Call upon me in the day of Trouble...
Introduction
The word of God in Psalm says “Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” - Psalm 50:15 is an incredible promise. The Lord God Almighty is telling us to call on Him when we are in trouble and overwhelmed by situations.
The Lord is a caring Father that knows our frame as humans, and He invites us to call upon him in our troubles. He wants us to know we have a dependable Father, who is able to deliver, even to the uttermost of all troubles. He says, “I care about you. Call upon me in the day of trouble. Bring your worries to me and I will relieve your burdens.
“Be anxious for nothing and receive the peace that passes understanding. Bring every burden to the throne of grace. He knows that human beings are ever trying their natural strength and wisdom and will only resort to God when they are incapable of resolving the issues at hand.
I am available to help
God is saying that we should turn the battles to Him who is able to do all things. He is saying fear not, for I am with you to help, but you must call upon me when you need help. There is no restriction, whether the help you need is in finding a spouse, a good job, vocation or skill to do, choice of school etc.
Call upon me is a call to prayer because that's the way to call upon the Lord to help you. It is also a call to a relationship with God because it is the God you know that you can call in times of trouble. Many people call their husbands, Pastors and Prophets when they are in trouble because those are the people they know and are in a relationship with.
You can imagine that you are in trouble and instead of calling the Almighty God, calling Jesus Christ to help you, you are rather calling your father, mother or husband. People run to the places they know they can get help in times of trouble. Many times it pains me that people go to herbalists and witch doctors for help, instead of to God, and the reason is that 'the witch doctor is the person they know. They don't have a relationship with Christ and so they stay back.
Meditate on my Word, live by it
A relationship is the first step to walking with God. Spend time on the Word of God, learn of God and obey His words and instructions. Commune with Him in worship and praises regularly and meditate on His word and then pray for His direction and help, so you get to start receiving instructions from the Lord and be led by the Spirit of God.
God cannot deny His own, and the bible says...those that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons and daughters of God. This is one condition that shows that you are a child of God when you are led, not by your Pastor, friends, social media or parents. When you are led by the Spirit of God. Once you submit yourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you come under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit of Christ and the third person of the Trinity.
Let us reason together
I don't want to deceive you if you don't have a relationship with Jesus and if you are not being led by the Spirit of God, though you are a member of a living church, your prayer may not receive as fast an answer as those that have a strong relationship with the Lord, so let everyone upgrade his or her relationship with the Lord and live a righteous life that pleases Him.
Sin is the separating factor between us and God, so when you are in a relationship with the Lord, you submit yourself to Him and resist every temptation to sin. You can do and more grace will be given to you from the Lord to resist sin.
I do not say NO
God cannot say NO to a cry for help from the heart. If any man cries to Him from the heart, Jesus Christ cannot say NO. What I am saying is that whether you are born again or not, the Almighty God will not say no to your cry for help from the heart. If it is from the heart, it means the heart has repented and come to believe in the Lord before you can cry to Him. This is the secret behind the call for help from different people that Jesus answered in the bible. Those people were not His disciples or followers, for instance, the Leper in Luke 5?
While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Luke 5:12-13 (NASB)
I am Willing
The Lord is inclined to help us, but we simply need to call upon him. Today, many people in doubt, even Muslims and atheists have cried to Him to prove that He lives and whenever such a cry is from the heart, the Lord will appear and the storm will calm!
That call shows that God's promises cannot fall to the ground. If He has spoken it, it is sure to happen in its season without fail. He says “I will deliver you.” not “I might deliver you,”.
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it? (Numbers 23:19)
God won’t forget to deliver us. He won’t change his mind or lie. He will hear us and come to our help and surely and certainly deliver us. It might not be on our timetable, but he will not fail to keep his word. When we call upon the Lord in the day of trouble, he will answer us.
Your Victory glorify Him
Another reason why He will answer us is that He delivers for His glory
He will receive praise and honour and glory when he rescues us. When God answers our cries for help, we will pour out thanks. We will tell others how God helped us. We will praise him.
This point is coded because it requires at least two conditions to be met. The first is that we are His own and His deliverance will show that we are not serving Him in vain. The second is that what we are doing or planning to do is something that will bring glory to His powerful name. If your project or activity will bring honour and glory to God, He would deliver you and you will fulfil the plans that will honour Him.
This means that we should have God's purpose at the back of our minds when we are doing our own things and businesses. We should be led by the Spirit in choosing the business and what to do so that when we run into trouble, we can call upon Him and be delivered without delay.
