Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.”  So, the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.  I Kings 13:6

King Jeroboam was worshiping idols when an unnamed prophet came right up to the altar where two golden calves were and prophesied over it that a new king was going to arise from Judah who would come and destroy the altar.

“Seize him!” Jeroboam cried in anger, pointing at the prophet.  But when Jeroboam stretched out his arm toward the man, his arm immediately withered.  He pleaded with the prophet, “Pray for me that God will restore my arm.” The prophet prayed, and Jeroboam’s arm was restored.

When God began anointing kings, He set up the kingdom with prophets to minister to the kings, He set up the kingdom with prophets to minister to the kings, and sometimes that meant performing miraculous signs.  Who else do we know who came with miraculous signs to convince sinners and idolaters to return to the living God?  Jesus!

Now let me say this to you, a lot of times we ski over the prophets and kings in the Old Testament (1 and 2 Kings; 1 and 2 Chronicles) because they can be confusing.  But when we do, we miss seeing Jesus in the prophets and we become profitless in the process.  Ask God for seeing eyes and hearing ears when you read about the kings and prophets and you will see Jesus in a greater way than ever before!

Dear Heavenly Father, I believe that You want me to see Jesus in every book of the Bible.  Give me seeing eyes and I hearing ears, knowing that studying the prophets will make me profitable!  Amen.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  – (2 Corinthians 12:9)

During one of our trips to Pakistan, we were faced with so many difficulties.  Threats, government sanctions, you name it.  When I stood up on that platform to preach the first night, over 100,000 people were there to hear the Word, but I remember I felt so weak.  I cried out, “Lord, we’ve been battling all these things!  What if someone shoots me?  What if there aren’t any miracles?” The Lord said to me, “It’s not your name that does it.  It’s My name!” And we had the best meetings we’d ever had in Pakistan in those three days in Karachi, the most dangerous city in the world, because we went in the power of His name.

In 1 Kings 19, we read about a time when the prophet Elijah cries out to God, “I’ve had enough!  Take my life!” He’s exhausted, and I have found that when you get really, really tired, you can get depressed, because you tend to look at your circumstances instead of God.

So, God comes to him through an angel and cooks for him.  Why?  Because when you’re depressed, God doesn’t forget you, but He does want you to come out of it.  He doesn’t want you to stay in the depression.  He sees your weakness and uses those moments to show His power.  So, Elijah eats and sleeps and is able to get up and go.  Just like we did in Pakistan—strengthened by the provision of the Lord.

Jesus, I declare that Your grace is sufficient, and Your power is made perfect in my weakness.  Where I am weak, I declare that in You I am strong!

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. – (James 5:17 NKJV)

Have you ever made a mistake and God just came on the scene and helped you anyway?  I know I have!

Was Elijah a perfect man?  Did he make any mistakes?  The Bible says he had a nature like ours and passions as we do, and when you read 1 Kings, you see he made some really stupid mistakes.  But God doesn’t just answer the prayers of the seemingly perfect.  He answers the prayers of the earnest.

When I would fight with my husband, Wally, I always tried to win.  One time we had a big argument and it lasted for a long time…about 12 years!  When I started in the ministry, with radio and then television, I didn’t take a salary.  All the money that came in, we would put back out into the ministry.  But Wally would say to me, “You know, you need to take a salary.” And I would say, “No, we have your salary!  I don’t need to take a salary.” Then he would say, “Marilyn, a workman is worthy of his hire.” And I would say, “You’re being selfish.  I just want to give it all away!”

One night after we’d been having this argument yet again, I turned it over to the Lord, convinced that He would back me up.  I told God, “He’s wrong!  I’m right.” But the Lord said to me, “You don’t have enough faith to have a salary and a ministry.  That’s what really going on here.”

As hard as it was to admit that I was wrong, I learned a valuable lesson:  God doesn’t take sides.  What does He do?  He takes over!

Lord, I declare that I am on Your side.  I want You to come on the scene and take over!

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  Psalm 119:105

Did you know that the Psalms are organized like the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible?

The first 41 Psalms are called the “Genesis Psalms,” because Genesis is the foundation book of the Bible, and these Psalms have to do with God’s sovereignty—His authority and dominion overall.

The next grouping of Psalms, Psalms 42-72, are called—you guessed it! —the “Exodus Psalms.” This is where you would go to find a Psalm about how Jesus can set us free.

What if you just want to worship and know Him as your great High Priest?  You would go to the “Leviticus Psalms,” because they have to do with the priesthood of Jesus.  These are Psalms 73-89.  The priesthood of Jesus is very important to us.  It shows us that we can have the mind of Christ and receive His gifts of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Then come the “Numbers Psalms,” Psalms 90-106.  Numbers was Moses’ history.  Just like the Israelites, we can often turn to grumbling and complaining.  When that happens, we need to show gratitude by remembering all that God has done and how He has answered our prayers.

Finally, there are the “Deuteronomy Psalms.” They are Psalms 107-150.  They are very interesting Psalms, because they have to do with the power of the Word in your life.  Remember Psalm 119 is in here, which includes 179 verses about the Word of God!

I encourage you to think about which Psalm would help you today and read one from that grouping before you go to bed tonight.  Remember, there is power in the Word and a song for every occasion!

Jesus, thank You for providing a Psalm for every occasion.  I declare my spirit will be lifted in the same way as the Psalm must have lifted the one who first received it from God!

The blueness of a wound cleanse away evil:  so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.  – (Proverbs 20:30 KJV)

Some people worry about the black and blue marks of a bruise, but these marks are actually symptomatic of the healing process.  The blue is the rich oxygen of the arterial blood that brings in new supplies and healing materials of the body’s “first aid” kit.  Then red venal blood carries out the damaged cells and waste products.

Have you ever realized that Jesus’ blood also has a twofold healing purpose?  It cleanses us of sin and waste, and it also brings the freshness of His love into our lives.

Christ’s blood is one of the most powerful cleansing agents known to mankind!  His blood does more than whitewash our hearts — it purifies them from the inside out.  Christ’s precious blood purifies our hearts so completely that we become temples of God.

When Jesus was confronted with the wrong-doings of the Pharisees, He warned them, “You are clean on the outside, but your hearts are like the insides of tombs — filled with death.” What do you want to be — a tomb of death, or a temple of God?

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You today for the life of Jesus that flows through us.  We thank You for the dealings of Your Spirit to remove the garbage from our lives; and we thank You for Jesus’ love that brings us freshness.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. – (Psalm 5:12)

Every one of you reading this wants to have favor.  We want to have favor with our spouses, our children, our grandchildren, we want to have favor on the job, with friends and even our neighbors.  We just need favor!  So, what can get us into the favor of God, favor with people, favor with relatives, and favor with our neighbors?

When I looked at Jesus’ life and how He grew in wisdom and favor with God and man, I noticed it came after he submitted to his parents.  Had you ever seen it that way?  I hadn’t either!  But you know how you read the Bible and you think, “Where did that come from?  I never saw that in this light.” That’s because the Bible is Spirit and Life.  It’s not just a book; it has life to it.  It is the Living Word!

Luke 2:51-52 says, Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.  But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.  Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, but it came after they returned home, and Jesus submitted to His parents and was obedient to them.

You want favor?  Submission brings favor!  It did in Jesus’ life.  So, what makes us think we can do our own thing and still have favor?  No.  It’s submission that can give you favor with God and with man.

Jesus, I declare that I can have favor with God and with man.  But it’s not by being lawless and going my own way; it is submission that brings favor.