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Listen while you read: "I Waited For The Lord My God"1 (Lyrics) |
During my quiet time with the Lord on the morning of Wednesday, October 22nd, at precisely 10 a.m. (noticing the time because I had to go to an appointment later), the Holy Spirit spoke to me through this Scripture:
1 Timothy 2:1-2 – I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (NIV)
He urges us to pray for kings and all those in authority. I took the word "kings" to mean our leaders, so immediately I wrote down the name of our Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. I had never done this before. Little did I know that there were shootings taking place in the parliament buildings in our federal capital, Ottawa, at that precise time.
As I later listened to the account of the shootings, the announcer said, "The prime minister was immediately taken to a safe place." I felt a shiver run over my body when I heard these words, because I realized that I was instructed to pray for him at precisely that time, and I had obeyed instantly instead of waiting until a later time.
This Scripture, which I admit I all too often read over casually, suddenly came alive. Once again, I felt that shiver. I had asked God to use me that day to touch someone's life. And I believe that He did, as I prayed for the safety of our prime minister.
As I spent some time thanking and praising God for speaking so clearly, it dawned on me that when I had obeyed the Scripture's clear instruction that morning, I had been given almost immediate assurance that my prayer had been heard and answered.
How much God loves us to take time to ask Him to intervene in the affairs of men! And how I love Him for doing so!
May I urge you to pray immediately whenever the Scripture verse you may be reading instructs you to — and certainly to obey the instructions in today's passage: to pray for our leaders, for their wisdom and safety.
Prayer: Thank You, our wonderful God, that we can know that You work in our daily lives to bring about answers to our prayers. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Beautiful reminder Sharon.
Good one Sharon. Blessings and prayers.
I was inspired by your devotional today. Keep writing.
Powerful stuff, Sharon. I love when that happens.
Thanks for sharing.
Good Morning Sharon.
Thank you for listening and acting on God’s words to you. A good lesson for all of us.
Dear Sharon,
I really enjoy your devotional “Do It Now”.
Thank you.
Sharon, How true. I love hearing about how our prayers are directed by the Spirit and are often answered immediately. It was exciting to hear that you had the opportunity to see the results. Thanks for sharing.
God bless.
Thanks for this devotion and for listening to the urging of the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, I was reading several articles in the Decision magazine this past week about praying for our leaders. It really is a very important thing to do so thanks for doing it on Oct. 22nd. God works in mysterious ways! Be blessed.
Hello Sharon.
Thank you for sharing. We too have many times kept our President in our requests to our living God, and his beloved Son Jesus. The same reason as stated in the scriptures.
Thanks again,
(USA)
Sharon what a blessing to be used in this way.
Wonderful testimony! Keep sharing. It really helps build the faith of those who read your entries. God bless.
Hi! I was moved by your message. Most people would see or experience similar happenings as yours and just write it off as coincidence. I know you are not looking for thanks but please accept mine. All our leaders need our prayers for God’s influence in this troubled world at this period in time. Thanks again.
Dear Sharon,
I have had similar experiences to yours.
A memorable one from years back: I was sitting in a library studying, when suddenly I had the urge to pray for the United States.
Very soon someone announced — to the effect, “The president of United States has been shot.”
God has blessed you. Keep giving him glory.
Keep writing,
Thank you for sharing this. It is wonderful to know God was on the `job` before we even knew something was wrong and how glad you would be that you obeyed promptly.