The same is true in the life of faith.  We are on a journey, a great pilgrimage.  The pilgrimage is not great due to its destination.  The pilgrimage is not great because of the “adventures” that lie along the way.  The pilgrimage is great because of the Company we keep.  But many times along this pilgrimage we call life, the adventures or misadventures tend to cloud our vision and we fail to recognize the presence of God in our lives.

In Genesis 42:36, Jacob, like many of us,  failed to recognize the presence of God in his life.

And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me

Sometimes the misadventures of life overwhelm us and we cry as Jacob – “ALL these things are against me.”  In times like these, be swift to look for the presence of God, to discern His Spirit in the matter.  Such discernment only comes from practice.

Later in Jacobs life, when he blesses the sons of Joseph (as mentioned in Hebrews 11:21), he reflects

And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. – Genesis 48:14-16

Note, “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil.”  It was no longer “All these things are against me,” but rather he recognized the presence of God in his life and says “The Angel which redeemed me.”  Jacob could look back in reflection and see the presence of God.  With these reflections of the past, he had learned to recognize God’s presence in the present.  He was able to discern the presence of God in the matter of blessing his grandchildren.

When we fail to have faith in God, it is because we fail to see the presence of God. Therefore, we must be diligent in to view the presence of God in our lives.  Often times we must learn by reflecting on the past, seeing how God has worked in order to be sensitive to how He is working.  Then, take the time to practice the presence of God in the little things of life – finding that close parking spot when it’s pouring down rain, finding that special birthday gift that everyone seems to be sold out of, avoiding that accident that happened 5 minutes earlier because the lady in front of you at the grocery store took “forever” paying the cashier with her pennies – and praise Him when you see Him.

Reflect and praise Him for what He has done.  Look for His presence in the little things. Read His Word which tells us how He works and praise Him we see Him working accordingly.  Spend time talking with Him.  And as you begin to see His presence in the little things and to trust Him with the little things, the “big” things won’t seem so “big.”   You’ll find His presence in the “big” things as well. Your trust and faith in Him will grow and you will be able to trust Him with greater and greater things.

It’s true, the journey is only as great as the company you keep.  Do you recognize the greatness of the Company you keep?

Practice His presence.

Picture this: We’re moving. My wife packs a box – LARGE box.  Not heavy, but large; so large I cannot see over it and I cannot see around it.  There are steps.  How many? I do not know.  So my thoughtful wife decides to count them for me as I carried the box down the steps so that I would know how to step.

My wife: 1…2…3…[silence]

THOUGHT: “Oh, that must be the last step.”

CRASH!!!

REALITY: “There are 4 steps!”

QUESTION: “Can my wife count higher than 3?”  [this was also a thought, lest I suffer real pain]

I was walking by faith, not by sight.  I had placed faith in my wife because I could not see. Scripture tells us in several places that

The just shall live by faith – Rom. 1:17

and that

we walk by faith, not by sight – II Cor. 5:7

With these thoughts in mind, we realize that the life of faith requires discernment.  Like Jacob, we must be able to discern because we can’t always see the next step of life that lay before us or know how to handle the situation bearing down on us.  But how do we learn discernment?

Of whom [Jesus] we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. – Hebrews 5:11-14

According to these verses discernment comes from knowing the “oracles of God” – knowing God’s Word.  Those “babes” in Christ were “unskillfull in the word of righteousness.”  The mature individual, because he knew the Word and used the Word, had become skillful and their senses sharpened and they were able “to discern both good and evil.”

Many today have been lead astray because of  a lack of knowledge and lack of exercise in the Scriptures.  They trusted what man said about the Bible rather than what the Bible said about man.  They did not have the knowledge and they did not search the Scriptures to identify “Thus saith the Lord….”  Discernment requires a knowledge and use of the Word of God.

Discernment also relies on knowing the Spirit of God in a matter; being sensitive to His leading.  We must empty ourselves of self and allow the Spirit to fill us, so that He can lead us.

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.  – Isaiah 30:21

In life, decisions are not always black and white.  Jacob’s decision concerning the blessing of his grandchildren wasn’t a choice between “good and evil”, “right and wrong;” it was a decision based on the discerning the Spirit of God of what was best. 

