God is your Father! Many people know God as their Saviour, which is important. Others recognise God as Sovereign and Omnipotent, which He is. But when you know God as a Father, your relationship with him becomes more personal.
God speaks through signs and wonders
We are all familiar with the story of Moses and the burning bush, but I want to look at the conversation between God and Moses. What most intrigues me about the passage found in Exodus 3&4, is that this appears to be a genuine conversation between the two of them. There is a fascinating description of the relationship between God and Moses found in Exodus 33.11, 'The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.' O that God would speak to us this same way!
Are you in a valley?
'The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me...' The 'valley of the shadow' is more literally translated as, where the light of the sun is cut off. I want to tell you: wherever you are, whatever your trial, no matter the problem - even if you feel the light of the sun is cut off - God will not fail you.
The Power in the Name of Jesus
I want to talk about the Power that is IN THE NAME OF JESUS. We learn so much from Philippians 2.4-9, “Look not every man on his own interests, but on the interest of others. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God (one with Him), thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But he made himself of no reputation and took on the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men… He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even to death of the cross. Therefore – because he humbled Himself and was obedient to His Father, obedient even to death, this gave Him a position that nobody else can attain – therefore God has highly exalted Him and gave Him a NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME!
Walking on the waters of affliction
We all experience the waters of affliction. In your life and mine, there are many times when we need the power of God to deliver. God’s timing is perfect, coming at the darkest hour, when the storm is at its fiercest, and our need is the greatest. Jesus said, "I will be with you always." Every day, every hour, in the middle of every storm, in the middle of every sickness. There’s never a moment when He is not there.
Exceedingly, abundantly, above what you ask!
Prayer is not just ‘fellowship with the Lord’. We are encouraged to ASK for what we need and desire. And Paul says, God is able to give you ABOVE what you can ask. Too many Christians are afraid to ask, I don’t know why. I have no hesitation in asking. If there is something I need, I know the Scripture, so I ask! And the Lord answers me!
Jesus prays for you!
The Lord will answer your prayer
There are periods in our lives when it seems God is not answering. But that does not mean God is not there, that He’s not listening. My father always used to say, that in the laws of physics, every action has a reaction. Every wave is followed by a trough. And every tough is followed by a wave. He taught me, our emotions and experiences vary. But under pressure, we mustn’t think God is not listening to us. The communist prison was the worst time in my life – yet God used it to work one of the biggest miracles in my life! When I look back, I thank God for that time! Like Habakkuk, there are times when we have to go through the despair, “How long will I cry and You will not hear?!”
How to grow your faith to see miracles
If you want your faith to grow, you’ve got to nurture it, practice it, act on it – and it will grow! That’s what has happened in my life. How did I have the boldness in the prison to pray, “Lord, 2000 years ago when Paul and Silas were in prison, You worked a miracle, broke down the prison walls and set them free. If You could do it for them, You can do it for me, get me out!”?!! I prayed like this, not just because I knew the Scripture, but because, in the back of my mind, it was only 8 years after my throat cancer had been miraculously healed! Because of this I could say, “Lord, You delivered Paul and Silas, You healed my throat cancer – and You can get me out of prison!” You see, my faith grew – experimentally!
