“Then
the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The Lord
will answer and say to His people, ‘Behold I will send you grain
and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no
longer make you a reproach among the nations.’ “ –Joel 2:18-19.
“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of
the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you: And My people
shall never be put to shame.” –Joel 2:26-27 (NKJV).
The
conditions under which Joel the prophet spoke are agreed by most
Bible scholars to be after the exile to Babylon (586 B. C) because
the exile is mentioned as a past event (see Joel 3:2-3), Jerusalem
had been conquered (3:17), and no kings are mentioned as ruling in
either Judah or Israel at the time of writing.
Times
were hard, indeed, for Joel mentions a plague of locusts that
decimated the crops, trees, and wine, and the people did not have
anything to take as offerings as they went to worship. The message
of Joel is a lament for the hard conditions, yet through the perilous
times, he lends hope by affirming that the Lord will hear their
cries, will send grain, new wine and oil, and they will be satisfied.
One of the best promises is that the Lord will take away the
reproach with which other nations regard the people who belong to the
Lord. They will not want for basic needs like food and shelter,
because the Lord will deal wondrously with them in restoration and
meeting needs.
I
have just seen the Christian movie, “War Room.” The emphasis of
the well written script, the story line and movement of the movie is
that Christians win victories as they sincerely turn to the Lord in
prayer. Prayer is not an option but a necessity if the Christian
wants victory over Satan and steadfastness in living. The importance
of using the Word of God as a guide to prayer is also prominently
emphasized. An older Christian woman is able to guide a troubled
younger nominal Christian woman to establish her own prayer closet
and be honest in prayer and intercession. Elizabeth, the major
younger character, uses scriptural promises to claim victory over
challenges that only the power of God can change.
In
“Acts of Dependence: Praying for Our Needs,” Joni Eareckson Tada
who learned to live with her paraplegic condition following a diving
accident states: “Two things God honors above all else: His name
and His Word” [quoted
in A
Life of Prayer.
Garden City, NY: Crossings Books, 2004, p. 99]. From
many places in the Scripture, we learn of the greatness of God’s
name. Psalm 145:1-3 magnifies His name and teaches us to Honor Him:
“I will extol You, my
God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day
I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is
unsearchable.”
From John 1:1-3 we learn the importance of the Word.
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. The
Word is Jesus Christ who came to earth to reveal God the Father.
Since God honors His name and His Word, we pray “in Jesus’ name.”
“And whatever you ask
in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” To
pray in Jesus’ name means that we are seeking His will and that we
will be submissive to His authority.
Try
using Scripture as you pray. You will be talking in “God’s
language” and conforming your mind to His will and His way as His
word teaches us to do in Romans 12:2: “not being conformed to this
world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds…to the
will of God.” -Ethelene
Dyer Jones 10.13.2015.
