Prophecy
Exodus 3:3-4 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight- why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
I saw a vision that a new wave in our church, the wave of “Revival.” We need to pray for more people to have a spiritual curiosity so that those who are called by God can see His glory and enter His predestination. May people from all over the world will be drawn to our church’s vision- Wind of Revival.
Message
Genesis 28:20-22 (from Pastor Belinda)
We have been talking about “Family Prayer Altar.” When we see the family prayer altar been built, we will see the spiritual heaven will be opened. We are very excited to see our prayers been answered. “Bethel” represents “the house of God”, and Jacob clearly knew this place is where God’s blessings and His presence reveal. God also spoke to Jacob in Bethel. Tonight, we will see how Jacob responded to God.
When Jacob left his father’s place, he was trying to escape and did not want to seek God. On this journey, he was tired and did not know what would happen in the future. But because Abraham’s prayer and built a prayer altar, we see that God appeared Himself to Jacob. All of sudden, Jacob realized that God is with him. So he made a vow, which is a very common prayer as yours and mine. We can see Jacob did not have a full faith in God, he said “If” God will be with me.... In Jacob’s mind, he cannot trust God.
As parents, I realize when we pray for our children, we probably cannot see the changes right away. However, we need to know our children should encounter God. They really need to have assurance that God is with them on daily basis. We see when Jacob left home and turned in twenty years. He had been lied to, labored hard and experienced difficulties. This time when Jacob returning back home, Jacob realized God had dealt with him and worked a lot in his life.
Actually God did allow Jacob to experience many trials and tests in his life. So when Jacob returned to his home, he can have the desire to build the altar and know God is so real and true. So let us not give up on praying for your children. Even though there are times we face tests, feel discouraged. We still need to keep our hope in God and know God will lead them back in His own timing.
Pastor Belinda’s testimony:
As a mom of two pretty daughters, Pastor Belinda often prayed for them when they were kids. She tried so hard to pray for their characters. Years later, the children were grown up. After they sent one of their daughters to LA for college, she gave Pastor Tong Liu and Belinda a letter. The letter was about that she wanted to walk her way and explored the world. She only asked Pastor Belinda to continue praying for her. She said “I believe one day I will return back to God and trust Him, but not now.”
On that day, Pastor Belinda was so disappointed that she thought all of her prayers for the children were in vain. She cried out to God and the only thing she could hold onto was the paragraph in the letter: please continue to pray for me and I will return back to God one day. So she prayed for her daughter every day and proclaimed that one day her daughter would turn back to Him. The only thing she could do was to establish the prayer of altar. In these five years, God had strengthened Pastor Belinda’s prayer muscle; she began to write down her own journey, also known as the book- How to pray for your children’s spiritual character. Pastor Belinda was a bit hesitant to publish this book because her daughter had not turned back to God yet. God challenged her faith and asked her to trust Him more, so by faith, Pastor Belinda submitted the scripts to the publishers.
One night, the daughter gave Pastor Belinda a call and told her she wanted God to build up the Godly character. Just as Pastor Belinda’s daughter said, “even though I came back to God, I am not perfect yet, please continuing praying for me.” Our God is so amazing that He does listen to prayers and answer them. Do not give up or disappointed, just lift up your children before God.
Reflection
Are you worried about your children? Can you lift them up before God and continue praying for them? Let’s build up the family prayer altar and pray God can bring them back.
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