Ask and you will receive...Pray, Trust and Believe

Ask and you will receive…pray, trust and believe.

angie c tipton        

act now ministries

9.2.2011 

Having a difficult time sleeping tonight…fell asleep earlier for about twenty minutes, woke up and have been up since then.  It’s now seven past two am...and counting…

A lot of things have been going through my mind tonight.  A tragic accident happened less than twelve hours ago.  A senior from my son’s high school class was killed in a tragic car accident.  It’s a terrible thing for anyone to lose their life at such a young age…so difficult to understand. 

Situations like this cause me to think about priorities in life.  But it also makes me think, “What can I do in a situation like this?”

I found out about this accident while surfing the status updates on facebook.  Obviously, facebook is a social media where we post the things that are going on in our lives.  Most days I can find a wide variety of things happening with my friends…everything from humor to venting; political items to prayer requests.   But some days, like today, the needs of people seem to be overwhelming.  As I cruise through the status updates daily and sometimes several times a day, I often DO find the needs of my friends overwhelming.  Now, I don’t say this in a negative way.  I say this in an “I want to help, what can I do?” kind of way.  I see friends with health, financial, family issues, etc…whatever the issues may be, I think, “is there really anything I can do to help?”  Well, yes…I pray.  Some days I think to myself, “I don’t have time or I don’t know how to pray for these people…there are so many who have needs…it’s all so overwhelming!” And, the number of my facebook friends is only in the triple digits!  I could easily allow these many needs to bog me down.   I could turn away from them and do nothing or even decide that there is nothing that can be done.   I guess  I’m beating around the bush trying to get to a point.  That point is that our God…the Great I AM, the all knowing God, Creator of the universe knows everything that is needed to know about any and all of my friends, let alone every human who has ever been.  Now THAT is overwhelming!!  It is so easy to turn these requests over to Him.  Seriously!!  He already knows what we all have need of…all we have to do is ask for His help.  His word says, “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7 ~ (This scripture is perfect.  It is complete…in which the 7’s may or may not be alluding to ~ meaning perfection and/or completion…merely a suggestion! J)  It is so simple to ask through prayer?  We need only to ask?  Is it really that simple?  God wants us to communicate with Him.  He wants us to ask Him for what we need.  It’s a choice…to communicate or not to communicate?

Now, God is sovereign.  His ways are perfect…and, His timing is perfect.  For us to comprehend this can be a challenge.  Maybe you’ve been asking for something for years without an answer…I can’t explain that.  All I know is that He hears everything we utter and that we should not give up because our prayers are not answered in our time frame.  He is in control of everything and not in an “evil bwahhaahhaa, the world is mine” way.  He see’s everything from a different perspective than we do.  He see’s everything in a way that allows the population of the entire world to work together like a “well oiled machine”, so to speak.  He see’s the “big picture”…a picture that we cannot even begin to glimpse, let alone comprehend with our imperfect, human minds.  If we allow Him to, He will work ALL things out for the good. 

Pray, trust and believe.  That’s what he asks of us.  I, too, have prayers that have not come to fruition for decades…yes, decades!  But, at the same time, in waiting for some prayers to come to pass, I have learned that the more outrageous prayers I pray for, the more outrageous He answers them.  Yes, it’s true!  Some prayers He has answered have totally blown me away the way He has answered them. One time, many years ago, a friend called in the middle of the night in desperate need of help.  This person hung up the phone, leaving me in deep concern. I knew the name of the city, but was not familiar with it. (This was before caller id.)  I DIDN’T have an address as this person was at someone else’s home.  I did not have a clue, but, I didn’t let that stop me.  I prayed, trusted and believed.  I can tell you this; God led me directly to this person…to their surprise!!

God will not and cannot be contained in a box.  His word says that the heavens cannot contain Him, yet He lives in us!!  How outrageous is that?!  Without wanting to or at times even realizing it, in my humanness, I’m sure that I have placed the God of this universe in a box, but ever-expanding is this “box”!  And, oh how understanding, loving and kind He is even in my imperfect humanness!  Pray, trust and believe!!  Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock; and it will be opened. 

