“Portraits in Prayer in Exodus’ ‘Barefoot Praying – Ex. 3:5′

Posted on May 26, 2012 by

“Draw not near: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Ex. 3:5. WOW! Holy Ground! This is the first appearance of the word ‘Holy’ (kodes) in the Scriptures, holy, sacred thing or place, set apart or dedicated to God. A sacred place, consecrated, dedicated, hallowed, holy; its root means to be clean and pure (apartness, holiness, sacredness). God Who is holy calls men to be holy also, I Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Where is it written? Lev. 11:44-45, “For I am the LORD your God, ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:”

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) states holiness as, “Man was made in the image of God and capable of reflecting the Divine likeness. And as God reveals Himself as ethically holy, he calls men to holiness resembling His own.” Holiness is something you do not hear much about today from our pulpits because the prophets of old can tell you ‘the fruit of a ministry of holiness is, loneliness.’ It is not a popular subject, ministry or calling today. That is why prophecy conferences have kind of died out or last only one or two days any more and true prophecy speakers, ‘True Prophets of the Word,’ are as rare as hen’s teeth.  Prophecy should always lead us to a life of holiness but you don’t see that happening today, why? Just more prophecy, more end times, more Revelation, but no change in the lives of the listeners. No deeper prayer life, walk with God, worship experience, missionary service, zeal for soul-winning, ‘No Change!’ Just, “When’s the next conference?” I would venture to say that 90-95% of the students I teach never re-study the teaching material I give them. Prophecy conferences should lead right into Revival, Renewal, Renovation of the heart and spirit but they don’t, why?

Maybe we should take off our shoes like the Muslims as we enter the house of worship, after all it is called a “House of Prayer” Isaiah 56:7, is it not? In many Synagogues, on the front wall or on the ‘Aron Ha-Kodesh’ the doors of the holy ark in which the sacred scrolls are kept, are these words in Hebrew, “Dah Lifnay Me Attah Omed.” (Know Before Whom You Stand!). This idea came from the experience of Moses and the ‘Burning Bush’ in Ex. 3:5. This saying reminds us to have a reverent, focused attitude while attending the worship service and to be filled with respectful awe over the presence of God as we approach His Word but do we?  Blaise Pascal said, “There are two kinds of people – saints who know they are sinners and sinners who think they are saints.” Which category do you fall into? Remember, pride is the deadliest of all sins because it distorts reality. Sometimes we come to church to meet ‘Joe’ instead of ‘Jehovah’ and we dress like it too!  We have lost the sense of His holiness in our churches today. Our sanctuaries are more like night clubs, studios, and theaters than holy, sanctified, purified places of worship. They have lost their aura, their ambiance, their atmosphere of worship. He said, “Sanctify, purify yourselves and you shall be holy, for I am holy.” It is not just a good idea to be holy, we are commanded to be holy. So, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” Paul tells us to walk ‘circumspectly’ like we are in a mine field, feeling every little blade of grass under our feet, every grain of sand, every twig. In Eph. 5:15 the word ‘circumspectly’ is (akribos) guess what word we get from that word and watch what acrobats put on their feet, or not!

“For the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” The word for ground is (adamah) soil, earth, land, dirt, redness in color. Its root is (adam) to show blood. Gen. 2:7 says, “God formed man out of the dust of the earth.” The substance God used to form man from, He is now standing on and it is ‘Holy!’ Why? Because, God is standing on it! So, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” Do we realize when we enter into prayer or worship that it is ‘Holy Ground’ that we tread upon? Do we? You call upon the name of God The Father, in the name of God The Son through the power of God The Holy Spirit, do you really believe you have an audience with the God of the universe? Of course you do! Then what do you think you are standing on? Dirt, cement, carpet, wood, what? ‘HOLY GROUND!’ Do we take off our dirty shoes from off our feet? Our dirty clothes and stand before a Holy, Perfect, God bare-naked? How can we come to God with any defilement, any dust from the road of life and expect to be accepted? I know the ‘Blood of Yeshua/Jesus‘ washes away all our sins. Just read Isa. 64:6 in the Roman Catholic Bible for a good description of our good deeds and righteous garments, sometime. Jesus washed the disciples feet, Mary washed Jesus’ feet, the widow’s washed the saints feet, I Tim. 5:10, but if Aaron and his sons did not wash their feet before stepping into the Tabernacle they died instantly, Ex. 30:17-21. Why, it was ‘Holy Ground’ that was the purpose of the ‘Laver.’ However, the point here is not, wash your feet Moses, but, “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

We can not! We must not! Come before His Holy presence defiled, polluted, desecrated, and impure! Take off your shoes, your hat, your coat, whatever is defiled, you are on ‘Holy Ground’ as you stand before His presence. Joshua, Moses’ successor had the same experience in Joshua 5:15, “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

As we get into the Tabernacle and the priesthood the word ‘Holy’ is stamped on every board, every curtain ring, and every utensil. A veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. If even the High Priest made a mistake in the Tabernacle he was killed instantly, why? He was on ‘Holy Ground!’ But we have permission to enter that ‘Holy of Holies;’ That Divine Presence of God. If we are indeed washed by the precious blood of the ‘Lamb of God,’ Heb. 10:19, “Therefore, brethren having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus…” Think for a moment of the implications of John 13 when the Messiah was washing the defiled, polluted feet of His followers in light of this passage! Oh, the beauty and love of our precious LORD and Savior for us, let us bow and worship Him in the, “Beauty of His Holiness.” Psalm 29:2; 96:9.

