from accomplishing the vision, get it in your thinking that when God is in the
plan, He will use those things (aka bricks) and build something great for His
glory.
Praying for Bricks
The Bible tells us of a man named Nehemiah who felt passionate about
returning to his hometown when he learned that the wall around the city was in ruin. If there was anyone who understood what it was like to face challenges in finishing the
task of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, it was Nehemiah.
No matter what he wanted to do, something was placed in his path to stop
him. Those spiritual enemies threw
things at him from every direction, and even used his own people against Nehemiah. Those “virtual” bricks were already flying and
hope seemed blocked in anything getting done to that broken-down wall that once
protected the city from being overtaken.
He had plenty of opportunities to quit on the vision, and who wouldn’t
feel like he did with nothing coming together on a project? However, instead of giving up, Nehemiah went
to the Lord in prayer for everything, and I mean literally everything including
the “bricks”!
The servant cupbearer prayed about going before the king, the supplies,
protection, people to build the wall and how to accomplish such a great task for
his beloved hometown. In doing so God
gave him favor and caused others to do the same in order for the wall to be
finished. Let’s examine how this happened for Nehemiah,
and how it can for us as well.
Using Supernatural Power Tools
Spending time with the Lord was vital for gaining wisdom against the
enemies throughout the entire process of building. It’s no different for us in this age if we
are to finish what we started.
Every time Nehemiah prayed, he obeyed and did what God told him to do. Prayer and obedience are the supernatural tools
that help us achieve great things that otherwise couldn’t have been done.
E.M. Bounds (Edward McKendree Bounds), pastor and author of nine books on
prayer, referred to prayer as “spiritual energy” for a believer. He describes it as a means of God’s grace (favor)
to do things through the action of prayer to accomplish great things with
unusual results.
“Prayer is the divine energy that brings the
power into the plans that God has given you. Prepare your heart
for God’s plan and pray about your plans day and night.” E.M. Bounds
His definition lines up with scripture, where James the brother of
Jesus, wrote how the earnest prayer of the righteous avails much (has
tremendous power). In other words, the supernatural
power tool is persistent prayer!
“The heartfelt and persistent
prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much (when put into action
and made effective by God – it is dynamic and can have tremendous power).
(James 5:16 AMP)
Something easy to notice about Nehemiah is that he kept God on speed
dial when it came to prayer. That is, he
learned to pray on the spot, instantly, regularly and interactively with the
Lord for anything and everything, especially when it came to accomplishing his
vision for rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem.
The Prayer of the Righteous Favor
According to Nehemiah 2:1-5, we learn Nehemiah was outwardly
demonstrating being sad, which was a no-no to act this way in front of the
king. However, when the king noticed how
his servant was behaving, he asked Nehemiah what was wrong.
Now I have to give a little insight as to why showing emotions of
sadness was severely dangerous and risky business for cup bearer Nehemiah or
anyone for that matter. To display such
grief, sorrow or unhappiness in the presence of the king was a cause for a
person to be put to death, because it created an atmosphere of gloom and
despair. To put it in my terms, "No joy suckers here!"
So, when Nehemiah told the king how he was distressed over the ruins of
the wall in Jerusalem, he didn’t know how the king would react. Knowing this, before he made the request, he instantly
prayed silently for the right words to speak so his life would be spared.
Nehemiah was bold and precise about the vision God gave him in telling the
desires of his heart to the king.
“If I have found favor in your sight, let me
go rebuild the wall.”
Instead of sending for the guards to take Nehemiah away, the king showed
compassion for his loyal servant and asked what he could do to help. He not only gave permission for a leave from
his kingly duties, but sent armed guards to protect Nehemiah along the journey, provided letters for government officials allowing the work to commence and released the supplies
needed to finish the job of building a security wall around Jerusalem.
“I also said to the king, if it please the king,
let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates
River, instructing them to let me travel through safely through their
territories on my way to Judah.
And please give me a letter addressed to
Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I
will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city
walls, and for a house for myself. And
the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.”
(Nehemiah 2:7-8 NKJV)
Can you believe that? He even had
supplies to build a house for himself while he stayed to complete the wall. No “Motel 6” to leave the lights on needed! Now that’s what I call “the prayer of the righteous” kind of favor friends!
Nehemiah’s bold faith overcame fear and doubt, allowing favor a place
where it could work. God will cause man
to give favor in ways they never thought would happen when He is in on the
construction committee; and when God is in the plans, everything changes in
your favor.
“Never let loyalty and kindness
leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your
heart. Then you will find favor with
both God and people (man), and you will earn a good reputation.” (Proverbs
3:3-4 NLT)
Before Moving Forward – Pray, Plan and Prepare
God answered yes to prayer and a dream.
Not only was Nehemiah given permission to go rebuild the wall, but the
king also funded the project and sent armed guards to protect him on the
journey! How’s that for favor from God
and man?
Sometimes we come against challenges and don’t know what to do or how
people will respond. When we go to the
Lord in prayer before we make our move forward, He prepares the hearts of
others to make it possible for us to carry on with the plan, dream or vision.
In the current conditions of the world, people are confused and are not
sure what to do. What we thought might
have been the answer in past circumstances doesn’t necessarily hold true for
today. Almost everything we do or plan
has to be rescheduled and reprocessed in our thinking of how to go about what
we thought was the best way to do things.
Every time my husband or I encounter a situation where we don’t know
what to do, we immediately go to the Lord in prayer. Perhaps you need to do the same if you’re up
against a challenge and don’t have the wisdom, knowledge or understanding concerning what to do from this point forward.
After you have prayed and planned, be ready for God to do something in
His way and timing. It may not be what
you expected, but it will be what is needed to place you in the path for favor.
Trust Him to do things in a manner that is glorifying and pleasing to Him,
as well as working the situation out for your good.
“Commit (trust God with) your
works (plans and actions) to the LORD (submit and trust them to Him), and your
thoughts (plans) will be established (will succeed if you respond to His will
and guidance).”(from Proverbs 16:3 NKJV/AMP)
God will open a way that you will not expect so that the vision, dream
or goal will be accomplished. There are
going to be many things that you cannot control in striving to reach
success. Only God knows the end from the
beginning and can provide what you need for each step toward that goal.
I remember something my mother always said when she made her plans and
it has stuck with me. It was from the
book of James in the bible.
“Look here, you who say, today or
tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog – it’s here
a little while, then it’s gone. What you
ought to say is, if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13-14 NLT)
In her words … “Lord willing” she would do whatever it was she had
planned. She was right. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but
as it says in the book of James, we are to plan.
Give your plans to God and pray for wisdom in knowing what to do and
when. Expect Him to do more than you
could have ever asked or thought.
“Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
(the Holy Spirit) that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV)
So, my friends, instead of throwing in the towel or walking away from
your vision and quitting … when life throws you bricks, build a prayer wall! I did and praise God, my vision for the book Christmas Favor: A Season of Miracles has come to pass! It wasn't the one I thought would be published at this point, but God saw this was His timing for favor and I received it happily! (View the promo video provided by Anthony Godinho.)
Get excited about how the Lord will unfold His favor on your life, because
of obedience and faithfulness to Him. He
will supply every thing (“brick”) needed to complete the job according to His
Word.
“And this same God who takes care
of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been
given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV)
Pray, plan and prepare with the strength you've been given to finish the vision
God has placed in your heart with gladness.
Until next time, use
the prayer super tool for favor!
“The persistent
prayer of the righteous avails much favor.” – Jesus Christ
Note: 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.
What’s New This Series: Click on links below.
The complete works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer (Edward McKendree Bounds)
Buy it on Amazon or Christian Book
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