6/15/2022 • Desk of Dennis Piller
Praying and Obeying is not Easy!
1 Corinthians 9: 25–26 " Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. but I discipline my body and keep it under control”.
Can you see part of prayer is using self-control and being disciplined!
My body and my mind woke up earlier than I wanted to this morning, so I got up and began to pray. Some serious, depressing work issues came up late last night that probably didn’t give my mind the rest I needed during the night. My first inclination this morning was to lay that before God, but then I remembered God‘s word on Sunday that I was to listen and obey. He told me he wanted me to lift up those that were around me, and I have several serious needs that do not involve my family that requires serious prayer and wisdom. The Lord reminded me of that this morning, and he said that
“he would take care of me if I took care of his work”.
Sometimes that’s really hard when your problems seem to be pressing in harder than usual. We just want to take a torch to our problems in the spirit and fight, so that Satan would take his hands off that area of our life. Part of my self-discipline this morning was to stay focused and disciplined my mind on what God said to do in his prophecy on Sunday. Pray for THEM and I will take care of you.
I understood that on Sunday and on Monday, but Tuesday night things exploded for me at work and I became self-possessed with my own problems. I was in a serious conversation, wanting to pull my hair out, but needing to remain calm and to be the person with the voice of reason. And in that critical moment, even without a prayer spoken, I was trusting God to give me the words to use. I am by no means to the end of my own crisis, and so I can’t tell you in the natural whether it will turn out in my favor or not. But I am filtering that back to the word he gave this week about
"praying for these others, and I will take care of you".
It comes back to an issue of faith, doesn’t it? Timothy 6:12 states that the fight of faith is exactly that. That word fight doesn’t imply an easy path forward. Fight the good fight of faith, Dennis!
Discipline your mind and your body to pray. Stay focused on the leading that I gave you. And then take up the sword of the spirit and come against that spirit of fear, that spirit of self-preservation, that spirit of lack, and fall at the feet of Christ and say: And up came this old melody. Do you remember it?
All to thee I owe.
Sin has left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin has left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and thine alone,
Can change the lepers spots
And melt the heart of stone
The point is, that the very nature of the Christian life is that we are to live by faith and fight our battles by faith. This isn’t an issue of relying on our strength or our determination. What power do we have in the natural to fight a supernatural battle? How can we assume as humans that we can fight in the spirit while we live and breathe in the flesh? We cannot. Jesus tells us that we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit within us to enable us even in our strivings in prayer, including all of the burdens that we might have. And yes, we do wrestle like an athlete does to make himself strong. But above it all, the demand above everything else is faith that
God is ultimately the one who wrestles in us and through us and for us.
When I came back this morning to the urgency of these OTHER needs and God‘s word that said “Press in and pray for them, and I will take care of yours”.
And his final words were to listen and obey.
I have to admit that’s not so easy to do when my own needs seem to be overflowing and overwhelming. But by faith, I stand and I encourage you to do the same. Thank God for His word. He is trustworthy. He is more than honorable. He has never left me stranded. He never changes. Pray earnestly for these others and Let God be God…for you!
PS. By the time I had poured myself out for these other needs both spiritual and the actual time out of my schedule to deal with them. He had worked out my financial issue to my benefit. He was true to his word! Hallelujah and Amen
Lauren Daigle Look Up Child
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Z359U77XY
