Pray for Clear Direction

“Gideon said to God, ‘If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.‘ That is what happened.

Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not be angry with me. Let me make one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.’ That night God did so (from Judges 6:36-40).”

So we pray, “Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul (Psalm 143:8).”

Doubt-filled Questioning Prayer

“Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

“If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?”

“Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel. I am sending you!”

“Me? My clan is weakest and I am the least in my entire family.”

The Lord said to him, “I will be with you.”

“If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that is is really the Lord speaking to me (from Judges 6:12-17).”

The Lord gave him a sign, answering his doubt-filled questions.

Cry Out to the Lord for Deliverance

When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer (Judges 3:9).

Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliver (Judges 3:18).

God delivered them again. And again. And again.

God still delivers. Cry out to the Lord.

Our Merciful Savior

The people did evil, abandoned the Lord and provoked Him to anger. The hand of the Lord was against them for harm and they were in terrible distress.

The Lord heard their groaning, was moved to pity, and He saved them (see Judges 2:11-18).

Our Lord is a merciful Savior.

Speak Up

Here’s one story: “There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10).

Here’s another story: We will tell “the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might and the wonders that he has done. . . that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children so that they should set their hope in God (Psalm 78:4-6).

Those who speak to God should also speak of Him.

Sincere, Faithful Prayer

Fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness (Deuteronomy 34:9).

Prayer is service.

Pray with sincerity and faithfulness.

On Faith in Prayer

Stories of answered prayer encourage us to pray. But they don’t increase our faith.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses (from Hebrews 11:1 AMP).

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

Faith in prayer is based on who God is and what He is like.

Always Pray; Don’t Give Up

Her story was intended to encourage prayer, but it discouraged me. It seemed God answered all her prayers. Doubt crept in.

Some of my most fervent, persistent prayers have not been answered.

The next day I was substitute teaching. The students were completing a project but we could not find the work they had done. We looked everywhere. I breathed a silent prayer, and immediately found what we were looking for. God heard me!

He hears you.

Will he not answer all our prayers in a way that brings Him glory?

We should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1).

What God Did When They Prayed for Protection

When they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between them and the Egyptians (Joshua 24:7), who were in hot pursuit.

Pray for protection from the enemy—God is our help and shield (from Psalm 115:11).

The Lord Always Knows

When their brothers misjudged and accused them, they said, “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows (Joshua 22:22).”

Their story ends well (read it in Joshua 22).

The Mighty One, God, the Lord always knows. And He always listens!