Monday, August 23, 2021

The Greatest Miracle

 By: Joanne Viola

I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants.”
(Nehemiah 1:5-6, NASB)

The last few weeks we have been looking at prayer in the lives of both Moses and Elijah. Each were place in unique positions requiring them to seek God for direction.

Samuel Chadwick raises an interesting question in his book, The Path of Prayer:

“What is the place and work of prayer in the life of ordinary people?”

(from page 63)

What is the place and work of the ordinary? The ones who go through the repetition of doing the same monotonous tasks day after day?

“Ordinary people may pray about commonplace things, and the answer to their prayers may be in an enlightened mind, a triumphant soul, a steadfast faith, and a holy life.”

(from The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, page 63)

Nehemiah was the man who was the builder of the wall of Jerusalem. The condition of the wall filled his heart with sadness and grief. He saw there was no one who was undertaking the job of rebuilding the wall.

And so he prayed.

While it may seem there was no answer to his prayer, the answer came and it was Nehemiah himself who was the answer.

His prayer produced a change in Nehemiah – his grief turned to motivation, which prompted action.

Through prayer, Nehemiah:

  • went before the king and received not only his cooperation, but the supplies needed to rebuild,
  • was filled with courage when his enemies came against him speaking criticism and discouragement,
  • received wisdom in dealing with the workers and their complaining,
  • received protection when the odds were stacked against him.

Nehemiah was successful because he began his ordinary work with prayer. Prayer changed Nehemiah:

“He kept his hands clean, his wits alert, his courage bright, and prayed his way through. He was sure of God: sure of the character of God, the word of God, the covenant of God. So he prayed and he trusted; so he worked and so he prevailed.”

(from The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, page 65)

Perhaps it is in the most ordinary of days, we discover the greatest miracles. The most ordinary of days can often be our most trying, when difficulties are before us, and the challenges seem overwhelming.

So we pray, and in praying we receive motivation to press forward, ability to do our work, wisdom to make decisions, courage to endure, perseverance in adversity, and joy in spite of it all.

“There may be no miraculous incidents, but prayer lifts the lowliest and most ordinary life to the exalted plane of the supernatural, and that is the greatest miracle of all.”

(from The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, page 63)

 

Photo by Mason Jones on Unsplash


6 comments:

  1. Prayer creates the miracles for our hearts and minds to fill with hope! Lovely post!

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    1. Truly prayer changes everything, even our most ordinary of days!

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  2. In reading many missionary biographies over the years, I was amazed and gladdened how often a distinct answer to prayer could be traced to a lady praying in her kitchen. We can do God's work in our hearts along with the ordinary work of our hands.

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    1. It's so true, Barbara. I wonder if we prayed more while doing our ordinary work, if we would approach the ordinary with expectation rather than dread.

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  3. Prayer does produce change, especially in us. Never thought about how prayer chanded the purpose and direction of Nehemiah's life.

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    1. The change in us is the greatest miracle of all. To think of how the Lord molds us in the midst of the ordinary is amazing.

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