CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 865

“Direction Correction”

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”…. (Isaiah 30:21)

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I don’t know why I have a GPS in my car. Perhaps it’s because I desire a second opinion to ignore before deciding to go my own way. I tend to heed the GPS directions only after I am hopelessly lost. The Word of God exhorts us to follow Jesus yet our reference Scripture refers to the Voice we hear behind us which implies that we are not following Him and have gone our own way.

Sometimes we go our own way with great intentions to do a mighty work for the Kingdom of God. If God is not in it and leading the way, our labor is in vain. (Psalm 127:1). Do you find that your prayer and quiet time with the Lord is characterized less and less as worship, praise, and hearing from Him and more and more as your mind wandering, planning, and thinking about how and what to accomplish? Do you sense the ‘pull’ of the Lord accelerating the ministry over a level path or is everything a struggle requiring you to push uphill over rough terrain? Is the joy of ministry gone? Have you come to rely on your skills and the skills of others more so than on God to sustain the ministry? If so, it is time to pause and hear the Word behind you and heed His direction correction.

Notice also from our reference Scripture that if we are hearing His voice behind us we have our backs turned to Him. All too often we turn our backs on God and in our pride go our own way. They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. (Jeremiah 32:33) Sometimes the prosperity of this world brings us to the point of no longer trusting and relying on God as much as we used to. We begin to trust in our business skills, our employers and our investment portfolio’s more than we trust in God. This was the case of the rich young man that could not follow Jesus and went away sad. (Matthew 19:20-22)

Other times we give in to the temptation to sin and turn our backs on Jesus and follow a wrong path. The fact that we hear His voice calling out behind us is a powerful testimony of His love and grace. Jesus will not lose any that the Father has given Him. (John 10:28)

Perhaps you grew up in the church and had a religious experience which you have left behind as you grew into adulthood. You have heard the Word preached and perhaps have read some of the Bible. Now your life has you taking paths of your own choosing and you have never accepted Christ as your Savior and are not following Jesus. You find that these paths leave you empty and spent. You wonder what your purpose in life is. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) Jesus is the living Word of God. It is His voice you hear behind you, directing you to come and follow Him. …Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts… (Psalm 95:7-8) You will know the Way by knowing His Word. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

May you hear His voice behind you. May you turn from your own path and accept His direction correction and follow Him as your Lord and Savior.