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The Devotional Diva - Give God No Rest
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The Devotional Diva - Give God No Rest
By Barbara Gobbs
Executive Assistant and Ministry Partner - Pocket Full of Change Ministries
"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves. And give Him [God] no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isaiah 62:6-7 (NAS95)
God has allowed me to join of a large group of women committed to bringing Ann Graham Lotz and "Just Give Me Jesus" revival services to Jacksonville in April of 2009. The Lord turned this into a divine appointment and one I did not anticipate or seek out.
As a prelude to the future revival event, a group of us here in Jacksonville had the distinct pleasure and honor of hearing Dr. Henry Blackaby on Tuesday morning of last week. We were blessed further still by hearing Ann Graham Lotz that night.
What an encouragement for all in attendance, especially those serving on the numerous "Jesus Give Me Jesus" revival committees. People are praying fervently for this community and of course, for the work needed to complete such a task. We are all feeling slightly overwhelmed and under-qualified about the monumental undertaking that lies ahead.
Yet, we are certain God is able for His grace indeed is sufficient.
Now for a joke: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. As corny as it sounds, this piece of advice has served me well. It will serve the revival teams as well, if we consider something else. It is a piece of advice most of us learned as a child, before any meal - you pray!
So what does eating elephants have to do with revival? Don't attempt until you've prayed. Read on.
Dr. Blackaby was in town mainly to address the pastors and ministers of the community. Since I work for a faith-based ministry, I was able to attend with our staff. What he shared that morning bears repeating to us all.
In Isaiah 62:6, we see that God has appointed watchmen over the city of Jerusalem. It doesn't take long to figure out how this parallels the duties of a pastor. They are the shepherd and the watchmen over a flock we call the church. Nevertheless, it was the next verse that ties this up with a ribbon and puts the icing on the cake.
Verse 7 admonishes the watchmen to "give God no rest until." Camp on that part of this verse for a while. Umm. . . Okay, keep camping it's worth it!
What does it mean to pray so that we don't give God rest until.? You must admit that is a pretty soul searching question and one that deserves an answer.
Give God no rest. Okay, we know God does not need rest but if we use the words of Isaiah as a visual image of sorts, we might see a picture of us praying with urgency and expectancy like never before. When was the last time we kept God up at night, because something was keeping us up?
This verse speaks to me of prayer without ceasing. Prayer that isn't necessarily repetitious but provoking God into action. It's sincere because the need is so great that it bears much repeating.
Until. . . Until what? How about pray until God establishes the answer! Pray until God establishes a healing. Pray until God establishes the needed job. Pray until God establishes the restored relationship. Pray until God establishes a financial solution. Pray until God establishes a peace in your heart over the situation. Pray until God establishes His will! Pray until God establishes revival in Jacksonville! And don't give Him any rest until He does.
Truly, I can't think of a single clever way to end this devotion for today so, I'll leave that up to each of you and the Holy Spirit. May you be blessed by lack of rest!
Prayerfully in love,
Barbara
Divinely Inspired Victoriously Active
Barbara Gobbs is a ministry partner with and the Executive Assistant of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to request a newsletter, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden, Publicist at 904 316-5462. This ministry is supported by donations. If this ministry helps you or others, and God calls you to help support this work, you can make a donation to Pocket Full of Change Ministry at POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240.
© Pocket Full of Change Ministries
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