Whether is matters of “right and wrong”, “good and evil”, or “good, better and best”, our knowledge and use of Scripture, and our reliance on the Spirit of God are the foundations for discernment.  Without them….

1…2…3…CRASH!!

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. – Hebrews 11:21

At first glance, one might ask, “Where’s the faith in that?”  “What am I supposed to learn from Jacob giving a blessing to his two grandchildren?”  To fully understand, one must understand the life of Jacob and read the full context of this blessing (Genesis 48).

Jacob was the younger of twin brothers.  God had stated before the boys were born,”the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).  Jacob was to be the recipient of the blessing and the birthright, not the older brother as dictated by tradition. Yet, Jacob was a deceiver, a supplanter (this is the literal meaning of his name).  He took advantage of his brothers hunger and his lack of spiritual concern to obtain the family birthright for a bowl of stew. As his father Isaac lay dying desiring as his last wish to bless his oldest boy, Jacob unwilling to wait and allow God to work deceived his blind father into believing his was the elder brother and receiving the blessing.  The birthright and the blessing were to be Jacobs, this was God’s plan but this was not God’s way; it was Jacob’s way.

One might think that here at the end of his life, Jacob is once again doing “life his way” – blessing the younger son of Joseph with the greater blessing as his father Isaac should have done for him.  Maybe Jacob is trying to make his own point .  Or maybe he’s trying to get back at life – “Hey, my life would not have been so hard if this would have happened in my life. Let me show you what should have been done.” But this was not the case. Jacob came to the end of his life having learned the hard way.

In the early years, Jacob believed in God, worshipped God, sacrificed to God and dedicated things to God.  But it was not until that infamous night that he wrestled with God that his life changed.  It was the night he dedicated himself to God and was no longer Jacob, the “supplanter”, but Israel, “a prince with God.”  The Jacob we know after that night is much different than the Jacob before that night.

Years have passed since that night and now when Jacob comes to bless his grandchildren, he comes with experience – good and bad.  He comes with the experience of having lived life his way and the experience having lived it God’s way.  He comes with the knowledge that living God’s way is far superior.  He knows the life of faith and experience has taught him discernment.  He recognized the presence of God in this situation and followed both the plan and the path that God had laid out. 

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.  And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.  And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh – Genesis 48:19-20

Jacob’s faith brought discernment to recognize the presence of God in this situation.  As a youth, he knew God’s plan but failed to follow God’s path.  After dedicating himself to the life of faith, he learned the discernment to not only know God’s plan but to follow His path.  As a youth, Jacob “rushed in where angels feared to tread” but in the end, his faith teaches us to learn discernment, to recognize the presence of God by following His plan and His path.

Article 1 in Series – A Prince With God

Article 1 – The Faith to Discern

Article 2 – Learning to Discern [Coming Soon]

Thank you again for your patience. Lord willing blogs will be published at regular intervals again.

Thanks for reading.

God had seemingly done the unthinkable, but Abraham had to trust God in the horror of the morning just as he had trusted Him in the hour of prayer the night before.  His faith was required to look beyond his field of vision into the face of the Holy God, the Righteous “Judge of all the earth.”

The soul of Abraham had asked the question,

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? – Genesis 18:25

Now, his faith was required to answer.

As Abraham looks down into the valley viewing the unthinkable, he has no idea that

it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, – Genesis 19:29

God never forgets!

God heard the words of Abraham’s prayer, but more importantly, He heard the prayer of Abraham’s heart.  His words said “Spare Sodom and Gomorrah.”  His heart pleaded “Spare my nephew, Lot, and his family.”  God did not answer the words of Abraham’s prayer; He answered the prayer of Abraham’s heart.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be utterred.  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. – Romans 8:26-27

“The Judge of all the earth” did what was righteous. The Almighty God, the Righteous Judge, knew the heart of Abraham and answered Abraham’s prayer more specifically than Abraham had asked or even dreamed.  The earnest prayer of Abraham’s soul was that his family be spared.  They were the “ten” he had asked God to spare.  And God answered, not by sparing the cities of the plains, but by actually sparing Abraham’s family.  He heard the prayer of Abraham’s heart, even when Abraham’s words failed to reflect his heart.

