October Prayer Focus: Strengthen Yourself In the Lord

What a privilege it is for us to find encouragement in community! It is not enough, however, to count on others. We must learn to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. In this month's prayer letter, Lynn Green shares his very personal journey on how he has come out of a recent period of despair. In a separate letter, John Dawson shares similar thoughts from his recent travels around the YWAM world. Finally, a prayer teaching provides tools that can help you find strength in the Lord in the middle of difficult circumstances. It is our hope that you emerge from the October 2 prayer day changed, empowered, and strengthened by the Lord. These materials, as well as Lynn's September podcast, can also be found online at www.prayerday.org.

October Prayer Letter by Lynn Green

A few weeks ago I felt that I was going through a very hard time. My wife had been diagnosed with cancer and it proved to be an aggressive form that will need extensive treatment. I had my own health problems and there were various difficulties in my wider family. One day one of my sons said, "Everything seems to be going wrong. It's as if God is doing nothing, or even worse, that God is working against us."

What could I say? He expressed how I felt.

But just a few days earlier I had been reading David's life story and a passage from 1 Samuel 30 stood out. Verse 6 says, "But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."

I stopped and compared my circumstances with David's. Several years earlier, God had promised him that he would be king one day. After a brief period of success, everything began to go wrong. The reigning king first became suspicious of him and then began to actively seek his death. He fled to the desert and disgruntled men joined him. It would have been hard enough for one man to stay alive in such a desolate place, but he became responsible for hundreds.

Finally, the king of Israel's enemies gave him a small city to live in on the edge of the desert. While he and his men were off trying to serve in the Philistine army, their town was attacked, sacked and burned. The Philistines rejected him and his men and when they returned from an exhausting trip, the city was smoldering and all their families were missing. In the face of this disaster, his men blamed David and decided to kill him.

And I thought I was going through a bad time!

"But David encouraged himself in the Lord." How did he do that?? Whatever he did, it really worked because he returned to his men with an infectious confidence and then led them into battle to recover their loved ones. They won them all back along with vast amounts of plunder.

We all have to choose whether we live with confidence in God's word or allow our circumstances to determine our attitudes. When Hebrews 11 recounts that great list of heroes of the faith, it is as if God himself is pointing us to the great crowd of people who have believed Him in spite of circumstances.

I have no doubt that David encouraged himself by remembering the promises God had made to him, then recounting God's history of faithfulness leading up to that day. He probably sang some of the psalms he composed while he was still a young shepherd. Perhaps he also made his complaint to the Lord. But he didn't carry that complaint with him--he left it with the Lord and went on to lead his men from despondency to victory.

In the accompanying teaching article, I will point out some of the ways each of us can find strength in the Lord to overcome our circumstances. That is our calling! He wants us to be people who believe His Word, even in the darkest hours. That is how His kingdom comes. The Kingdom becomes reality as we believe what He has said in the face of any and all obstacles. Hebrews 11:1a describes this kind of faith: "now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Well, as I write these lines, my circumstances haven't changed much, but my faith has! I repented of my unbelief and received forgiveness; then I began to give thanks to God for all His goodness and blessings on my life. Then I pulled out some of the prophetic words that have been spoken over my life and told the Lord that I believed them! I found strength in the Lord.

This was not just an individual effort though. I asked for prayer from my friends and joined in fellowship with others who lifted me up in intercession and encouragement. I am so grateful for the Body of Christ!

As we engage with this day of prayer, let's take some time to remember God's promises to us, to recount His faithfulness and to give Him the praise and worship that He is due. Take some time to draw individual strength, but do the same corporately. Whatever circumstances your team or center might be facing, take the time to tell the stories of God's faithfulness and recount all His good promises. Remember the prophetic words that have been spoken over you and your ministries.

May we be a people who believe God's promises more than our circumstances. May we be those who trust Him to fulfill His Word to us... those who live in faith, trust and joy every day!