Oh, my friend let us too turn aside like Moses and see why the bush burns but is not consumed, but let us take our sandals off our feet as we enter our prayer closets to worship the God of the living. “Be ye Holy for I the LORD your God am Holy.” Lord, thank You for this beautiful passage of Scripture and thought today. May we walk before You bare-footed and bare-hearted. May we seek Your Shekinah Glory and turn aside and to see why the bush burns but is not consumed. LORD, we love You so much, draw us into Your bosom, and never let us go, hold us, lead us, and guide us with Your everlasting eye and teach us what it means to pray and worship on ‘Holy Ground.’ May we, “Dah Lifnay Me Attah Omed – Know Before Whom We Stand!” As we pray, as we worship, as we praise, as we confess, as we adore, as we thank You!  “…Between The Lines…”

I leave you with a verse a young man gave me 40 years ago at an altar, bare-footed after he kicked off his shoes at Lakes Pond Baptist Church in CT, Lev. 6:13, “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” God starts the fire, you stoke the fire, with five things, ‘Bible, Prayer, Worship, Fellowship, Witnessing.’ II Tim. 1:6, Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God that was in him, or ‘fan the flame.’ That’s our job; God starts the fire; We stoke the fire and we fan the flame; So it will never go out, NEVER! Got your shoes off? Good, now stand with me, before the bush that burned with fire but was not consumed, v.2 and in it was the “Angel of the LORD” (The YHVH) Who said in v. 14, His name was (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh) “I Am That I Am;” The One Who causes to be or exist; The One Who causes to breathe or live; The uncaused cause; The I’sing One: It’s not a question of, “Who am I to go?” v.11. It’s a command, “I Am has sent me to you!” v.14. Are you still standing? Where is it, ‘The Great I AM,’ wants you to go? Let’s ask Him right now, “Father, where would You like me to go……….

“Portraits of Prayer in Exodus”  ‘Barefoot Praying – Ex. 3:5′

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Exodus 3:5, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Heart After God, Holy Ground, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Exodus” ‘Groaning in Prayer – Ex. 2:23-25′

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

“And it came to pass in the process of time that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of their bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” Exodus 2:23-25.

“…the children of Israel sighed (anah) groaned, moaned, mourned, and they cried (tza’aq) to call out to, weep aloud, howl, and God heard (shema) hear, listen, obeyed their groaning…” They were afflicted and in bondage (boda) slavery, forced labor and about to be exterminated, chapter one. So, they sighed, cried, groaned, moaned and shrieked to God, wouldn’t you? They were desperate, destitute and in distress and they finally turned to the One who could help, God! The word groan (ne-aqa) means to sigh, moan or groan and comes from a word meaning to weep in sorrow, usually referring to mourning for the dead. Could it be this mourning was for the dead male children in Exodus 1:15-22 which were being killed by the Egyptians, even being fed alive to the crocodiles in the Nile?

“They cried out,” v.23; To shriek out from anguish, fear or danger; to cry out for help in time of distress; but more frequently it is a cry directed to God! This is a cry of those approaching the ‘Breaking Point!’ Have you been there? At the breaking point that is? Then you know this kind of prayer; prayer that groans, prayer that moans, prayer that cries, prayer that sweats drops of blood if necessary! (hematohidrosis) God’s response to Israel’s ‘Groaning Prayer’ is seen in v. 24-25 and He responds in four specific ways, and you need to note them: 1st – He heard (shema) their groaning, to hear intelligently, to hearken with obedience, diligently; like the Shema in Deut. 6:4, To hear and do something about it: 2nd – He remembered (zakar) His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The word remembered refers to an inward mental act accompanied by an appropriate external act. To bring to mind, and to do something about it: 3rd – He looked (ra’a) To see, plain and simple; to look, view, see, to inspect. He looked, He saw, He gazed upon from heaven; They had His undivided attention, as you do right now: 4th – He knew (yada) their plight, their problem, their dilemma, He acknowledged the problem. To know and ascertain by seeing, feeling, and hearing. To have first hand knowledge, to acknowledge their acquaintance, become a familiar friend, to know intimately. God heard their groaning, remembered His covenant, saw their need, and acknowledged their acquaintance. They were His people! Are you or someone you know at the ‘Breaking Point’ today, right now? I am, it’s interesting that I should be writing this today as my wife was diagnosed with cancer last week. Then ‘Groaning in Prayer’ is not so unfamiliar is it?

