PATH OF PATIENCESpeaker: Dr. Paul Dhinakaran Gist: God permits pruning process so that you place your trust only on Him. What is the outcome of a prayer petitioned with patience and persistence? The Bible says pray with patience waiting on the Lord.
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalms 27:14). It means that you should wait ‘only’ on the Lord and not ‘also’ on the Lord.
“I waited for light, then came darkness” (Job 30:26). We look for light, but there is darkness! (Isaiah 59:9). "We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and there was trouble! (Jeremiah 8:15; 13:16).
Quite often you wait for light, peace and health but darkness, nothing good and trouble comes your way and therefore the Lord says, “Wait for Me.” Praying with patience enables you to wait for God.
What does God do when you wait for Him alone?
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2).
Whoever does not bear fruit by obeying His command is cut off and thrown into hell fire. On the contrary, He prunes those who obey His command and love Him and helps them bear more fruits. Therefore, it is not an easy living because God has a pruning process even for those who love Him. God permits this pruning process so that you place your trust only on Him. God removes the other things you are dependant upon and makes you solely depend on Him alone.
A certain couple greatly encouraged my father in his spiritual growth. They spent many hours expounding from the Scriptures as to how my father could receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, have a close walk with God and hear the voice of God. Through their words of assurance, in the year 1962, my father having patiently and persistently prayed for seven years received the Master’s mandate through a vision. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to my father and spoke face to face for three hours.
After this celestial encounter, the servant of God who had earlier encouraged told, “Brother, come to my home whenever you need our prayer support, you can depend on me and I will pray for you.” My father trusted him totally and would rush whenever he needed some one to pray for him. After seven years, when my father’s lungs failed, we stepped into his house hoping that he would pray for my father but he turned out to be a very indifferent man. He started ridiculing and commenting us when he received no answers to the prayers that he offered and went to the extent of saying, “Brother! You have committed some sin somewhere. The devil is blocking my prayers from reaching God.” So saying, he left us in the dark.
Then Jesus appeared and said, “My son! It is time that you trust Me and only Me. I allowed this sickness so that you turn and place all your trust only on Me and never upon man. No situation, help from another or another’s faith and prayer can help you." My father’s heart turned towards the Lord. My father and mother looked to the Lord for everything. From then on, God made my father walk in a path full of miracles, something supernatural and also gave him remarkable revelations. Jesus Himself started speaking to him personally. The relationship became very intimate - Jesus Christ and my father (Bro. Dhinakaran). Therefore, to bring about such a personalized relationship the Lord allows the pruning process in your life.
Just say, “Lord, I have been patiently praying and waiting. Help me to trust in You alone.” Then be ready for God to perform miracles in your life.
Prayer:
Loving Lord,
Help me to place my trust only upon You. My strength solely depends on You. Give me the grace and renew my strength to pray with patience this day. Trusting in Your name enable me to witness miracles through the virtue called patience. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen. |