Wednesday, 2 April 2014

POSITIONED TO SOAR VI: Focusing Your Appeal to God

Positioned to Soar VI: Focusing Your Appeal to God

Isaiah 40:31; Isaiah 38:2  


This message is about prayer as an appeal worth directing only to God.  Because you have a right of appeal no matter the badness of the situation, it is not the end of story.  The Bible promises that they that wait upon the Lord shall soar like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). To wait upon is to bind together, to expect from, to look to, to call on and to wait patiently for (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary).

The previous message on focusing your anchor was about your faith in God. This message on focusing your appeal is about your prayer to God.  Prayer is an expression of faith.  You pray to the one who holds and provides your anchor. Anchors whose chains, pulleys etc are badly serviced and applied fail to hold. Prayer services and activates your faith.

Lessons from court cases include that both the accuser and the accused have opportunity to give evidence. As a believer, you have an accuser and the evidence you give is the word of God that spells out your rights and privileges. Faced with hard times, do not just cry to God give reasons/evidence to support your case. A case can be lost on grounds of poor evidence. Another lesson is not to contradict your advocate/lawyer (your Baxter).  The Lord Jesus is your advocate interceding for you. In your evidence, do not contradict the grace he has provided in his death and resurrection.   As your advocate, Jesus interrogates the accusers and their witnesses on your behalf concerning your past sins and brings in the witness of his blood shed at Calvary.  Another lesson is that you respond to the judge not to the accuser. They always refer to ‘My Lady’ or ‘My Lord’. Another lesson is that your whole life is brought to testify – even your private SMSes going back for years. How you conduct our overall lives matters in our presentation of our case before God.  Something also interesting is that at the end of a trial the accused has the right to appeal to a higher authority if they are unhappy with the judgement in a court. To appeal is placing trust in the higher authority to be competent and fair to help. The person appeals to a higher authority when unable to undo a prevailing situation on his/her own.  To appeal is an acknowledgement of need for help.

Whom do you appeal to when unhappy with something/unfairly treated by people or circumstances? Is it your mother, your totem, legendary big aunt, ancestors, yourself or its God? Life does not always give opportunity to appeal if you are unhappy with the way things are. The good news is that if you are unhappy and contesting the verdict on your wellbeing or other life issues by your background, or some people, you can escalate the case to the most high court. Making appeals is a large part of what prayer is about. To appeal is to formally request for someone better able to intervene in your adverse situation. Prayer is making an appeal to God, the highest authority. 

In making an appeal, you provide reasons for the appeal and evidence that the court can use as a basis to review the previous ruling. As a believer, you also provide God with material of prayer and his word for him to use in your situation just as a person who makes an appeal provides evidence the higher authority uses to review their case. A friend told the story of a sculptor who carried a large stone. When asked what he was carrying the sculptor responded that he was carrying an eagle.  People could not understand him. Some even thought he had lost his mind. He however insisted that he was carrying an eagle. In due course, he took his chisel and began to work on the stone and before long; everyone could see the eagle take shape. They then understood what he meant. They could now see what he was seeing in the stone before it came to being. Your life is a stone in the hands of God. He sees an eagle in you and he is bringing it out. All he needs is the chisel of prayer from you and his word in you.  When you wait on God through praying and storing his word in your heart, you provide him with the material he needs to transform your stony rugged life into a soaring eagle.  With each prayer, the Sculptor applies the chisel on your life to bring out the eagle he alone was seeing so all can also see.

Remember the following:

1) You are not alone. God is with you (Hebrews 13:5). Therefore, make use of help that is available. Know what you want (Luke 18:41; Nehemiah 1). When you know what you want you will know when it is done.  What is the appeal? If you do not have a clarity, the judge will not take your case in. Then do something. The barest you can always do which, thank God, and no one can take from you, is to pray. Do not be silent. God knows what you need. God knows what you are passing through, and will not ignore your prayer (Jeremiah 33:3).

You have access to the highest port of appeal that is why you should just focus on exercising your privilege. Prayer is often the most underutilised resource at the disposal of believers. God knows what you need. God will not come late into your situation. He will come through. Make up your mind not to be discouraged.    Calling on God and trusting him can become something you do not have to work out. You do not need a checklist of steps to live out. It can become your first response that just happens because it is so entrenched in your way of life. 

