“Dear Lord, I haven’t been a really good sheep today, let alone a
shepherd. I’m tired, feeling a bit out
of my league in knowing what to do. I
need your help. Strengthen my hands for
this task; give me wisdom so I cause no harm …”
That’s the prayer I spoke first thing one morning as I tried dragging
myself out of bed after a little sleep.
How can I do all that has to be done, with so many things being #1 on
the list?
Will I ever accomplish the
vision that is in my heart when it keeps being lost in the daily grind of life?
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Living off Prayer
I’m pretty sure a prayer similar to mine has come out of the mouths of many
people, especially this year. Have you
said something along those lines over the past months in dealing with frustrating
changes and uncertainty in life?
Just when things were starting to calm down something unexpected happened. For the past two months we’ve been dealing
with a virus epidemic among the pet population in the community that’s similar
to COVID-19, but it’s not. It’s been
round the clock care in syringe feeding, IV and medication treatments with not
enough hands to meet the needs of all the animals.
As soon as it looked like an animal was getting better, the cycle
repeated itself and spread to other pets.
We’ve never dealt with so many seriously sick animals at one time who
needed such intensive care.
It didn’t take much to recognize that this is the work of the enemy and
was pushing us to the limits of our knowledge and abilities. My early morning prayer was a plea for
literal physical and emotional strength, not just to care for animals, but
carry on with the vision in my heart and manage regular living (which seemed
impossible at the time).
Ministering medically to domestic or untamed animals can be exhausting. However, when it comes to cats … they’re in a category all by themselves and I think they know
it! They instantly turn into an octopus
and you almost need full body armor to handle them. I’ve been pounced, kicked, scratched,
punched, bitten and knocked down, but not beaten!
Parts of me may look like I was in a battle with an abnormal amount of
scratches or bruises, but glory to God I’m getting a good upper body workout! Plus, I’ve gotten pretty quick on my feet in chasing
critters that escape off the examination table or IV cart!
There’s no other way to put it than to say, we’d been living off prayer
– ours and from others as spiritual food to build us up to keep going. It wasn’t solely because of the strange unidentified
spreading virus, but all the other things everyone needed to do in their daily
lives that warranted just as much attention.
The Weapon of Fervent Prayer
Our faith was stretched and tested through this new learning
experience with me stepping out to do things I’ve never done totally on my own before like syringe feed. In the past I’ve always been the second set
of hands that held an animal during feeding, cleaned or bathed them, prepared
the special diets … you get the idea.
This time I was the one who needed the extra set of helping hands.
If it wasn’t for the weapon of fervent prayer against the enemy, we
wouldn’t have a prayer of winning, yet we did!
God gave insight to new methods and treatments so that everything that
needed to be accomplished was. In the
end, more tears and prayers of thanksgiving filled the heavens than prayers of
petition.
Animals that were not supposed to make it did, surprising the doubters
with how they literally came back to life!
Things got done for everyone, and I can’t really figure out when they
did, but I certainly know how – through prayer!
God was faithful in answering prayers that had much more than finding
solutions in caring for dozens of furry critters.
“A righteous, godly man (person)
regards (cares for and tends to) the life of his animal, but the tender mercies
of the wicked are cruel.” (Proverbs 12:10 NKJV)
Throughout the weeks I noticed favor came into individual lives because of
the care given in honoring God’s creation of animals. It wasn’t what anyone planned, but we changed
our plans when God allowed the situation to come into our lives. He used the circumstance to bring people
together that wouldn’t have ordinarily even known one another, in order to open
doors for other areas in our lives. That
is so, so cool!
Keep Going Anyway
Has the devil interfered with the plans God has placed on your heart to
pursue? If so, I’d like to give you a
word of encouragement to keep going no matter what is trying to come against
accomplishing your vision.
When you are praying for God to help in following your dreams, the enemy is
going to do everything he can to stop it from coming to pass. I once heard a prominent pastor say that
every goal he has achieved over the years of his ministry, came with a battle
and a huge fight with the enemy. He also
said that just when he felt he would give up God prevented the schemes of the
devil from prevailing over his work and efforts.
His part was to keep going and not quit.
The devil isn’t about to give up on his plans to steal, kill and destroy
anyone who has a desire to follow after God.
He will do whatever it takes to get you to quit and walk away from
living out your dreams and vision. I’m
encouraging you to stay in faith, believe what God put in your heart and keep
going anyway – especially when things look impossible!
God knows that there will be obstacles along the way to prevent us from
achieving our vision, and that’s why we need to consult Him in moving forward
to accomplish everything that He has for us.
He is the One who inspires the dreams of His children and has promised
to help throughout the entire process of what He placed on your heart.
The Lord wants to help, but cannot do that if we don’t include Him on a
regular basis. I know things may seem impossible
right now, but with God all things are possible to those who believe.
Sometimes living the Christian life can be hard and we’re not always at
our spiritual best. God knows and understands our weaknesses. He wants us to lean on Him when we’re not
strong. He will be our strength and friend to help us carry on, not humans as mentioned in the song written by the late singer Bill Withers. Nice concept, but only the Holy Spirit can give us everything we need, every time.
It’s during our weakest moments that God’s power
is revealed through His unmerited favor and grace.
“But He said to me, My grace (My
favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you (all you need; sufficient
against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble
manfully); for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and
completed) and show themselves most effective in (your) weakness.
Therefore, I will all the more
gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of
Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 AMPC)
Use the weapon of prayer against the enemy to continually live by
faith. Ask the Lord for the strength you
need to keep going and finish the vision.
Hang in there. Live with the
peace of mind that your vision will come to pass in His timing, and it will be better
than you could ever imagine.
“The LORD will give strength to
His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.”
(Psalm 29:11 NKJV)
Until next time, pray for favored strength to endure!
“I will favor you with My strength and peace.” 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.
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