God hears our prayers and cries today and remembers His promises not only to us but to His Son, ‘Jesus The Christ’ as well. He sees us and our needs and He acknowledges us, not only as familiar friends, but as sons and daughters as well. Prayer is no different today for the Christian than it was for the Israelite yesterday, except it is even more intimate today because we have an Advocate, ‘Jesus Christ The Righteous;’ I John 2:1.

Exodus 3:7-9 are a repeat of Exodus 2:23-25 with a tremendous promise added on for Israel’s benefit and ours; v.7 says, “I have seen the affliction, I have heard their cry, I know their sorrows; v.8, And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a land flowing with milk and honey;” He will snatch them away, deliver them, defend them and rescue them; He will do whatever it takes to save His children, wouldn’t you to save yours? Psalm 65:2 says, “He hears the prayers of all mankind;” This is true, but He especially hears and answers the prayer that groans, prayer that moans, prayer that cries and sweats. James 5:16 says, “It is the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much.” It’s that hot, glowing, fervent prayer, picked up with those tongs, by one of His angels, off the incense altar before God, that will really move that mountain for God. Amen?

It’s only recorded that Yeshua/Jesus groaned twice in His spirit at Lazarus’ grave in John 11:33; 38. Paul refers to the whole creation groaning in Rom. 8:22 and all of us groaning within ourselves in v.23. He also refers to the Holy Spirit making groanings in v.26, “But the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Christ receives our sighs, groans and moans in His prayer censer, because He Who made them knows what they are all about. In fact the Holy Spirit Who also makes them knows what they are. The Spirit makes groanings for us and God answers  them, because we don’t know what to pray for as we ought and He knows the mind of God and the hearts of saints. So, spiritual groanings, many times are the perfect answer to our spiritual dilemma when the request is to heavy for words like Job in 23:2; or David in Ps. 6:6; 38:9 or Hannah, Eliezer, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.  In I Sam. 1:9-18, Hannah the mother of Samuel prayed in her heart so fervently that Eli the priest thought she was drunk, but she, “poured out her soul before the LORD.” Mental prayer is not unheard, when the heart is so full of grief that it can only groan in prayer, God writes it down in His prayer book. C. H. Spurgeon once said, “Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” I like that!                         “…Between The Lines…”

“LORD, Thank You that You hear, see, know, remember, and deliver us out of our dilemmas every moment of every day. You are truly our (ezer-ezer) our ‘Life-Savor! And whether we verbally cry out to You or groan from the depths of our hearts, You know and hear our every need and word, expressed or unexpressed through the groanings of the Holy Spirit, what a comfort. In ha shem Yeshua we thank You, Amen!”

“Portraits of Prayer in Exodus”  ‘Groaning in Prayer – Ex. 2:23-25′

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Book of Exodus, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Heart After God, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Jacob’s Final Blessings’

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Jacob/Israel is dying and calls for Joseph’s children first so he could bless them. Jacob/Israel places his right hand on Ephraim the younger and his left hand on Manasseh the elder which is wrong. This is interesting since Jacob was younger than his brother Esau and ended up with the blessing and the birthright. In Gen. 48:14, even though Jacob is old and blind it says he did this knowingly and wittingly guiding his hands, it was intentional. It displeased Joseph and he tried to switch his father’s hands back but it was to late and Jacob said in v.19, “I know it, my son I know it,” but Ephraim the younger will be greater than Manasseh and become a multitude of nations. Remember, it was Reuben, Gad and Manasseh that stayed on the east side of the Jordan and did not settle in the Promised Land, but on it’s border, on the banks, on the threshold.

Note if you will Jacob/Israel’s ‘Prayer of Blessing’ in v.15-16, ‘He prays to the God of his fathers; The God Who fed them; The Angel Who redeemed him to “Bless the lads;” He asked for his name, the name of Jacob/Israel to be named upon them; That means all the promises to Jacob are available to Ephraim and Manasseh; Plus the names of Abraham and Isaac. WOW! What a blessing!Have we lost sight of the magnitude of “The Blessing?” I think we have! We bless our food, our buildings, our plans and trips, our endeavors, our money, motorcycles, boats, cars, you name it and we bless it, even our sneezes but we don’t invoke  blessings on our children, neighbors or friends regularly, why? I think there is more to this principle than we realize and it was God in Genesis one and two Who first established the ‘Blessing’ especially for multiplication; Gen. 1:22, “Be fruitful and multiply,” fish and birds; v.28, “Be fruitful and multiply,” mankind. Then here in our text v.16, “Bless the lads…And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Jacob blessed them and God did bless them and multiply them.

Jacob/Israel invokes a blessing on only these two grandchildren here, so Joseph receives a double blessing here, v.22; then he gets his blessing in Gen. 49:22-26. This double blessing should have been Reuben’s but he blew it, so it passed to Joseph, the first born of Rachel not Leah. Ephraim and Manasseh replace Joseph in the tribal break down making twelve tribes. The blessing seems to have a tremendous impact and significance, can I say power without causing a problem? Further personal study would seem appropriate on this matter, but in the context of our study this prayer of blessing is of tremendous importance as these two sons of Joseph form the tribe of Joseph.