Choose to be led by The Spirit
Let us make a wise choice today to wait on the Lord and be led by His Spirit in all that we do. Let us adopt the lifestyle of praising Him for His kindness, even in the midst of trouble. Thank him that he hears your prayers. That he is near to you to help you get out of such a storm. Believe in your heart and praise Him again that all things are working together for your good and stand on your faith until the situation turns.
I don't know the challenges you are passing through. Know for sure that you are a victor already. remember you were bought with a price..... 1 cor 6:20
You have the Word of faith in your mouth to resist the devil - For it is written, you shall decree a thing and it shall be established unto you, and the light of the Lord shall shine on your path. So, if you want to see changes, call upon the Lord for help and speak the word of faith and it shall be established, then the light of the Lord (The Change) you expect will appear.
Justification for Prayer
When it comes to prayer, the Lord is
ready and willing to answer all our prayers, especially according to our
faith. If you believe and pray to God concerning anything, He would
answer you, so that your joy may be full. He says "If my people who are
called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and
heal their land".
And this should be the confidence
that motivates you to pray continually and at any time you have needs. It
is written that "if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And
if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the
requests that we have asked of him".
So, do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God. What you need to do is to trust in the Lord
and His promises. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Pray without season
Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it
will be yours. Remember that if you will begin to pray all the time, the
Spirit Himself will help our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep
for words.
But when you pray, go into your room
and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who
sees in secret will reward you. Keep praying and keep asking what you
want because it is written, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
You know the reason why you should
pray boldly to the Lord, it is because He has already promised to answer you
when you call to Him. He says "Call to me and I will answer you, and
will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known".
Watch and pray that you may not
enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Especially, pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and
supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication
for all the saints,
Rules for Prayer
About
Prayer
Prayer
has some rules and assurances to the one praying.
If
there is a man to pray, the God of heaven will answer, but you must ask in
faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts, is like a wave of the sea that
is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will
receive anything from the Lord.
Ask
what you want -
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the
one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father
among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a
serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Don't
be anxious -
There is yet another rule for prayer, which says "Do not be anxious about
anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus. The moment you become anxious while praying or after praying, it means you don't
have faith that God will answer the prayer.
Address
your sin - You
should know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper
of God and does his will, God listens to him. W walk in obedience to the Word
of God and forsake evil sin and evil ways so that when you pray, we can be sure
the Lord has heard us. If He does not hear our prayer due to our sin,
such prayers would not be answered. Notice that because of sin, we are
drawn away from God.
God
is near you -
Whoever is praying to God should know that the Lord is near to all who call on
him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desire of those who fear
him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord is near to all who
call to Him in truth, however, He answers the cry of those that fear Him -
Psalms 145. This truth should inspire confidence in you as it is written:
This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything
according to his will he hears us.
God
hates Eyes service -
God does not like eye service and He does not want to see such hypocritical
behaviour, that is why He says “Beware of practising your righteousness before
other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from
your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no
trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
that they may be praised by others.
Truly,
I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy,
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your
giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by
others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Pray
always -
Remember that a Christian ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In
a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And
there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me
justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterwards, he said to
himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow
keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down
by her continual coming.’” ...
Be
Humble - “Two
men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that
I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this
tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the
tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but
beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this
man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be
exalted.”
Be
compassionate -
If you turn away your ears from the cry of the poor, from hearing the word
of God, even your prayer is an abomination unto the Lord.
Forgive - And whenever you stand
praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also
who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Pray
also for the Nation and its leaders -
First of all, If my people who are called by my name humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear
from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. I urge
that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all
people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it
is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
How to Call upon the Lord
You call upon Him in prayer with the following:
1. Tell Him what you need Him to do for you, and the problem you are facing.
2. Remind Him of His promises, including what you are asking for.
3. Bring your strong points for making the demand - Isaiah 41
4. Remind Him of His assurance to answer you when you call - Psalm 50:15
5. Understand the devil you are fighting. Is it the demon of late marriage, joblessness, barrenness, poverty, lack of favour etc, so that you can pray against the spirit and its activities directly?
6. Stay away from food for some time to enable you to pray effectively (Optional)
7. Have faith that the God you are praying to will answer - This is faith
8. Pray like Prophet Elijah...with understanding.
He called on the God Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because the problem is beyond him. He knew God had a covenant with Abraham and once you mention the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Almighty will appear in the scene. See how he prayed:
1 Kings 18:36-37 - At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that these people may know that You, O LORD, are God and that You have turned their hearts back again."
FIRE...
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