First of All, Pray: Blog
Bringing Biblical Truths to Daily Life
The rattlesnake
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field…Genesis 3:1a
A well-known fable is found in American lore. The Cherokees told of a little boy and ou acheter du kamagra online lesmarieesdenana.com a rattlesnake. In other American folktales, a little girl encounters the rattlesnake. The story even made its way into 1960s rock ‘n’ roll when Johnny Rivers wrote and sang “The Lady and the Snake”, with an encore 45 record of the same tune sung by Al Wilson.
Due to recent international events, I have decided to share this fable. When we place our trust in those who have a history of deception, treachery, and violence, the outcome is fairly predictable.
Here’s my version of the Cherokee tale:
One day as he was walking along a trail, a little boy came upon a very old rattlesnake.
“Little boy,” asked the snake, “would you please take me to the mountaintop so I can see the sunset for the last time before I leave this world?”
“No, Sir. You’d bite me if I picked you up and then I’d die,” replied the little boy.
The rattlesnake responded, “No. You have my word. I won’t bite you. Please, little boy. Take me to the top of the mountain!”
After considering the rattlesnake’s promise, the little boy reached down, grasped the snake, and holding it close, carried it to the mountaintop.
There they watched the lovely sunset together. Afterwards, the rattlesnake wanted to be carried home again. The boy carefully picked up the snake, held it close, and trudged down the mountain. He took the rattlesnake to his home, fed it and gave it a place to sleep.
The next day, the rattlesnake asked, “Please, boy, will you take me back to my own home now? Soon I will die, and I desire to be in my own home as I take my last breath.” Since the snake had kept its word to the boy all this time, he decided to do as the rattlesnake requested.
Carefully he picked up the snake, carried it close to his chest back through the forest to its home to die. And just as the boy laid the rattlesnake down, it turned and bit him in the chest. Devastated by betrayal, the little boy cried out, “Mr. Rattlesnake! Now I’m going to die! Why did you do that?”
Looking up at the little boy as it slithered away, the rattlesnake hissed with a grin, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”
Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. Proverbs 25:19, ESV
Crazy man! That’s a copperhead!
Although I was raised in the suburbs, my parents were determined to turn me into a country girl. Nearly every weekend our family drove two and a half hours to a place we had in the woods—a log cabin—on acres of rocky, creek-crossed Ozark land. No phones, no TV—just a place to get back to nature and prix cenforce allemagne leave civilization behind.
And when I was five, playing on the steps of the cabin without a care in the world, a jolt of terror shot through my frame. Slithering steadily toward me was a coppery-brown snake with the look of evil in its eyes. I was petrified.
“S-s-s-snake!” I whispered loudly through the screen door. Both Mom and Dad poked their heads out.
“Oh, look!” exclaimed my dad. “A pretty little corn snake!”
Yanking me off the steps, Mom blurted, “Crazy, man! That’s a copperhead!”
Word for word, that’s what they said. It’s etched in the gray matter of my mind forever.
Dad, ever the protector, did what any sane man unaccustomed to pit vipers would do. He picked up a large concrete block and heaved it down onto the unsuspecting creature. It writhed, but it didn’t die.
“Use a hoe!” my mom urged. She had been raised in the country; my dad had been raised in town. He didn’t know any better.
Soon the copperhead was copperhead-less. But to make sure that it really was a copperhead and not a harmless little corn snake like he first suspected, Dad proceeded to pry its mouth open with sticks. Sure enough, out came the telltale fangs.
I learned two lessons from this situation. First, the importance of accurate identification. Can you tell the difference between the poisonous and non-poisonous snakes in your life? Not many of us will ever need to distinguish between snakes (is that a sigh of relief I’m hearing?), but each one of us is called to discern between soul and spirit (see Hebrews 4:12) and between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).
