How do you ask God for advice?

 The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Joshua 9:14 (ERV)

Last week, we looked at what lessons we can learn from leaders who asked God for advice before they took a decision. The question today is, how do we ask God for advice?

In the Old Testament, The Holy Spirit was not yet poured out upon people therefore leaders could not go directly to God, instead they had to ask Prophets and Priests to ask God on their behalf for advice on what they should do.

We thank God that we have a High Priest, our Lord Jesus through Whom we can now come boldly to the throne room of God, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Believers in Jesus Christ have been given the precious gift of The Holy Spirit, Who knows the mind of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, who guides us into all truth and tells us about the future (John 16:13). If you haven’t yet received Him, please give your life to Jesus and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit.

How do you ask God for advice?

1. Ask

We must simply go to God The Father as little children and ask Him whatever is in our heart. I personally find it helpful to write down the questions on paper. Jesus said whatever we ask in His name, He will do, that The Father may be glorified in the Son. If we ask anything in His name He assures us that He will do it (John 14:13-14). The Bible says if you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking (James 1:5);

2. Seek

To seek is to search for or to desire something. Don’t give up, keep on searching to obtain the answer. We are told to seek The Lord while He may be found; call on him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6);

3. Knock

To knock is to beat a door to gain admittance. Jesus encouraged us that we should always pray and not give up. We must be like the persistent widow who kept going to the judge to get justice for her from her adversaries. For a while he did nothing however he eventually avenged her because he was tired of her persistence. In this parable Jesus was showing that although God’s people call to Him night and day, He will always give us what is right. He will not be slow to answer us, He will help His people quickly (Luke 18:1-8);

4. Wait

After all the asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer, we must wait for the answer. This is where most of us get impatient however in waiting God may be trying to develop in us patience which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Remember that God’s timing is not our timing. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8). Waiting on The Lord is good for us because it renews our strength:

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint

(Isaiah 40:31)

5. Act

Once you have asked and waited on The Lord for advice, and He gives you the direction to take, do whatever He tells you to do. At the marriage in Cana Mary told the servants that they must do whatever Jesus tells them (John 2:5).

Prayer

Dear Father, I thank You that You are always ready to hear me when I call upon You. I now ask You to give me wisdom and advice in the following areas…………….. Help me to be patient in waiting upon You for the answer. Please give me courage so that I will do whatever You tell me to do in Jesus name, amen.

Next week, we will look at the different ways in which God may give us advice.

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Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We thank God that Jesus Christ is no longer dead, He is risen and because He lives we can live also.

God bless,

Blessing

What lessons can we learn from leaders who asked God for advice?

The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Joshua 9:14 (ERV)

Last week, we learned that Joshua failed as a leader to ask God for advice before making agreement with the Hivites because he judged based on appearance alone.

Throughout the Bible there are leaders who sought advice from God before they decided to act and we will see what lessons we can learn from some of them.

King David

When the Amalekites invaded Ziklag, the camp where David and his men stayed and burned it; and took the women and children captive, David comforted himself in The Lord and asked The Lord whether he should pursue after this troop. God answered him and said he should pursue for he will surely overtake them and recover all (1 Samuel 30:8).

Lesson learned: Even in the midst of loss, distress and confusion, leaders must learn to comfort ourselves in The Lord and ask for His advice.

King Jehoshaphat

When King Jehoshaphat was told that a large army was coming against him he became afraid and he decided to ask The Lord what to do. He announced a time of fasting for everyone in Judah. All the people came from out of all the towns of Judah to ask for The Lord’s help. In his public prayer King Jehoshaphat reminded God that they didn’t have the strength to stop the large army that was coming against them. He admitted that they did not know what to do and they were looking to Him for help.

The Lord then spoke through a Prophet and reminded the King that the battle is not his battle, it is The Lord’s. The next day as King Jehoshaphat led the people in praise and worship The Lord set ambushments against their enemies and they turned on themselves and killed each other (2 Chronicles 20:1-29).

Lesson learned: When we are afraid we must admit our utter weakness and ask The Lord for help.

King Solomon

When God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask whatever he wanted, Solomon asked The Lord to give him wisdom and knowledge so that he can lead the people in the right way for he recognised that no one can rule the great nation of Israel without God’s help. In response, God told him that because he did not ask for long life and riches for himself or the death of his enemies, but instead asked for wisdom and knowledge so that he can make the right decisions, God gave him wisdom and knowledge, but He also gave him wealth, riches, and honour (2 Chronicles 1: 1-13).

Lesson learned: As leaders we must have the right attitude of continually asking God for wisdom and knowledge and He will give us also the other by-products of wisdom which is wealth, riches and honour.

