1. Open Our Eyes
Sickness has picked up in our area. It has touched the lives of our family, our friends, and our church family. It has made its way into our home and we are weary and weak. We need a wall of prayer surrounding us. There are many more struggling with different issues and they also need a wall of prayer round about them. In the sixth chapter of II Kings the king of Syria warred against Israel. When the Prophet Elisha kept telling the king of Israel where the enemies were, the king of Syria went after the prophet. His servant was afraid, until Elisha asked the Lord to open his eyes. God had a wall of fire round about Elisha. Pray! Keep trusting the Lord! Cover your loved ones with a wall of prayer!
"15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." (II Kings 6:15-17)
2. A Wall Of Prayer Surrounding Me
As we begin our devotionals on, "A Wall Of Prayer", I want to share a song written by Kyla Rowland. We all need that wall of prayer to surround us.
A Wall Of Prayer
There are walls made by man built by frail and human hands
that an enemy can scale and get to you.
But there is one protecting me from my greatest enemy
It's a wall that Satan can't break through.
Chorus
Sometimes a wall of grace sometimes a wall of faith
Other times it's sweet mercy that I need.
But the one for which I long it makes all the others strong.
I need a wall of prayer surrounding me.
Oh my brother when I'm weak would you stand instead for me
and pray a fortress 'round me strong that can't be moved.
And I promise you today when I bow my knees to pray
I'll do my best to build a wall of prayer for you.
Sweet hour of prayer sweet hour of prayer
that calls me from a world of care.
But the one for which I long it makes all the others strong.
I need a wall of prayer surrounding me.
I need a wall of prayer surrounding me.
3. I Can Pray Until The Walls Come Down
Preacher Paul Mustain was at our church last Wednesday night. He spoke words of encouragement from the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. He talked about how we have different walls in our lives. Some have walls of doubt, and some are facing walls of fear. We want to shout when our walls fall, but he pointed out that the men of war and the priests shouted before the walls fell. We need to pray and give God thanks for what He is going to do, before our walls fall down.
"15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.
16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city." (Joshua 6:15,16 & 20)
Here is a song that says, "I can pray until the walls come down." "I Can Pray" by the Dove Brothers.
I Can Pray
You say I'm not able
I'm too young or I'm too old
And I can't sing or teach
And no title do I hold
Lord, what can I do?
For I want to do my part
And I want to help the hurting
With all of my heart
I can pray until the walls come down
Until there's healing all around
That's something I can do
I can pray in my secret place
Calling on your name
That's something I can do
I can pray
My family shows no interest
My child has gone so far
Though I try my best to reach them
Their hearts just seem so hard
Lord what can I do?
To help bring them back to you
For my family's lost and dying
And my words don't get through
You may not be a Sunday school teacher
You may not be able to sing
But friend there's something we all can do
You can pray
In your secret place
Calling on his name
That's something you can do
You can pray, I can pray, we can pray
I can pray, you can pray
I know you hear us Lord when we pray
We will pray
I will pray
Will you pray?
4. A Wall Of Light Before And Behind
Have you ever been reading the Bible and you come to a word that you don't know what it means, but you just keep on reading? Well, I have always been curious as to the meaning of the word, "rereward". The last time I read it, I decided to look it up. "For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward." (Isaiah 52:12) I tried to read the word as, "re-reward", but the word should be read, "rere-ward" or as we would write it, "rear-ward". That makes this verse so amazing! God was telling them that He would go before them, and He would also come behind them. A good example of this is in Exodus 14:19-20.
"19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night."
We are talking about walls, and I see this pillar of cloud and pillar of fire as a wall to Israel. God went before them to lead them, and behind them to protect them. That is such a wonderful thing when we think about it. Our God goes before us as a guiding light, and He also "has our back", in watching over us and protecting us! Ya'll may have already known this, but I was so blessed when I finally took the time to look up the word.