To paraphrase Hebrews 5:14, my mom—by reason of being raised in the country around snakes—was trained to discern between venomous and on-off-studio.com acheter en ligne azithromycine zithromax non-venomous snakes. My dad was new to identifying snakes because he hadn’t lived around them, but he didn’t remain undiscerning. He studied field guides about mid-western snakes after that to “show himself approved” when it came to the subject. He never wanted to demonstrate his ignorance about snakes in front of his family ever again.
You, too, must study to show yourself approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the Word of truth (see 2 Timothy 2:15). It is interesting to note that the tool by which you will not only be able to distinguish between good and evil but also to discern between soul and spirit is a Book—the Word of God. I remember seeing my dad pour over snake books to prepare for any chance copperhead encounter in the future. For you, a believer, the stakes are even higher; you are called to discern between good and evil, soul and spirit every day—practically every minute of your life! The one true handbook adequate for the task is the Word of God.
Secondly, I saw that it was imperative to wield the proper weapon. If you are unaccustomed to using the Word of God in dealing with issues, you might try to take up the nearest concrete block you can find—the arm of the flesh—to destroy your foe. If this is the route you take, you may create a ripple on the enemy’s radar, but you won’t stop him—he’s likely to swing back and strike you with more vengeance than ever.
But good news! The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword (or garden hoe), and it’s sufficient to deal death blows to the strategies of darkness slithering toward your cabin door. Fill up on the field guide—God’s Word—and be prepared not only to identify your enemy when he approaches, but also to stop him dead in his tracks!
Dorothy
Antidote for all venom
Have you figured out yet that life is not perfect? Paul the apostle figured it out quickly in his ministry. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he listed some of the hardships and attacks he had endured in ministering to Jews, Gentiles, and the church.
Here’s the list:
- Hard labor
- Imprisonment
- Beaten times without number, often in danger of death
- Given thirty-nine lashes five times
- Beaten with rods three times
- One time stoned
- Shipwrecked three times
- Spent a day and a night in the ocean waters
- Constant journeys
- In danger from rivers
- In danger from robbers
- In danger from his countrymen
- In danger from the Gentiles
- In danger in the city
- In danger in the wilderness
- In danger on the sea
- In danger among false brethren
- Suffering in labor and hardship
- Experiencing many sleepless nights
- Experiencing hunger and thirst, often without food
- Experiencing cold and exposure
- The daily pressure of concern for all the churches.
- Being weakened by others’ weaknesses
- Intense concern over those led into sin
- Escaping capture in Damascus by being let down in a basket through a window in the wall (Compiled from 2 Corinthians 11:23-33.)
Missing from the list is the Acts 28 experience of getting bitten by a viper and the subsequent withholding of care and first aid by those who had recently welcomed him with kindness.
Life wasn’t fair for Paul; life is likely not going to be fair for you, either. You may get a snakebite. Others may misunderstand your motives. They may shun you or speak evil of you. They may even get others to think you are foolish, subversive, or off.
Perhaps your passion for Christ is scorned. Perhaps your desire to serve in the Body of Christ is misinterpreted. Perhaps the dream and vision you believe God planted in your heart years ago mocks you in its utter lack of fulfillment.
Maybe you sit in want while others prosper. Maybe you, in desperate need of divine intervention, see miracles come to pass for your friends. Maybe you keep thinking it’s gotta be my time soon, and day after day, you keep hoping—yet see absolutely nothing.
You, my friend, are dealing with a viper bite, and the enemy who hates you is seeking to spread his venom throughout your system.
Let’s look again at what Paul did when that viper struck him. He saw it dangling from the skin on his hand and flung it with all his might into the fire.
He did not deny that the snake was there. You don’t have to deny that the things hitting you are horrific. But Paul didn’t leave the viper on his hand—he forcefully jerked his hand toward the fire and with that momentum, the serpent catapulted into the flames. You, too, will have to be forceful with any viper attached to you. You will have to put your foot down and say NO MORE to the wiles of the enemy invading your space, and forcefully, by the Word of God, fling it—venom and all—into the fire of God.