King Hezekiah

When King Hezekiah heard that the king of Assyria sent his officials with a large army in Jerusalem and that they were blaspheming the God of Israel, he told the people to remain silent and not to say anything to them. He put on mourning clothes and went to the house of God and then he sent some officials to see the Prophet Isaiah to seek God’s advice as to what to do. Isaiah gave them a word from the Lord that they should not be afraid because He will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report warning him about a danger, so he will return to his own country. And God said He will cut him down with a sword in his own country and this is exactly what happened (2 Kings 19:1-7).

Lesson learned: As leaders, whenever we hear a bad report doubting either our God or our integrity, we too must remain silent and take our compliant to the Lord and He will answer on our behalf.

Jesus Christ

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ was praying on the Mount of Olives in agony, asking The Father that if He was willing, He should not make Him drink from the cup of suffering. Nevertheless, He said God’s will should be done and not His will. An Angel from heaven then came and strengthened him (Luke 22:42-43).

Lesson learned: Like Jesus, when we are facing a difficult situation that we would rather not face, we too should tell the Lord that not our will, but let His will be done in our lives.

Prayer

Dear Father, I ask that You give me the wisdom to do Your will and understanding to lead Your people in Jesus name, amen.

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How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

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God wants our firstfruits offering

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid; don’t give up. Lead all your fighting men to Ai. I will help you defeat the king of Ai. I am giving you his people, his city, and his land. You will do to Ai and its king the same thing you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you can take all the wealth and animals and keep it for yourselves. You will share the wealth with your people. Now, tell some of your soldiers to hide behind the city.”

Joshua 8:1-2 (ERV)

Last week, we learnt that when Achan brought the accursed things from Jericho, it brought a curse into the camp therefore the Children of Israel could not stand up against their enemies because God did not go out to battle with them.

In today’s Scripture, God was instructing Joshua on how to defeat Ai however, His commands this time was different. God told Joshua that this time when they defeat Ai, he was to share the wealth with the people. You will recall that for Jericho God wanted them to give Him everything which is why He instructed them not to keep anything for themselves.

You see, Jericho was the first city that they conquered and God had already instructed the Children of Israel that the first of everything, including their children belongs to Him (Exodus 13:12 / Leviticus 23:9-14). The Bible tells us that we should honour God with the firstfruits, or the best, of all our increase:

Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

(Proverbs 3:9-10).

God Himself gave us His very best in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became our firstfruits offering when He died and was the first to be raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:23).

This story from Joshua shows that God wants us to give Him the very best of everything.

How can we honour God with our firstfruits offering?

We can give God the very best in the following areas:

1. Grateful heart

We can honour God by having a grateful heart and giving Him thanks for all that He has done for us:

Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20)

2. Time

Time is a precious commodity that we cannot get back once it is lost. We can give God the best part of our time by spending time in His presence. Jesus says He is standing at the door of our heart and is knocking. If we will hear His voice and open the door, He will come in and dine with us (Revelation 3:20). We are also told that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31).

3. Prayer

Prayer is basically talking to God and Him talking back to you. It is so powerful that it is described as an incense that goes up to the Throne room of God in Heaven (Psalm 141:2 / Revelation 8:4). We are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Throughout history, men and woman who have been used by God powerfully all understood the power of prayer. Martin Luther, the German theologian whose writings inspired the Protestant Reformation, is quoted as saying:

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” – Martin Luther

4. Possessions

We can honour God by giving Him the best of our substance, whatever that may be, whether it is money, cars, houses, clothes, grain harvest etc. What matters is that we give it willingly with a grateful heart:

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver

(2 Corinthians 9:7)

One way we can give to God is to give to the poor because we are told that when we give to the poor we are lending to God (Proverbs 19:17).

5. Talent

In the parable of the talent, we learn that the servant who was given five talents and doubled it was given the talent of the servant who was only given the one talent who because of fear buried his talent (Matthew 25:14-30). This story shows that it honours God when we use and develop all the talents and gifts that He has given us.

 

Prayer

Dear Father, today I surrender my life to You. I choose to honour You with the best of everything I have. I thank You for the talents and gifts and potential that You have placed inside of me. Dear Lord, please give me wisdom to discover and to use them for Your glory in Jesus name, amen.

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Your views

I would love to hear from you on which other ways we can give God our best. Please share your thoughts.

How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

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Hallmarks of Great Leaders: Part 2

So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?

Joshua 7:10 (NKJV)

After the capture of Jericho, Joshua, the leader of Israel, sent men from Jericho to Ai to spy it out. The men returned to Joshua and advised him to only send about two or three thousand men to attack Ai, because in their estimation the people of Ai were few.

