Watchmen On The Wall

Many are anxious at this 2008 election season. I would like to pass on to all of you, a peace that has come over me since last Monday. God is a never-ending source of our strength and peace.

Even in Jesus’ day, the long arm of Rome had stretched over their country when Tiberious Claudius Nero ruled Israel. But, Jesus didn’t come to overthrow Caesar. He came to conquer sin and death and insure our salvation through him. After election day, nothing of God will change.

As for our blessed country, we are called to stand guard, to insure the preservation of our freedoms and way of life. I was privileged to meet a prayer intercessor last Wednesday and she lifted up, Isaiah 63: (6) “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourself no rest, (7) and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem.” As citizens of the kingdom of heaven and of earth, we are called to live lives that will honor him and bear testimony to the gifts of grace and peace we receive from him and to stand watch, that our country remains free.

We are also called to be “watchmen on the wall,” protecting God’s word for our soul and guarding our country with our vote and voice. Will you agree to be one of the ten (see a previous prayer) . . . and a watchman? You know, you are already a watchman on the wall, guarding our freedoms by speaking truth to ears that may not want to hear. How well you “watch” for the Lord is up to you. Let us pray:

“Oh loving father of our Lord Jesus, who called a few of his disciples to “watch and wait” in the garden on the Mount of Olives, how precious is your name above all names, Yahweh. May your kingdom come and make its home in our lives, that your will may be done perfectly, powerfully in us. We continue to pray for those who are captured by illness and ask that you set them free. We also pray for insight, wisdom, discernment, and a voice to bravely speak out concerning the truth you give us. We ask for your forgiveness when we have remained reticent and weak. Give us your strength that we may be true watchmen on the wall, protecting your church that Jesus gave us with his blood, and the glorious country of freedom you gave to us, that others earned with their sacrifice. All we have had to do was protect it, and lately, we would not. Forgive us, Father God and lead us away from the temptation to be careless again. Deliver us from what we do not know will come and bless our land again. To you we give all glory, honor, and praise, God of all. In the precious name of, and by the power of, your son our savior we pray. Amen”
Doris
Copyright 2008 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

OMNISCIENT GOD

So many needs have come my way in the last few days. My dear cousin, Claudia, asked for prayer for her newly diagnosed lung cancer. Rather than cursing the cancer, she told me of her many blessings. “I have a wonderful family, friends, clients and of course the biggest supporter in Jesus. Just wanted to let you know.” A friend asked for advice regarding someone who is in spiritual bondage and I recommended Prayer Therapy, praying for the release of specific negative thoughts that bind us to slavery. Another friend asked for a specific On-Line Prayer Group request in her email. “Could you put together some thoughts on the election? We're trying to relax with it, but its disturbing to us and we could use a reminder that it's God's plan.” To my heart, these are all related.
There is a cancer that is eating its way into our lives. It is causing families to take sides, as it has happened in other times of national crisis, still arguing over who is right and demanding that others agree with them. This is not an election about race. It is a race to determine the future of our wonderful, blessed country, where Freedom found a home over two-hundred years ago. We need a prayer for healing: of our bodies, that we may be strong and healthy to meet the great demands of the day; our minds, that our thinking may be clear and productive; our resolve, that we no longer remain complacently silent; and our liberty, that we do not allow it to be eaten away like a blight on our land. Some believe one candidate will insure our hope for tomorrow and others believe a different team will secure our future. I believe our hope is in the Lord, who made Heaven and earth and gave us His son that we might have eternal life through belief in Him. We are saved by grace, not by political party. I ask that all of us remain in prayer, not that God will obey us, but that we will see and hear His truth in all we do and say, and in the decisions we make.
I call on each one of us to look up our Representatives and Senator’s email addresses, land addresses, and phone numbers so that we can be participating citizens in the next administration. Research and keep up on the issues of the day so we can be partners in this democracy we call America. We have been lazy and reticent long enough. When you speak out, speak in love, not in anger or self-righteousness. I don’t care whom you vote for, but please vote. Democracy is on the line and I, first of all, up hold your right to vote for whom you believe in.
Like Claudia, lift up gratitude, joy, and love. May there be a blessing on your lips with each contact you make. Live each day, knowing it is a gift from God. Know that you are right about much and wrong about more. Only God is wise and omniscient (all knowing)and only He can lead us out of this financial, political, and combative world we are in. Look over my prayer of a few weeks back, Only Ten at the blog below, and vow to be one of the ten who will pray this world out of despair and seek healing and gratitude for ourselves, the country we love, and the country of origin from whence your ancestors came. Let us pray:

“Oh loving, healing Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Holy, Holy, Holy is your name. May your kingdom come on earth in which a remnant of your people will fall on their knees daily and pray for forgiveness for all your people and for themselves. That would be a glimpse of Heaven on earth. With humble hearts, we pray to be one of the Ten (on ten-thousand hills), that we may offer our voices to the great cloud of prayers that waft their way to you, pleading for mercy, forgiveness, and grace. We come before you, asking for healing for our bodies, our minds, our souls, our country, our world, and our financial institutions. We are like lost sheep who have wondered from our shepherd. We have looked to political personalities, in this time of election, to be wise enough to keep us safe, while we do nothing but play. We ask not for a sacrificial lamb to bear the sins for all of us but eyes that see the Lord your son whom you have already given to us. None of us are wise enough to vote out of our own knowledge and the ability to see what the future brings. But, you Lord, know all, and you, Lord, are the One we call on to help us make a wise decision. We know you can bring your will out of any circumstance, when your people seek your face. Spread out your healing arms around your beautiful blue world. Calm the waves of panic that seize us as you did on the Galilean Sea. Quiet the waters of anger and discord like the demons you cast out of old. Heal our broken spirits, the fear in our minds, the illness in our bodies, and let hope take seed again like goblets of wine where once there was stale water. We know you hear and answer the prayers of your people. We will live each of our remaining days, with your healing love in our hearts, knowing you have placed it there. We thank you for all we have and all we are. To you, we give all glory and honor and praise. In the precious, powerful name of your son, Jesus, we pray. Amen”

Doris
Copyright 2008 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

RENEW MY SOUL

I will put thee in a cleft of the Rock, and will cover thee with My hand - Exodus 33:22

Sometimes I hear hymns from my childhood singing over and over in my head. Today it was Fanny Crosby’s words to, He Hideth My Soul: “He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand, And covers me there with His hand.”

It came to me that our soul is God’s, for it is the part of us that is Him. Our personality is a mix of our genetic makeup, as shown by studies of adopted children whose personalities were like their birth mother’s, even if they had never lived with her, and our environment. As Fanny’s song sang in my heart, I discerned that God tucks our soul back out of harm’s way, in a shady place, from which He shields our dry, thirsty personality. Renewal comes when our personality recognizes and accepts the shade He has provided for our soul, reconnects with the truth of whose we are as we recognize that our soul is His and bonds our Spirit or soul within us with our personality, so we can receive the benefits of the coolness and life-giving shelter it provides . . . as He covers us safely with His own hand. Thus renewed . . . we are wholly alive. Let us pray:

“Oh Father, shelter and protector of my soul, how magnificent and Holy is your name. May your golden kingdom include me, as I include you in my life. Allow me the privilege of being part of your will, living in your own kingdom where you rule and provide protection. I come before you, oh Lover of My Soul, asking you to renew the spirit within me, so that I may have new life in you and be reconnected, like a golden thread, from my heart to yours, ever shaded from the misery of the drying, killing sun. I accept your love, your life, your protection, your grace, and your forgiveness. Forgive me when I have thought I could live life on my own, independent from you. I know that my soul is yours and I cannot save it on my own, for it doesn’t belong to me. Give me a renewed heart and soul so that I may see the road signs when I wander from your path. I will give ALL honor and glory to you Father God, for only you are worthy of praise. Recognizing that without Jesus, I am powerless, I pray in the precious name of, and by the power of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Doris
Copyright 2008 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

ONLY TEN

Genesis 18: 23-28 “Then Abraham approached him (the Lord) and said, ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing ‒ to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ The Lord said, ‘If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ Then Abraham spoke up again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?’ ‘If I find forty-five there,’ he said, ‘I will not destroy it.’”
[Then Abraham bargained more with the Lord until he got the number lower.]
Genesis 18: 32-33 “Then he said, ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.’ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.”
[But, the Lord could not even find ten righteous people and he utterly destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah.]
We point out the un-Godliness of our own country at times, but perhaps, the entire country does not have to turn and see the sins we have committed and lead a righteous life, in order for our country to be spared. Will the Lord find ten righteous people in the United States so that we will not be destroyed? My friends, the time is NOW to get serious about our walk with the Lord. Can He count on you; can He count on me, to be one of the Ten? Let us pray:

“Our heavenly Father, you are the Holy One, the one true God. May we wake up and recognize your sovereignty over us and our country so that we may be spared the destruction that could come. Give us eyes that see, ears that hear, hearts that love, and tongues that express your mighty power, your forgiveness and grace, and your love. While we are unworthy to claim anything on our own, we pray for the gift of discernment through the promises of your son, Jesus Christ, that we might live righteous lives before you while yet here in the company of mankind. If ten are sufficient to spare our country of this calamity, let the willingness in our hearts to be counted among the Ten, be enough to spare our nation, ever knowing that perfection is not ours. Your Holy Spirit lives within us, so please recognize your children through your own spirit, Father, and heal our land. Forgive us when we, like errant children, have gone ‘out to play’ while the country of your blessing has burned. Let us no longer look to others to pray our nation into wholeness, but take our place as one of the Ten and humble ourselves before you and seek your face, and love your country back to health. To you we give all praise and glory, oh Father God. In the name of, and by the power of, your precious son, Jesus, we pray. Amen”

Doris
Copyright 2008 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”