What happened after Paul shook the snake into the fire? The Bible says he “suffered no harm” (Acts 28:5b). What should you do after you fling a striking serpent into the fire? Suffer no harm. Venom or not, you have the Bible right to suffer no harm! This is where you get to walk by faith and not by sight. I heard that Smith Wigglesworth said it this way: “I don’t ask Smith Wigglesworth how he feels; I tell Smith Wigglesworth how he feels.” And above all, you trust God who said, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper” (Isaiah 54:17a).
There is an antidote for all the venom the enemy can produce. And that Antidote was lifted high on the cross at Calvary. The blood that drained out of Jesus’ veins that day holds the cure for every human, throughout history and for all time.
In the last blog entry I asked, “What is worse—the poison of the viper or the venom of rejection?” Whatever difficulties you may be facing, whether fleshly, demonic, or the rejection of those who once held you dear, the worst attack is the one in which you forget that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (see Philippians 4:13).
Therefore, do what Paul did so long ago—shake that viper off. After that, refuse to be moved or boxed in by the faulty perceptions and judgments of others against you—and at the same time forgive heartily and hold no grudges. You can do it all by fixing your eyes on Jesus, the Antidote and the One who was lifted high for you. And then run; run with endurance the race He has set before you.
Never again allow the vipers of life to hold you back.
Dorothy
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. John 3:14-15
Swell up or die?
Can anything be worse than getting bit by a poisonous snake while you’re attempting to serve the Lord? Imagine—you, like Paul, have been saved from shipwreck, and others are rejoicing with you at the deliverance God has so wonderfully bestowed upon you. With relief and joy, you gather sticks to add to the fire so that you can share the warmth with everyone else. However, you unknowingly pick up a viper with the sticks you’ve gathered, and as you feed the fire, the serpent awakens and sinks its fangs into your hand.
Nothing could be worse than that, could it?
Something my pastor said in a message about this chain of events in the life of the apostle Paul (see Acts 28) struck a chord with me. He pointed out that as we serve the Lord, not only might we run into “vipers”, but we may also experience suspicion, disapproval, and rejection from others—even from those who once applauded our efforts. What is worse—the poison of a viper or the venom of rejection?
Not only had Paul just been bitten by a deadly viper, but the islanders who welcomed the group from the wreckage less than an hour or so before now eyed Paul with suspicion. “When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live’” (Acts 28:4).
Have you ever experienced a blow to your walk of faith, and when you seek for help you only find suspicion, mistrust, and cold shoulders from those who once sought your fellowship? What was more devastating? The blow to your faith or being shunned by your brethren? Unfortunately, at times believers can be fickle when it comes to one another; they can be wonderfully supportive one day, but the next—you’re blacklisted or invisible!
When someone stumbles, the Bible tells us exactly how to deal with it. “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, emphasis added). Short of a direct touch from God, nothing is more refreshing or healing than the loving restoration and open arms of a fellow Christian when you are devastated—especially when you have only yourself to blame.
However, this is not always the experience of fallen believers. Whether the fall from grace was via lust, anger, pride, or simply misinterpreting the leading of the Holy Ghost, so often the response is not gentle restoration. Unfortunately, where friendship once reigned, now suspicion, mistrust, and rejection rule, leaving the tarnished saint to feel isolated and invisible.
Paul, having experienced deliverance from death and welcoming kindness on the island, picked up a viper by mistake, and as he added his supply to the communal fire, it fastened itself to his hand. The welcoming kindness turned to suspicion. When a believer is bitten by a viper, all too often the response from those most equipped to help is not restoration but suspicious shunning.
In Paul’s case, the only interest anyone had in him at that point was similar to playing the odds in Vegas. “But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead” (Acts 28:6a). Instead of seeking his recovery, they were trying to see if he would drop dead immediately or swell up first. All too often, believers (unfortunately, myself included) have wagered their dismal predictions about a fellow Christian who made a wrong turn along the way. Restoration? Heck no! He’s off! And away the righteous saunter, oblivious to the fact that not only has a viper attached itself to their own flesh, but it has now coiled itself around their soul, as well.