Jacob/Israel continues in Gen. 49:1-33 to bless all of his sons; Reuben the first born, unstable as water, shall not excel because he committed fornication with his father’s concubine on his couch; Simeon and Levi were instruments of cruelty when they slaughtered  the men of Shechem for raping Dinah, they will be divided and scattered; Judah’s brothers shall praise him, he is a lion’s whelp, the Scepter shall not depart from Judah, it is through him the Messiah will come to establish His Kingdom; Zebulon will dwell by the sea and become a haven for ships; Issachar will be strong like a donkey, and serve and see that the land is pleasant and love it and serve it; Dan shall judge his people like a serpent in the road way; Gad shall triumph over his enemies like a troop and be victories at last; Asher shall yield bread and baked goods to feed the people; Napthali is like a deer let loose who gives words of beauty; Joseph is a fruitful bough by a wall of water and is to grow strong and multiply; Benjamin is a ravenous wolf to devour the prey and divide the spoil. v.28, “And blessed them; every one, according to his blessing, he blessed them.” Oh, my friend are we negligent in this vital area of our prayer life? Do we neglect to seek God’s will for our children to give them a rich blessing and heritage? Is it the money that we leave them that’s important or a rich spiritual heritage that is more important? In the world today it’s money that’s important, how much did your parents leave you in the will? Who got the house, the cars, the boat, the gold, the guns, the library? In the Scriptures those things are never mentioned once, with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc, never once! How many sheep or goats did you get? Our priorities and values are way out of focus. This saint of God, this ‘Supplanter turned Supplicator’ learned what was most important and it was the spiritual blessings not the material. Jacob did not discuss how many sheep or shekels each son was to get but what God was going to bless each one with. Then he charges them to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah where Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah and Leah are buried. Interesting, he wants to be buried with Leah not with Rachel; God’s choice I believe, was Leah, who bore him Judah through whom the Messiah would come, Jacob’s choice was Rachel due to her physical beauty and it cost him dearly, she was so beautiful it made him weep, but Leah was God’s (Beshertah) soul mate, for him. It just took him 147 years to figure it out!

“The Power of Blessings” something we need to consider in our lives and ministries. The last thing this saint was to do was to give his sons his blessing, draw his feet into the bed and die! Are we that at peace with God that after we have blessed our children we can draw our feet into the bed and breathe our last breath and die? What a beautiful scene this must have been, Jacob/Israel is 147 years old, surrounded by his 12 sons who ranged in age from about 70 for Benjamin to about 95 for Reuben. “And Joseph fell upon his father’s face and wept upon him and kissed him.” Then Joseph ordered the servants and the physicians to embalm Jacob/Israel and the Egyptians mourned (bakah) to weep, bemoan, make lamentation with tears for 70 days. Although weeping is usually associated with distress or sorrow it is also a sign of joy, and all of the occurrences of this usage are found in the life of Jacob; Gen. 29: when he met Rachel; Gen. 33:4 when he met Esau after 20 years; Gen. 46:29 when he met Joseph again. It may be said that there is no genuine repentance apart from a bitter sense of sorrow over one’s sin, a sorrow so deep that it may quite properly issue in weeping. No indication of prayer other than other than who are you weeping or mourning to? Deut. 34:8 They wept and mourned for Moses for 30 days. Gen. 50:10-11 tells us that they mourned again for seven days (Sitting Shiva) in Canaan at the threshing floor of Atad before committing Jacob to the Cave of Machpelah, this is not prayer, it is mourning, wailing and lamenting.      “…Between The Lines…”

“LORD, may we be able to impart to our children a rich spiritual inheritance; And may we fully understand the importance and impact a prayer of blessing may have on an individual or a nation; And may we continue to bless the Jewish people as well as the Jewish Nation in our prayers daily, Gen. 12:1-3; Ps. 122:6. In ha shem Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen!“

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  Jacob’s Final Blessings’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Heart After God, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Jacob – Supplanter to Supplicator’

Posted on May 5, 2012 by

“Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-Sheba and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father, Isaac.” Gen. 46:1. In v.2-4, Israel gets a vision in the night from God or a ‘D.M.I.’ for those who prefer, ‘DMI’s. God is going to make a great nation out of his 70 and he is going to die there. First, let’s go back to Gen. 43:14 for a moment, “May God Almighty give you mercy before the man.” El Shaddai, The All Sufficient One, The One Who Sustains, Satisfys, Enriches, and makes Fruitful! Also the One who chastens His people to make them more fruitful, John 15:2, Ruth 1:20; Heb. 12:10. This is Israel’s God, El Shaddai, The Almighty One, “May He give you mercy before the man.” (Not knowing that Joseph, his son is the man) Joseph is gone, Judah is in prison, and now he has to send Benjamin away. So, he prays a rich blessing on his sons! Do you think he prayed while they were down in Egypt, in Mizraim? Would you have been praying, would you have gotten off your knees?

