A Time to Pray and a Time to Act By Paul Chappell Sunday, Jan 25, 2015 “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.” Joshua 7:10–12 Following their defeat at the battle of Ai (the only battle Israel ever lost in the conquest of Canaan), Joshua fell down before the Lord in prayer. Rather than responding to the fervent prayers of the defeated leader of His people, God told Joshua to stop praying and go deal with the problem of hidden sin among the people. It was not until Achan’s sin was discovered and dealt with that God’s power was restored and victory won. Prayer is a vitally important part of the Christian life, and most of us should spend more time praying than we do. But sometimes prayer can become a substitute for doing what we know we should do. This was true in the life of Balaam. When the leaders of Moab tried to get him to come and curse the Children of Israel, God clearly and directly told Balaam not to go. But Balaam wanted the rewards that were offered, and he continued to pray until he went anyway. God turned his curses into a blessing, but Balaam remained with the enemies of God, and was eventually killed among them as they fought against Israel. Our prayers are never a substitute for our obedience. It is good and right to pray, but we must yield our prayers to God’s will and purpose, and then follow what He has spoken. Today’s Growth Principle: When God has given clear direction, it is time for decisive action.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 13:06:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015