“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” - Ephesians 6:18 (NIV).
It’s a normal scene every after general elections. The one who feels done, perhaps alleging voter fraud, files a petition to the courts to nullify the results of the elections. After the 2021 elections in Uganda over 100 aggrieved contestants have filed petitions to courts pleading for them to annul election results.
Now for a petition to stand chance of success there are several important and critical factors. First, such petitions are time bound and should be filed within a strict time limit. There are also not cheap- one must secure the services of an attorney who will demand his fee based on the amount of work involved. And yet, more troubling, success is never guaranteed, often due to corrupt practices of certain courts.
As believers one of our privileges is the blessing to file petitions to the Almighty God without being subjected to all the above challenges, costs or doubts of outcome. Concerned with the fate of Jerusalem, Daniel, sought the Lord: “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). His petition was not in vain. “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding (vv 20-23).
Believers do not have to pay fees to file their petitions as we know happens with worldly courts. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). The fee has already been paid by the blood of Christ on the cross.
Our petitions are also not time bound. Jeremiah 29:13 says: “You will seek me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” More than anything, when we go to God we are assured of an incorruptible judge: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways” (Psalm 25:8).
Today, whatever maybe weighing on you, know it is your privilege and blessings to file a petition to the Almighty God. And, unlike the demands and risks involved in court petitions, here is a clear path to receive the right verdict.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I come to you with a petition assured that with you there is fairness and assurance of the right answers from the Almighty God.
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03/05/2024 - 04/05/2024 All day“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10)
Every now and then one could be gripped with fear because of certain events sweeping before one’s life journey. It could be the finances that are stretched and incomes are no longer certain. Perhaps it is one’s job under threat. Perhaps it is a dreaded health report card. There could be fear about outcome of a matter under judgment and what it might mean to one’s future.
Fear has been elsewhere described as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.” Every life will experience fear at one point. Whenever we are faced with fear it is natural to look for something to grasp on. Sometimes we run for shelter wherever we can find. Perhaps we might seek out a friend for quiet confidence.
But there are those situations when there is no shelter in sight. There are also those cases where those we thought would understand our situation once we share our pain return only hurting and critical feedback. In such moments we might then turn and look within ourselves only to find the energy has all been sapped by this gnawing fear. We feel down and the urge to rise and move on all gone!
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10) the word of God through prophet Isaiah assures us. But why? It is because the Lord has been there. He himself was faced with fear before his crucifixion but He looked to God.
Charles Spurgeon once wrote when faced with fear always remember, “Nothing is too hard for Him. He can find a way where there is no way. He can give us the idea that will make all the difference.” Psalm 91:2, says, “I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” So, when faced with fear, look to God to strengthen you. By looking to Him, the Lord will encourage and lift up your spirit, and make a way out of nowhere!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I surrender to you any fear that is in me for I know by looking up to you, you will always make a way out of nowhere, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
