This morning as Chuck and I were praying, I felt the Lord taking me to the oil crisis in the Gulf. I hadn’t planned on praying for that situation this morning, but it was evidently on God’s mind.
Now, before I say anymore, I will tell you that we can pray with our minds or as I tell my children - we can pray from our hearts. There is a difference. Many times, I pray from my mind. Sadly, when I don’t take the time to allow the Holy Spirit to pray through me, the consequence is ---- I may have missed the mark with my prayers. Because the Holy Spirit knows the mind of Christ (John 16:13), He can order my prayers if I’ll surrender to Him.
As I alluded to earlier, when I give myself completely to the Lord in my prayer time; not being so quick to rush in with my words and waiting/listening to the Holy Spirit, then I begin to pray in unexpected ways. The anointing (presence of God) is on every word and with that comes an inner excitement and strength which gives way to faith rising within me. I know that I’m touching God’s heart and He’s touching mine along with every concern I’ve brought before Him. Generally, when this happens, the Holy Spirit will faithfully bring to remembrance the Word of God that I have placed upon my heart day after day. Finally, when we pray what Holy Spirit has brought to our mind, the power of God is then released into the earth.
Prayer is an awesome thing. It’s a privilege to be able to commune with the God who created the heavens and the earth.
So, with that said, let’s go back to the oil crisis. As I began to pray this morning, I felt like the Lord wanted me to know that He really cares about this matter more than we think He does. Unfortunately, many would say God caused it. I don’t believe that, but I do believe God can use it to bring people to Himself.
God created this earth (Genesis 1:1). It’s the work of His hands. Yes, and He created it for us to enjoy and to rule over by taking care of it. He doesn’t want us to be wasteful or careless with what He’s given us. So, when the earth is affected by something we’ve done as a people - I believe it grieves Him more than it grieves us. It’s just like a parent who gives his child a special gift and if that child doesn’t value the gift, it hurts the parent deeply.
God is very aware of the present situation. I know the Lord cares about this more than anyone; whether it’s BP, our government, or the people who earn a living from the water, etc.
Earlier this year, in my quiet time with the Lord, I was reading in Exodus and a particular scripture stirred my heart and I’ve not been able to let it go. I pray it every time Holy Spirit brings it to my mind. And this is it… “Then the Lord said: I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you” Exodus 34:10. I initially thought the Lord was speaking directly to me and my family with decisions we are making for our future, but I’ve since begun to believe that it’s really much bigger than me.
I believe all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and that the Lord God wrote this Word through men for it NOT to be forgotten, but to be remembered by all generations. This Word is powerful and effective and this morning, I began to stand on God’s powerful Word that people all over the world would see - SEE WITH THEIR EYES how awesome is the work that GOD will do for our Nation.
God wants to turn the hearts of every man and woman, boy and girl to Himself. He will do it in ways we don’t always understand. As I said earlier, man doesn’t always take care of the earth the way we should. We make mistakes, but God knows how to correct our failures and He desires to do just that.
God can stop the oil from spilling!!!! But, whether He does or does not, I believe it’s an opportunity for his purposes to come to pass in the earth. Even bad situations can lead to something good. I know this from experience and from reading the Word.
All God has to do is put His finger in that hole and plug that well!!! With man ----as we’ve been seeing for the last two months, it seems impossible to fix this tragedy, but Jesus himself said “…. with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26.
Can you imagine what people all around the world would say if the oil just “STOPPED” coming out of that well. And… we would all see it for ourselves because we’ve all witnessed the same picture for weeks of the oil gushing from the well. It would be such a miracle that no-one could deny. Well, I'm sure some would. We wouldn’t be taking anyone’s word for it - we would see it for ourselves.
This is a crisis with man, but not a crisis with our God. Let’s stand on God’s Word today and believe.....
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14
"For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land" Psalm 95:3-5
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