20/11/2010 - PRAY WITH FAITH AND DETERMINATION

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-You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to punish all the nations; do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors.  (Psalm 59:5)

It is important to learn how God calls Himself. In this verse, for example, we see two major titles of the Most High. As the Lord God of Hosts, He identifies Himself as the Commander of the celestial forces, which do not act by themselves but under His guidance and presence, and for this reason they are never defeated in any mission. As God of Israel, He is the doer of the promises made to Abraham and his descendants – the Jews, in the flesh, and we, through the promise (Genesis 28:14).

The prayer that produces results, that obtains answers and prevails in any situation is the one made to the Lord through the revelation of who He is. So whoever prays to God as the Commander of the heavenly hosts has the divine power operating in their favor. Furthermore, when we address the Almighty as the God of Israel, we have Him as the doer of the promises made to the patriarch Abraham, who is the father the Jews in the flesh as well as ours, spiritually.

The Church in general has not prayed for the divine visitation in the nations where the Gospel light has not yet been shed. However, those who live in these places need our prayers a lot because they are born, they live and die without the knowledge of what has been done through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Unfortunately, what prevails in these places is the thickest darkness, and the individuals who inhabit those areas pay with their own lives for the simple fact of changing their religion.

It is true that the perfidious – treacherous, disloyal and unfaithful – walk down very hard ways (Proverbs 13:15). The psalmist even asked God not to have them as targets of the divine mercy. However, we live in the New Covenant, in which the Lord is not destroying anyone, but saving. In fact, because we live after the time of the Calvary, today the New Testament gives God the title of Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So we need to contemplate the lost under the perspective of the Gospel, because they were included in the great salvation brought by Jesus, unless they do not want to repent or return to the Almighty, because then God will not have mercy on them. If they keep practicing transgressions, their fate will be terrible.

My brethren, the best we can do in our lives is to be servants of God, because then the Almighty can use us for the fulfillment of His plans – some in the ministry, others on business or other activities. He who is wise should volunteer to be a servant of the Lord. In the past, we were slaves to transgression, and as such we moaned under the hand of the enemy. However we are free from sin now and we must submit ourselves to the Almighty (Romans 6:22-23). Our biggest goal must be holiness and other divine attributes!

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares