Devotions

“I want nothing in my life to hinder what God wants to do in me.”

God is forever bringing His people to this point because before He can bring about His best in us, He must do something deep within us. He wants to give us His victory, but He also wants our complete devotion.

The first six chapters of Joshua describe the glorious work God did among His people. Israel had just been freed after 400 years in bondage. The people had emerged from forty years of wandering in the wilderness and now they were at the border of Canaan, the land He had promised them years before. And so they crossed over — and then what happened? Immediately Joshua turned to the younger generation of men and separated them unto God. Scripture uses the word circumcised to describe their preparation, but the deeper meaning is, “They were made ready.”

Joshua took this action because now that they had crossed over, they faced the thick, impenetrable walls of Jericho. Taking this enemy would be impossible for the ragtag Israelites. God was telling them, “I have blessed you these recent years and you have experienced My incredible riches. However, your work is not yet finished.”

How did the Israelites prepare for this next battle? They didn’t sharpen their swords and shine their armor. Instead, the preparation took place inside their hearts. God commanded them to circle the city singing songs, praying, and waiting on Him. Finally, He had them raise up trumpets and issue a single blast. In an instant those mighty walls came tumbling down!

Joshua and his men then performed mighty exploits, defeating their enemies, inheriting greater lands, and seeing victories as never before. In the same way, I believe the Lord wants to pour out His Spirit on us in amazing ways. He wants us to believe that He wants to do it all; in short, He wants us to possess an unwavering faith.

“How can I find the will of God? How can I be sure that I am walking in His will for my life?”

Have you ever found yourself asking these questions? Do you find the topic of the will of God confusing, or do you live with the constant fear that you are missing His will for your life?

Let’s look at a statement Jesus Himself made concerning the will of God: “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). In other words, this applies to anybody who wants to do the will of God.

According to Jesus, if you have it in your heart to do the will of God, you will understand and know what truth is. You will know His voice that says, “This is the way, walk in it.”

Since I was a young Christian, I wanted to do the will of God — even though I did not always fully understand what that was going to look like in my life. I remember going to church, sitting in the congregation listening to the preacher, and thinking, “How in the world can these people sit under this kind of message? Don’t they see how far off this is?” Most of the time they sat and listened but they went to church simply so that they could be blessed.

When people do not want to do God’s will, the first thing that comes into their lives is doctrinal confusion, eventually followed by an inability to discern truth. As their prayers go unanswered, they come to the conclusion that God doesn’t speak to them. They want their lives to be extraordinary. They want the crowds; they want to raise the dead, lay hands on the sick and have them recover; they want to speak in tongues and all the rest of it, but they do not want to walk in the revealed will of God.  

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. 

When you are shut in with God in prayer, the Holy Spirit will always lead you to God’s revealed Word. Christ is the living Word and He will build up your faith.

We are commanded: 

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. . . . And take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 13, 17).

Often when you receive specific instructions from the Lord, the Holy Spirit will direct you to a passage of Scripture by whispering to your spirit that you should turn to it. And then God’s Word will speak to you directly, telling you how to get through your crisis.

Many of you reading this message are in a situation that requires a word from God. Nobody on earth can help you and the only way you can get through your crisis is to remain in Christ’s presence until He gives instructions! He must tell you the way through: what to do, when to act. The perfect timing is all in the hands of the Holy Spirit — not too early or too late.

Beloved, you do not need to worry about your trial. God is faithful to respond to your every need and request, so as you pray, simply say, “Lord, I come now not just to have my needs met but also to meet Your need.”

We were made for fellowship with Him, even in our heaviest times. Do you love to be with Him? Do you prefer Him above all others? I trust that you heart cries out, “Jesus, You are my soul’s great pleasure and I love Your company.”

I pray that God will put in all of us a heart that is easily wooed to His presence. Let us pray through all our trials and listen closely to the Holy Spirit in our secret time of communion. 

Most Christians do not listen to God. They go to Him to talk! Yet the Scriptures reveal that any person who was ever used of God learned to remain in His presence until he heard from Him.

Scripture makes it clear that the Lord wants to talk to every one of us. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).

As a little girl with leukemia neared death’s door, she struggled with the thought of dying. Yet, one morning when her mother came into her room, the girl was aglow and happy.

“What happened to you?” her mother asked.

“An angel came to me and said I was going to take a trip,” the girl answered. “And then God came and took my hand and walked with me through a beautiful garden. He told me I was going to go there tomorrow to be with Him.”

God spoke to that little child and took all the fear from her heart! When she left to be with Him the next day, she had total peace.

Tell me, when you are communing with Jesus, do you receive such clear direction from Him? Does He tell you what to do, and when and how to do it? Some Christians don’t believe God does this but Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me” (John 10:27).

The only way through your trial is by getting alone with Jesus and crying, “Lord, You’re the only One on this earth who can help me. I’m not going anywhere until I hear You speak to my heart.”

The kind of prayer that pleases God stops everything, all activity, until His voice is heard. You will hear Him speak clearly to your heart such things as, “You’ve got to make things right with this person.” Or, “Don’t be in such a hurry! Sit in My presence and trust Me.”

If you will seek Him and wait, He will give you clear direction!   

“Praying through,” a term coined by the early Pentecostals, to some meant staying on your knees until you were assured that you had received an answer from God. To others it meant continually coming back to the Lord until you had the answer in hand. (This was also called “persevering in prayer.”)

As a young boy in early camp meetings, I heard people testify, “I’m going to lay hold of the horns of the altar and I won’t let go until God answers.” Yet, I don’t believe this is the truest meaning of “praying through.”

You can be shut in with the Lord, delighting in His presence; you can spend quality hours, even days, with Him, glorying in sweet communion. You can have all your needs met, your heart totally satisfied, but what happens when you leave that hallowed place of intimate fellowship?

You may rise up from your knees only to go back to a crushing situation that has not changed. You can see the devil waiting there for you, ready to throw the same problems and emptiness at you. I ask you: What good is it to receive the glory on the mountain if it won’t see you through the battle?

Let me explain what I believe about “praying through.” It simply means that the strength, power and encouragement you receive from the Lord while shut in with Him must see you through the trials ahead. The victory you attain in the secret closet has to give you victory on the battlefield.

Think about it: Was yours a “completed prayer”? You see, “praying through” means waiting for the total completion of your prayer. Many Christians see only half-answered prayers because they don’t allow what they received from the Lord in prayer to carry them through their trial. Indeed, many sincere prayers have been wasted, aborted, lost — because they were not “carried through” in this way.

Dearly beloved, prayer is not finished — it is not a “completed prayer” — until it sees you through to the other side of your trial. We have not “prayed it through” until we have “lived it through” our trials by the strength we received in God’s presence.