prayer | Revelations From The Road

Our Needs – Part 1

November 15, 2007 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 9, 2007
This morning, as I looked at all the prayer needs on my list and was asking God to meet every need, I asked Him what was the greatest need. I’ve got names listed for salvation, healing, and for various other needs. I wanted to know which ones God saw as greater than some of the others. Which ones were my perceived needs and which ones were needs God saw as important. His answer was this, “The greatest need is for you all to totally commit and submit to Me.”

I was then reminded of the verse: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7“. Peter was telling us to toss all our needs over to Jesus and He’d take care of them because He loves us. And, going back to what the Lord told me that morning, if we’ll not focus on those needs and totally commit and submit to Him, they’ll all be taken care of anyway! “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33“. So what is the greatest need in our lives? To focus entirely on Jesus and living a Christ-like life and we’ll find those needs just sort of fade away. Hey, we might even find ourselves walking on water! Matthew 14:29.

Faith AND Patience

October 16, 2007 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given October 16, 2007
Faith and patience. The Bible says we all have a measure of faith, Romans 12:3, and patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. We, however, think of patience as something we need to help us endure a trial or wait out some hard time. And maybe that’s true to a point. But I’ve gotten another view of faith and patience.

When we pray, we are to pray in faith, nothing wavering, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. James 1:6“. That means that no matter how things look or feel, after we’ve prayed, we don’t waver or doubt the Word of God for our situation. Sometimes our answer comes quickly and we rejoice but what about the times when we don’t readily see the answer. What about those times when we wait and wait but it seems God is silent. That’s where patience comes in!

Remember Daniel? He prayed for an explanation to a vision he’d had concerning the people and the answer didn’t come right away. He prayed and fasted for three weeks! He didn’t give up but exercised patience in the matter. Then, after three weeks, he heard from an angel, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, Daniel 10:12-14“.

Since the first day Daniel prayed, his prayer was heard and the angel was dispatched according to his words. But there was resistance in the heavenlies and Satan tried to mess things up. What if Daniel had quit? What if he’d said, “Ah, just forget it!”? His words would have canceled the answer. Daniel used patience and kept with it, fervently continuing in prayer until the answer came. He mixed his faith with patience and got his answer. We need to do the same.

Stumbling Block

August 20, 2007 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given August 15, 2007
First, I’d like to apologize to any who’ve noticed I’ve not posted in awhile. Adjusting to retirement has had me extremely busy but I hope to be back to regular posting now.

I pray each morning for the Ministering Angels, (Psalms 91:11, Matthew 4:11, Hebrews 1:14), to give me and my family direction around dangerous obstacles. Recently, I took a load of tree limbs to the dump and one small log fell out of my truck onto the road. Cars were slowing down and maneuvering around the obstacle so as not to hit it and possibly damaging their car. If someone had not noticed the log, they may have had trouble.

It made me think that that small log would be a big problem to someone on a bicycle but nothing to a large truck. The obstacles the devil drops in our path can affect us in different ways. The key is what we’re driving, so to speak. It’s the condition of our lives that make the difference. Luke 10:19 says we can “trample on serpents and scorpions” and “nothing shall by any means harm us“. If we’re prayed up and strong, a little log thrown in our path by the devil will be nothing to us; we can trample it!

I remember when I drove a school bus and, around Halloween, kids on my road would put logs and debris in the road as a roadblock for a prank. If I was driving my small car, I’d have to get out, remove the debris, and go on as the kids laughed from their hiding place in the bushes. But when I was driving the big bus, I’d just run right over it and go on to the disgust of the perpetrators.

When the devil puts something in my path to deter me from what God’s called me to do, I want to be in the big vehicle and run right over Satan’s plans. It drives him crazy!

"I’ve Already Done It"

August 1, 2007 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given August 1, 2007
During my prayer time this morning, God reminded me of something that is probably obvious but I needed to be reminded of it again. As I was going down my prayer list of needs, I asked God to bless the people and thus, the church financially. He said, “I already have.” I had to say, “Oh yeah, you have haven’t you.”

Then I looked back over my prayer list and realized that many of the other things on there He had already made provision for. The problem is we hadn’t received them yet. As far as financial blessing goes, God says, “Give and it shall be given unto you…Luke 6:38“. The key is for us to be cheerful and extravagant givers. If we do that, God’s plan, which is already in place, will work!

And, it’s the same with many other needs or requests we have; salvation for loved ones, healing, wisdom, etc.. God has already done His part and, if we want results, we have to do our part. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11“. That’s good news!

So, God reminded me today and I pass it on to you. He’s already done His part, let’s do ours and see His purposes fulfilled in the earth.

Optimist or Pessimist

July 6, 2007 by Bill 1 Comment

Given June 25, 2007
I heard a story on this day about a fisherman who took a skillet with him on a fishing trip. He was planning on catching some fish. He was optimistic. Probably, he had caught fish before and believed he would again.

The kingdom of God works that way as well. When we are praying or believing for something, how do we act; what do we say? If we really believe the Word of God as displayed in the Bible, we will behave and speak in a certain way; you might say we’ll be optimistic. Are you praying for a job…? thank God for it and begin doing, James 1:22, things related to your new job. Are you sick…? thank God for your healing and begin speaking those things that are not as though they were, Romans 4:17.

I won’t say too much about being pessimistic but, if you listen, you’ll hear Christian brothers and sisters, and even ourselves, talking this way often. Watch out and don’t do this. Believe what God says, act on it, speak it and see it come to pass, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:24“. Don’t pay any attention to the lies and temptations of the devil.

The daughter of a friend I worked with was praying for a new job. The next week at church, she gave a tithe on the salary of the new job. You know what happened, she got the job! Is that optimism, (faith), or what?