October Teaching: Strengthen Yourself in the Lord

In Lynn Green's letter, he refers to the story of David in 1 Samuel 30. Take some time to read that story and imagine the depths of discouragement that David faced. If he could find strength from the Lord in those circumstances, then we can as well--regardless of what we face. Here is how we can go about it:

Never underestimate the benefits of battle. When God decided to create a people for Himself, he planned a path that would engage them in conflict for generations. In Psalm 105, the scriptures make it clear that God himself led them into conflict to strengthen them. James goes even further when he says that we should consider it pure joy when we encounter various trials and tests (James 1:2). Let us not give in to the temptation to resent God when thing don't work out the way we expected. Tests, trials and battles are tools in God's hand to shape us to be more like Jesus.

Praise. We know that God is good all the time, but when things are going badly, we should take the time to praise Him. When we praise Him during dark times, we are reinforcing the truth that we are serving Him for who He is rather than for the blessings that come from His hand. Praise is a powerful tool, not only serving to continually set us free and to bless God, but as an act of spiritual warfare. Make no mistake: praise can break strongholds instantaneously or over a period of time. We are sometimes immediately made aware of the results of our praise (note the Joshua 5 recounting of the fall of the wall in Jericho); at all times, the act of praise itself should settle our hearts and build a quiet confidence in the Lord. Praise helps make us overcomers. 1 John 4:4 states "you, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

Repent of unbelief, fear and comparison. All of us struggle with intimidation at times; it is our responsibility to deal with it seriously, especially if it is a pattern in our lives. The only way to combat the lie that we are insignificant is to do battle with our minds and lay hold of God's truth. We must do battle where we feel the most incapable. All of this begins with repentance in the areas where we have shut down and not allowed God to use us; the step of faith is then to move in the opposite spirit and be willing to be used in the areas where we feel the weakest. "With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies" (Psalm 60:12). We must walk in this truth. As we regain ground that was lost, we must not relent. We cannot afford to give this ground back to the enemy. We must not see ourselves as victims, but rather must come against the underlying pride that fuels our unbelief and fear.

Remember the Word of the Lord. If given just a moment, each of us would remember many promises that God has given us over the years. Among these promises, most of us are certain to find that at least some of them have gone partially unfulfilled. Remembering God's promises and recounting them back to the Lord is a powerful practice and is itself an act of faith. It is a declaration that we fully expect that what God said will ultimately come to pass. Hebrews 11:13 reminds us that some promises go unfulfilled this side of heaven, while Isaiah 11:3b reminds us that we are not to judge by what we see with our eyes or decide by what we hear with our ears. We have all been given "precious and exceedingly great promises" (2 Peter 1:4) which are all "Yes in Christ" (2 Cor. 1:20). It is not presumption to speak out those promises to others, which can build faith in the hearer as well, unless God has specifically directed you otherwise. Finally, it is prudent to continually remind each other of God's corporate promises and work toward their fulfillment.

Give thanks for all His faithfulness. The Bible says that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34b). Instead of fruitlessly worrying about tomorrow, we are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). One of the keys of finding His Kingdom is cultivating an attitude of gratefulness. And we have so much to be grateful for! First off, we're children of God, plucked from darkness into His marvelous light. And then, we're YWAMers! Each of us has been given the incredible privilege of representing the Lord of the universe in our many spheres of influence. Each of us can recount story after story of how God asked us to do something impossible, then gave us the means and abilities to do so. Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal, and it's something we can practice 24 hours a day.

Obey him even in the darkest times. The story of Elijah in the cave is the ultimate faith-builder (1 Kings 19). The prophet had no hope left as he stood at the mouth of the cave in utter despair. He had no earthly reason to leave that cave and continue to walk out the call upon his life, except for the fact that God showed up at just the right time and gave him further instructions. With renewed faith that God was leading and guiding, "Elijah went from there....." (1 Kings 19:19). May we be a people that learn to strengthen ourselves in the Lord that we might be able to respond as Elijah did in his darkest hour!