Floodgates of Heaven Devotions: Prayer

Today’s Reading: Esther 6-8, Acts 6

Today’s Reflection: Esther 6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

When God’s favor is upon you, He will move even the heart of kings on your behalf, if need be! For this king, to him it may have been just another sleepless night, but little did he know how providential his sleeplessness would prove to be.

You see, God had heard the cries of His people who were fasting and praying during this time for deliverance from pending destruction. Through the sly hand of Haman, this king had already given his seal of approval for the annihilation of the Jews within his kingdom’s entire domain.

However, before they could even follow through with the plan, God had already made other plans in response to the prayers of His people.

So, as providence would have it, it was this sleepless night in which the king read of the records of the chronicles, which would shed light on an incident where Mordecai saved his life, and where he in turn began a plan to show Mordecai honor for having done so.

Fast forward and next thing you know, one thing leads to another, and now the enemy of the Jews, Haman, is being hung on his own gallows and the king is issuing a new order for the Jews to strengthen their hands for self-defense to save their people from wicked Haman’s plot to destroy them.

And who knew all of this would come out of one king’s sleepless night? This proves that God will stop at nothing in His goodness and power to respond to the desperate cries of His people for help.

God will make your business, a king’s business, if that’s what it takes. There is nothing going on in the world any more important than God’s dealings and business with His people. Not even the kings of the earth have agendas any more important than God’s people.

Your prayers are THAT important to God! Are you His child? Have you placed your faith in Christ His son? If so, then you should already know that God knows no limits to pouring out His love and favor upon you in your time of need.

If He gave us His Son, then what else would He withhold? Absolutely nothing (see Romans 8:32)! So if you feel like your prayers are unimportant to God, think again! Who knows but what God isn’t keeping kings up at night to arrange your deliverance!

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Floodgates of Heaven
Volume 2
Entry 173 of 365

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copyright © by Gary D. Caudill

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Today’s Reading: Josh. 19-21, Luke 2:25-52

Today’s Reflection: Josh. 19:50 According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

Joshua, a man of faith, asked for a specific city, and the Lord granted his request. Did you know that God still grants that which we ask? Oh yes, nothing would please Him any more than to give you the desires of your heart. The only stipulation is, your desires need to fit within His desires!

Now, before you feel like that narrows your options, you better think twice. God does not set boundaries for us to be bound, but for us to be free. For example, since I live in America, I have freedoms granted me by the United States Constitution that give me a broad spectrum of legal activities to benefit from and enjoy.

As a matter of fact, there are many more liberties than there are laws. However, if I break even one law badly enough (say, for example, murder), then all of the sudden I am imprisoned and can no longer enjoy all of the freedoms that the constitution allows for me to enjoy, because I broke the law.

In like fashion, all God wants is for us to live within the provisions of His constitution (aka word). When we desire what He desires, He freely gives us all things to enjoy. When we desire what He forbids, we restrict ourselves from the benefits of God’s favor.

We cannot expect a righteous judge to reward lawlessness. Now, having said that, I like what Joshua asked for…an entire city. I not only like the fact that he asked for the city, but I like the fact that it was granted just exactly as he asked.

When was the last time you prayed a BIG prayer? To give you an idea of how big your prayers are permitted to be by God, Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”.

Do you know what that means? That means that we can’t pray a prayer too big for God. We can’t even get close to how big God thinks. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, OR think. You know, those crazy huge thoughts we wouldn’t dare pray because we think there’s no way God would give us THAT.

Yep, THAT is EXACTLY what we should ask God for, because even THAT doesn’t come close to how much higher His thoughts and abilities are for us! So, what “city” are you going to ask God for?

It may not be a literal city, but let that word “city” be symbolic of whatever monumental prayer request you have in your heart, but have been too timid to talk to God about. Pray big, dream big, and expect big things from God!

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Floodgates of Heaven, Volume 2, Entry 84 of 365

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copyright © by Gary D. Caudill

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