Encouragement Ink

View Original

PRAY AND DO SOMETHING!

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

PRAY AND DO SOMETHING! Fon


Guess who’s got a ton of energy today? Meeeeee! Y’all know yesterday I was struggling a bit until I asked Holy Spirit to HELP ME OUT and he did just that!

This morning, I didn’t struggle at all. I got up at 3 a.m. to pray and then back up at 5 a.m. to pray. I worshiped and heard from the Lord. Here is what he said to me this morning:

  • Every time you push out of bed, I push down more blessings from heaven!

  • There are some things on the top shelf, and all you have to do is lift your hands and pull them down. They’re already yours!!

  • I am about to put a light on you and I want you to shine bright as you represent Me.

  • Speak the words I speak.

  • You have shown me that I can trust you (this was after I had thanked for Lord for trusting me to speak His words), because you continue to trust Me.

  • It’s happening as you want. Just keep doing your work.

  • Keep being faithful.

  • Don’t be swayed by distractions.

I love when my pen is just moving with lightening speed as the Holy Spirit speaks to me. I continued to worship God by speaking in my heavenly language because I praise the Lord for our daily conversations. This relationship is like none other. I love our time together. It’s so lovely and so beautiful.

I decided to read Nehemiah chapter 4 for our Scriptural Bible Study from my desk. and the verse that Holy Spirit highlighted to me was verse 9:

So we prayed to our God AND stationed a guard because of them day and night. Nehemiah 4:9 CSB

So the Jews were in the process of rebuilding the wall and there were some haters on the scene. They were plotting to fight all the people who were working on the wall. Now isn’t that something? They out here trying to rebuild and here comes the Sanballat hating on them. Why? He knew that the prospering of the Jews with the rebuild would threaten his own status. But verse 9 lets us know that Nehemiah and ‘nem were ready! When I read the verse and the study notes, this three letter word really stood out to me. AND. Yeah the word AND could have been bold face or all caps because it says: so we prayed AND stationed a guard.

Dr. Evans broke this down so good. He said the way you know whether you prayed in faith is by what you do AFTER taking a matter to God. You can’t be all like, I am praying that God gives me a job and you don’t apply anywhere. You can’t be like, I’m praying that God blesses me with a husband or wife and you haven’t done any preparation for the role. Dr. Evans says when you pray, you are trusting God so much that you feel confident that you CAN do something!! Prayer is the preamble to action.

Yall remember I was talking about doing something in crazy faith? Yall here me all the time saying Fon Strong New Last Name. Why? Because I have prayed for my husband. I have done things to prepare to be a wife. The same could go for anything that you are praying to God for. The question is though: What are YOU doing in faith AFTER you pray?

As we read further in Nehemiah 4, he was also telling them in verse 14 to not be afraid and to remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord. Do you allow fear to paralyze you or are you remembering WHO your Father in heaven is and what He has already done? I hope your memory is in tact. If not, write down what He has already done for you and read it every day. That will help you remember.

In verse 20, the words: “OUR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR US!” stood out, but the next words were just as highlighted: “So we continued the work.” They were not about to let the opposition win. They knew who they served and they were totally dependent on God. And guess what else, they also had weapons. These were weapons given to them by God. So they used both. See it wouldn’t be smart to just think your weapon is enough. You need prayer AND weapons. To use your weapon without prayer is to be self-sufficient. But also to pray and not use your weapons that God gave you is to be irresponsible. Wisdom uses the resources that God has given to maximize your ability to do what God has called you to do.


SALVATION PRAYER

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you’re not a believer, but you have a desire to be, all you have to do is openly confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community, stay connected to other believers, and start having daily conversations through prayer with God every single day. Welcome to your new life with Jesus Christ!!!


ASSIGNMENTS

  1. What did Holy Spirit say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?

  2. What are YOU doing in faith AFTER you pray?

  3. Leave me a message on the podcast. Share this blog post/podcast with someone who needs encouraging. Share buttons below.

  4. Become a subscriber and get the blog and podcast in your inbox daily!