Dedication precedes provision II
Good morning, dear friends!
Praise God for this wonderful day that God has given us! Thank God for one more opportunity to be filled with His living Word!
Yesterday we began talking about dedication being a prerequisite for provision. And we established that full dedication means that we call upon God,walk in the fear of the Lord and love God. Let’s look in more detail at the three elements of our dedication to God.
To call upon God – it means to have a stable prayer life. God desires you to have consistent and stable prayer life. You have to have a place where you call upon Him.
«But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly» (Mathew, 6:6).
You can call upon God in any place, but, according to Jesus’ teaching, for our prayer life to be effective we have to have these things:
- time – «when you pray»;
- place – «go into your room»;
- undivided attention on God – «shut your door».
Prayer draws us closer to God.
«The LORD is near to all who call upon Him…»(Psalm, 145:18).
«Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinner; and purify your heart, you double-minded» (James, 4:8).
«For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him» (Romans, 10:12).
God is rich towards those who call upon Him; He does not show partiality. Your job is to call upon Him and then He will draw near to you.
«For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?»(Deuteronomy, 4:7).
«I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the LORD: „O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living» (Psalm, 116:1-9).
The joy comes when the Lord hears us. If you will cry upon the Lord, you will stop crying. God will dry up your tears and keep your feet from stumbling. Our dedication to God is something that we need.
«For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you»(Isaiah, 30:19).
God has prepared so many blessings for you; you can obtain these blessing only through the pathway of deep dedication to God. The choice is yours! Tomorrow we will talk about what it means to have the fear of the Lord or to fear God.
God bless you!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
