Prayer Topic: RESCUERS

God is faithful to all generations. He is ALIVE and WELL today. He is REAL, He is the TRUE and LIVING God!!

Let’s pray for the RESCUERS of our country. Pray for the Police, Firemen, Army, National Guard, Paramedics, Military, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, the Red Cross and Rescue Organizations.

Men and women all over our country and across the world are daily laying down their lives for us, and for those who can’t rescue or save themselves. They put their lives in harms way because of their respect for life and human kind.

“Father God, please be with our rescuers, wherever they may be. May they come to know you in Spirit and in truth. May the have Your strength to fend for those who cannot fend for themselves. Please give them wisdom when they are under pressure”. Proverbs 2:10-12 says, “When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things”.

 “May they be led by your Spirit to be at the right place at the right time. May the angels of the Lord encamp around them to protect them in all their ways. As they have sown kindness and compassion, may they reap joy and fulfillment in their own lives, in Jesus Name! Hallelujah!!”

Deuteronomy 10:18 says, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”

The name of God, Jehovah Shammah, means The Lord is Here. The name is first mentioned in Ezekiel 48:35. At the time, Israel was continually sinning before God, they were probably in captivity in Babylon where they were subjected to the Babylonian customs. Sin separates us from our Creator. They called out to God asking Him how they could worship Him in a strange land. Ezekiel prophesied about a new temple that no one has ever seen, where the presence of the Lord will be. The only temple they knew was the one in Jerusalem.

God wants to manifest His presence as in Genesis 3:8 where He walked with Adam in the garden. God desires to fellowship with us. He is ALIVE today, He is Jehovah Shammah - He is there with YOU!

In the temple in Exodus 25:22 God spoke to Israel saying, “There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you”.

The presence of God was revealed in JESUS during His earthly ministry. (John 2:19-21 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.)

After Jesus’ resurrection, the presence of God was released to all who would join themselves to Christ, to be a temple of God!! Hallelujah!  1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

God Almighty made a Pledge that He will never leave us, nor forsake us! He is Jehovah Shammah!

Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible) “Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”.

“Thank You Lord, that you will NEVER leave us, nor forsake us. You keep your pledge to be with us wherever we are, whatever we do. JEHOVAH SHAMMAH - The Lord is HERE”.

Our God, Jehovah Shammah, is HERE today to uphold and strengthen you if you have decided to live your life surrendered to God’s will and His Word. Surrendered means to give up your own opinions and plans of getting ahead, your selfish agenda - and bow and submit yourself to God’s precepts, teachings and instructions.

Imagine playing in the golden sand on a beach. You have your shovel and pail and you are purposefully building the most elaborate sand castle imaginable. You have found beautiful glistening shells that will decorate the royal chambers, and you have unearthed a discarded stately white feather from a preening seagull. These pieces will prove to designate the elaborate castle as your own craftsmanship. After hours of tedious labor, as you are about to dig the last section of the defined moat, a wave of an incoming high tide spills into the outer reaches of the moat and in one swoop, washes half the moat and the front door of the castle away. Now, how can you restore the fortress in the midst of the storm of high tide?

As we live, things come against us to steal our peace and to distract us from God’s Word.

Before these events occur, we must “gird up” our minds with God’s Word. Then when the pressure comes, we can use the Word of God that has been stored within us to ward off the attack through prayer.

Pray without ceasing: before a difficult time, during a difficult time, and after a difficult time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (Amplified Bible) says, “Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]”.

Just a few months after we were married, Mark and I were reading the Bible in bed. I was reading Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Let’s define Prayer :

1.  A devout petition to God.

2.  A spiritual communion with God, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.

3.  The act or practice of praying to God or an object of worship.

4.  A formula or sequence of words used in or appointed for praying: the Lord's Prayer.

5.  Prayers, a religious observance, either public or private, consisting wholly or mainly of prayer.

6.  That which is prayed for.

7.  A petition; entreaty.(Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1))

As I read this scripture to Mark, I felt so encouraged, we don’t have to worry about anything, we can pray to Father God, and His peace will keep us. Praise the Lord! We went to sleep and during the night, Mark experienced a severe panic attack. I switched on all the lights as he groped into the living room. He was gasping for air and his face was stricken with terror. What do you do in those situations? I remembered the scripture we read before going to sleep, “Be anxious for NOTHING... PRAY ... and the Peace of God that surpasses understanding will GUARD YOUR HEART and MIND in CHRIST JESUS!” All I could do was sit with Mark and pray the scripture over Him. He is not anxious, we pray now that the peace of GOD guards his heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

And His Peace came in, like a trickle at first, then like a flood. Mark began to pray the Scriptures with me, first quietly, then with full force - Whoo Hoo - that night he was delivered from anxiety attacks. God’s Word is proven true once again. Mark’s spirit and soul (will, mind and emotion), received God’s peace. The peace comes by obeying the command not to be fearful or worry, but to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.

Prayer is the vehicle that aligns us with God in order to accomplish His will.

When we pray in Faith, believing God is hearing, He will answer us. When we pray according to the Word of God, we add our agreement to His Majestic, truthful Word. He is here, with Us, Jehovah Shammah!

Prayer and thanksgiving directly result in GOD’S PEACE. You can’t have the peace without the prayer. This peace surpasses natural understanding. It comes by faith in God and in doing His Word. It comes by believing God is not a liar; what He said, He will do. When fear or dread comes, this peace will leave you. So we must continue to practice praying about everything, with thanksgiving. We don’t thank God for our situations, but for His victorious deliverance knowing HE IS HERE! We can have HIS wisdom in what choice to make.

The key to God’s incomprehensible peace is to REFUSE TO WORRY and PRAY. It is one action. You can’t worry and be in faith at the same time. If you turn your back on worry, you are automatically able to pray in faith, and vise versa. Stop fretting, cast off your anxieties. Worrying is a HABIT. Make PRAYER IN FAITH your habit. Jesus made the habit of praying early each morning before the sun rose. How many worries have come to you just as you are rousing from sleep. Sometimes it seems to me that the worst thoughts come during this time. Take authority over you spirit and soul - Stop worrying and PRAY!

I remember singing these words as a child, “Why worry if you can pray, trust Jesus, He will show the way. Do not be a doubting Thomas, but lean upon His promise. Why worry, worry, worry, worry, if you can pray!” Do the WORD, follow God’s instructions, and PRAY in FAITH.