When burdens become heavy and the prayer of faith is all that we have, we often cannot find the words to express our heavy load, our deep sense of urgency and our utter helplessness.  Simply put, we don’t know how to pray.  We don’t know what to pray. All we know is that we need to pray.  Words may allude us and all we can manage is to whisper His name.  Our hearts melt; our eyes weeps; our lips quiver; and our tongues fail us.  In times like these take comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit of God intercedes on our behalf.  He knows “what we should pray for as we ought.” He knows the intricacies of our burden, the heaviness of our heart and the frailty of our beings.  He helps us and communicates to the Father for us.  God the Father, “he that searcheth the hearts,” knows our hearts, our burdens, and our frailties;  He knows the “mind of the Spirit” because the Spirit has interceded for us.  Even though words failed us, God heard our prayer.

The Righteous Judge shall do right.  The Almighty One will answer the prayer of faith in His time and in His way.  When it seems we have been forgotten, we must look through eyes of faith believing that one day we will see that

“it came to pass… that God remembered.”

[Article 7 of 7 in Series on Prayer]

Article 1 – An Anomaly of the Christian Life

Article 2 – Between Friend

Article 3 – The Hose of Prayer

Article 4 – Forged Prayer

Article 5 – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Article 6 – The Praying Hands

Article 7 – God Remembered

As young men, these brothers had struck a bargain that one brother would go to college to study art while the other worked to put him through school.  Then, the college graduate through his earnings from his art or manual labor would put the other brother through school.  With the flip of a coin, it was decided that Albert would be the miner and Albrecht the student.

When the four years were past, Albrecht’s work exceeded expectations.   His future as an artist was to be enormous.  He returned home to share the great news, eager to see his brother and afford him the same great opportunity and education.  But four years of mining had taken its toll.  With disfigured fingers from multiple breaks and hands so arthritic they could barley hold the glass to toast his brothers achievements, Albert uttered the words of disappointment, “No, it’s too late for me.”

We have all known disappointment.  Maybe you have even experienced disappointment in the answer to your prayers.

Imagine what Abraham must have gone through after having communed with God in Genesis 18 and knowing in his heart of hearts that he had reached the heart of God and interceded for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  He knew God was going to answer his prayer.  He expected it.

And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnanace. – Genesis 19:27-28

Can you imagine the disappointment?  Sometimes with careful expectations comes awful observations.  Abraham got up early that morning with great care and expectation that his prayer had been answered just as he had pleaded the night before.  But what the morning held in store was awful.  What he observed was far from what he had expected – smoke rose from the valley.  The cities had not been spared.

I imagine the heart of Abraham sank in disappointment.  I can imagine Abraham questioning, “What if I had prayed one more time?  What if I had asked Him to spare it for 5 righteous?  What if……?”

I wonder if, for a moment, Abraham started to become bitter at God.  “God, this isn’t what I wanted!  God, You didn’t answer my prayer!  God, how can You do this!  God, You said You would not destroy the righteous with the wicked! God……”

Have you ever questioned God?  Ever been disappointed?  Ever become bitter?

Abraham was right when he said,

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? – Genesis 18: 25

God was going to do what was right.  God did what was right (as we will see in the next blog).  He just didn’t do it the way Abraham thought He would.  Abraham had a choice when God did not answer his prayer the way he wanted – He could become bitter at God, or He could trust God. Even when it appears that God had done the unthinkable, we must remember that God will always do what is right!  Many times we must choose between trusting our frail understanding or having faith in God’s omnipotence and His holiness.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil – Proverbs 3:5-7

We ask,

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? – Genesis 18: 25

Certainly!!!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning – James 1:17

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. – Jeremiah 33:3

[Article 6 of 7 in Series on Prayer]

Article 1 – An Anomaly of the Christian Life

Article 2 – Between Friend

Article 3 – The Hose of Prayer

Article 4 – Forged Prayer

Article 5 – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Article 6 – The Praying Hands

Article 7 – God Remembered

Such were the words of the disciples in Luke 11:1.  Many today have the same desire, the same questions about how to pray.

As we continue our look at Genesis 18 and our study on prayer, this conversation Between Friends demonstrates to us various aspects of prayer.  Take note that in Abraham’s prayer, he was specific, persistent and expectant.

Abraham was specific in asking God to spare the cities for 50 righteous people; then 45; then 40; then 30; then 20; then 10.  Prayer is not some “code” that we speak.  We are not “windtalkers” with God.  Abraham’s prayer was plain and specific.  Have faith in God that He can and will answer your prayers specifically.

