You may get a strong desire to call out to God for someone without knowing why.
If so, obey and pray.
Elizabeth Alves tells of just such an episode in her book Becoming a Prayer Warrior.
Decades ago, she got out of bed at night to get a glass of water when a picture of a cousin she hadn't seen in 10 years flashed across her mind.
Suddenly, she fell to her knees and cried out: "Don't let him move, God! Don't let Mike move! Stay still! Stay still!"
She had no idea why this feeling swept over her. She got up to go back to her bedroom and again fell to her knees, calling out:
"Get him up, Lord! Get him to run! Run, Mike, run! Lord, help him to run, run, run! Let him run, God! Run, run, run!"
After a few minutes, she calmed down and went back to bed.
The next morning, she called her aunt and told her about her prayer experience. Her aunt said her son was in Vietnam.
A month later, her aunt received a letter from her son, an American pilot, who said he had been shot down and landed in a tree. He tried to scramble away but fell into a bush, just as Vietcong soldiers began searching the area for him.
A Vietcong soldier stood unwittingly on his pant leg so he couldn't move. The soldiers were looking up into the tree.
They moved away to sweep nearby bushes and he got up to run but felt as if someone was pushing him back down. Then, he got up again as it seemed safe and, feeling an impulse to run, he dashed away and was recovered shortly afterwards by a U.S. military helicopter looking for him.
I have heard similar stories of God placing an urgent burden on people to pray when they don't know why.
Not all of us have had such a dramatic experience. But, God is speaking to us all the time. And he often drops someone's name into our minds. Elizabeth Alves' story is a reminder to me that I should pray immediately - even if nothing serious seems to be going on.
One of the reasons Elizabeth Alves was used by God in the Vietnam incident is that she had a close relationship with the Lord. She listened to him and acted on what she heard.
The prophet Daniel had a similar connection with God. Daniel began seeking God in prayer as a young Jewish exile in Babylon. He remained faithful to the Lord even in the darkest times.
Then, one day he was reading in the prophecy of Jeremiah that "the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years". He felt a great desire to pray and poured out his heart, confessing his sin and the sins of the Jews against God. He called out to God, admitting the Jews did not deserve it, but pleading for Jerusalem based on the Lord's merciful love.
In reply, God sent the angel Gabriel to give the Lord's reply - a further prophecy about the restoration of Jerusalem until the "Anointed One" would come. The reference to the Anointed One seems to be a prophecy of Jesus' coming and his sacrifice on the cross (Daniel 9).
I believe it is a privilege to receive a burden to pray from God. It is evidence that God wants us to work with him through prayer.
But, like Daniel, we must - I must - begin by building a close and continuing relationship with the Lord, listening and obeying.
If so, obey and pray.
Elizabeth Alves tells of just such an episode in her book Becoming a Prayer Warrior.
Decades ago, she got out of bed at night to get a glass of water when a picture of a cousin she hadn't seen in 10 years flashed across her mind.
Suddenly, she fell to her knees and cried out: "Don't let him move, God! Don't let Mike move! Stay still! Stay still!"
She had no idea why this feeling swept over her. She got up to go back to her bedroom and again fell to her knees, calling out:
"Get him up, Lord! Get him to run! Run, Mike, run! Lord, help him to run, run, run! Let him run, God! Run, run, run!"
After a few minutes, she calmed down and went back to bed.
The next morning, she called her aunt and told her about her prayer experience. Her aunt said her son was in Vietnam.
A month later, her aunt received a letter from her son, an American pilot, who said he had been shot down and landed in a tree. He tried to scramble away but fell into a bush, just as Vietcong soldiers began searching the area for him.
A Vietcong soldier stood unwittingly on his pant leg so he couldn't move. The soldiers were looking up into the tree.
They moved away to sweep nearby bushes and he got up to run but felt as if someone was pushing him back down. Then, he got up again as it seemed safe and, feeling an impulse to run, he dashed away and was recovered shortly afterwards by a U.S. military helicopter looking for him.
I have heard similar stories of God placing an urgent burden on people to pray when they don't know why.
Not all of us have had such a dramatic experience. But, God is speaking to us all the time. And he often drops someone's name into our minds. Elizabeth Alves' story is a reminder to me that I should pray immediately - even if nothing serious seems to be going on.
One of the reasons Elizabeth Alves was used by God in the Vietnam incident is that she had a close relationship with the Lord. She listened to him and acted on what she heard.
The prophet Daniel had a similar connection with God. Daniel began seeking God in prayer as a young Jewish exile in Babylon. He remained faithful to the Lord even in the darkest times.
Then, one day he was reading in the prophecy of Jeremiah that "the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years". He felt a great desire to pray and poured out his heart, confessing his sin and the sins of the Jews against God. He called out to God, admitting the Jews did not deserve it, but pleading for Jerusalem based on the Lord's merciful love.
In reply, God sent the angel Gabriel to give the Lord's reply - a further prophecy about the restoration of Jerusalem until the "Anointed One" would come. The reference to the Anointed One seems to be a prophecy of Jesus' coming and his sacrifice on the cross (Daniel 9).
I believe it is a privilege to receive a burden to pray from God. It is evidence that God wants us to work with him through prayer.
But, like Daniel, we must - I must - begin by building a close and continuing relationship with the Lord, listening and obeying.
No comments:
Post a Comment