>>Pray apostolically. Apostolic prayers establish believers in faith and fruitfulness. They lay a biblical/spiritual foundation, produced transformation, imparted strength, and sought clarity of purpose. They answer questions such as; would you reveal who you are, would you show me who I am, please evaluate how I am doing, let me see what you are doing and what do you want me to do. They are ‘show me’ and ‘make me’ kind of prayers. Paul’s prayers are a good example (Ephesians 1:15-20; Colossians 1:9-15). His prayers sought to establish believers in understanding God’s provisions and their identity in him. 

>>Pray prophetically. Prophetic prayers are spirit led and word rich.  The prayers are declarations of faith that involves pronouncing things that are a reality in the Spirit and God’s word as though they are. Pronouncing what God is saying or has said. The prayers speak spiritual realities into natural manifestation. Know when to stop asking and start receiving by faith. Know when to stop confessing sin and start confessing faith and hope. Know when to stop mourning and start rejoicing in praise. Let thanksgiving dominate (Philippians 4:6-8). Prophetic prayers focus on Jesus and his redemptive work. They say how much you thank him and love him. God’s heart is good ground. He sows seed of his word in our hearts that may be rocky, thorny and wayside (Mathew 13). We sow seed of prayer in his heart that is good soil and guarantees God fold result. 

>>Pray developmentally. Developmental prayers show a learning progression where you deliberately employ all kinds of prayer and deepen the quality of your prayer so that you are constantly getting better and growing in the area of prayer.   Seek to improve all the time. Developmental prayers are unceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Pray more and richer because you convinced your answer is only a prayer away.

2) Its not the end of story. Whatever your situation God alone has the final say. Understand that its not over until God says so, until the process is over. If  episode one ends with you down and under, wait for the next episode.  Through prayer you can reassess, review or reverse any verdict and label you got. He reassesses and overrides every other decision. You can cry to the Lord with your voice and he will hear you from his holy throne. Hannah appealed for a child and God granted her request (1 Samuel 1). Jabez was born in pain and disadvantaged but he appealed to God. He called on the Lord and his request to be blessed, for enlarged territory, for anointing and for protection was granted (1 Chronicles 4:10). Esther and Mordecai appealed to God and in a dramatic turn of events God’s people were spared from the gallows and extinction (Esther).

The daughters of Zelophahad were able to get their portion against the odds (Joshua 17:3-4).  According to Jewish culture, the inheritance went to the sons. But since their father did not have sons they had appealed to Moses and to God and were promised their father’s inheritance (Numbers 27:1-7). Therefore, they refused to be left out. Instead, they remembered the word of God and demanded to be counted in. They remembered that God kept his promise. He watched over his word to fulfil it. They went to Joshua, claimed their inheritance, and received their portion. Jesus has died for you to eliminate all the conditions that would disqualify you. God’s word is able to give you the inheritance. Rise up and make your claim.

3) You will be/are amazed.   In his time, God comes through and you will be amazed at  his speed, provision and power. He will reverse, restore or resurrect in your favor as necessary.  He will not be late.  When it seemed impossible and far fetched suddenly he comes, for he is a God of suddenlies.. You are marked for God’s suddenlies. The effective prayer of the righteous produces power (James 5:16-18). Prayer has to make things happen otherwise its empty religion. It transforms, anoints, and reveals something of God.  Cultivate the power of prayer by cultivating your relationship with God – learning to listen, obey and follow closely.  Practical righteousness gives power to prayer. Jesus prayed a short prayer to raise Lazarus from the dead. Elijah prayed a short prayer to bring down fire that consumed the sacrifice soaked in water.

When Hezekiah was on his deathbed sick as is written, ‘In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD , Set thine house in order : for thou shalt die , and not live.’ Instead of polishing up his will and preparing for his funeral he turned his face toward the wall , and prayed unto the LORD  and God reviewed the earlier word and added fifteen years to his life (Isaiah 38) . 

When Peter was in prison the saints gathered and appealed to God (Acts 12:1-16). Suddenly God visited Peter who was next on the death row and set him free from prison. When you appeal to God, he will shake your prison as well as your jailor.  Also Paul and Silas (Acts 16)

God will also hear your appeals. Prayer is giving up self-effort. Instead of relying on self-effort, you concentrate on relaying faith, praise and dominion to God.  Jesus appealed to God in the garden of Gesthemene and was raised from the dead. The disciples slept in the garden when Jesus was praying. They chose sleep over vigilance.  It is no wonder that within a few hours Peter betrayed his Lord and the rest of them deserted their Lord.  If you have you been sleeping in the garden. It is time to rise up. Let your voice of appeal be heard in heaven.  Rebuild the altars that are broken down.  Reignite altars that now only have ashes and no fire. .



Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
 South Africa 




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