Let me ask again. What could be worse than being struck by a viper while attempting to serve the Lord? What is worse—the poison of the viper or the venom of rejection?
May God grip our hearts with the capacity to see beyond the viper!
Dorothy
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:11b, KJV
Dealing with vipers
First, abandoning a ship as it slams against rocks; then getting bit by a deadly viper. You thought you had problems? This describes a single day in the life of Paul the apostle!
A few years ago my pastor taught a series from Acts 27 and 28—where this scenario is found—and preached from the circumstances surrounding Paul’s shipwreck. So much can be gleaned from what appears to be a series of haphazard events in the apostle’s life.
One thing in particular my pastor focused on was the viper that Paul picked up in the bundle of sticks he gathered for the fire. Here’s the context:
“When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm” (Acts 28:1-5, emphasis added).
As my pastor preached the message back then, I heard the Lord say to me, “This message is for your equipping.” Because of that, I took copious notes and spent several days praying over them. And as I prayed, that viper stood out to me, too, so I’m going to offer some thoughts that came to me about the whole viper situation. Here they are:
Paul had been walking around, picking up sticks to place on the fire. He was busy providing his supply. At some point, he picked up the snake by mistake.
I’ve had a little experience with the ways of reptiles in nature, so as I thought about this, I figured two things. First, it was probably dark out, making it difficult for Paul to discriminate between sticks and snakes; and second, it was cold. Reptiles are dormant in the cold; their metabolism slows down in the winter and they are sluggish on cooler days until the environment warms up sufficiently. The viper Paul picked up was likely in such a state of inertia, and therefore was unable to slither out of the stack of sticks—its muscles just wouldn’t cooperate in the cold.
This made me think about something. When we serve one another and provide our share of the supply, sometimes, unbeknownst to us, we pick up a dormant viper. We don’t choose to pick up the viper; we don’t know that somewhere within our supply a viper is hiding; but it’s there, nonetheless.
“How could a viper get mixed up in my supply?”you might wonder. It may have hitched a ride in habits you acquired way before you ever met Jesus. Perhaps it was hiding in thoughts that you never took captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Possibly the viper found its way into your supply via some thoughtless or hurtful remark directed toward you by others—possibly even by believers—and you never realized that, as a result, you picked up something venomous in your supply.
Snakes don’t move much when they’re in a dormant, resting state, and therefore often go unnoticed.
Because I know this about snakes, something else caught my eye. The Bible records that Paul was unaware of the viper he carried in his supply until he added his portion to the roaring fire—then out came the snake!
When you live an uninvolved, uninvested life, often the resulting unruffled season can give the semblance of “all is well”. But just step into the arena, seek to gather sticks for the fire so you can offer your supply, and then, more often than not, a viper gets stirred up due to the heat produced by your genuine service to God.
Vipers are primarily ground dwellers; they sleep among rocks and sticks, and even Paul, the man of God, accidentally picked one up. When God is using you or anyone else, be aware that if any venomous reptile is hiding within the supply, it will wake up when exposed to the heat. And here you are, stirring the fire by obeying God! That’s precisely when a viper will raise its scaly head—when the fire of God starts heating up through the obedience of His people.
A viper may strike out, either from your own or someone else’s supply, but don’t let that alarm you. The presence of a viper does not mean that the supply is deficient; it just means that somehow a viper slithered in undetected.
When a viper strikes in real life, the snake is usually killed and the one who is bit is cared for and given medical attention. However, sometimes among Christians, the victims of snake bite don’t fare nearly as well—sometimes we treat the victim as if he were the viper itself! Getting bit by a serpent does not make you a serpent! Have as much sense as a boy scout on the trail—kill the viper; care for the victim. Remember—the viper and the victim are two different entities!
