Promise: He Is Our Provider and Banner of Victory

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,

Have you cried out to God for your loved one recently? Of course you have. What have you begged for? Rescue? Safety? Restoration? Hope?

Today we come to the one who can and will provide for our every need and lead us—and our prodigals—to victory.

I know—you haven’t seen provision or victory. Yet we have the promises that are reality in our God’s names.

Jehovah Jireh: God Provides

Consider Abraham.

The faith of Abraham was amazing. He followed a God he barely knew to an unknown destination. He believed that He would provide the promised son as the first of a great nation—and God gave him Isaac.

But then in Genesis 22 we see that God asked the impossible: “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’" (verse 2)

There is no record of objections or even questions—just obedience: “Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.” (verse 3)

As they arrived at the place of sacrifice, Isaac asked, “…where is the lamb for the burnt offering?... Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (verse 7,8)

We know the story. Abraham tied his son to the altar and raised the knife. But the angel of the Lord stopped him from killing Isaac. Nearby was a ram caught in the thicket. Abraham sacrificed the ram, and he named that place Jehovah Jireh—The Lord Will Provide.

We can be assured that God is the supplier of our every need—even when He sees our needs differently than we do.

Jehovah Nisse: Our Banner of Victory

We are in a battle—a very real battle—fighting for the souls of lost people all over the world—and our wandering prodigals. We and they are enticed by the world and the flesh—very powerful temptations to lead us astray. God assures us that He will provide “a way of escape” for every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The greatest battle is spiritual. The evil one is out to destroy the lives and the futures of those we pray for—and our lives as well. Yet God arms us with amazing weapons for this warfare:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.”

As we daily put on God’s armor and pray always, we receive this hope, this promise:

The Lord is Jehovah Nisse, our banner of victory. When Moses and Joshua defeated the Amalekites, Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. It was the Lord who lifted high the banner of victory for them (Exodus 17:15).

In the New Testament Paul affirms our victory: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

So we pray and claim in faith the promises in His names;

He is their Provider and ours, and He is their Victory and ours.

In His Name,

Judy

What about you? Where do you need to see God provide or give victory?

C2018 Judy Douglass

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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