"For since the beginning of the world
Men have not heard nor perceived
by the ear;
Nor has the eye seen any God
besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him." (Is.64:4)
In the first part of this study, we defined act as an action or behaving in a particular way. We discovered also that the 'acts' of God are ultimately, His power. There and then we examined some of the demonstrations of the acts of God as seen in the scriptures. Below is the concluding part of the discourse.
Much as God wants to act for us as we wait on Him, we have a part to play so as to make His acting for us a reality. It is not enough to say we are waiting for God to act for us. No ! There are certain expected acts we have to put up personally for Him to play His part. An example was when He instructed Moses, at the Red Sea, to stretch his hand over the sea (Ex.14:16). This singular act of Moses at the LORD'S command was the only thing God needed to gain glory over Pharaoh and his horse men.
A very important act we need as believers for God to act on our behalf is PRAYER. We have several instances in the scriptures of how sincere prayers to God moved God to practically display the express manifestation of such answered prayers. This is no exception, even in our contemporary days, as expressed in testimonies of believers. Hannah prayed to God for a son (1Sam. 1:11). God did not only hear her prayers, He gave her more than she requested .
In addition to Samuel, Hannah had three sons and two daughters (1Sam. 2:21).
Remember Paul and Silas ? They did not keep calm in the prison. They acted in prayers and singing hymns to God and God acted swiftly by sending a great earthquake that did not only shake the foundations of the prison, but also caused their chains to be loosened and the prison door opened spontaneously. This spiritual invasion and freedom culminated in the addition of a soul to the faith, as the jailor voluntarily surrendered to the LORD (Acts.16:25-34). That is simply an act of God!
For emphasis purpose, the tussle between Sennacherib and King Hezekiah in 2Kgs.19, drives this fact home with ease. Trembling at the threat of Sennacherib overrunning him, King Hezekiah ran to the prophet of the day- Isaiah . Hezekiah prayed inter-alia " Now therefore , O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone." (2Kgs.19:19).
Taking his predicament to the living God, and not idol(s), was the singular act that moved God to carry out His ultimate act against Sennacehrib. The much expected and favorable response came from the LORD, as Isaiah sent to Hezekiah, shortly after,- "thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard .'(2Kgs.19:20). (Beloved, when we are faced with challenges of the world like this, whom do we pray to ? Where do we run to for help?)
Before long, Sennacherib became history. He was eventually killed by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer (2Kgs.19:37). The act of God visited Hezekiah's enemy as he (Hezekiah) waited and acted in the place of prayer.
As seen in the case of Abraham and Sarah, 'HOSPITALITY' is another act by which God can act for us when we are at the receiving end, and when all hopes seem lost . Theirs was a hopeless situation. Yet, for a singular act of hospitality to strangers, they encountered the favor of God. Out of their loins came a blessed and reserved nation (Gen.18:10-14, & Gen.21:1-2). Of a truth, the scriptures encourage us to be hospitable, even to strangers, "do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (Heb.13:2). Hospitality is one of the major heartbeats of God (Gal.6:10, Mt.10:42, Pr.19:17).
Above all, it is pertinent to call our attention to the fact that much as it pays to wait for God, it takes patience and perseverance because His ways are not our ways (Is.55:8). It is important to drive this fact home because during the waiting period since it is NOT unlikely that our human instincts might minister negative thoughts to us, to give up. Friends (as it was with Job), and possibly family members, may convince us to do otherwise . A believer that yields to such pressure is acting foolishly, as the scriptures say in (Pr.28:26) "he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered." (The LORD will make us to be wise !
Prayer: LORD, as I wait for You, act on my behalf and do the miraculous ! Amen.
Olusegun Emosu
The RCCG Rehoboth Parish,
1879, S Stone Mountain Lithonia Rd,
Lithonia GA, 30058
September 24th, 2021
www.wordontheglobe.com
rehobothparish2020@yahoo.com
www.rccgrehobothatl.org
404 644 4127