When a venomous snake does strike, what is the proper procedure? Paul demonstrated the technique quite aptly. He shook the viper into the very fire that awakened it! Paul didn’t spend a minute berating himself for accidentally picking up the serpent; he did not lose his peace by wondering if other vipers were out there; no. He enjoyed the fire, received God’s healing from the venom, and went on with his life and ministry.
If you, like Paul, get bit by a viper as you provide your supply, shake that serpent into the fire of God’s power, grace, and covenant mercies. Let His fire consume the venomous pest that seeks to fasten to you as you share your supply, once and for all. And like Paul, you should not only shake that poisonous thing into the fire, but also refuse to berate yourself for bumbling into the viper into the first place. Above all, resist the fear of future vipers, and enjoy the fire of God and His wonderful healing, cleansing power. Know and expect that you will live a life full of obeying God and helping others with your supply.
You don’t have to be harmed by the venom of vipers unwittingly picked up in the course of life; when they strike, do as Paul did. Trust God and shake that thing, poison and all, into the fire!
May God bless you as you offer your supply!
Dorothy
No weapon that is formed against you will prosper…Isaiah 54:17a
Attitudes that accompany revival
My friend stopped by for a chat last night. We were talking about what’s going on in current events and the huge need in our nation for massive revival.
She then whipped out a section of Scripture (James 3:13-16) from the Message Bible that blew me away. We had been discussing the fact that prayer alone won’t bring an awakening, but that it must be accompanied by humbling ourselves and true repentance. What she shared was an illustration of how that might look. Here are the verses—buckle your seatbelts!
“Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.”
Verses 17-18 go on to say, “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results ONLY IF YOU DO THE HARD WORK OF GETTING ALONG WITH EACH OTHER, TREATING EACH OTHER WITH DIGNITY AND HONOR.”
Mercy, humility, integrity, and compassion must be built into our lifestyle and accompany our praying and bold stance in the Word in this strange age. As we relinquish arrogant pride and the need to be the smartest, the wisest, or the most important, God can back our words, our prayers, and our lives, flooding the earth with what may be the last great outpouring from Heaven.
Dorothy
Deep calls to deep
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.” Genesis 7:11
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.‘” John 7: 38
“Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts…” Psalm 42:7a KJV
A while back while praying with some other folks, I experienced the presence of God in an unusual way. Waves of worship in languages given by the Spirit of God filled the atmosphere, spilling out in joy, peace, and great awe. It felt as if I had entered a river, toes first, splashing and washing away the tiredness of my flesh. I saw swirling eddies and light dancing in the water with my mind’s eye, and realized that, try as we might, no human could really control a living river.
As I worshipped God, I reflected upon rivers I had known—fishing expeditions with my dad, float trips with my friends, rope swings over deeply-rooted banks, and the torrents of flood waters that often crash through the mighty rivers of my region. Rivers—life-giving, playful, refreshing, cleansing, powerful, dangerous, destructive—rivers.
I sang quietly to myself, “Oh, oh, the River of God! Wash it away, wash it away, wash it away in the River of God!” The river of God was washing me, and I allowed it to carry me into the deeper flows of the peace of God.
Then I caught a glimpse of how an outpouring of God might begin upon a people or a land. God said to Jeremiah, “…call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you…” (see Jeremiah 29:12-14).
When the heart cries of God’s people are toward Him, seeking Him with their whole beings for mercy, salvation, and restoration to be poured out upon themselves and their land, He listens and responds. During times of chaos, distress, crisis, and upheaval, men and women have cried out to God earnestly, beseeching Him for deliverance from their backslidings and sin, crying out for relief from the fruit of wickedness in the land. And as a result, revivals have nearly always erupted in those darker times.
By Noah’s time, although the earth was still young, wickedness had spiraled out of control and evil permeated the thoughts and intentions of the human race. The world was not merely corrupted by sin; it was saturated in it. Violence, greed, and all types of perversion ruled the day, and God had seen enough.