5. A Wall Made By A Plumbline
Michael likes to begin his classes each year with a quick study of the book of Amos. Hanging on his bulletin board is a string with a large washer attached. He goes through the chapters of judgment and when he gets to chapter 7, he explains his plumbline. Holding the end of the string in the air, the washer falls and hangs perfectly straight. The wall of his classroom is straight. God told Amos that He was going to set a plumbline in the midst of His people. The prophet could then see how far Israel had gone away from God's law. As we hear of the wickedness in our nation it is clear that America has also gone away from God. We need to get back to God's Word and walk the straight and narrow path.
"7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." (Amos 7:7-9)
6. The Writing On The Wall
Today I pulled a devotional from the past about King Belshazzar and the handwriting on the wall. I believe that Christians today can see "the handwriting on the wall", and we better take heed.
“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem;… They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver,… In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.” Daniel 5:1-5
King Belshazzar thought he was great. He had a great feast for a thousand important people. He thought he was so great, he sent for the golden and silver vessels which had been taken from the temple of Jerusalem. Verse 4 says they drank wine and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. But he left out the one and true God. And he saw the handwriting on the wall. “Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.” (Daniel 5:6) Daniel was called in to read the message… “This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:26-28) King Belshazzar thought he was the greatest. But he found out that he was no better than any other man. It could be said of all of us, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” We can read in Romans, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” and “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:10 & 23) The only hope we have is found in the very familiar scripture John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” From a king, to a beggar, everyone must come through the blood of Jesus to come to God. We can finish the story of Belshazzar in Daniel 5:30 "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." This king didn't get a second chance. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (II Corinthians 6:2)
7. Run Through A Wall
In Psalms 18:29, David said, "For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall." "Run through a troop... leaped over a wall." Well, today I feel like I have run through a wall. Michael and I started getting sick last weekend and Monday we called the doctor and took tests for Covid. At that time I didn't think we had Covid, but we continue to get worse each day. We finally got the tests results back and we both have Covid. My Mom has been extremely sick over a week and we think she probably has Covid also. My Pastor and his wife are also in need of prayer. We need a wall of prayer that our gracious and loving God will give us strength and healing.
8. Hedged In
First I want to apologize for not sending the devotional yesterday. Not only has Covid attacked our bodies, but we have such a brain fog that it is hard to think...
Today I want to look at Job. Satan told God that He had a hedge about Job. "Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." (Job 1:10) This was a very positive thing for Job, but he saw this as a negative thing. "Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?" (Job 3:23) My thought today is simple... I would rather go through all my trials inside God's hedge, than to be without problems outside of His hedge. I am so thankful for God's hedge about me!
9. A Short Update...
Sunday morning I asked Michael to bring me some Sprite, and when he came back I had passed out. He called 911 and they made sure I was okay. My Mom called me Sunday evening and told me she didn't think she would make it through the night so she called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. We appreciate your prayers. This is about 12 days of feeling worse every morning. I pray that we will soon start feeling better. Elsa had a high fever yesterday, and we are praying that she gets well soon. I will try to get back with the devotionals as soon as I am able.
10. I Still Need A Wall Of Prayer
Tuesday morning I woke up with pain in my chest and went to the hospital with covid pneumonia. For 30 hours I was treated in the emergency room while waiting on a bed in the hospital. I was thankful for being under treatment but the walls began closing in as the hours passed by so slowly. I tried to think of things I wanted to do when I recovered but finishing the painting on my front porch lost all of its significance when I heard the “code blue” come through the system. It was hard to see how hard the nurses and staff were working to keep up with their jobs. My Mom was also there with covid pneumonia and hearing the weakness in her voice over the phone after she went home brought me to tears. After four days of medicine and oxygen I was finally able to come home. It is great to be surrounded by my own familiar walls, but even that doesn’t take away the slight pain in my chest or the bad dreams during the night. What brought me joy was the familiar faces of my family. Little Lici waited at my bedroom door for me to put on my mask and then she came and climbed up beside me into my lap. Later I cried as I watched little tears run down Elsa’s cheeks with our first hug. Back in April I knew that God had a reason that He brought them into our home when they sold their house. I can now see how much we have needed Annie to help take care of us during this lengthy illness. God has blessed me so much and I am so thankful for His loving care. Thank you for all the prayers. Don’t question the path God leads you on today, because He knows just where you need to be tomorrow.
A Wall Of Prayer
