When We Pray: Does Devastation Draw Us Nearer to the Cross?
The New Year has come in with heart-wrenching events! A world plagued with wars, terrorist acts, and environmental devastation! We usually bombard January with external goals that we hope will bring about internal gratification. We fill up the gyms; stock up on the newest fad of healthy fiddles; and pursue our career path with vigor. There is the burst of energy to accomplish what is met with daily urgency that often seems to fade before the quarter ends.
We are often asked to pray when devastation happens; as we should. However, how expansive are those prayers? How in depth do we go to see the needful thing? In the most unusual and uncanny way, we have made the Salvation Talk insensitive in the time of chaos! How is that possible? If someone loses everything on earth and has their breath- cry out to God and repent and be accepted into the Body as His own- Would that not be everything?
Earth is not any of our homes. We will either find Heaven or Hell as our Eternity Address when it is said and done. Feeding, clothing, sheltering, and aiding people in their time of loss will always be an admiral act, but may Believers never be guilty of not giving them the true needful thing! For after we have fed, clothed, sheltered, and aided them- have we made the Ultimate Introduction; which is to Christ?
My heart goes out to Believers all over the world who actually find themselves battling whether they will come off as insensitive to witness during times of devastation. 2 Timothy 2:4 says, “No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.” We do not know the heart of God if we see this as an insensitive statement! In the natural, there is no way a soldier would be able to truly perform his or her duty if their focus is on every trial and tribulation they left at home. God has endowed us with a power to witness the most devastating events and still be able to witness!
I believe it is a strategic plan from the Enemy to impact our focus and ability to compartmentalize, even devastation. Whenever God sends us to do a work, He has already factored in calamity. He knows perilous times are ahead and they will call for us to remain sober-minded and sensitive to His leading.
After devastation, We need to pray prayers that bring us closer to the Cross. Prayers that have us respond like Jesus. Petitions that suit us up in the whole armor to be able to withstand the fiery darts. Lord. Put us in remembrance of how much we owe you to be first responders for Heaven!
Divine Work & Pray:
Work:
Jot down in your journal what the series of events you are witnessing is doing to your heart; is it affecting your faith and prayer life?
Prayer for Believers on the Frontline during Devastation:
Brothers and Sisters, who are first responders, God has equipped you to do the work both in the natural and Spirit. With earnest prayers, we pray your strength to reach Souls in despair. We pray that you do not faint, but remain steadfast and on your assigned post. Your “Yes” to God comes with the arsenal to withstand. There is a great work before us. “The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few.” Remember your promise to God. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. Lord, with hearts sometimes heavy, may we never eclipse the need for You to be glorified in our lives! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