He directed Noah to build an ark for the preservation of the race and every animal species on the earth. According to 2 Peter 2:5, it is likely that Noah preached righteousness to anyone who happened by throughout the entire ark-construction project. The door to the ark was left open until the last minute; had anyone taken Noah’s message to heart, my guess is that they would have been welcomed aboard.
Genesis 7:11 gives the report of the fateful day when the flood began. “All the fountains of the great deep burst open” declares the Word, “and the floodgates of the sky were opened.”
In our day, as wickedness spirals out of control once again, and as evil thoughts seem to inundate the very atmosphere with perversion, violence, and greed, God is once again leaving the door of the ark open for a while longer.
And He is now stirring the depths of the hearts of His people—deep is calling unto deep—and He is pressing by His Spirit upon all of us—anyone who will—to “burst open” and allow the release of living waters from the innermost being.
As we cry out to Him and seek Him with all of our hearts, He will be found of us. The great depths within us, placed within our hearts from the moment we received Christ, will be met by the opened floodgates of Heaven, and another great Flood will occur.
In this Flood, souls will be saved, not lost; and as we cry out to Him, perhaps one last time the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.
It is our time; may each one of us yield to the Holy One pressing upon our hearts in this hour and cry out to Heaven, “Send the outpouring of your Spirit! We must have revival!”
Dorothy
Contention Vs. Revival
I read something in Winkie Pratney’s book, Revival, years ago that stayed with me and changed the entire way I look at differences between true believers. I would like to share it with you.
George Whitefield, one of the revivalists Pratney wrote about, was used mightily of God during a key outpouring in American history. He preached his first sermon when he was 21 and continued without faltering throughout the British Isles and the American colonies until his death in 1770 at the age of 56. His style was described as the “preaching that startled the nation” (page 90). He spoke with authority, and said of himself, “I have not come in my own name. No! I have come in the Name of the Lord of hosts and I must be heard!” (page 92.) And heard he was. He typically preached twelve messages per week, and often spoke up to forty to sixty hours each week. The joy in which he walked was evident to all; one colonial woman said of his influence upon her, “Mr. Whitefield was so cheerful it tempted me to become a Christian” (page 96).
This man, who was used so powerfully by God to blast the message of the gospel to his generation, dealt with some of the same catty, factious, divisive forces that persist within Christianity in our time. Although he was a friend and contemporary of John Wesley, they did not see eye to eye on points of doctrine. Whitefield held to Calvinism; Wesley viewed the Armenian belief system as correct. In fact, at that time, many in the Church were sharply divided between these two branches of thought, and along with the division came bitter contention, criticisms, and smug judgments. Pratney wrote, “[Whitefield] had a deep humility, and broad charity toward others, loving all others who loved Jesus in sincerity. If other Christians misrepresented him, he forgave them; if they refused to work with him, he still loved them” (page 96).
One believer, more interested in controversy than in the furtherance of the gospel, asked Whitefield if he “thought he would see John Wesley in heaven.”
Whitefield replied, “I fear not. He will be so near the throne and we at such a distance that we shall hardly get a sight of him” (page 96).
Something beyond anointed preaching and tireless endurance burned within Whitefield’s breast. The love of Christ that shunned partisan sniping permeated his life and ministry as well.
Are you willing to speak kindly of others despite differences in doctrine, emphases in teaching, or manner of worship? Are you willing to forgo a juicy snide remark concerning a “rival” believer or ministry? Are any of us willing to set aside sectarian prejudices for the sake of keeping our motives pure before God?
These are the questions each of us must ask ourselves before the Lord. I believe that our generation will never experience the unlimited outpouring of God if true Christians refuse to lay aside suspicious attitudes and strife one against the other. Can we afford to continue in “me against you” and “us against them” mentalities at the risk of blocking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this dark generation? Whitefield didn’t think so.
