GIDEON'S PRAYER 03/04/11

GIDEON'S PRAYER

A person once questioned what would happen if a sister in Christ dies? The other responded 'And Angel wold be added in Heaven'. In response the person questioned 'what would happen if all sisters died?'. Then the other person said, 'These would be peace on Earth'. Responding to that first person said 'There would be peace in Heaven'. Now we can understand what each one thinks about lack of peace.

The Lord’s angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites. The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” The Lord’s angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites. The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” Judges6:11,12.

In the book of Judges, the Judges used to be intermediaries between the people and God. In Judges 6:11,12, we see that Gideon as one among the judges. He was also the one who was victorious in the battle. A person cannot get victory in his first step itself. Only when they go through all the preparatory steps would they get victory. Yesterday, there were widespread celebration after India's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 victory. The winning captain said that everyone was with one mind to get the cup. The team had to go through various trials / struggles and challenging situations before they reached the final and won it. Similarly, Gideon (and we too) should have gone through various trials before victory.In this strange/wilderness life, we go through such trials.

Once a person from Holland landed at the airport here and got into a Taxi. After some distance, he began to make a loud cry as he saw a lorry coming in the opposite direction. But the taxi driver was unmoved at the lorry approaching them. After a few days, that person got used to the traffic flow and did not get tense any more. We have God on our side to protect us in all situations. Let us learn a few things about how Gideon became victorious.

1. Prayer:

Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” Judges 6:13

This is a prayer which is similar to Jeremiah's lamentations.Here we see that he cries out like a baby. There are different type of Prayer like praying using Rhythmetical words, baby's cry etc.,There is an immediate answer to the prayer.Jud6:14. Do we pray? For some people, prayer time is sleeping time. There would be disturbances for prayer. Today, we are not able to become a victorious person and inherit what God has kept in store for us because of lack of Prayer.

Once Hudson Taylor was travelling in a ship which went close to an island and they began closing in when they saw a group of people rushing towards them. As they went near, they realized that those people were cannibals. Then immediately the Captain of the ship tried to change the direction of the ship but could not do so, as the wind was not supporting his trial. So the captain came down to the travellers and informed them the situation and pleaded them to go to their rooms and pray God to protect them. Immediately Hudson went to his room and prayed and the Lord God heard him and sent His wind which helped the ship to turn around. The same prayer answering God is with us to protect, bless and heal us and our family.  Let that Heavenly Wind come on us now as it came in Hudson's life.

2. Power of God - Answer for Prayer -

'The Lord answered him 'Go in thy might'. 'Have I not sent you?' The Lord would give strength from above. Many trust their own strength, but we need His Strength and Grace. Judges6:14

I could recollect my experience in the Visa. I was in the queue and I saw a girl speaking to the officer in flawless American accent and was thinking that my application would surely be rejected.  However, as I was watching, the officer rejected her application. As I was about to go and meet this officer next, he asked me to go to the next counter which was being opened. This officer who looked like a German invited me and after going through my request for visa for 4 days, but he granted me a visa for 10 years. I was totally spellbound and could not react. As I came off the counter, I heard the Lord say that I need not have an American accent to get the visa, but could get one without speaking a word. All the Glory, Praise and Honor to Him alone for His wondrous works. When someone queries, how are you? we should have the habit of saying, that we are fine by the Grace of God. We should not take a bit of the Glory and Honor from God and if we do so, we will end up loosing. Today, the Lord is going to give us His Power, Srength, Deliverance, Mercy, Grace and Victory.

3. Test - Cleansing

The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men.12 Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more.13 When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go;14 when I say,15 ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.”Judges 7:4

Here, we see that the Lord is keeping a test for the people and doing a cleansing act. We may ask, 'we are praying and doing all the right things, but why is this test?' We should understand that only after a test, we would receive the best from the Lord. It is after these tests  that we can identify who is with us and who is not with us. The Lord will lead us to a permanent victory. The victory is not achieved through men, but from the Lord. When we follow the Lord's guidance and give up whatever He wants us to give up, we will get the victory from the Lord.

4. A Confirmation

That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up! Attack the camp, for I am handing it over to you. When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” Judges 7:9,13

I think Gideon was still doubting; and the Lord asked him to go to the enemy camp and confirmed what He had done. Yes, the Lord would confirm or testify the victory through the enemy itself. Let us go with the might of ours and the Lord is the one who is going to get all the accomplishments.

5. A Great Victory

When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords52 throughout53 the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went54 to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Judges 7:22

Blowing the trumpets - 'The enemy himself will get defeated with his own sword'  There is no direct final. Why is the Lord taking us through all these steps? He is the one who brings us victory and we need to be just obedient and be ready for Him to do his wonders.

6. Glory to God

The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” Judges 8:22,23

All Glory needs to given to our Lord alone. When we do that, He will grant unto us multiple victories in our Life. May the Lord bless you through this message. Amen