Prayer Of The Destitute, Judy Olang

Psalm 102:1-28, “1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly……. 17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.”

I usually like to share the word from my experiences, I find it easy to share with people what I have already gone through just to encourage and give them energy to keep going because sometimes we feel like we are going through a lot but someone else went through worse and they survived, and so if you hear their story it gives you the oomph to push on. So my devotion today kind of ties up with what my husband shared on “God can” message sometime bac. I am sure we have all prayed a similar prayer like the one above in Psalm 102 and there are times it did feels like God never answered. Have you ever prayed for something for years and years and then you prayed with someone about the same thing for God to open those doors for that someone and it happened within hours or a couple of days or weeks or just months? And here you are, been praying for years and years and nothing?

He Knows Me, Part 2of2, Evans Olang

Psalm 139:1-24, “Search me, O God and know my heart; Try me, and know my thoughts (anxieties).

From what we shared in part 1, the common denominator word “YOU” which refers to God in everything and in every step of the way, for He knows us inside out, whether we be sleeping, waking up, talking, standing, fallen and so on and so forth, He still knows us. Let’s continue from vs. 15 of Psalm 139.

The God Who Sees, Evans Olang

Genesis 16:1-16; vs. 13 “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

In the midst of being left alone and pregnant, the Lord appeared to her Hagar, Sarai’s maid when she was kicked by Sarai. Vs.7-8, “7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” The Angel of the Lord here is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Christophany) or an appearance of God the Father (theophany). He found her and called her by name, He knew who she was and where she had been. How amazing that the Lord knows each of us even when it appears we are lost, messed up and in the dessert alone trying to find our way. A slave girl who heard of the God of Abraham encountered with this God herself.

Then, vs. 9, “The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” The Lord in His own wisdom instructed her to go back from where she was fleeing from and submit to her mistress. To be faithful to her and there be cared for by Abraham as the father of her child and her husband and to Sarai her mistress. Her place of blessing and protection was to remain with Abraham and Sarah as God ordained. And because the Lord heard her affliction, vs. 10&11, she was promised that her descendants through her son would be multiplied and they would be great and there the Lord gave her a name for her son, Ishmael.

Vs. 13 “Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord. She responded to this visitation by calling upon the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord which is a strong tower. And she makes a profound statement, “…You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees;…”. She never imagined that someone would see and care for a slave girl but right there in her mess, in her fears, in her doubt, running away, He appeared to her and gave her assurance no one could give her. The God who sees appeared. The God who sees promised. She could not believe that she had encountered and seen the One who sees her, she says, “…Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

Why is this important? Because there are a number of people especially women who wonder whether God sees them. In the midst of their pregnancies where they are left alone to wander in the wilderness because the men who promised to be with them some have chased them away, want nothing to do with them and with the babies in their womb and all they can nurse is disappointments, fears, and uncertain futures. Some women are even contemplating abortion and some have received advice from friends, doctors, family members, boyfriends, husbands to get abortion. They are now left confused of what to do. Where is God even in this mess?

My prayer is that they will encounter with the God who sees in the midst of the dessert. May the Lord appear to them in form of a good counselor, church member, pick up a bible and read or even just prayer because regardless of the means of conception, God is sovereign over every life. God has a plan and a purpose for that life just like He did with Ishmael. Listen to what David says in Psalm 139:13-18, “13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” This is the God who sees, This is the God who has a great plan for both the mother and the child. This is the God we trust through it all. Stand firm, trust Him and He shall bring it to pass. Blessings Ev

Please take a look at this wonderful video addressing this issue

Daring Faith, Part 1of2, Evans Olang

Matthew 14:22-33, “28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

The subject of faith is often preached on, taught and abused at the same time. The many faith teachings are more about what God can do for you financially and health wise. And if you’ve listened to the same, be enlightened that there is more to faith than that. Teachings on faith today mostly dwell on the byproducts of faith. We find that often times too many of us have enough faith for breadcrumbs and not enough for a whole loaf, what He has promised. Faith enough to get us by and nothing to challenge us to grow more faith in God.

The Lord Is My Everything, Part 1of2, Evans Olang

Psalm 27:1-14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”

The division of Psalm 27 mention a number of things the Psalmist describes what the Lord is to him. The first verse he tells us that the Lord is his light, then his salvation, a strong hold, he mentions the beauty of the Lord, his helper and also mentions the goodness of the Lord. It’s hard to have a hero without knowing his strengths especially when you depend on him, in our case our Hero is Jesus but like David we got to know who He is to us.

Trade In Discouragement For Encouragement, Evans Olang

1Samuel 30, vs. 6, “… but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (KJV)

Believers fight the spirit of discouragement many times. The man of God Elijah was suicidal because of discouragement. The Israelites became discouraged when they faced challenges in the wilderness. It’s the same thing even leaders face today, discouraged from failing and discouraged by other people. Discouragement is the absence of courage. It deprives courage, hope or confidence.

Willing Spirit Needs God’s Strength, Evans Olang

Psalm 73:25&26, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon the earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever“

There are times when you know what you should do but you are not doing them. You have the skills, you have the ability but the strength to make it happen is what is lacking. We know of the phrase from the bible, Mark 14:38 “…The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak“. The Spirit desires to win but for the winning to really take place, the Spirit has to get the flesh on the same page otherwise both will war against each other.

He Takes Pleasure In Providing, Evans Olang

Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”

Our Heavenly Father takes pleasure in providing for His children. He is the God of too much, the bible says, “A thousand cattle on the hills belongs to Him“, “Riches and Glory are His“, The God of the impossibilities. He knows each of His children in and out and He knows all their needs. He knows how to give good things to His children. Matthew 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”. He gives good things, not corrupt, broken, despised, or rejected. He gives the best to His own. He does it with joy, pleasure and gladness, and He gives with all of His heart. Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack (AMP)”. The work of a shepherd is to feed, guide, protect, inspect His sheep.  With Him being the Shepherd He guarantees His provision.

I Am An Ambassador, Evans Olang

1Timothy 4:12, “Let no man despise your youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in purity”

According to the dictionary definition, an ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and credited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another. Also an ambassador can be defined as an authorized messenger or representative. Let’s look at how it is presented to us in the bible, this name is used by the apostles as designating those who are appointed by God to declare His will”.