When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is lifting up. (Job 22:29a KJV)
One of the greatest deficiencies of human beings is their proclivity to de-emphasize what they do not see or understand. It is often easier, for example, for people to have more faith in the promise of a rich and well connected physical person than it is to trust in the capacity and willingness of an unseen God to come to their aid.
In other words, it is easy to underrate prayers and to unconsciously make them just another religious activity from which we expect little yield. To do this would be to miss out on some of life’s greatest blessings. It was the British poet and philosopher, Alfred Lord Tennyson who said, “More things are wrought by prayers than this world dreams of.”
We are still on the first few days of a new month and not just any other month, but a month of Supernatural Lifting. As we march further into it and towards the end of another year, let us not forget to make prayer a priority in our lives. The resources of God are too vast for us to confine ourselves to human limitations or to make only tepid requests of Him.
Now here’s an interesting anecdote:
Among those in the court of Alexander the Great was a philosopher of outstanding ability but little money. He asked Alexander for financial help and was told to draw whatever he needed from the imperial treasury. But when the man requested an amount equal to $50,000, he was refused – the treasurer needed to verify that such a large sum was authorized. When he asked Alexander, the ruler replied, “Pay the money at once. The philosopher has done me a singular honour. By the largeness of his request, he shows that he has understood both my wealth and generosity.”
But our King is by far greater than Alexander the Great, in fact, He brought him to be. So it is therefore unimaginable that we live beneath our God-given potentials or that we lower our expectations in life when we have full access to all that God has to give through Christ Jesus. The Lord is more than willing and able to help us, and yes, He still answers prayers. Speaking through the psalmist and prophet, David, He said: “Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession (Psalm 2:8).”
The problem has never been with God’s willingness or ability to give as it has been with our faith and perseverance in asking. This does not just relate to meeting our personal needs, it also relates to our place as change agents in a world gone awry. The truth is, we can turn the fortunes of the world around us through prayer.
All through the Bible, we see people like Abraham, Moses, and Esther standing in the gap and turning around the fate of whole nations. Even in contemporary history, we find people like John Knox, who changed the direction of an entire nation by praying, “Give me Scotland or I die.” Of him, the Queen of Scotland, Mary, remarked, “I fear his prayers more than I do the armies of my enemies.”
In 2010, inspired by Knox, a handful of students at the St. Andrew’s University, Scotland decided to take back their campus for the Lord. They signed up for a prayer initiative called 24-7 and committed one-hour of their time to pray for their community. To their utmost surprise, the room at their first prayer meeting was so packed that they had to turn people away onto the streets to go pray. They got the revival and renewal they dared to pray for.
God can and will turn our fortunes and the fortunes of Nigeria around. But He needs us to continue praying daily, at least from 12:00 am – 12:30 am. The Lord will give you the grace to do so. You have an everlasting source of help beyond the natural. Raise your voice to heaven and raise your expectations; they will not be cut short, in Jesus’ name. We will see the Nigeria of our dreams come to pass. Generations unborn will be glad we stood in the gap.
Our theme scripture for this month says, “When men are cast down, then thou shall say, there is lifting up (Job 22:29 KJV).” Nigeria may seem cast down, but we have the power, in the place of prayer, to declare a lifting. God will lift us up and lift you up this month and always, in Jesus’ name.
Send me an email at pastortaiwo@tfolc.org to share your testimonies, request counselling or prayers. I look forward to hearing from you. We are currently revamping the Just 30 Minutes prayer website to include a user-friendly interface that will allow you to post your prayer points online and have others join you in intercession. We will notify you as soon as it comes online.
God bless you. Have a fruitful month, in Jesus’ name.
Pastor Taiwo
NIGERIA HAS A GREAT FUTURE