YOU CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO READ THIS!!

[Dr Benard Etta]

 YOU HAVE THE ANSWER TO SOMEONE’S PRAYER, DON’T KEEP HIM WAITNG!

 

Someone might be in a dilemma; protracted fasting or marathon night vigils, storming heaven, etc, not because God is holding back something, but because someone equipped to meet his need is not sensitive enough or lacks the will to do so. When we say, God will provide the question is; how does He provide? He told Elijah,

 

Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 1Ki:17:9

 

Ponder on the words; "I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee". The question is, was she conscious she was under divine command to sustain the Lord's prophet? No! She was not, her response reveals that.

 

And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 1Ki:17:12

 

Mark the words; "that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die". Another question we should ask is: was God not aware of the need for she and her son to survive? He did; God had a better plan for them and the plan of God could only materialize if God could get her beyond the preoccupation of her own needs to the need of someone else.

 

For instance, you have $1000 USD and you are still in need of $5000 USD more, and someone is simply looking for $200 USD by your side. The tendency is to say you don't have because you are considering what you still need. This was exactly the mentality of the woman of Zarephath. She didn't know that, if what you have is unable to meet your need, meet the need of someone within your resources and God will extend His favor towards you.

Thus, we can say, the one the Lord commanded to sustain Elijah was insensitive to the need she was prepared to meet. She only changed her altitude when Elijah said;

 

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 1Ki:17:14

 

Only eternity will reveal how many people died, how much setbacks the kingdom of God in-curred on several fronts because of our individual and collective failure to respond to what we were equip for, on time.

There is nothing wrong with fasting and prayers, but we have to understand that, most of the answers we are looking for from God are already here on earth, but someone is insensitive to the fact that, he/she is the answer to that prayer or fasting. May God make us sensitive to the needs around us, which He has prepared us to respond to

Esther too was insensitive until the words of Mordecai awoke her out of her spiritual coma.

 

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Es:4:14

 

I once heard about a Muslim businessman who lived close to a Church; on a certain day, a lady got into Church and started yelling at the top of her voice for God's intervention. The noise was so loud that, even though Muslims seldom any church house, the man decided to break religious protocol and got into the church. He went straight to the altar and touched the lady on her shoulder and asked her what the matter was; the lady said, her landlord has given her a quit notice because of accumulated rents worth $1000 USD. The Muslim man said to her, "you don't have to bother God for $1000 USD"; He pulled out his purse and gave the woman money worth $2000 USD and that ended the yelling exercise of that beloved sister in the Lord. The question we should ask is; where were her fellow brethren? The surely send her words of encouragement we all use; God will make a way. God will surely come through to you, etc.

 

In another occasion, a church in Lagos Nigeria needed an equivalent of $250,000 USD to purchase a very large real estate. One evening as they assembled, the pastor of the congregation made the need opened to the members and ask each one to bow his/her head to pray for God's provision; while they were about praying, a Lady sent a check of the exact amount of money they needed and told the pastor they should pray for other serious matters, not for a need of $250,000 USD. WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! The question we should equally ask is, where were the men?

Just imagine in both cases, what the result would have been if these individuals never responded to the prompting of their hearts? Days of yelling and groaning in prayers would have been perpetual for a need already provided to someone in wait for the problem designed for it. May God help us all!

 

Why Allow Someone To Fast/Pray for Days For A Need You Can Provide in Just a Moment?

The day we realize that, we are the body of Christ; His hands, feet, ear and mouth, etc, everything about our operational dynamics will change. God owes no man; every desire of ours has been provided for; the challenge we have is, many are expecting God to come down from heaven to perform a wonder when God has actually placed us in the life of each other with different resources to enable us share and meet the need of each other via the love of Christ. Most believers have very clever ways of avoiding opportunities which might demand that, they meet someone's need.

 

At times statements like, just trust God with your situation, don't give up, have faith in God, God who gave the vision will make a way, etc, are all, but excuses for our lack of sensitivity. I am not saying we have to replace God with human ability, what I am emphasizing is that, God will never come down from heaven to do anything for us without passing through a human instrument. Only in very few occasion has He used Angels to directly meet human needs. Most often, our lack of sensitivity is the reason some people fast their lives away for what God can use us to do in their lives. We often excuse ourselves while our fellow brothers and sisters cry to God as if God does not hear prayers.

 

Some years ago, the Lord led the late Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa of blessed memory to travel to the United States and assured him of the provision for his flight ticket. For those who knew the late Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa, he was a man of rugged faith. Immediately God gave him the leading, he packed his luggage and headed to the airport without a ticket. He spent several hours watching different flights taking off. Towards evening, a lady from his ministry saw him at the airport and said, PAPA! The Lord spoke to me since the day before to give you a ticket for the United States. When the Lady was through, the Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa turned to her and said, ''so you are the one keeping me here all this while''? hahahahahahahaha!!

 

Listen! So many uncompleted projects in the kingdom are not there because of either wrong timing or God being not in favor of their completion, but because most of God's people are too spiritual and not practical enough for God to use them to change things in the earth on His behalf. May God bring us into a new level of sensitivity, where we can respond to the prompting of our hearts to meet needs in the body of Christ!

Stay blessed

Dr Etta