A Promise and a Prayer Initiated by God
Good Morning Friends,
Walking with God in faith is like embracing a wonderful dream. It begins with a first step. The goal is a vision of a possibility and sometimes we are encouraged by A Promise and a Prayer Initiated by God.
Scripture: We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 (ESV)
Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Genesis 12:1 (NRSV)
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3.20-3.21
Message: The most dramatic changes in our lives will come from God’s initiative, not our own. It comes when God sees our heart as trustworthy. It comes when God sees that we are willing to enter a relationship about dreaming dreams and acting on them. It requires obedience of ordinary people willing to take on a divine assignment bigger than they could have begun on their own. It takes trust for we will be tested on the journey. It is a matter of the heart and often a surprise of love and creativity. Through the ages God has taken the initiative in the everyday lives of people creating a plan to accomplish things through them that they never could have imagined. The people God used in Scripture were all ordinary people to whom He gave divine assignments that they never could have succeeded at without God having started it. The Lord often took them by surprise for they were not often seeking significant mandates from God. Even so, He saw their hearts, and He knew they were trustworthy to accomplish something important. So too the Lord may be initiating something new in you and me. Think about what God is calling you to do. When the Lord spoke to Abram… when He was beginning to build a nation dedicated to His purpose of bringing salvation that was something new. There was a call of faith. When God appeared to Moses with a purpose to deliver Israel out of slavery in Egypt that too was something new. It all required faith. When God found in David a man who could lead His people, God initiated his leadership for a purpose of a future salvation and creating the continuation of a nation linked in covenant with the promise to Abraham. When God surprised Mary by telling her she would be the mother of the Messiah God set in motion a new covenant that honored the old. Then as God’s Son selected the twelve disciples, all ordinary, uneducated men, Jesus set the model of how to take the good news of His salvation to the world… It was all for a purpose that glorified God’s plan from birth, life, death and resurrection. Friends, God’s love is proclaimed in the Word, proven at the Cross and now we can find it is perfected in believers in hope of a resurrection. Friends, those believers who abide in God will find God’s love being perfected in their lives in the creation of something new. It starts with this wonderful way God has chosen to communicate with us…prayer.
Pray we not let the busyness of life keep us from experiencing all that God has planned for us. Pray we know the right response to faith. Pray we build up a community of prayer. Pray we build each other up in love. Pray we request the power, love and capacity carry out the purpose we have been given. Pray we trust God when He tells us what His plans are and walk closely with Him. Pray God accomplish great things in our lives that we never even dreamed were possible. Pray God’s promise has a purpose acted out in the prayer of our lives strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, rooted in love and filled to overflowing with God’s fullness in God’s creative covenants. Pray we realize that revival has its start with prayer initiated by God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 