Now he gets word that not only has Judah been released and Benjamin been returned but ‘JOSEPH’ is alive, Gen. 45:26, and “Israel is Revived!” What a time of rejoicing! So, Israel stops at Beer-Sheba, that’s where Abraham planted a tree in Gen. 21:33 and called on El Olam the Everlasting God. That’s where Abraham and Isaac left from and returned to when they went to Mt. Moriah to offer Isaac as an offering, and that’s where Isaac settled, dug a well and built an altar in Gen. 26. That is also where Jacob/Israel departed from when he ran from Esau in Gen. 28:10; 90 years have passed since he left Beer-Sheba where he stole Esau’s blessing and robbed his birthright. He is leaving a lot of memories as he leaves the ‘Promised Land’ at 130 years old to go to Egypt to grow a nation and die. However, before he leaves the ‘Holy Land’ he builds or rebuilds one more altar and sacrifices one more time to the God of his father Isaac. God gives him a promise in response to to his ‘Sacrifice, Worship and Prayer’ at the altar in Beer-Sheba in Gen. 46:3-4, ‘God tells him not to fear, He will bring him down into Egypt and back again, and make a great nation of him, and he will die there.’ v.4 “Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.” You die with your eyes open, someone else closes them for you.

Israel is still a man of prayer, ‘A Prince with God,’ and God is still blessing him, God keeps His promises and His Word! This is the last altar and the last word from God in Genesis. It isn’t until 400 years later that God speaks through His servant Moses on the back side of the desert in a Burning bush in Exodus 3. The Jewish people could not build altars in Egypt, or offer animal sacrifices because that was an abomination to the Egyptians, Gen. 46:34; Ex. 8:26, the Egyptians worship the creation not the Creator. Oh, what a precious time that must have been, between God and Israel at that final altar, knowing that it would be over 400 years before it would be repeated again. But Jacob/Israel was still building altars, ‘To the God of The God of Israel – El Elohe-Israel.’ The banks of the Peniel River and the face of God were as real to him then as it was 65 years earlier. What a precious Patriarch or Saint of God Israel became, “Supplanter to Supplicator!” But it took time, many, many years and much heartache. “Oh God, what will it take to make us a prince or princess with You? Thank You for the example of this saint who began as a Supplanter and ended up as a Supplicator. We need a Beer-Sheba every day as we enter our Mizraim’s to work, live, serve and die.”

“Jacob/Israel blessed Pharaoh.” Gen. 47:7, and again in v.10 as he is leaving his presence, he invokes God’s favor upon him and his country, “Jacob/Israel blessed Pharaoh.” Jacob/Israel was very grateful for Joseph and the provision for his family. We can bless the unsaved, but they can’t bless us, from God that is. We have discussed blessings already and how important they really are and how much we and our families miss by neglecting them. In Gen. 47:31, Jacob/Israel makes Joseph swear to him that he will bury him in the Cave of Machpelah with Leah his first wife and Joseph agrees. Then Jacob/Israel bows himself on the head of the bed. King David does this same thing in I Kings 1:47 after Solomon was anointed King. David was old and advanced in years and cold I Kings 1:1, so he could not get out of bed. The same is true here with Jacob/Israel, he is 147 years old v.28-29 “the time drew near that Israel must die.” v.31, “And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.” I don’t believe he was worshiping Joseph, I believe he was doing obeisance to ‘El-Elohe-Israel’ to ‘The God of The god of Israel.’ Remember, the ‘Supplanter became the Supplicator’ even on his death bed, unto his last dying breath, he worshiped, praised, and prayed to the LORD.

What an example in the second half of his life, remember he was 45 when he left Isaac and was with Laban for 20 years before he met God at the Peniel  and 10 more years before he returned to Bethel to build an altar to El Bethel, that is 75 years. He is now 147 years old and they have been in Egypt for 17 years, but here on his death bed he gets Joseph to promise him that he would bury him in the Cave of Machpelah with Leah, Isaac and Rebekah and Abraham and Sarah. In Mamre (fatness) of Hebron (communion) and he worships and prays to his God. May we be faithful to God unto the very end like Israel. From the womb to the tomb, guided by the hand of the LORD. Prov. 16:9, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” Jer. 10:23; Ps. 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.” George Mueller said, “The stops too!” Not only the steps of the LORD but the stops too are ordered, established or ordained by the LORD. That was true in Jacob/Israel’s life and it is true in ours. Are we able to recognize God’s hand directing our lives, our steps, and our stops? Can we like Jacob in our later years, in our last days, bow our heads on our beds and worship Him? Can we do it now? Jacob became a man of prayer, a prince with God, a real prayer warrior, but it cost him dearly! Are you willing to pay the price, to count the cost, to weigh the odds, to walk that close to God? How are your hips? Any limps, lately? Are you ready for your Waterloo, your Peniel experience? Are you ready to meet God face to face, whether in life or in death? May we not only bow ourselves on our beds at 147 but may we bow ourselves in our closets and churches at 14, at 47, at 74! There are over 2,930 characters in the Bible and less than 100 of them made it to the ribbon and the vast majority fell out of the race after the age of 60.  How about you? Paul said, “I fought a good fight, I finished my course, I kept the faith!” How about you? One verse drives me on and I want it on my tombstone John 17:4, “I have finished the work which You gave me to do.” How about you? It’s easy to start a race, anybody can but it takes real guts, courage, moxie, spiritual grit, and intestinal fortitude to finish and to finish strong. Just look over your shoulder, where are they? The ones that started 10-20 years ago what happened to them? Why did they fall out? Is a mere profession all that is necessary? Raise your hand, fill out a card, walk an isle, say a prayer, get wet! What did Peter mean in II Pet. 1:10, “Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” Or Paul in II Cor 13:5, “Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves.” There is a new game on the market today called, ‘Born Again.’  Don’t play it, you can’t win!  “Jesus said, you must be born again!” It’s serious business, so take it seriously, and make sure my friend, make absolutely sure!      “…Between The Lines…”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  ‘Jacob/Israel – ‘Supplanter to Supplicator’  5/4/12