Abraham’s persistence is seen in that he did not stop praying until he felt he had adequately reached the heart of God.

Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. – Genesis 18:27

And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: – Genesis 18:30

And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: – Genesis 18:32

Note that Abraham’s persistence was such that he felt as if he were intruding on God.  He asked to speak one more time, to be a little more specific, to get assurance that God understood his request, to express the urgency of his request, to reach the heart of God.

When was the last time we were so persistent in our prayer life that we felt as if we were intruding upon God?  We asked forgiveness to speak with Him one more time, to share our burden once more, to verify that we had communed with God that we had reached the very heart of God.

Abraham “returned unto his place” confident that he had communed with God.  He expected God to answer his prayer.

And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked  – Genesis 19:27-28

As an archer draws his bow, directs his arrows and examines the target, so must we direct our prayers and follow them expectantly to see if we hit the mark.  We must look expectantly to our prayers waiting for the moment that we can give God the praise for the mighty work that he has done.

Specific, persistent, expectant prayer is an exercise of faith.  Any other “prayer” is an exercise of futility.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much – James 5:16

[Article 5 of 7 in Series on Prayer]

Article 1 – An Anomaly of the Christian Life

Article 2 – Between Friend

Article 3 – The Hose of Prayer

Article 4 – Forged Prayer

Article 5 – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Article 6 – The Praying Hands

Article 7 – God Remembered

Having been in education for a number of years, I have seen various attempts of students trying to forge their parents name.  Undoubtedly, the student had received a bad grade or poor report card and was afraid to show it to their parents, but it had to be signed and returned.  So, the paper comes back to the teacher, it has “mom’s” name on it, but “mom” didn’t sign it.  It was done in “mom’s name” but “mom” had never approved.

How many times have we closed our prayer “in Jesus name, Amen” and forged Jesus’ name on our prayer?

Scripture does say,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. – John 14:12-14

Unfortunately, we treat those words – “in Jesus name” – as if they were the secret ingredient to the recipe of prayer or the magic words that will grant us all that we desire.  But that is not what the verse teaches.

Using the same analogy of the pump house from “The Hose of Prayer,” when the hose of prayer is connected to the spigot of faith [a life of faith], the well of living water should gush forth.

Jesus Christ said…

I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  John 14:6

He is the only source of living water.  If Jesus is our source of life, the day by day “walking by faith and not by sight” life; if the flow of His life and His living water has replaced our life and the contaminated waters of self; then, our lives will be such that when we pray the springs of living water in our souls is so pure that the Father hears from heaven and says “That sounds just like my Son, Jesus.  That is exactly what He would have prayed.”  Yet I wonder how many times the Father says, “They said it was in Jesus name, but that doesn’t sound anything like what My Son Jesus would say.”

We live for ourselves, yet somehow believe that by adding the words “in Jesus’ name” to our prayers hides the impurities of our life and our prayers.  “In Jesus’ name” are not simply words, but a manner of living.  It is having a relationship with Him that is so close, we can speak candidly…

let this cup pass from me:

yet submitting humbly…

nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. – Matt. 26:39

You may have never forged a check, signed your parents name on a test paper or report card, or stolen someones identity.  But how many times have we carelessly forged our Saviors name to prayers that bear no resemblance to Him?

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: – Philippians 2:5

be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind – Rom. 12:2

True prayer is not to be a blank check, but rather, a check that bears His approval.

[Article 4 of 7 in Series on Prayer]

Article 1 – An Anomaly of the Christian Life

Article 2 – Between Friend

Article 3 – The Hose of Prayer

Article 4 – Forged Prayer

Article 5 – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Article 6 – The Praying Hands

Article 7 – God Remembered

Mysteriously, the water that had poured into our house the night before providing us with the means to do laundry, to cook, to bathe and to brush our teeth had vanished the next morning.  The means to carry out the necessities of life had been stolen.  The culprit was not drought, nor was it a bad pump.  The culprit was rust.  Rust had eaten a hole in pipe reaching from the pump down into the ground taping into the water table.

