PRINCIPLES OF POSTURE IN PRAYER 7: Go and Constantly Do the Same

This post is a continuation of post #6 of this series and goes even deeper to help us understand what is expected of us as a body of Christ. Luke 10:30-37 says,

³⁰ “Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. ³³ But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him], ³⁴ and went to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them [to sooth and disinfect the injuries]; and he put him on his own pack-animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day he took out two denarii (two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?’ ³⁷ He answered, ‘The one who showed compassion and mercy to him.’ Then Jesus said to him, “Go and constantly do the same.’” AMP

As mentioned in the previous post, we are to become our brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9). This requires that we go the extra mile for them in their time of need. The problem has been that many people in the church have one foot in the Kingdom and another one in the world. They follow the influence of the spirit of this world who leads them to be lovers of themselves instead of lovers of the world around them more than they love themselves. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 reveals,

¹”But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear]. ² For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, ³ [and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, ⁴ traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them.” AMP

These passage is very thorough in explaining everything that is in the heart of people who think that they should love themselves more than God and their neighbor. Luke 10:27-29 explains what God requires of us in our love towards Him and our neighbor, ²⁷ “And he replied, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ ²⁸ Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live.’ ²⁹ But he, wishing to justify and vindicate himself, asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’’ AMP

The fact is that if we do not love God and give ourselves to Him from our heart, our soul, our strength, and our mind, which means that there is no area of our life where we should keep God out for apart from Him we can do nothing, then we are not able to love as He loves and care for others as He cares. Instead, we become easy prey for the spirit of this world to influence us to be self-focused and think that our neighbor is the person that can help us increase our greed, can provide connections, or someone we can name drop to help us succeed. In other words, under the influence of the spirit of this world, we will not do anything for someone else unless there is something in it for us.

So to answer the question in verse 29, our neighbor is everyone that should raise some compassion from us that drives us to not leave them in the condition we found them. The person for whom we are willing to go the extra mile to help until they are fully restored to the way God originally intended for them. This is the example we see from the first passage of the Good Samaritan. He made it a point to do everything that was within his power to help the broken and left for dead man be restored completely. What he could not do for himself, he recruited another person to help him in order to ensure that the man would receive his full restoration. No expense of time, effort, finances and resources was spared to help a fellow brother.

So in times of prayer, as the Lord leads or as we are moved, we pray until God releases us, no matter how long it takes or until we have felt that the breakthrough has come, or God has prompted us that the intercession was complete, or even yet, until we can see with our own eyes that restoration is taking place because we are keeping an eye on the person or people or circumstance. Isaiah 62:1, 6-7 says,

1”For Zion’s sake I (Isaiah) will not be silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness,
And her salvation goes forth like a burning torch.”

⁶ “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed and stationed watchmen (prophets),
Who will never keep silent day or night;
You who profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves,
⁷ And give Him no rest [from your prayers] until He establishes Jerusalem
And makes her a praise on the earth.” AMP

Several years ago, the Lord woke me up at 4:00 a.m. to pray for the businesses in my area, and told me to go to one of those businesses at 10:00 a.m. that same day to pray in person. I obeyed and when I got there, I told the person behind the counter (it was a bakery) that I was sent there by God to pray for them. The man went and got his wife from the kitchen for she did the baking while he tended the storefront. They came back running and explained to me that their lease was up and their landlord was refusing to renew it and they asked God to send someone to the bakery to pray for them and were very excited to see their prayer answered. So I joined hands with them and we pray for the obstruction to their signing of the new lease to be removed. I never went back there to check and see if the prayer was answered because as I drove by it while running my errands for the next six years, the bakery was still there until the couple retired and sold.

Because we are to fulfill the principle of reciprocity and sow seeds that we want to be able to harvest, we are required to do for others what we want to see happen for us, Job 42:10 says that, ^“The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” AMP

True vessels of God do not behave like hirelings that abandon their assignment at the first time of trouble. Instead, we are to remain in our assignments from God to help others for as long as He requires it from us and do the extra that he world would never do. I was sowing seeds for my own business while I did that and even though I closed it for a season, I will go into business again and know that God has my back too in my personal life and also as a business woman. It was not too convenient for me to drop my duties that day, but I chose to obey the command of the Lord and go and be an answer to someone’s prayers. And let me tell you, this works better than any marketing you could do for yourself because God knows how to send business your way when you are mindful of the needs of others around you.

In the area of finances, I remember hearing the testimony of a lady who is a single mother and one Thanksgiving Day, she was crying out to God because she did not have anything to give to her children at dinner time. The Lord heard her cry and when she came home that afternoon from running errands, she found an envelope taped to her door. When she opened it, the amount of money in it covered not only dinner for that night, but she could probably pay some bills and buy groceries for the rest of that year.

Another testimony I heard from a minister who with great effort, was working but finances were tough because his wife was sick and they had no insurance to cover her medical expenses. One night, as he cried out to God for help because by then, they too did not have enough to buy groceries, God answered their prayer and a group of people showed up at their front door with bags full of groceries and their willingness to help in any other way they could.

God has asked me to give one of the cars I owned away, as mentioned in another post. I was going through my process and there were a lot of attacks of the enemy while I was driving until the Lord told me to stop driving altogether. So the day the Lord told me to do that, my car was acting up because of the demonic attacks I was getting. I asked a friend at the time to ask her husband if he could look at my car since I knew he had knowledge of car mechanics. While he was looking at my car, the Lord spoke to me and told me to give my car to him. As the man started telling me what was wrong and that he could fix it, I said “good, because you can keep the car for yourself.” He was speechless for a while and then asked me repeatedly if I was sure I was wanted to give the car to him.

He was the sole bread winner of his household and a week later, their car broke down one last time and he did not have to miss a beat because he had a car that could take him to his job because what needed to be fixed was minor. The color of my car at that time was white and his wife told me some time later that her husband had asked God specifically for another car that was white. So God knew how specific to get to answer his prayer. I too have received cars as a gift to me because I understand this principle of sowing and reaping and live by it. I have also had people call me to tell me that God has told them to fill up my gas tank or pay one of my bills.

In addition, there are many young people in the foster care system and the children of single parents that need someone to teach them the wisdom of God and how it is different form the wisdom of the world. For this, we can make time and use our resources so they do not end up in the same condition that caused their parents to struggle and can reach higher levels of success in life and as strong believers in Christ instead of another statistic of failure when we can do something to put a stop to it.

The Bible says in James 1:27, “Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.” AMP

I hear many people quote this verse in James 2:14 which says that faith without works is dead, but let’s look at the real context of this Scripture which also includes verses 15-17. It says, ¹⁴ “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” NKJV

This is also saying what 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, that no matter how much we excel at what we do or say or in all the areas God is using us, or the great miracles and wonders God performs through us, but if we do not go the extra mile to help those in need around us, and ignore their cry for help, at the end of the day, those great works count for nothing in His eyes. The Scripture says,

¹”Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” NKJV

These are times in which there is an activation of the law of love that causes us to go farther than we may be used to or have been comfortable to help those in need around us. Receive this activation and take the steps of faith that God is prompting you to take or ask Him how you can do more to see those around you receive what they need. Who knows if some of you could start clubs that gather together to discuss who they know has great need around you and how much you could all contribute to help solve the need by going the extra mile and do more than expected. And as always, to God alone be all the glory.■

Images courtesy of Google Images