May God help us all!
Dorothy
[The quotes from Revival are used by permission. Winkie Pratney’s ministry can be accessed at www.winkiepratney.com ]
Revival
In our time, more and more believers are recognizing the urgent need for God to move in our nation to right wrongs, bring forth justice, and raise up leaders of deep, heart-felt convictions. Built into the very foundation of our republic has been the establishment of government for the express purpose of protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to follow their own consciences freely and to lead their lives as they see fit—including, if they so desire, the unapologetic and unhindered pursuit of God’s will for their lives. Therefore, as we pray for kings and all who are in authority, we need to recognize that multitudes of lives are connected to their decisions, keeping in mind that it is God’s will for all of them to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (see 1 Timothy 2:1-4).
But in a culture like ours, caught up in gross sin of all kinds, more than political change will be needed. Unfortunately, at this point in our history, reformation and “dialing things back” simply won’t cut it. What we need is sweeping revival. We need a nation-wide awakening to God to hit—hard. We need a genuine move of God—the real thing, not just stirring music, thrilling messages, awesome programs, or prominent name-recognition.
I read a book years ago with a message that was both ancient yet strikingly current. The book was Revival, by Winkie Pratney, published in 1983. The back cover asked:
- Are you disturbed by the apathy and despondency of people today?
- Do you wonder what the future holds for this immoral world?
It went on to say, “In an age where values are questioned, families are falling apart, and where quality is being replaced by quantity, there is an ever-growing need for a revival of the morals and beliefs of a more stable time.”
I agreed with it then; I agree even more now. These thoughts are more pertinent today than they were in 1983; without God’s intervention, our culture will continue to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Without divine interference, neither the best programs nor projects good men have to offer will be adequate to stave off the eventual collapse of our culture or return us to kinder, gentler days, saner days. We must have revival.
Pratney wrote about revivals, reformers, and revivalists spanning history from before the Great Reformation in the 1400’s up to the time of his writing. He wrote that “true revival is marked by powerful and often widespread outpourings of the Spirit.” He also pointed out that in past revivals “many times preaching had to cease because the hearers were prostrate or because the voice of the preacher was drowned by cries for mercy” (page 16).
Quoting In the Day of Thy Power by Arthur Wallis, Pratney shares concerning revival, “It is God revealing Himself to man in awesome holiness and irresistible power. It is such a manifest working of God that human personalities are overshadowed and human programs abandoned. It is man retiring into the background because God has taken the field” (page 17).
“Revival is periodic; evangelism is continuous,” Pratney quotes from an April 9, 1965 article in Christianity Today. “Revival will always vitalize God’s people…but revival is not always welcome. For many the price is too high. There is no cheap grace in revival. It entails repudiation of self-satisfied complacency. Revival turns careless living into vital concern…exchanges self-indulgence for self-denial. Yet, revival is not a miraculous visitation falling on an unprepared people like a bolt out of the blue. It comes when God’s people earnestly want revival and are willing to pay the price” (page 19).
It is interesting to note that the article in Christianity Today was written two years before a double-barreled blast of God’s intervention hit this nation. Both the Charismatic Renewal, starting among Catholic seekers and spreading into Protestant denominations, and the Jesus Movement, capturing disenchanted and disenfranchised young people for Christ by the tens of thousands and more, are said to have started in 1967, two years after the Christianity Today article was printed. Hunger for more than what they were currently experiencing in their churches and relationships with God was driving believers to seek God’s intervention in the mid 1960’s.
Pratney also warned, “Evil as well as righteousness can have a ‘revival’; there can be an unholy uprising as well as a holy outpouring” (page 21). Proverbs 28:28a declares, “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves” and Proverbs 29:2b says, “when the wicked rule, the people groan.” One strategy of the devil is to use intense widespread ridicule, derision, and scorn of godly values and faith in Christ to discourage believers from confidently persisting in prayer for a sweeping, mighty outpouring of His power and holiness. Satan accomplishes this through stirring wicked men, rulers, and ungodly popular thought to coerce believers to retreat in fear from voicing their convictions or confident profession of faith. Perhaps, they think, if we don’t ruffle any feathers and we just play nice, those who hate our values will simply forget we are here and leave us alone. However, such fear works to the enemy’s advantage; when good men are silent, evil increases and gains leverage. Like it or not, this describes our time.
