Thursday, December 3,
2015, 6:53 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Pray, Pray, Pray.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Lamentations 3:41-63 (NASB).
Unanswered Prayers
(vv. 41-44)
We
lift up our heart and hands
Toward
God in heaven;
We
have transgressed and rebelled,
You
have not pardoned.
You
have covered Yourself with anger
And
pursued us;
You
have slain and have not spared.
You
have covered Yourself with a cloud
So
that no prayer can pass through.
The situation here was that God’s people had greatly sinned
and rebelled against him, they had refused to listen to his messages via his
servants, and they had gone their own stubborn way. Now they were under the
judgment of Almighty God, and they were under the oppression of their enemies.
So, they were offering sincere heartfelt prayers to God, confessing their sins
against him, and they were lamenting over the fact that their punishment had
not yet ceased, which to them meant that God had not yet pardoned their sins,
and thus they felt as though their prayers were not getting through to God.
I believe that the world we live in is under the judgment of
Almighty God right now. We can see the signs of it everywhere, that the enemy
has invaded our lands, and is bringing about destruction, and is plotting evil
against us, in particularly against those who are followers of Jesus Christ and
who are sharing the message of the gospel of salvation. Many people who call
themselves followers of Christ are still living in open rebellion against God,
and are committing adultery against him every day. God has been calling out to
them, confronting them with their sins of adultery and idolatry, warning of
judgment, and calling them to repentance, and yet many who call themselves
Christians are not listening, but they are continuing to go their own stubborn
way, and they are living like the world around them.
In America we can now see the same modus operandi (M.O.)
taking place that we have witnessed take place in various other countries
throughout the globe in the past ten years (+). First, the powers that rule the
world create chaos, uprisings, disaster, mass shootings or bombings, and/or racial
and/or political upheaval, etc. within a nation, and then they go in to those
nations as “saviors,” or else they go into nations under the guise of going
after “terrorists,” but not to save, but to conquer, to kill and to destroy
(See: Rev. 13). It all has to do with power and control. They have to first
convince the people that they need saved so that they can do what they had
decided to do all along, or else they force compliance and cooperation via
threats of violence. We are seeing our freedoms daily ebbing away as the
government takes more and more control, only it isn’t really the US government
taking the control. They are merely puppets in the hands of the ‘Beast’ New
World Order.
As the reality of what is taking place throughout the world,
and now in America, too, hits home to God’s people who have been living in
rebellion against him, many will repent of their sins, and God will revive
their hearts, and they will be restored to fellowship with God. Yet, just
because we are forgiven of our sins, and just because God restores us to
fellowship with him does not mean we won’t have to face the natural
consequences of the bad choices we have made. We reap what we sow. Yet we
should not translate this into the notion that we are not forgiven or that God
is not listening to our prayers. We should trust him with our lives and with
our circumstances, and yield to his plans and purposes for our lives. Through
them he will grow and mature us, and will conform us to the image of Christ. Through
revived lives the gospel will go forth and many people will be saved from their
sins. Amen!
Weep and Mourn
(vv. 45-51)
You
have made us mere offscouring and refuse
In
the midst of the peoples.
All
our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
Panic
and pitfall have befallen us,
Devastation
and destruction;
My
eyes run down with streams of water
Because
of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
My
eyes pour down unceasingly,
Without
stopping,
Until
the Lord looks down
And
sees from heaven.
My
eyes bring pain to my soul
Because
of all the daughters of my city.
We who are following Jesus Christ with our lives should
grieve over the spiritual condition of the adulterous church of today, and of
the world, and we should not cease pouring out our hearts to God, through tears,
for the salvation of loved ones (and of the people of this world), for the
revival of the wandering church, and also for the encouragement and
strengthening of the persecuted church throughout the world. We also need to
pray for the salvation or revival of our leaders, many of whom have also
wandered far from God or who have never given their lives to Jesus Christ, for
if they are following Christ with their lives, they will also lead us to follow
God/Jesus. The salvation of this world is not going to come through voting in
the “right” political candidates into office. The salvation of this world will
only come through faith in Jesus Christ, and through surrender to his will for
our lives.
Persecution of
Christians (vv. 52-63)
My
enemies without cause
Hunted
me down like a bird;
They
have silenced me in the pit
And
have placed a stone on me.
Waters
flowed over my head;
I
said, “I am cut off!”
I
called on Your name, O Lord,
Out
of the lowest pit.
You
have heard my voice,
“Do
not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,
From
my cry for help.”
