Pray When Being Led To
But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers”(Luke 22:32 NIV).
UPDATE ON MAN OF PEACE ARTICLE: Brethren, I sought the face of the LORD and will continue to do so since I promised in our previous article. The Lord said, "You need to continue praying very hard, and I will answer you at the appointed time".
We therefore encourage you to be patient and join us in prayer daily (2 Thessalonians 3:11), as we all know this is for the good of the body of Christ, and a message of great importance.
Back to our message for today, a few months ago, one of my daughters, after visiting a friend, came back home and reported to us that her friend is gravely ill and that I should pray for her friend. After inquiring about her friend's condition, I committed to praying for her.
However, a few days later, the Lord Himself gave her a reply in a message to me, saying, "Jessica (not real name) should not ask others to pray for her friend, I have also anointed her to lay hands and pray for the sick" (Mark 16:17-18).
After receiving this message, I clearly understood what the Lord meant. As it was, my daughter was in the presence of her cancer-stricken friend, and she felt the urge and conviction to pray, but she doubted the effectiveness of her own prayers while putting trust in my prayers. Therefore, she clearly lacked faith and simultaneously trusted my prayers rather than the Lord, who can answer her prayers.
Obey The Urging Of The Lord's Conviction
Furthermore, brethren, we need to realise that the Bible carries a personal message to each individual believer, and the Lord Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, gives us the ability and uses us when we avail ourselves. In addition, I know a brother in Christ who began his ministry by handing out tracts in the streets. As a result, the Lord blessed him with a worldwide ministry because of his humility and love for souls. Similarly, we learn from the Scriptures that Apollos was just an ordinary believer who had limited knowledge of the Scriptures; however, after being taught by Aquila and Priscilla, he went on to preach the gospel in the fire of the Holy Spirit (Acts 18:24-28). Therefore, don't hold back your conviction, ACT, and by so doing, you are not sinning but acting in obedience.
In conclusion, the Bible says anything we do without faith is a sin (Romans 14:23). In other words, when we have the conviction and fail to act accordingly, we are ignoring the Holy Spirit. I know of countless Christians who are still waiting on the Lord for Ministry guidance because they want to receive some audible instruction or some vision before acting. I have advice for them, if they remain idle like the foolish virgins or the man who hid the talent away (Matthew 25:1-13; 14-30), they will be required to give an account and end up not making it into the Kingdom, but risk being thrown into the darkness. Let us act by faith and our conviction in obedience to Christ our Lord.
Blessed Grace
Brother Glenn
