Friday, December 27, 2013

Negotiating With The Lord


As you seek answers to prayer and request miracles from the Lord, remember this:  you can negotiate with the Lord.  What you have to remember is, you have to move His heart according to what is already in His will.  In other words you are not going to negotiate something He is firmly against.

Consider what happened here:

Matt 15:21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

What happened here?  The Lord basically told this woman no at first, but she found a reason for Him to help her.  What did this woman do?  She brought faith to the table......Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.

What can we bring to the Lord to have our prayers and requests answered?  His Word and our faith then a healthy dose of patience.  Sometimes the Lord answers immediately, sometimes He takes His sweet time.  Remember the story of the centurion, the Lord told him he had great faith and his servant was healed.  Now look at this woman who was not going to get what she asked for, she brought her faith to the Lord and ended up getting what she asked for.

We are all needy people, this brother above all.  I need the Lord's help and assistance and guidance every minute of every day or else I am done for.  It has been shown to me how weak and needy I truly am.  Many others are in the same boat as I am.  The Lord must provide and protect or its game over for us.  What has happened is the Lord has provided and protected up through this very day.  Why?  How?  Through faith.

Faith is a gift from God but we can also build our faith up.  If we are lacking we can ask for more.  Consider what the Lord Himself said to these people in the Bible.  According to your faith it is done to you, and woman you have great faith!  Your request is granted.

Why bring to the Lord His Word and your faith?  They cannot be resisted.  How can the Lord resist His own Word?  Do you see evidence in the Word of the Lord resisting great faith?  No.  If you twist the Word like the enemy did in the desert with our Lord Jesus, forget about it.  If you bring Him the Word according to His will then you can see miracles happen and prayers answered.

This brother does not bring you theory today or just hot air.  The Lord has delivered many miracles to this brother.  So what?  I now have a testimony to share with you.  Everything the Lord has said is true and can be trusted.  There is just as much power in His Word today as there ever was.

If you are going to negotiate with the Lord it helps if you know Him.  Bring His Word and your faith to Him and see what happens.  Remember to be patient, we never know how long our answer will take.

grace and peace