So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they were soundly beaten by their enemies. The men of Ai chased them and struck them down and about thirty-six of them died. The hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the Ark of the Lord until evening, and he and the elders of Israel put dust on their heads.

Joshua then asked the Lord whether He had brought them from Jordan to deliver them into the hand of their enemies to destroy them.

In response the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?” (Joshua 7:10). God told Joshua that Israel had sinned, and they had also disobeyed His commands by taking things that were accursed. This, He said is why the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because sin had made them to become doomed to destruction. Furthermore God said He will not be with them anymore unless they destroyed the accursed things.

In obedience to God’s instructions, Joshua told the people to sanctify themselves and to gather themselves together in the morning so that God will reveal the person responsible for the sin.

So the next morning all the people gathered according to their tribes. From the tribe of Judah, Achan was taken and identified as the man responsible for Israel’s defeat by bringing the accursed things into the camp.

So Joshua spoke to Achan and told him to confess and reveal where he had hidden the accursed objects. Joshua then sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and took all the things and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.

Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, and the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger.

Under the Old Covenant, this is how Joshua as the leader dealt with rebellion in the camp. Thank God for Jesus that we are no longer living under the law but under grace. Like Achan, we too were accursed and were doomed for destruction because of our fallen sinful nature however Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God came to die for us and He became a curse so that we might obtain the blessing:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Galatians 3:13-14

What important lessons can we learn from this story about leadership?

1. A leader must ask questions

When things did not go as expected, Joshua asked God what was going on and why things had gone wrong. There is always a root cause and leaders must ask questions to find out why things have not gone as expected.

2. A leader must act on God’s instructions

After God told Joshua the reason for the defeat He told him to get up and put things into order and Joshua obeyed the instructions of God without delay. Once a problem has been analysed, leaders must have the courage to act on their findings and especially on the instructions given by God.

3. A leader must seek their advice from God

If you read Joshua 7 you will realise that Joshua sent spies to spy out Ai and he listened to their recommendations about how best to capture this city however he failed to ask God for advice on how to capture Ai. If He had consulted God, God could have informed him that there was sin in the camp and that He will not be going into battle with him.

God says you will find Him when you search for Him with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). God doesn’t just volunteer information but He will answer if you ask (Matthew 7:7).

4. A leader must avoid complacency

Joshua had fame as a result of the victory of Jericho therefore it is possible that he had become complacent and assumed that he will experience the same victory in Ai. This shows that no matter how successful you become as a leader you must avoid complacency and still seek the face of God.

There are more lessons to be learned about leadership from the book of Joshua so stay tuned for ‘Hallmarks of Great Leaders: Part 3’.

Prayer

Dear Father, I commit all that You have placed me in charge of into Your Hands. Please give me wisdom concerning my family, health, career, finances, business, ministry, academics and every area of my life and help me to act on what You have told me in Jesus name, amen.

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A Great Leader Must Have Vision

And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

Joshua 6:2

Last week, we learned that Joshua and the Children of Israel rose up early to capture the City of Jericho. Before they took the City, The Lord told Joshua to see the victory even before it was attained.

This teaches us another important lesson about leadership; a great leader must have vision, or the ability to see ahead. The Bible says that where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). In other words, people perish where they do not know where they are going.

A vision is a mental sight, i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle to guide you to where you are going. God gives us all visions about what we are created to do and where we should be going. These may take the form of day visions where you perceive something with your spiritual eyes that the natural eye cannot see, or through dreams whilst sleeping.

As believers in Jesus, we walk by faith and not by sight therefore a leader must be able to see beyond the natural circumstances of how things are, and look through the eyes of faith to see what is possible with the help of God.

As 2015 ends and we enter into 2016, if you don’t have a vision or road map for your life, don’t despair. If you will follow these instructions, I believe that God will give you a vision for your life:

How to develop a vision for your life:

1. Repent of your sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, acknowledging that Jesus died to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to come into your life and be Lord over your life;
2. Pray and ask God to give you His vision and purpose for your life;
3. Whatever ideas come into your heart and mind, write it down;
4. Reflect on the ideas that come to you and ask God for direction on how to proceed;
5. Take action on the direction given to you by God. Do something everyday that moves you closer towards your God-given vision.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You that before You formed me in the belly You knew me, and before I came forth out the womb You sanctified me and ordained me. Please open the eyes of my heart and reveal Your vision for my life so that I can fulfil Your purpose for my life which was given to me in Christ Jesus before the world began. Amen.

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How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

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