ESTHER’S WARRIORS MINISTRY
On this Veterans Day and every day we extend a heartfelt thank you to all veterans who serve or have served to keep us free. May God bless you and your loved ones and keep you safe. For those who live in our memories and hearts we offer a moment of silence in remembrance for all you sacrificed for our freedom in these United States of America. Please continue to pray for all affected by hurricane Sandy for safety, shelter, assistance and restoration.
Wherein Lies Your Security?
Well, the election is past and we can all move on in our lives over the next four years. Some are pleased and some are not. Although the outcome will surely have implications for each and every one of us we must remember Who we really serve. No matter who sits in the White House, God sits on the throne. I do not say that lightly. Read it over until it is so deep in your spirit that any angst you may have over the election outcome dissipates.
Whatever your political proclivity is the fact remains that we as a country are in trouble. Much concern over healthcare, the looming fiscal cliff, the lack of administration transparency over the Benghazi murders, joblessness, many homeless and the list goes on. Over this past week I have heard widespread rumbling among Christians who stood on 2 Chronicles 7:14 that God would heal our land. In their belief He did not respond to their prayer and some even said their faith has been shaken.
Are Your Doing Your Part?
Let us really look at this Scripture its fullness. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” If we are truly His people we must follow the pattern set before us to: humble ourselves, pray and seek Him and turn from wickedness in our life. Then He will hear us, forgive and heal our land.
I believe this all starts at the individual level in the individual heart (remember, it is always a heart issue). Therefore, take this day to check your heart. Are you broken before Him or do you walk in pride that your way is the best way or the only way? How are your prayer life and your
relationship with Him? Is there any wickedness in your heart toward yourself, others or even God? If you harbor resentment and division
wickedness remains.
Until we open the door to His grace and forgiveness and allow it to heal each of our hearts we cannot be victorious in His name on a corporate level. His pattern is clear in 2 Chronicles 7:14. If we do our part then He will do His. This is a season for the body of Christ to seek Him with a truly repentant heart, to allow His cleansing of all that is not of Him, by Him or for His glory on earth as it is in heaven. We have work to do in His name and it starts with each and every one of us at the deepest heart level.
Arise and Stand Therefore
In reading Jeremiah 46 about the prophesies against Egypt, verse 15 stood out to me. “Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not
stand.” I immediately thought of the need for each of us to daily put on the armor of God to be able to withstand and stand in these days. Read Ephesians 6:10-17 and refresh your memory of each critical piece of the armor. Only one thing represents an offensive weapon and that is the sword of the spirit-the Word of God.
Without God’s Word deep in our heart we are defenseless in the battles of life as individuals and as a Nation. If we call ourselves Christians and pray but do not know Him through His Word we are on shaky ground. The majority of Christians have never read the Bible in its entirety, few read daily, and most rely on a sermon to fill their Bible knowledge quota.
This is our sword, brothers and sisters. If we have chosen to never pick it up or to lay it down because we “don’t have time” or whatever other excuse we concoct we will not walk in victory personally or corporately. Remember, God said, “If My people…then I will…” The time is now; today is the day to pick up your sword, your Bible. Dust it off if need be and purpose to never again put it down. Ask for a Holy Spirit quickening in your spirit for the Word and its meaning in your life and destiny in Him. Read it as if your very life depends on it because it does.
God expects us to do our part. He is more than gracious to do His if we are fully committed to Him and His ways. We are personally responsible
for whatever we choose to do or not do in our walk. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Jesus, Revelation 22:12-13)
We are to stand on God’s Word, pray it over situations, believe it and receive the promises contained therein. God’s Word, however, is not a magic formula that requires Him to respond exactly as we would frame a given circumstance. We only see and know in part. He is sovereign and His ways are not our ways. It is in our humbling before Him that we make the space for Him to hear from heaven. We must trust Him in everything and in every way. We have His promise that all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) We need to stand on this and every other thing He has told us. In His sovereignty and in His time He performs His perfect will.
‘Pray the States’
This year we in Esther’s Warriors Ministry started ‘praying the states’ toward the 2012 Presidential election. We pray for each state in the order
of admission to the Union and will continue. Our Nation more than ever needs consistent, diligent prayer cover state by state. This week please cover Wyoming admitted to the Union July 10, 1890, in prayer. Pray for wisdom and discernment for the political leaders, pastors and church leaders, the people residing in Wyoming and for all in our Nation. Each state is important in forming our United States of America. We commit to pray for a different state each week so we not only provide prayer cover but also to make us aware that our country is bigger than the space we personally occupy in it. These are our United States. Let us pray that we will arise united ‘for such a time as this!’ Please repost and share.
“All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.” Noah Webster, “The Father of American Scholarship and Education”
A Prayer Request and Personal Blessing
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all
who serve our country on foreign soil, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our frontline on the battlefield, let us be their frontline in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May God richly bless the United States of America and keep her safe.
May God richly bless you. I pray that this week we will each commit or re-commit to pick up our Bible. As we purpose to move His Word from our head to our heart may we then walk each and every precept out in our life in His name. Pray for all in authority over us. May we may arise united in this auspicious season in our country’s history.