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Devotions

The Sorrow of a Heart that Wavers

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

You may have had a situation you were praying about but you didn’t seem to get an answer. You may say, “I prayed in faith, believing God, but he didn’t hear me. I waited and waited, but he never answered. How can I surrender my life to God if he doesn’t answer my prayers?”

You may not be angry with God but you have certainly lost confidence, which keeps you from committing your heart to him fully. Therefore, you have stopped prayer and you don’t enjoy the fullness of his blessings anymore.

James addresses this situation very clearly: “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). The King James Version uses the word “waver,” which means to be undecided. In their hearts, when the people made their requests, they put God on trial. In their hearts, they said, “Lord, if you answer me, I’ll serve you. I’ll give you everything! But if you don’t answer, I’ll live my life my way.”

God will not be bribed. He knows our hearts and he knows when we are undecided in our commitment to his Son. He reserves the power that is in Christ for those who have surrendered to him wholly.

True faith considers all the problems and pain of God’s people worldwide, all hopeless situations, and puts these sorrowful things on a scale on one side. Faith then puts Christ on the other side of the scale and rejoices when Christ overwhelms all the sins and afflictions of the world.

God never intended for us to let the devil overtake our hearts and homes. Rather, he intends for us to make a declaration that is loud and clear. We are to take our position in Christ and cry, “In the name of Jesus Christ!”

It is time for every believer to stand up and declare, “I’ve lived with fear long enough and in the name of Jesus Christ, I will no longer fear death, man or the devil.”

Living a Life Examined by God’s Word

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

When I read about the exploits of godly men in the Old Testament, my heart burns. These servants were so burdened for the cause of God’s name, they did powerful works that baffle the minds of most Christians today.

One such saint was Ezra, a man of God who awakened his entire nation to God. Scripture says that God had his hand on Ezra, and Ezra testified, “So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me” (Ezra 7:28). God stretched out his hand, enveloped Ezra, and turned him into a different man.

Why would God do that? There were hundreds of scribes in Israel at the time and they all had the same calling to study and explain God’s Word to the people. The Scripture gives us the answer: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Ezra made a conscious decision to seek God’s Word above all and to obey it. And he never swerved from that decision.

Ezra didn’t have some supernatural experience that caused him to love the Scriptures. God didn’t tell him, “You’re going to lead 50,000 to repent and do my work, but in order to do that you’re going to need power, fortitude, purity, spiritual authority. Yet, this comes only by knowing and obeying my Word. Tomorrow, you’ll wake up with an ever-growing hunger to study the Word.”

No, that is not the way it happened at all. Ezra was diligent in searching the Scriptures long before God put his hand on him. He allowed himself to be examined by the Word, washed by it, and as a result, God anointed him.

Certainly, God’s anointing is supernatural, but he lays his hand on those who are wholly given to knowing and obeying his Word. That is where the anointing begins. No one can expect God’s touch if he isn’t passionate about the Scriptures.

Desiring the Renewal of the Holy Spirit

Gary Wilkerson

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

You might wonder why you feel so dull in your spirit. Or why you don’t have power to witness as you would like. Or why your prayers seem so weak. It could possibly be because there is too much of the world, the residue of the flesh and carnality, functioning within you.

You may be listening to the wrong kind of music or watching unwholesome material on TV or online. And what about the people you associate with? Are they challenging you to be more like Jesus or are they carnal, pleasure-seeking companions who lead you away from him?

“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord” (6:17). Be separate from what? From fellowship with things that are not pure and holy, things that are untrue and unloving and cause divisions. Things that cause separation between you and others and diminish your faith and your love and your prayer life.

Actually, God may have already spoken to your heart about what some of those things are and he is saying, “Get rid of them. Take the time to remove those from your life. Be separate from them!” And when you do this, his Spirit will renew you. God’s grace will encompass you and enable you to declare that the defilements in you are a thing of the past. The defeat from the evil one that tries to diminish your faith, your strength, your power, is a thing of the past!

God is not asking us to step out of certain things because he is some kind of moral cop trying to make sure you do exactly as he says. No, it is because he is a father who loves you and delights in your goodness. And he delights in your living a glorious, precious, wonder-filled life.

Walking Through the Mundane with Purpose

Carter Conlon

We read in the book of Isaiah, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall” (Isaiah 40:29-30). In other words, there comes a season in each of our lives when we feel we cannot go on. We feel as if we are going to crash and burn, spiritually speaking. Similarly, we all face seasons when coldness gets into our heart — perhaps because of the monotony of daily life.

Marriages often get into trouble because there is no effort on the part of either spouse to rekindle the flame of love. Likewise, coldness can seep into our relationship with God — particularly when we become so accustomed to the pattern of our Christian walk that we begin to do things on autopilot. Soon the weight of repetition and personal trials start to crash in upon us, and before we know it, we feel like we are going to lose lift, just as an airplane does when it loses speed.

It is imperative that we recognize God has already told us what to do when this happens. Just as a pilot is trained in certain procedures so that he will respond properly, so we must heed God’s instructions and trust what He says rather than relying on our own instincts.

The Bible tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

God has told us in Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the thoughts that I think toward you … thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” He will bring you to that place of freedom that you long for, give you the strength you need, place a renewed vision within you. So trust the Lord and acknowledge Him in all your ways, and then watch where He will lead you!

Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.

The Promise of Power in Christ

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

As Jesus spent his last hours with his disciples, he said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you” (John 16:23). Then he told them further, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (16:24).

What an incredible statement! As this scene took place, Christ was warning his followers that he was going away and he wouldn’t see them for a time. Yet, in the very same breath, he assured them they had access to every blessing of heaven. All they had to do was ask in his name.

Considering all the power and resources we have in Christ, most believers have asked almost nothing in his name. Christ’s words to his disciples convict me: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name.” Here is what I believe grieves God’s heart more than all the sins of the flesh combined. Our Lord is grieved by the ever-growing lack of faith in his promises — by the ever-increasing doubts that he answers prayer and by a people who claim less and less of the power that is in Christ.

The world has never known a needier time. Yet there is less petitioning than ever in the name of Jesus, and as the days pass, Christians are asking less and less of the Lord. They are afraid to step out, often because of unbelief.

It is amazing how faithfully the Church refers to Christ’s name. We praise it, bless it, we sing about the “wonder-working power in the blessed name of the Lord.” But we don’t appropriate the power that is in his name.

Beloved, we are to take our position in Christ and get hold of God’s Word. His promises are the weapons of our warfare and they will become mighty in our hands when we lay hold of them.