Promise: He Is Our Help and Deliverer

Once a month I write a letter to the wonderful Prayer for Prodigals community I am part of.  Often those letters, though specific to those who love a prodigal, apply to any or all of us in the challenging circumstances of life.

We have now entered into spirit and heart preparation for the June 2 Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day. Each week we will be going to God’s Word with open spirits and hearts to hear from Him, to be ready to enter into the battle for the souls of the wanderers we love. Our theme this year is Promise: He Is True to His Name.

Dear Lover of Prodigals,

My grandboy loves to climb. If he finds a tree with climbable branches, he is up there. But on a recent day I heard a frantic “Jeedoo!” coming from the tree. His foot was caught in the branches and that boy needed Help!

Surely, when the mine collapsed on 33 Chilean miners several years ago, their first thought was terror—they cried out for deliverance. Their greatest desire was for “Help.”

But help was slow in coming. For 17 days rescuers assumed the miners were dead. When it was discovered they were still alive, it was still almost two months before it was possible to bring them to the surface—to escape the constant threat of death.

All of us have times in our lives when all we can say is “Help!!” When we know God, our cry is more likely “Help, Lord.” Gratefully He has two names that assure us He will help us.

He Is our Ezer, our Helper

“Help, Lord!” is the right thing to say. For our God has called Himself Ezer, God our Helper: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

“The other was named Eliezer, for he said, ‘The God of my father was my help…’” (Exodus 18:4)

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.’” (1 Samuel 7:12)

“…so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You…." (2 Chronicles 14:11)

Ezer is a powerful word, with military connotations. It implies that God is a strong Helper. He is with us. He enables us to be strong and will enable us to stand firmly in our battles. He rescues us from our own choices, the actions of others that threaten us, or just from the daily risks of life.

God also helps us in many other ways: He gives wisdom. He enables us to love with unconditional love. He helps us to persevere.

The name of Ezer is used often in Scripture to assure us of God’s always available help: “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield” (Psalms 33:20).

And the writer of Hebrews reiterates this truth about our God: “So we say with confidence. ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6).

How wonderful to have such a Helper as our God for every need!

He is our Pallet, our Deliverer

How often is your heart gripped by fear for your prodigals? Fear of what they are doing, of the danger they put themselves in, of what others might do to them!

Once again, our God calls Himself by a name—Pallet--to call on when we are desperate: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer…” (Psalm 18:2). Pallet also implies “way of escape.”

David confronted many fears, and in Psalm 34:4 he offers us this hope: “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”

He delivers us from our fears, but He will also, as we call on this name of God, deliver our loved ones from captivity, from temptation, from addictions, from generational bondages. He is able to set them free, and we can ask Him to do so.

David encourages us again: “You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay” (Psalm 40:17)

We don’t understand God’s timing or purposes, but we can trust that He is faithful to who He is, to the names He has called Himself. He is our Helper and our Deliverer.

In His Name,

Judy

What about you? Do you need help?

C2018 Judy Douglass

P.S. I encourage you to continue to invite friends who love a prodigal to let us add the name of that loved one to the list to pray for—all we need is a first name and they will be prayed for by thousands on June 2 Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day.

Or tell them about our wonderful year-round Prayer for Prodigals resource website and prayer community. And our Facebook page also provides many encouragements.

If you would be interested in requesting prayer for a prodigal loved one, or being a part of our wonderful praying community, respond in comments or write to me at PrayerforProdigals at gmaildotcom.

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