Now, I don’t try to explain any of life’s difficult happenings.  I am far too small and insignificant in the whole scheme of things to pretend wisdom in this.  But, I, too, at a young age, experienced the loss of a close friend.  The word, “WHY” that I cried out in pain at that time is still travelling through space and time.  The further it is carried from me, the fainter it sounds, allowing God’s wisdom, sovereignty, love and peace rise to a greater volume in my life.  Does it mean that I understand that situation any better?  I’m not sure I can answer that with a “yes”.  But, this I do know.  I serve a God who loves me unconditionally and always…and He is sovereign.  He is a God of justice.  He knows what is best for me and He knows what is best for you…ALWAYS!!

Ask and you will receive…pray, trust and believe.          

The Vulture...The Enemy

The Vulture…The Enemy                                                     

by:: angie c tipton

act now ministries

6.25.10

    

Have you ever stepped out in faith to do something that the Lord has asked you do to, only to find great resistance?  Why all the resistance?  Could it be that the timing is wrong, nothing is going like you thought it would for various reasons, or maybe people discouraged or even tried to stop you.

Well, as I was reading Genesis 15 one day, I was especially drawn to verses 7-11.  Here, the LORD is telling Abram that He has given him the land as his possession.  Abram questions how he can be sure that he will possess the land.  Then, the LORD instructs him to bring animals for a sacrifice.  Abram obeys.  After Abram prepared the animals, verse 11 says, “Some vultures swooped down to the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.”  I find that verse interesting.

I believe what Abram experienced with the vultures, parallels the resistance that we experience when we step out in faith to accomplish more of what the Lord has for us in our lives.    

Webster’s definition of a vulture is; 1. a large bird that lives chiefly on carrion, or, the decaying flesh of dead animals.  2.  a greedy, ruthless person.

According to information from studies on vultures, the type of vulture in this story could be classified as an “old world vulture”.  This is a type of vulture that finds dead carcasses strictly by sight.  They would seldom attack healthy animals, but, would occasionally kill wounded or sick animals.   

Now, the way I see it in Abram’s case, the vulture is just “doin’ what vultures do best”… taking care of the dead carcasses.  That’s how they stay alive.  It’s their job or “calling” in life.  But, I believe the Lord is using this to show us just how brazen the enemy is in attacking us when we step up and do what God has called us to do. Also, and more importantly, Abram’s response to the vultures is an example of how we need to step up the spiritual warfare and chase away the enemy.

Abram faithfully gathered the animals, prepared them for the sacrifice and then, the “enemy” attacked.  At that point Abram didn’t just sit back and say, “Well, maybe this isn’t the right time for me to make a sacrifice” or “This sacrifice thing is just not going the way that I thought it would” or “These vultures are trying to stop me from doing what God has called me to do”.  No!  He took action!

Just as a vulture is able to find carcasses by sight only, I believe that is one way the enemy works against us.  When he sees us taking a step forward, he sees a possible “meal”, so to speak.  Then, he begins to encircle us.  The bible says,   “Be self controlled, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”  1 Peter 5:8 If the enemy can discourage us enough, causing us to “weaken or be sickly”, I believe he then swoops in for the kill…doing everything he can to kill our God given dreams, desires or even us.  That is, if we allow him to do so! 

The second definition of a vulture is related to people.  Many times people do act as “vultures” when it comes to their response to our dreams and desires...ultimately, God’s plan for our life.  Remember, your dreams or desires are between you and God.  “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalms 37:4   “ In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9  No one else can tell you what God’s plan is for your life.  Others can give advice or guidance, but, don’t expect everyone to support the dreams and desires that you see for yourself.  So, get with God, go for it and keep in mind; “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12   We’re not wrestling against people, even though it may feel that way at times.   Also remember that, “…if God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 

So, the vulture…the enemy, can really cause a lot of problems for us if we allow him to do so.  When we step out in faith and do something that the Lord is leading us to do, we shouldn’t be surprised when we experience resistance.   By the resistance, we should realize that we are most likely moving in the right direction, but it may take time…and maybe more time than what we might think.  The enemy just doesn’t like it and he’ll do anything to keep us from moving forward in Jesus.

Remember Abram’s quick action to chase away the vultures and parallel that action in your own life concerning spiritual warfare. Find scriptures that line up with what you are fighting against and speak the Word out loud. Don’t forget the words of Jesus; “The thief does not come, except to steal, kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10

 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Don’t allow the enemy to get the best of you!  Grow in the Lord and enjoy your life!