You
drew near when I called on You;
You
said, “Do not fear!”
O
Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause;
You
have redeemed my life.
O
Lord, You have seen my oppression;
Judge
my case.
You
have seen all their vengeance,
All
their schemes against me.
You
have heard their reproach, O Lord,
All
their schemes against me.
The
lips of my assailants and their whispering
Are
against me all day long.
Look
on their sitting and their rising;
I
am their mocking song.
Satan’s greatest enemy is God/Jesus and his followers. So, Satan’s
servants and messengers are in hot pursuit of Jesus’ servants and messengers,
i.e. of those who hold fast to the Word of God, who do not deny Jesus Christ,
and who follow Christ’s commandments. We are being targeted for extinction. We
are the “extremists” they are the most threatened by and the ones they most
want to eradicate from the earth. All this talk about going after ISIS is a
ruse, for ISIS is of this ‘Beast’ New World Order, and serves as a privatized and
prussianized military force of this beast (of The United Nations, NATO, The Bilderberg
Group, The Trilateral Commission, The Council on Foreign Relations, the IMF,
Big Banks, a Jewish majority, CEOs of corporations, and World Powers, etc.).
Listen to the speeches of Obama and of Pope Francis, and of other
world leaders, too. The message is clear. “Extremists” are those who hold fast
to the tenets of the Christian faith, who believe Jesus Christ is the only way
to God the Father and to heaven, and who believe the Bible to be God’s words to
the people, and that God’s moral laws are to be upheld and followed. We are
also those who hold to the belief that Jesus died that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him
who gave himself up for us; and that the righteous requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but who conduct our lives
according to the Spirit (See: 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; & Ro. 8:1-14). This
flies in the face of, i.e. this goes against Obama’s and the Pope’s messages of
tolerance, acceptance, and unity of all religions and all walks of life. So, we
are the cancer that must be killed or transformed to their way of thinking.
So, we should be in prayer to God for all followers of
Christ to stand strong in their faith, to not deny their Lord, and to be strengthened
and empowered of the Holy Spirit in perseverance and in continuing to preach
the gospel of salvation according to Jesus and according to his NT apostles. We
should pray that all of us would not give way to fear, i.e. that we would not
buckle under the oppression of the enemy or begin to feel as though God has
forsaken us. God will never leave us or forsake us. He will discipline us, and
it will be painful, but through it we will grow in our walks of faith, we will
become more compassionate toward others who are suffering, and we will learn to
not rely on ourselves or on other humans, but to put our trust solely in
Christ/God for all our needs. And, we should pray that God will comfort us in
our times of sorrow and distress, and that he will fill us with his peace
within our hearts, even when there is no physical peace all around us.
As well, we need to forgive our enemies for all that they do
against us – for all the insults, lies, betrayal, mocking, false accusations,
gossip, slander, persecutions, beatings, mistreatment, and threats against us, etc.
And, we need to love them with Christ’s love, do good to them, and pray for
them and for their salvation (or revival). We need to believe God to change
their hearts, just like he did with us. If God can save a man who was murdering
and persecuting Christians and turn him around to be the Lord’s messenger and
servant in giving us the word of God and in leading God’s people to follow
Jesus Christ with their lives, then he can change anyone’s heart. No one is
beyond God’s power to save. He can save all human hearts who humbly bow before
him, repent of their sins, and who turn to follow Jesus Christ with their
lives, all in the power and working of the Spirit of God within them.
So, keep on believing, keep on trusting in God/Christ, and
keep on praying. Do not give up. Keep on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
with all who will listen. God will heal and save!
Pray, Pray, Pray
/ An Original Work / September 6, 2012
Based off Various
Scriptures
Pray that eyes may enlightened be,
So they may know Christ.
Pray that they may Him better know,
Strengthened by His pow’r.
Pray that they may grasp
How wide and long
And high and deep
Is Christ’s love.
Pray that they may be filled
To the fullness of God’s love.
Pray with thanksgiving.
Pray for an open door for me,
So I may share Christ.
Pray when the gospel is proclaimed –
Shared with clarity.
Pray words are given me so
I declare the gospel fearlessly.
I pray for you to be active
Sharing your faith, too.
Pray continually.
We oft not know for what to pray,
So we ask for help.
The Spirit intercedes for us –
Words cannot express.
Just keep on praying for the saints
With all kinds of requests to God.
Pray they may have faith to
Please their God in ev’ry way.
Pray with joyfulness.
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