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Waiting on the Lord's Solution - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 21, 2023

There once was a woman whose husband died leaving behind many debts. She had the opportunity to speak to Prophet Elisha and here's what she said, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” (2 Kings 4:1).


The conversation continued as follows in 2 Kings 4:2 - Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”


Elisha proceeded to tell her to borrow jars from all of her neighbors, shut the door of her home with just her sons and herself inside, then pour the olive oil she has into each of the jars. She obeyed the Prophet then returned to him for further directions. He then told her, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” (2 Kings 4:7).


This woman must have had multiple sleepless nights and likely worried herself to bones. The consequences of her husband's debts were severe - her sons could become slaves, losing their freedom.


Nevertheless, the only solution to her problems had to come from the Lord. And as we can all see, the solution was miraculous. How did that "small jar of olive oil" fill all those borrowed containers? God had to move on her behalf to bring her the financial and physical freedom she and her boys needed.

And that's the point. We are all going through challenges that keep us up at night. We wonder what moves we can make to step outside of the 'bondage' these problems create. However, the only solution that will bring permanent freedom and remedy is the one we receive from the Lord. God's solution will not have us doing contemptible things or debasing ourselves. This is why we are told in Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.


This woman sought out a solution from the Lord and upon receiving His guidance, she followed through. She didn't sit and think of all the things that could go wrong, applying human logic to the things of the Lord. No, she did as instructed and even went back to the Man of God for further directions. And once received, she wasted no time in obeying.


The result was freedom for her family and likely some leftover profit with which she could reinvest into her olive oil selling business.


Hebrews 6:10 tells us, God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. In this story, the woman relied upon her husband's service to the Lord. He was Obadiah, the man who protected 100 of God's prophets from being killed by evil queen Jezebel.


In your case, if you participate in P&P - glorifying God and interceding for your fellow participants and others - you too have access to the very miracle that happened to the widow. Remind God of how you have served Him and ask Him for the key to unlock the shackles over your life. Whatever you need freedom from, you now have a prayer approach to obtain the blessings of God. Wait on the Lord to give you the solution. Don't run out trying one scheme or another without God's sanction. Those are bound to eventually fail. Let God lead and you follow, just as the widow with the olive oil did. This requires patience, submission and trust in the Lord. All virtues you are capable of putting into practice. Plus, if you ask Him to, He will help you do so.


So ask yourself, can you submit to the Lord to ask for His guidance on the issues you face? Can you be patient enough to receive instruction? Can you humble yourself to go back for more details, even if none of it makes logical sense? Can you trust God enough to obey or would you rather do things the way that make sense to you?


God bless you!



As you wait for fellowship, consider reading the following previous P&P messages:

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God's Simple Instructions - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) April 18, 2023

We've been so conditioned to think that everything involving God is complex and difficult. As such, when God gives us a straightforward and simple instruction, we struggle to obey.


A perfect example is James 5:13 - Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.


How much more direct can the word of God get? There is no trick here - when the people of God are in trouble, they should pray and when they are happy, they should give Him praise.

Sadly, so many of us - myself included - sit and wallow when faced with a difficulty, ignoring this instruction that prayer is the answer. How many of us have done this? Wasted valuable time and emotions grumbling and being sad for too long instead of taking the issue to God in prayer?


How many of us have been filled with joy, yet instead of praising the Lord, we have chosen to keep quiet and not express ourselves in rejoicing? This could be because something else comes up to distract us and in such cases, that is the tactic of the enemy to get a person to not obey the Lord. There could also be another reason for not rejoicing - deep down, we fear the source for our joy is a short-lived fluke. As God did not give us a spirit of fear, that concern/doubt/disbelief is another weapon of the enemy to blind a person from enjoying what God has done in their lives and honoring Him for it.


Nevertheless, God has called us all to praise Him and not bottle in our joy. We are to acknowledge Him, testify to His glory and believe His works, not think they'll flutter away like a mirage upon closer inspection.


The Lord will help us all to take His instructions and put them into effect in our lives. By His grace, His laws will be a pleasure to us and we shall realize that obedience brings even more of the good He has planned for us, IJMN, Amen.


See you at Noon EST for fellowship!

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What Pleases God & What He Wants - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 14, 2023

Have you ever taken a moment to wonder what you could do to please God? Have you ever sought to understand what He wants from you and for you? Considered the advice given by Apostle Paul to the Church at Ephesus:


Ephesians 5:10 - and find out what pleases the Lord.

Ephesians 5:17 - Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.


So many of us have read books to figure out the 'love language' of our partners, our children, our bosses and others. Yet, we haven't given sufficient thought to understanding what God's love language is. And we surely haven't taken the time to put such information to use on a regular basis. This is usually because we imagine it to be hard and close to impossible. And as a result, many of us are experiencing extended delays and an absence of miracles in our lives. This should not be as Believers.


We equally haven't considered what God's will is for us, choosing instead to be tossed about by the waves of life. This has caused a lot of dissatisfaction and discontent for countless numbers of people. These sentiments lead many to doubt, disbelieve and then disobey God, be it knowingly or unknowingly. Yet, we have a responsibility to pick up our Bibles, to pray, to search out the things of God so we get to know Him better. For when we are more familiar with Him, His desires and expectations, we start to make choices that align with Him instead of the devil. Also, He makes sure we hear His voice so we know what steps to take or avoid.


This lack of knowledge of the Lord is killing people before their time. It is crippling families and frankly, entire nations. Satan, the accuser, is taking advantage of this fact to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). All of us need to put Ephesians 5:10 & 17 into effect. None should feel exempt. Not even if we were born into Christian families or regularly attend church. God's caution in Proverbs 3:5-6 is for everyone - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. We are further warned in 1 Corinthians 10:12 - So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! And to accomplish this, we must take Ephesians 5:10 and 17 seriously and make it a priority to know what pleases God and understand what He wants.


Many people feel this is impossible but that's not true. With God, even a little goes a long way because He does not expect any human being to be perfect. This is why in our imperfections, we still experience His blessings and grace. Remember Cornelius? All he did was help the poor and pray regularly. This resulted in a visit from an angel and blessings for family, friends and himself.


God wants us to desire to know Him more. He promised to reward all who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Additionally, He has said that He will give good gifts to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:9). Thus, if we truly want to know more and have a richer relationship with Him, all we need to do is ask and watch Him show us how.


May we all turn our attention even more to the Lord, seeking to understand the things we can do each day to make Him smile and give Him what He wants. That we may learn and put that knowledge to practice, so we can hear Him say, "this is my child, in whom I am well pleased." IJMN, Amen.



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