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Heart After God, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Patriotic, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Joseph the Dream Catcher’

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

Esau humbles himself after his father Isaac dies and takes all that he has and leaves Canaan, ‘The Promised Land’ for another country because he and Jacob/Israel are too great and have too much to dwell together. Why did he leave graciously, he vowed to kill his brother after his father died in Gen. 27:41? That prayer on the river bank is still working 25 years later. The God of the Peniel River is still as real as the day Jacob met Him. Jehovah is now the God of Jacob, The God of Israel, The Prince with God and Esau becomes Edom. The power of prayer linked with the promises of God are a force and a source of strength and help we know to little of, my friend. Gen. 32:12 says, “For He said,” and v.26 says, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” In Gen. 28, thirty years earlier at Bethel God promised Jacob this land he was standing in and a multitude of descendants.  God gave him the same promise He gave to Abraham and Isaac, then in Gen. 31:3 God promises him His presence ‘IF’ Jacob will return to the ‘Promised Land.’ Jacob claimed those promises, he held God to His word, and he held onto the God of the Word, Gen. 32:26 until God blessed him again. Oh my friend, to claim the promises of God in prayer and not let go until God blesses us, is the greatest source of strength and help known to mankind. Pray back His promises, hold Him to His word, He is waiting for you to do it, so ‘Do It!’

In Gen. 37:1 it says, “Jacob dwelt in the land where his father (Isaac) was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.” And Joseph was 17 years old, just a teenager, loved more than his brothers, was a snitch, had a coat of many colors, was hated by his ten older brothers, had a dream of sheaves bowing to him, and was hated even more. All that in just five verses, so he is off to a stellar start as a Bible character. Then he had a second dream of the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing down to him and his father rebuked him, his brothers envied him but his father quietly observed the dream. Later Joseph goes on an errand for his father to check up on his brothers and they conspire to kill him but instead they strip him of his coat and throw him in a dry pit, thanks to Reuben. I bet Joseph spent that night in prayer, wouldn’t you? Maybe I should have entitled this, “Prayer in the Pits.” Judah then gets a brain storm when he sees the Ishmaelites approaching, “Let’s sell Joseph and be free of his blood.” So they sell him for 20 pieces of silver to be traded in Egypt and when Reuben returns he is furious. So they devise another plan, dip his coat of many colors in blood and tell Isaac a wild animal killed him.

Can you as a Christian see God’s hand in all this, His providence, His plan maybe in your life? This is a horrible chapter in Joseph’s life but God hasn’t finished writing the whole story yet. I believe at the age of 17 Joseph being the ‘apple of father’s eye’ worshiped and prayed to the God of his father, Jehovah Elohim. It was obvious God was with Joseph because of his dreams, his coat and his blessings from God, but was he able to see God in the pit, in Egypt, in prison? In the last chapter of Genesis Joseph speaking to his brothers said, “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good.” But did he see that in chapters two and three of his life story? Only if he was as close to God in the pit as he was in the field. God has a plan for each and everyone of us and we need to trust Him. In Gen. 37:34 Israel tears his clothes and puts sackcloth on his loins and mourns for Joseph many days because he thought he was dead. This is a form of prayer, mourning (abal) to bewail, lament, grieve, the emotion and attitude of sorrow. It is not stated that he prayed to God but I am sure he did, wouldn’t you? Biblical mourning for the dead involved emotion, usually expressed audibly and visibly. I am sure Jacob asked God 1,000 times, WHY? However, God never told him why and God knew he was still alive, ‘Silence!’ There are some things God just doesn’t choose to tell us. God had a plan, a purpose and He would bring good out of this evil. Twenty years would pass, the sackcloth would get pretty itchy but he would embrace Joseph once again. May we to learn to trust God more when we are in the pit of despair and not just on the pinnacle.

