If you go to a church or are with other believers in Jesus Christ, you often hear prayer requests.  We pray for everything from finances to healing, direction for decisions, the restoration of relationships, wisdom in solving problems, etc.  There is no end to the variety of requests.

We, as believers, are taught to pray for one another. (James 5:16)  Our prayers are a sign to Him that we love one another and trust that He hears us and is willing and able to answer.  

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15)

Okay, with this in mind, I asked the LORD this morning, “How can I partner with You in prayer?”

“Joshua 9,” He said. 

I opened my Bible and read through the chapter. Joshua 9 is about a group of men from Gibeon who heard about Israel’s victory in Jerricho and Ai.  They were afraid Israel would try to take over their land as well. They devised a plan to thwart Israel.  Rather than fighting against them, they set out to deceive them.

Dressed in old clothes, and worn-out sandals, carrying dry moldy bread, and damaged wineskins, they went to meet with Joshua.   They planned to convince Israel that they traveled a far distance to make a covenant with them.  “We will be your servants,” said the Gibeonites.

Joshua questioned them, but in the end, “the men of Israel sampled some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. 15 So Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore (to keep this promise) to them.” (Joshua 9:14-15)

When the Israelites recognized their error, it was too late.  They could not do anything to harm the Gibeonites because they made a covenant with them.  A covenant was a lifetime binding agreement to protect and provide what they needed.  Joshua was forced to care for them.  In verse 27, we read the end of the matter: “that day, Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, in the place which He would choose, even to this day.”

It was verse 14 Holy Spirit capitalized for me.  THEY DID NOT ASK COUNSEL OF THE LORD.

One of the cross-references for that verse is Isaiah 30:1-3.

“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; 2 Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt [instead of the shadow of the Almighty Psalm 91:1] Shall be your humiliation.

These verses clarified why God led me to Joshua 9 in response to my question. He was giving me His prayer request.

We, as believers in America, “a nation under God,” are in the middle of a whirlwind of deception.  It is coming at us from all sides, even within some churches, from friends and family. Knowing the truth is critical.  If we turn to any other source but Almighty God, we face the possibility of destruction.  Right now, this is true for believers in every nation on the earth.   

Next, Holy Spirit led me to another scenario in  2 Samuel 22.  It reports David’s experiences of going to God for counsel. Here are verses one through four, but read the entire chapter.

Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he said:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. 4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Later God tells David,

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15)

 And to Jeremiah He says,

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3)

In the New Testament, Jesus says,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”  (Matthew 7:7- 8 )

And James writes,

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

After reading I waited before the LORD.  I knew He was giving me His prayer request.  I felt the weight of it. This issue of going to Him first is of life or death importance. I also knew He wanted it to be shared.  But by then, I didn’t have time to get it on my PC.  So, I put my notes aside to address later.

Then I opened Facebook. I was shocked. There I found an entry of mine from July 28, 2015. 

“Romans 8: 6 in the Amplified Classic Bible says,  Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

How many of us LIVE in the carnal mind…pretty much all the time, not even considering asking God for His insight or help? We use our sense and reason and fail to include Holy Spirit in our decisions. This word from Marsha Burns today is a reminder of how to live IN Him.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS–7/28/15:

Quiet your soul and ask for My wisdom and direction before you do something you will regret. Take this time to draw near to Me and be close so that you can stay on course. Refuse to allow your emotions to take the lead, says the Lord. Otherwise, you could find yourself far from what is right and purposeful. Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!“

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Our God is unlike any other.  He sees the end from the beginning and connects the dots with more precision than the finest cutter of diamonds. 

He is our Shepherd who leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. (Psalm 23:4) And He told us, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.  I will guide you with My eye. (Psalm 32:8)

Let’s answer His request.  Let’s pray that we, our friends, family, church, and leaders of our city, state, and nation call upon the LORD FIRST.  Let’s approach Him in humility and faith, ready to hear and follow His instructions without compromise. 

God is sovereign over all, but He wants us to partner with Him and this is how we do it.  The answers we want, the peace and justice we seek, are available only as we go to Him. Turn off your media sources and go to Him. He is waiting to share with you one-on-one.

~~~

I thought the message was done until I went to church where God continued His word.  [the message begins at the 40-minute mark] This is an excellent teaching about seven schemes the enemy uses to pull us away from God’s will. It confirms everything He spoke to me earlier. Be aware that God repeats things He wants us to know. He continues in one way or another until we understand and follow Him. That is what He is doing today.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=search&v=503743495512197

Shalom ♥