Asking God ?!" I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts: I will look to see what He will say to me, and how He will answer my complaint" ------Habakkuk 2:1
I wrote 4 questions on the back page of my Bible.
I sat in His presence.. after my intensive supplications and prayers, the gist of prayer was written in 4 questions. 1) Lord, Should I work or not? Is it YOUR WILL for me to continue to work? 2) Lord If you want me to work, where should I work? In Vijayawada? Or Eluru? In Maris Stella? Or St. Theresa's college? 3) Lord, If you want me not to work , can I sustain the same faith as of now? Assure me that I would not lose my faith in any unforeseen problems I may have to face in future.4) Lord , or otherwise, if you want me to work, Please provide me a HELP to carry on the work with my little children.
St.Paul said,"I will pray in Spirit and I will pray in my understanding."--1 Corinthians 14:13
Yes, I prayed both in understanding and the Spirit of God. HE guided me how to pray for what I have to pray.
Those were the four questions, which changed the pattern of my life till now. Remember those questions were asked in the year 1985. Basing on that prayer and the promise, God had given and guided.
I found a few important landmarks in my life-- When I asked God about my future programme, He told me (1). in 1985(about my job, and the call for the Ministry)2). In 1986(HELP) and (3). In 1991 again ( HELP),and 4). In 1994 House)and (5). in 1997 (Prayer House) basing upon the same promise given at that situation. ( You are going to read all those stories of miracles of God, in coming writings of mine for the glory of His name) The promises of God are abundant, and amazing, if we have the faith as of the size of a mustard seed, even the mountains can be moved out of our way. The Lord who takes time to talk to us, is faithful one. He is interested even in our trivial matters. He is God of this BIG universe with all its stars, milky ways, planets and oceans, and He is also God of small matters as of my life matters such as; ' Should I work or not, where to work, here or there', etc etc. Isn't it wonderful thing to live with Him? Yes, He takes time to answer us, if only we take time to talk to Him about our every need.
I had FOUR questions with regard to my life's crucial moment, and God answered me in wonderful way through the Numbers : chapter 32; He guided me and answered me for all those FOUR QUESTIONS, and also taught me how to gain more, by learning to claim the promises in that chapter. for the questions of my life in future too.
God's children often remind God of His promises, and claim the promise He made to them again and again. This I learned from the prayers of King David. His Psalms were my guidelines to pray. God was reminded again and again about the promises HE gave, His people remind Him of His promises and request Him to fulfill them again and again. It does not mean that He has forgotten His promises. It is we who forget His promises, so we should remind ourselves by praying again and again claiming the same promise some times; which look like that we are reminding Him about His own promise.
An analogy here explains this well. "A child was promised by her father that he would buy a chocolate, so the child would ask his father again and again, "Dad, you promised me a chocolate." It's not the father who forgot his promise, but the child ask her dad for the chocolate again and again. It shows, that the child is leaning on his dad for her need, not striving to achieve the chocolate by other means, like asking someone else, or stealing it, or earning it by herself, or begging others for it. The child's trust is in her dad, she is asking him alone for the chocolate, because she is a child and she has faith in her dad, not in other means and ways. In my childhood about 4 years of age, I asked my dad for one pen, he said, " Why only one pen? I will give you a load of Lorry pens. " that day I seated myself at the gate of our house on a the crook of a small gate and waited for a lorry which ever comes and goes in our street. I even refused to go inside to eat or drink, when my mom called me , I told her I was waiting for the Lorry, I posted myself on that crook of the small wicket gate, and I was waiting for that load of lorry pens. In the evening when my dad came I asked him about the pens very anxiously, he might had been very much surprised a lot , and of course I do not remember what he said, but afterwards I never had the dearth of pens in our home. He used to give me the best pens. In those days, having a pen was a luxury, that too Parker pen in my college days, he bought a wrist watch for me even when I was in 6th class(1960's) when he saw my fondness for it. If such was the love of earthly father, how much more the heavenly Father's love and concern of us !!
The only important thing in faith is, whether we leaned upon Him, upon His word remembering it, reminding it in our hearts and in prayer. Jesus told us " Have faith like little children, unless you change like a little child, unless you are as humble as a little child, you will not enter into the kingdom of God." -- Many of us, pray for our need, but often we keep faith in our own efforts, or in the recommendations of others, or in the money that we have in the bank or in the purse. It means we have already chalked out our own plan of solution, Plan A , Plan B--and as a habit we pray to Him as a parrot; but already there was a pre-planned solution, even before asking His plan. It's already sits there in mind to be administered. That is not FAITH. Faith means Trusting God that He would do it, not by human intervention. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."--Heb 11:1
Read the prayer of David, in 2 Sam 7:18-29-- ---"Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said,
1. You have spoken about the future of the house of your servant.
2. for the sake of your Word, and according to your will
3. and keep forever your promise, do as you promised v.25
4. You have revealed this ... You said you will build a house for you.v 27
5.You have promised these good things,v.28 6. For YOU Sovereign Lord, have spoken....v.29
It was God's Great Promise----The Lord's promise to establish "David's throne forever" suggested that Israel would never lack the leadership they needed. This promise was one of the series of Covenants between God and his people- with Abraham (Genesis 12) with Moses at Sinai (Exodus 20) and now with David. The New Testament sees this promise being fulfilled in Jesus, The Son of David, and King of kings forever and ever. (Luke 1:32--33) David was reminding God about His promises, he was begging God to fulfill those promises in his life.
My eyes are welled up with tears, to remember the faithfulness of God. Yes, when God says, YES, it is YES all ways,( for all God's promises are fulfilled in Christ with Resounding YES, and in Christ, and so through him the AMEN( which means Yes)is spoken by us to the glory of God.("2 Cor 1:20)
How many times you claim that promise, when and how you claim that promise depends upon your need, your prayer your relationship with God, It is up to you ! When we seek the assistance of Holy Spirit in our prayer, He will pray on our behalf, just according to His will and His word. We will know that we have prayed according to His will and that He would answer certainly. Also we will know how God would fulfill His promises again and again when we claim those promises as when and where life's problems need their solutions.
I set apart certain days for fasting and prayer. Fasting for me , means setting time and days to dwell my spirit only on that particular query to seek the answer from God. Whether I ate or not was not the question, but though its needed sometimes , but not to hover over mundane things, but to constrain myself from general things and keep that time in the presence of God. As He told me previously that His eye will be on us from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. "If you believe in prayer at all, expect God to hear you. If you do not expect, you will not have. God will not hear you unless you believe He will hear you; but if you believe He will, He will be as good as your faith"--Charles Spurgeon