Joseph’s prayer life is never revealed although his sons names in Gen. 41:51-53 mention his families toil and his afflictions. He had a good teacher his father Jacob/Israel. His life was lived in the very presence of God, Gen. 40:8; 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39; 45:5, 7, 8: 50:20, 24. Gen. 39:9 is a lesson to us all about sin and God’s presence, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Joseph would not do evil because it was to sin against God. He had a close, intimate relationship with the God of his fathers. God’s plan and purpose for his life is revealed in Gen. 50:20, “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good.” The LORD was continually with this servant. He was the first born of Jacob and Rachel, Gen. 30:22; He was loved more than his brothers by his father, Gen. 37:3; God revealed His will to him through dreams, the sheaves, the sun, moon and stars; He was hated by his brothers and sold to Midianite traders, then into Egypt, then thrown into prison and he wouldn’t see his family for 20 years, but all this time the LORD was with Joseph. Gen. 39:2, “And the LORD was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man…” Gen. 39:5, “The LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.” Gen. 39:21, “The LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”  Gen. 39:23, “The LORD was with him and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.” Everything he touched, prospered.

In Gen. 40:8 he gave God the glory for the interpretations of dreams. He knew what his dreams of earlier years meant but I’m sure he wondered why all this was happening to him. In Gen. 41:16, he gives glory to God in response to Pharaoh’s dreams, “God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” In v.25 he says, “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.” Pharaoh recognizes Joseph as, “A man in whom is the Spirit of God.” Gen. 41:38. Joseph marries the daughter of the priest of On, Asenath and has two sons; Manasseh, “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” v. 51. And Ephraim, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” v. 52. Joseph is always careful to give God the glory even in naming his children. Deut. 4:24 says, “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God!” If I have learned one thing in walking with God since 1972, it is that God shares His glory with no one!

Joseph knew this was the ticket to spiritual blessings from God. He also had a reverential trust in and fear of God since childhood, instilled in him by his father. Gen. 42:18. In Gen. 42:6 we see the fulfillment of his first dream of the sheaves bowing down to him in Gen. 37:7. Why did he bind Simeon and imprison him, was it his idea to throw him in the pit and kill him 20 years ealier? In Gen. 43:29 he blesses Benjamin his brother, but in Gen. 45:4-9 he reveals to his brothers his true identity, “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt…God did send me before you to preserve life.” The spiritual perception of the sovereignty and providence of God by Joseph is unbelievable! Joseph walked with God from childhood and always gave God the glory! He realized sin was against God. The LORD was always with Joseph and blessing him, and even the pagans observed the Spirit of God working in him. He feared and recognized God in all things. He even named his children after God’s faithfulness. Nothing evil is recorded about him. He closes his father’s eyes and his own bones are carried out of Egypt, Ex. 13:19. However, nothing is recorded about his prayer life, nothing! A man who walked this close to God and gave God all the glory and trusted Him completely had to be a man of prayer. The silence of his prayer life speaks louder than his life! Maybe we talk too much about our spiritual lives and walk too little. Maybe we should walk more and talk less! “Your walk talks and your talk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks!”  ‘The Silent Prayer”  “…Between The Lines…”

“Abba, Father, may we learn from Joseph to trust You and glorify You in everything. Let the silence of our chambers and closets speak volumes. May everyone know, Christian and pagan alike that we have been with Jesus. May they see His image in our lives and smell His aroma in our presence. In His name we pray. Amen!”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis”  ‘Joseph the Dream Catcher’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Memoir, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – Jacob The Angel Wrestler Part #5

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

Jacob safely arrives in Shechem Gen. 33:18 which is in the land of Canaan, ‘The Promised Land.’ There he erects an altar and calls it, “El-elohe-Israel,” ‘To the God of the God of Israel.’ Now Jehovah, Elohim, El Shaddai is no longer just the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, He is the God of Jacob! He is the personal God of Israel, the ‘Prince with God!’ Since the Peniel River experience where he met God face to face and God changed his name from Jacob to Israel and he found favor in the eyes of the LORD and in the eyes of Esau, Gen. 33:4. Remember it wasn’t the gift that softened Esau’s heart, although it may have helped, it was the all-night prayer meeting on the Jabbok River that changed the Isaac brothers for life. Now Jacob becomes an altar builder like his ancestors before him and builds one in Gen. 33:20. Notice in v.18 he pitched his tent and in v.20 he built an altar, sound familiar? Just like his grandfather, everywhere Abraham had a tent, God had an altar! Prayer, Worship, Sacrifice, the necessary components of an altar to the God of Israel, “I love it!” No longer is he dependent on man, but on God. Shechem is the same place Abraham stopped on his way to the ‘Promised Land’ in Gen. 12:6 and he also built an altar there. The word Shechem means neck, shoulders, place of burden and comes into play quite a bit in the Older Testament. It is a good place to rest after the long, hot journey through the desert but Jacob camped and settled there, ouch!

