Devotions

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret” (Philippians 4:12, ESV).

The Holy Spirit gives us the secret of learning how to live when life is less than we want it to be; when we don’t have the resources that we thought we should have; when our dreams have not come true. Paul was saying, “I not only know that I can endure all things, but I have a secret and this secret is that I can live fully in times of plenty as well as times of hunger.”

How many of you know that sometimes we need to understand the secret of plenty more than the secret of hunger? When you’re living in abundance it is very easy to lose sight of your need for God. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you become very dependent on the Holy Spirit. You are really praying. 

We often think that the hard part for Paul was learning how to live in need. No, I think the hard part for Paul was learning how to live when he had abundance and I think the same can be true for us. But there’s this precious promise here that surpasses all our understanding. The promise that we can do all things through Christ and every need can be met. This additional promise is in verse 19, where we read, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19).

Again, this is in the context of saying, “I’m learning how to be abased. I’m learning how to go without anything and even in the midst of that, I know that God is going to supply every need.” It does not say want. It does not say ambition. It does not even say desire. It says, “God will supply every need.”

As Christians, we tend to spend a lot of time praying, “Please, Lord, do this” or “Please, Lord, do that.” We are constantly asking God to initiate something. “Please bring my son or daughter home. Please give me a better job.”

Now those are good and valid prayers. However, there are times when God chooses to initiate something on His own, and all He is looking for is someone who will agree with Him — someone who will not only pray, “Please, Lord” but “Yes, Lord!”

For example, through the prophet Ezekiel, God said, “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30). This was a time when God had already initiated mercy, and He was just looking for somebody to agree with Him. Unfortunately, when society reaches a condition much like ours today, it is a lot easier to come up with reasons as to why judgment should come. However, what if God is willing to be merciful, and He is simply seeking for some among His people who will say, “Yes, Lord”?

I do not want to spend all my prayer life on the “Please, Lord” side. I want to live on the “Yes, Lord” side and find out what my part is! “Yes, Lord, what do You want me to do? Yes, Lord, how do You want me to do it? Yes, Lord, what do You want me to say? Yes, Lord, where do You want me to go?” “Yes, Lord” must be our prayer today!

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. 

Jesus told us to work while it is still day. Why? Because the “night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

In Revelation 7, John describes a multitude standing before God’s throne, a crowd so massive nobody could number it.

^“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10).

This crowd is representative of people from all tongues and nations, dressed in white robes and all praising the Lord. “These are they which came out of great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14).

Dear saint, I believe we are the generation referred to in Revelation 7. We are living in the darkest of hours and all around us are great tribulations. But the light is still shining brightly. Indeed, the darker the night, how much greater is His light!

As you labor in prayer for your loved ones and for a world covered in darkness, I want to remind you of your own story. Remember, in your tribulation time somebody was winning souls. Somebody was praying the lost into the light. Somebody was rising above the dark and proclaiming Christ. Somebody believed Jesus would break out new wine. And it happened! You came into the light! God will draw out of the darkness and into the light those who you are praying for.

Wine in the Bible represents joy and gladness. “Wine that makes glad the heart of man” (Psalm 104:15). In the New Testament, “new wine” is a type of the Holy Spirit.

Yet as I look at the Church today, I see wine jars that are empty. Why? As almost every biblical prophet has said, “Sin takes away mirth and gladness.”

For every mother, father and grandparent who has prayed so long for their lost young one: Hold on. Jesus is watching and waiting. His hour on your child’s behalf is about to come.

The fact is, your boy or girl may still be drinking the old wine of this world. They can’t give up their old friends. They still harbor hurts from the church, holding grudges and having lingering doubts. But the vessels holding that old wine are about to run dry. Their friends will fail them and they’ll be overcome with emptiness.

When that moment comes — when all their efforts have failed — you will see God’s hour of power. Only a miracle of His grace can bring true deliverance. So, keep on praying. God will keep His word to you!

In light of all this, what are we to do?

Mary, Jesus’ mother, gives us the answer. At Cana, she told the disciples, “Just do what He tells you” (see John 2:5). Beloved, He is the new wine, the source of all joy and gladness. And He will tell you what He would have you do. Read His Word — and then do it!

Prayer meetings are being resurrected in churches throughout New York City. Who could have believed this would happen in “Sin City”? Not long ago over 50,000 believers gathered in Times Square to pray. And Christian conferences worldwide are becoming impromptu prayer meetings.

When the Spirit stirs — when sinners are coming to Christ; when the Spirit bears witness that now is the time to pray; when God makes a promise and begins to move — you can’t just sit back and say, “God promised it. I’m just going to ‘take it by faith.’ I’ll relax and watch Him fulfill everything He says.” No! When the Spirit moves, it is time for pressing in with fervency and faith.

When Daniel read Jeremiah’s prophecy, he calculated that Israel’s seventy years of bondage had come to an end. He realized Israel was about to be delivered from Babylon. God’s people were about to be set free! (See Daniel 9:2)

So what did Daniel do? Did he wait for God to move, “taking it all by faith”? No! Daniel declared, “I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). And, of course, he prayed with abounding faith.

Prior to every great move of the Lord, the Holy Spirit calls us to fervent prayer. And every great move of the Spirit that follows is sustained by prayer.

In Jude’s epistle, we read of a last-days generation given over to fornication and sensuality. It was a time when God’s people murmured and complained. Jude prophesied of it all, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment” (Jude 14–15).

How were God’s people to prepare for this? According to Jude, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20). In the darkest hour, God’s people are always to watch and pray.