Pray Network Forum

18 (2)

The Wall and “A Matter of Inches”

Posted by Dave Kubal on August 3, 2011 at 14:12
Many times as I’m traveling on airplanes I marvel at the difference a few inches can make. Relaxing in a comfortable chair in a comfortable climate, I look out the window and realize that the temperature just inches away is below zero, the winds are 400+ MPH, and air is so thin that I would instantly plummet to my death gasping for oxygen. It’s only a matter of a few inches.

The Israelites understood this matter of inches. They went to great lengths to surround Jerusalem and other cities with walls, several inches thick. Inside the wall the Israelites found protection, safety and comfort. They knew God’s purposes were a priority. They knew they would find people who were like-minded. Outside the wall was a different story. There was no guarantee of their safety outside. It was just a matter of a few inches.

Today, we as believers in Jesus Christ are not called to remove ourselves and live behind a secluding wall, but rather to bring a wall of protection to those around us. Our battle is “against powers and principalities,” and we build a barrier against attack when we “pray in the Spirit at all times” (Eph. 6:12, 18).

This is why we have a 24/7 Prayer Wall for the nation at GetAmericaPraying.com.

Safety. Protection. God’s ways. It’s just a matter of inches.
Read more…

A Touch from the LORD

Posted by Dave Kubal on January 6, 2011 at 13:53
“But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets.... And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ He will kill me!” Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.” —1 Kings 18:12b-15

It was a moment of great victory. Elijah had just stood on Mount Carmel with 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah, watching God rain down fire in what had to be an incredibly dramatic fashion. He then prayed seven times and saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand break a three year drought. Afterwards, he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran with superhuman strength fast enough to overtake Ahab’s horses.

What a day! And yet with Elijah’s impossible victories in 1 Kings 18, the next chapter reveals that he sat down under a broom tree and asked God to kill him. Depressed, exhausted, and intimidated by how his exploits might backfire in the face of his enemies, he prayed twice: “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (vs. 10, 14).

The Lord is so good, dispatching an angel that “comes at once” to touch Elijah and feed him during his time of great need. Elijah eats the food and lies down again, still overcome by despair. With the Lord’s gracious understanding of human frailty, He dispatches the angel a second time. Again, the angel comforts and feeds Elijah, this time announcing why: “For your journey is too much for you,” he says.

After this encounter, Elijah travels non-stop for 40 days and nights. His journey into the wilderness culminates when the word of the Lord comes to Elijah who obeys with fully strengthened zeal. The Lord patiently rejuvenates Elijah’s resilience and calling.

As intercessors, we can learn from Elijah’s life that there is often an attack at the point of great victory. It could be a personal attack. It may even drive us to the point where we don’t want to live. It’s at those times that we can ask the Lord to meet us, touch us, and nourish our bodies. Then we will be able to continue to ask the Lord to restore His morals in our country, energize His Church, and raise up those who will speak for Him.
Read more…