I’ll never forget how we survived the next couple of days.  Our neighbor had a well that was only 10-15 feet away from ours. It pumped water from the very same water table and his well didn’t have a hole in the pipe. The solution was so simple.  We ran a water hose from a water spigot running off of his well to a water spigot to our house.  His pump pumped the water from the ground through his water spigot through the water hose to our house providing us with the water we so desperately needed.

Prayer is much the same way.  We find ourselves in spiritual desperation and in physical distress, yet we still try to meet our needs through the well of self.  The pump is still running; there is still a lot of things “I” can do.  But the pump won’t prime – it will not accomplish anything.  The well of self has a hole in it caused by the rust of sin.  The only way to have our needs met is to go to our neighbor, our Friend, and draw from Him.  We must run the hose of prayer attaching it to the spigots of faith in order to tap into the rivers of life that would spring up into our souls.

When Abraham talked to the Lord in Genesis 18, he did so believing that the Lord would answer his request.  He understood that there was nothing he could do of his own might to save the cities, but he knew that the Lord would do that which was right.  He had faith not only that his prayer could move the heart of God, but that his prayer would move the heart of God.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering – James 1:6

Mysteriously, it seems we have lost the power to move the heart of God.  Could the answer be so simple? Our faith needs to draw from Him and not the well of self.  We need to stop believing that prayer can move the heart of God and start believing that the prayer of faith will move the heart of God.

[Article 3 of 7 in Series on Prayer]

Article 1 – An Anomaly of the Christian Life

Article 2 – Between Friend

Article 3 – The Hose of Prayer

Article 4 – Forged Prayer

Article 5 – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Article 6 – The Praying Hands

Article 7 – God Remembered

We find this story in Genesis 18.  The story continues and the Lord reveals to Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed because of their wickedness.  We remember the passage as Abraham intercedes for the cities because his nephew’s family had chosen to take residence their. No doubt Abraham’s heart sank with mixed emotions. Abraham spoke to his Friend about this matter – he prayed.

The Lord is our Friend, a Friend “that sticketh closer than a brother.”  As Abraham spoke to his Friend, so we today can speak to the very same Friend.  There are lessons to be learned from this conversation between friends.

Note, first, that Abraham went with them on the way.  He treated his Friend with honor, respect and love.   He went with Him a little further dreading the lose of his dear Friend’s company.  Spend time in prayer and show adoration to the One Who has loved you so.  Praise Him and thank Him.  Spend time with Him nurturing that love until your love for Him is so great that you dread to leave your time in prayer because you to cherish His company.

Next, God reveals to Abraham a secret.  It’s no coincidence that this secret is revealed only after Abraham’s obedience in chapter 17.  God longs to reveal Himself and His “secrets” to us.  Obedience to what He has already revealed is necessary for a closer walk.  Be certain nothing stands between you and your Savior.

For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous. – Prov. 3:32

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. – Psalm 25:14

Now note in verse 22, that “Abraham stood yet before the Lord. “  He stood as a soldier keeping guard (II Sam. 18:30).  He stood as the children of Israel  stood finally and officially before Holy God at Mt. Sinai as He made covenant with them (Deut. 4:11).  Abraham stood as a king stands in victory after battle (II Kings 10:4).  Abraham stood in prayer.

When was the last time we stood watch over our family, our church, and our country in prayer, knowing that we were the first and, maybe,  last line of defense for them?

When was the last time we stood before the throne of grace as if we were standing finally and officially before Holy God?

When was the last time we stood holding our ground in prayer until we won the victory?

Abraham went a little further; he heard a secret from the Lord; and he stood yet before Him.  We need to purpose to go with the Lord a little further, honoring Him, cherishing the time we spend with Him in prayer.  As we enter into prayer, practice obedience to His will, confessing and forsaking our sins,  so that we may be greater partakers of His “secrets”.  In prayer we need to stand before the Lord as a soldier standing watch over our families, our churches, and our country.  We must stand knowing that as we pray we are officially presenting ourselves to the Almighty Holy God.  We must stand  until we have won the victory.

With the National Day of Prayer only 2 days away, let us learn to cherish prayer and understand its importance in standing guard for our country.

[Article 2 of 7 in Series on Prayer]

Article 1 – An Anomaly of the Christian Life

Article 2 – Between Friend

Article 3 – The Hose of Prayer

Article 4 – Forged Prayer

Article 5 – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Article 6 – The Praying Hands

Article 7 – God Remembered