The past couple of days I was praying on three different occasions and was asking God specific questions. All 3 times, within a few minutes either a song or a scripture came to my mind, or last night it was Rick reading to me out of a book about the Welsh revival that spoke to my heart and was exactly God's answer to my questions. The hymn "O Worship the King" was one of those instances, another was Psalm 90:12, and then the passage from the book about the Welsh revival. All 3 times God was assuring me of his voice and that I had heard him correctly about something. I felt in those moments how we have such an amazing God who cares about even the littlest things about us and who speaks to us in the silence when our hearts are troubled and we are in need of his assurances. Praise Jesus!
The book was titled “Invasion of Wales by the Spirit through Evan Roberts” and was written by James A. Stewart. We were reading in chapter 4. Young Evan Roberts had just had a mighty visitation of the Holy Spirit in his life. His friend said to him, “Evan, what has happened to you?” Evan replied, “Oh, Syd, I have got wonderful news for you. I had a vision of all Wales being lifted up to heaven. We are going to see the mightiest revival that Wales has ever known – and the Holy Spirit is coming just now. We must get ready.”
The author of the book said this about Evan Roberts: “One Sunday as he sat in the chapel at Newcastle-Emlyn, Evan could not fix his mind upon the service and ever in his mind arose in a vision the Sunday school room in his own church at Loughor. There sitting before him in the pews were his old companions and many other young people. He shook himself impatiently, trying to drive away the vision, but in vain. In his inward ear he heard a voice saying, ‘GO TO THESE PEOPLE.’ Suddenly he said, ‘Lord if it is Thy will, I will go.’”
The book continued by quoting a letter Evan Roberts wrote to a Miss Evans while returning home by train. This was the passage from the book from which the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart as Rick read this aloud to me:
“Dear Miss Evans, -
“Just a line to let you know that I am on my way home for a week to work with our young people.
“The reason for this is the command of the Holy Spirit. He gave me the command last night at the meeting. I could not concentrate my thoughts on the work of the service. I prayed and prayed so that I could follow the service, but of no avail. My thoughts were wandering, and my mind riveted on our young folk at Moriah. There seemed a voice, as if it said, ‘You must go, you must go’! I then told Mr. Phillips about it, and I asked whether it was the devil or the Spirit. He answered, ‘No, no. The devil does not give such thoughts. It was the voice of the Holy Spirit.’
“Therefore, I have decided to obey, and I feel as if the Spirit testifies of a blessed future.”
For me, this was not a vision, nor was it a call to go, that I am aware of, but rather a burden within my heart for those who are trapped in sin’s deceitfulness. I could not get this off my mind. I was inquiring of the Lord if this was him speaking this to me. All 3 times he answered unequivocally with a resounding “Yes!”
The first time I was praying for the trapped in sin’s deceitfulness God spoke to me through the hymn, “O Worship the King”.
O Worship the King / Robert Grant / Johann Michael Haydn
O worship the King, all glorious above,Jesus was speaking loudly and clearly that he alone is the answer. He alone has the grace, power and strength to help us to fight against Satan’s attacks on our minds and hearts. Yet, he was also reminding me of his wrath that will come upon those who do not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ - to not only forgive them of their sin, but to conquer the control of and the bondage to sin in their lives. Through Jesus Christ, sin no longer has master over us. We are dead to our sins in Christ Jesus and are alive unto God. We just have to believe it and apply it to our lives via the Holy Spirit of God working in us and through us for his glory. He is our shield and defender. Even though we are weak, he is strong and it is in his strength that we can overcome the power of sin over our lives. My heart aches for the Body of Christ to realize this and to stop believing the lies of Satan.
O gratefully sing God's power and God's love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
O tell of God's might, O sing of God's grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
Whose chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is God's path on the wings of the storm.
Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
The second time I was bringing before the Lord this burden for the trapped in sin’s deceitfulness, he spoke to me through Psalm 90:12 (in context):
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Lastly, the third time I inquired of him for those deceived by sin he spoke to me through this passage in this book on the Welsh revival. My mind was wandering earlier in the day. I could not concentrate my mind that day on the work that was before me. I could not get my mind away from the thought of the trapped by sin’s deceitfulness and the reality of God’s judgment, but also the reality of his grace if one were to truly take hold of it and to understand that it means freedom. I even asked the Lord if Satan was trying to put these thoughts into my mind, so when Rick read that to me, “No, no, the devil does not give such thoughts. That was the voice of the Holy Spirit,” I nearly broke down in tears. God was assuring me that he had placed this upon my heart to pray, and so I prayed.
I don’t know where this will lead, but God does. I have such a yearning in my heart for revival of the church here in America. I pray the Lord will let me know even now where he wants to take me with this hunger for revival and this great concern for those who are trapped by sin’s deceitfulness. In Jesus’ name I pray these things, amen!
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