Friday Fight 47 - Reverting or Responding?
Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF47.
When we face challenges, what is the first thing we do? Some of us shut down, cry, scream, or run constant scenarios in our minds adding to our fear. Perhaps others self-medicate, pray, or do a combination of things. So what is our first response when something threatens life as we know it?
Reverting or Responding?
We all have habits or our "go-to" whenever something stressful happens. Job loss, divorce, illness, or anything continuously stressful can cause us to revert to "other" things for comfort or turn to God in response to something out of our control. Maybe some of us do both.
Look at a medical emergency; we are usually comforted when the first responders arrive. We feel more confident as we place the situation in the hands of those who can meet any medical needs after one call. Unfortunately, our loved ones are sometimes placed in the hands of those we believe can meet their medical needs, but man is not perfect, and things can go wrong.
Apply this concept to being a first responder for God. Yes, we call for help or visit the ER, but being God's first responder means calling on God through prayer as a first response. We can revert to our "go-to" things or place those stressful situations right before the throne of God through prayer. God is the Great Physician, and we are lifting our prayers to Jehovah Rapha, our Lord God who heals. One call or text to another prayer warrior can quickly lead to hundreds of people praying.
Darkness works to ensure we depend on things other than God, to reduce the pain in stressful situations. Over time, the goal is to solely rely on these things to ease our pain, hoping to promote addiction.
It's a blessing to be one of God's first responders, along with family and friends who are also first responders. Prayer is a first resort, not last. Being God's first responders in prayer is the most we can do, not the least we can do. Pray against reverting to things that briefly mask our hurts, and let's continue responding together in prayer.
I want to thank all of you who immediately responded in prayer for my sister Beth. She is still in ICU but doing better. God hears our prayers and is answering our prayers. In a matter of hours, our requests for prayer spread to hundreds of people in prayer for her all over the country, incredible! Please continue praying for complete healing.
Philippians 4:6
Pastor Shannon
New Life Calvert