“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 2022 elections in Kenya hundreds of petitions have been filed in courts contesting 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 lest you forget success is never guaranteed, as your case might not be very convincing.
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).
Daniel did do not have to pay a fee to file a petition as we know happens with worldly courts. This is our privilege as believers. “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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27/04/2024 - 28/04/2024 All day“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (Psalm 42:1).
In the wildlife, a common feature is predatory animals chasing after less ferocious ones, which on a bad day become good dinner. Through the savannah plains of Africa the antelope tends to suffer that fate. After a long chase from a mighty lion, cheetah or leopard; antelopes that survive tend to retreat to a fresh water spot. There they gladly refresh their quench with streams of water.
King David, must have been more familiar with deer, as there are more common in the Northern Hemisphere. For us in the tropics we can substitute the deer with our antelope, commonly chased by predators. After a long chase, of course all pant for pints of water.
The significance of this metaphor is that whenever we encounter any situation that puts us on a chase, where do we run to! Habakuk 3:19 says, “The Lord God give my strength. He helps me run fast like deer. He leads me safely on the mountains” (Habakuk 3:19).
Two things of note here. The Lord can make us run as fast as the fastest antelope being chased by a predator to a well of safety. And of course, as we run, we have that the well of God to end up to and refresh ourselves! This is why David wrote, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11).
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today like the antelopes of the wildlife I run to you, to that well of life, which refreshes my soul, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