That is why we need God’s intervention. As a friend of mine used to say, “The devil’s not playing whiffle ball.” We find ourselves facing the big leagues, now—ready or not. But we have a God who is ready to intervene in a big way for the asking. It’s time now to let go of distractions and any fear we may have for our own safety and reputations. It’s time seek the Lord on behalf of our nation. It’s time for a move of God.
May God help us to take our stand before Him without shrinking back.
Dorothy
[The quotes from Revival are used by permission. Winkie Pratney’s ministry can be accessed at www.winkiepratney.com]
Don’t box God in while praying for the nation
The last time July 4th was on a Saturday like it was this year was 2009. That day I had a very unusual experience in prayer.
You see, fifteen or twenty years ago, I started a personal tradition—every 4th of July I put aside some time to pray for America. Each year is different. Some years I pray about issues while other years I pray for various government leaders.
But on that July 4th in 2009, something a little different happened. I began like I usually do by praising God and seeking Him about how He wanted me to pray; I expected to pray for the president or about one of the many issues facing the country.
Instead, I couldn’t get the Scripture I had read earlier that morning out of my mind. It was Luke 2:41-51, about Jesus’ adventure in Jerusalem when He was twelve. Verse 43 haunted me. “…the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it.” I noticed a sense of panic gripping me—evidently I was relating on a very deep level to what Mary and Joseph must have felt when it dawned on them that their Son had been missing for an entire day.
I reread verses 44-46. “[They] went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him...” I was fixated upon the horror of discovering that your child was missing and not knowing whether he was alive or dead. Since I could not shake the sense of heaviness, I yielded to it as I began praying for the children and teens of the nation.
I found myself praying for every one of the nation’s children to be safe in their activities for the entire holiday weekend. I prayed against two main scenarios—little ones getting separated from their parents and teens losing their friends in a crowd. I also prayed in the name of Jesus against abduction attempts of all sorts—that they would be thwarted and for adults in charge of kids to be on high alert.
When I realized that I had prayed along this line for most of the morning, I honestly felt disappointed. I had wanted to pray for the nation, not kids, but I ran out of time and needed to leave for a barbeque. In my spirit, however, I sensed God correcting me: “You did pray for the nation.”
Monday evening, July 6th, I was in the kitchen making dinner as one of the local TV newscasts started. I could hear the teasers opening the broadcast from the set in the living room. “Tonight we will take you to a local church where an alert volunteer stopped a child abduction Sunday morning.” I dropped what I was doing and raced to the living room, waiting for the opening story. And this is what I learned:
A 10-year old girl was attending children’s church Sunday morning at the church I used to attend. A registered sex offender—a pedophile—had been skulking outside her classroom, unobserved. He caught her attention and motioned for her to step outside. When she walked into the hall to see what he wanted, he put his arm around her and started escorting her out of the building. However, just in time an alert volunteer noticed what was going on, and he abruptly demanded the man to stop. The girl was led to safety by another volunteer and the would-be abductor was arrested.
I sat in awe, taking it all in, and wept as I recalled my intense time of prayer two days earlier on the 4th, interceding against child abductions that holiday weekend. And I thought about how disappointed I had been with the prayer direction God had given me that morning—and how grateful I was that I had obeyed His prompting.
God’s desire is for every one of us to yield to His leading—however He prompts—resulting in prayers that hit the target. As more and more of us make ourselves available for Him to lead us as we pray, more and more bull’s eyes will be hit.
How can America be saved? First of all, PRAY—and that by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Dorothy