Praying At The Time Of Incense
The Altar of Incense stood before the Veil on the Holy of Holies; the last place before approaching the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant. The priests offered incense perpetually, morning and evening, symbolizing the prayers of the saints. While Zacharias was offering incense, the multitudes outside were in prayer. That is when the angel of the Lord appeared, prophesying the birth of John the Baptist. Our prayers are a sweet odor to the Lord, and they elicit His best responses.
Luke 1:10 - "The whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense."
Sometimes, A Delayed Answer Is Better
Zacharias and Elisabeth prayed for a child for many years, but finally grew old and childless. One day, as Zacharias burned incense in the temple of the Lord, an angel of the Lord stood by him and said, "Fear not, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son." God always sees the long-term, but we cannot. We think He failed to answer, but divine delay brings a more wonderful fulfillment.
Luke 1:13 - "Thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth."
Jesus On The Throne Of David
Jesus will come back to Jerusalem and inherit the throne of David. At this writing, that throne doesn't even exist, but Jesus will revive that throne when He returns. Jesus is the principal reason Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and others found favor in God's eyes. They were all helping establish the nation and throne for Messiah.
Luke 1:32 - "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David."
Prayer For The Impossible
As a young pastor, I was called to the local hospital's Intensive Care Unit. A young teen-ager lay brain-dead. He was involved in a head-on collision, and was thrown through the windshield into the oncoming car. For thirty days, I visited him daily, praying for a miracle. One day, he was gone. "Where is Ricky?" "You haven't heard?" "No." "He woke up
this morning and sat up and asked for something to eat!" Shortly thereafter, he went home well.
Luke 1:37 - "For with God nothing shall be impossible."
Bless God In The Midst Of Your Miracle
By the will of God, both Mary and Elisabeth carried sons in their wombs who would change the world. Mary told the angelic visitor, "Be it unto me according to thy word." Always say "Amen" (So be it!) to the will of God. When Mary visited Elisabeth, the baby leaped in her womb for joy, and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. She loudly blessed Mary.
Luke 1:42,45 - "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ...for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."
The Blessing Of A Man Of God
When baby Jesus was eight days old, His parents brought Him into the temple for dedication. Simeon came by the Spirit to perform the rite. Simeon took the child up in his arms, and blessed God, saying, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people." If an humble man of God can bless the Son of God and His parents, you should esteem the blessing of a man of God.
Luke 2:34 - "And Simeon blessed them."
God Honored The Blessings Of Simeon And Anna
God certainly arranged for Simeon and Anna to be present when Joseph and Mary brought baby Jesus into the temple. Anna, 84-year-old prophetess, was known for her daily prayers and fasting in the temple. She found Simeon blessing the child, and gave thanks. Oh, that every child had such a blessing!
Luke 2:38,40 - "She coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. ...And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him."
Namesake For The Prophet
Matthew Henry suggested that David's son, Nathan, was probably a namesake for the great prophet who chastised David during his malfeasance with Bathsheba. Not only is it likely that David honored the prophet who set him in order by naming a son after him, but it appears that God honored the prophet by producing Jesus Christ, the Messiah, from the lineage that bore his name. David's son, Nathan, was the ancestor of Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of Christ.
Luke 3:31 - "...which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David"
Who Will You Worship? Satan, Or God?
In the second temptation, the devil took Jesus into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. "All this power will I give thee, ...if thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." What? God worship Satan? That must be the most outrageous proposition in the history of the world! Yet ordinary men daily give Satan more glory than God. Now, that's outrageous!
Luke 4:8 - "Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
Pray When Facing Temptation
Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil (Matthew 4:1), but He admonished us to pray "lead us not into temptation." He knew how great a trial it is to be tempted. Satan tried to persuade Jesus to leap off the pinnacle of the temple, "for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee." Satan twists the word to mislead or confuse our decision-making ability. Nevertheless, the Spirit of the Lord can empower us to overcome temptation.
Luke 4:14 - "Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee."
Believe Jesus Is Your Answer, Or Someone Else Will
Jesus read from Isaiah 61 about the anointing that would be on Messiah. Everyone in the Nazareth synagogue was impressed with Jesus' remarks, but they knew Jesus was Joseph's son, so rejected the idea that HE was Messiah. He indicted them, saying that many Israelite widows needed miracles in Elijah's day, but he ministered to a Sidonian widow; and there were many lepers in Israel, but Elisha healed Naaman, a Syrian. If Nazareth would not have Jesus, someone else would.
Luke 4:28 - "When they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ...and thrust him out of the city."
Satan Can Pray, But God Will Do The Opposite
In the synagogue, a man had an unclean spirit, which cried with a loud voice to Jesus, "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?" Unclean spirits would have destroyed the man, and did not want to be stopped. Fortunately for all of us, Jesus wants to do exactly the OPPOSITE of what Satan prays for.
Luke 4:35-36 - "Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, ...And they were all amazed."
The Seed is the Word
A seed is normally produced by a successful fertilization process. A seed is the earliest stage of a plant. Both male and female contribute to the offspring. Among animals and humans, the seed is a recombined gene derived from both male and female - an embryo. Two parents provide the DNA. Therefore, evolutionists cannot imagine or explain how the first seeds occurred. "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" There is only one answer. God's word came first. "Let there be..."
Luke 8:11 - "The seed is the word of God."
Prayer Changes the Supplicant
It is easy enough to understand that prayer is a powerful agent for change, but there is a perspective you may not have considered. Prayer changes YOU. It is a side-effect of prayer. The more time you spend in communion with God through prayer, the more you consider His will, His ways and your relationship with Him. Prayer causes you to be
introspective, heart-searching and responsive. Surely, prayer changes things. But prayer also changes people who pray.
Luke 9:29 - "And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered."
Importunity
The unwilling judge finally granted the request of the petitioning widow because her persistence wearied him. A householder grudgingly rose at midnight to give to his neighbor despite his unwillingness because the neighbor was so bold. Importunity has less to do with nagging, pesty repetition than it does with shameless, bold requests. Don't worry how
many times you pray. God invites us to pray boldly and shamelessly with expectation as often as necessary.
Luke 11:9 - "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
God Above Family
Living for Jesus requires absolute first priority in life. Nobody favors marriage and family more than God, but the focus is not on the family. It is on Jesus. Many of the greatest Bible characters served God with virtually no mention of their wives and children. If you cannot do God's will because of your family, something is wrong.
Luke 14:26 - "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
As The Days Of Noah
Jesus warned that the end of this age will come as it did in Noah's day. The SAME DAY Noah entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed them. God's mercy and God's wrath come together.
Luke 17:26-27 - "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all."
As The Days Of Lot
Everyone who is born again will escape the wrath of God when it comes to earth. But the same day, the judgment begins on those who remain. Justice will conclude at Armageddon.
Luke 17:28-30 - "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
Prayers on Deposit
It is good to beat Satan to the draw. Get a jump on him by praying ahead of the problem. It doesn't take a lot of spiritual savy to realize that trouble will certainly come in certain areas of our lives. If you see trouble coming, pray now. Head it off by making your case to God now. Jesus diverted a major catastrophe in Peter's life by praying in
advance.
Luke 22:32 - "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
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