He pitched his tent, he built his altar, he bought some property, and he unknowingly sold his daughter! Be careful about camping outside the city gates, your children will be infected, not affected, infected like Lot’s. You may have the power and strength to resist the temptation but they may not, and his sons Levi and Simeon slew all the men of Shechem and took their sister Dinah out of Shechem’s house. However, the point of this chapter is prayer and that God obviously became very personal to Jacob on the bank of that river and he began to build altars to ‘El-Elohe-Israel.’ El means strength or might, especially the Almighty, All Powerful One; Elohe is the singular form of Elohim which is the personal name for God; and Israel is two words, El being the name for Almighty God again and the first part meaning to prevail or to have power as a prince. So, Jacob built an altar and prayed to, “El-The Almighty One, Elohe-The God of, Isra/el, The Prince with God or God’s Prince” or “To the God, The Almighty God of Israel.”

“Then God said to Jacob, Arise, go to Bethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto you when you fled from the face of Esau, your brother.” Gen. 35:1. That’s where he started when he fled to Paddanaram over 20 years earlier. He makes a full circle, back to Bethel, and back to the ‘House of God.’ God always brings us back to the starting place, back to the point, place or person we ran from. Jacob tells his family and his household to put away their foreign gods, their earrings, change their clothes, and purify themselves for they are going to worship the true God in Bethel. There Jacob builds a second altar ‘El-Bethel’ or “To the God of the house of God.” God was a personal God to Jacob since the river of Peniel and remember an altar must have three things, ‘Sacrifice – Worship – Prayer.’ What a time of communion and reunion this must have been for Jacob and Jehovah! This is actually the first recorded ‘Revival’ we have in the Scriptures and it has all the earmarks of a revival; it is preceded by gross iniquity, it’s initiated by a word from God, there’s a forsaking of all that is displeasing to God, followed by obedience to God’s will and word, God’s past blessings are remembered, it’s accompanied by a new revelation of God’s character, God’s promises are renewed, a higher spiritual life is sought and given, and many commit their lives to the LORD’s service and are protected and provided for.

Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse dies and is buried and they mourn for her, Gen. 35:8. She must have been with Jacob, although no mention is ever made of his mother. His name is officially changed to Israel, by God in v.10 and God speaks to him and blesses him as El Shaddai in v.11 and confirms the Abrahamic covenant which God also gave to his father Isaac, “Be fruitful and multiply, a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee and kings shall come out of thy loins, and the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him…” Just like He did from Abraham. Then Israel sets up a pillar/altar and pours oil and wine on it and called the place, “Bethel – God’s House” and since our Lord called God’s house ‘The House of Prayer’ we have those three elements of an altar: Sacrifice, v.14; Worship, v.2-3; Prayer, 7. 7, 13-14; What an experience, God is fine tuning this heel-catcher, this conniver, this sly businessman; Oh, he could make the speckled bear striped and the striped bear speckled and turn two shekels into four like magic, but could he get his children to follow his God, or his wives to stop fighting like cocks?

Deborah dies in v.8, Rachel dies giving birth in v.19, Isaac dies in v.29, there is a lot of mourning and prayer in this chapter. Jacob sets up a pillar on Rachel’s grave v.20 and mourns, the heartache he must have felt, when it rains it pours. Two of his sons kill all the males in Shechem and Dinah his daughter is raped in Gen. 34, and Reuben commits adultery with Bilhah one of his concubines, Wow! How much can a frail human being take? What could have prepared him for all of this? Paddanaram, Laban’s labor camp, Galeed/Mizpah; No, the Peniel experience, where he met God face to face, where the God of Abraham and Isaac became the God of Jacob or Israel, ‘El Elohe Israel’ his personal God and Jacob became became a ‘Prince with God’ “Israel.” He knew how to wrestle with men in business, how to make a shekel or two and always come out on top, but there on the river bank, alone, scared, in the night, desperate, and destitute he learned how to wrestle with God in prayer and to give God His way and let Him come out on top! He learned how to commune, how to trust, how to hang onto God, how to wrestle, how to pray like his life depended on it because it did! What has happened to that tenacity in our prayer lives? Why don’t we pray through any more or have prayer vigils or pray and fast; instead we have a moment of prayer, or we mention you in prayer, or we bring you up in prayer, or put you on a prayer list. Jesus said, “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.” Mark 11:17 & Isa. 56:7. Then why is there so little importance put on it in our churches today? “…Between The Lines…”

“Father, help us, prepare us for what the future holds; We are desperate and destitute like Jacob and scared; Teach us to pray, to wrestle, to hold on until You bless us; and as tribulations come our way and we know they will come, may we cling closer to You and hold on tighter and not let go until You bless us.” In ha shem Yeshua we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – Jacob the Angel Wrestler – Part #5

Posted in Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Heart After God, Judaism, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Jacob The Angel Wrestler – Part 4′

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

(Read our blog  isaiahfiftythree.org  we think you’ll like it!

I should have entitled this, “Wrestling In Prayer” Gen. 32:13ff.. Jacob sends a gift to his distraught brother Esau, 550 animals, a gift to appease his enemy and the bigger the better! There is a principle ‘…Between The Lines…” here for us if we look carefully and it works. You can’t dislike or hate someone you are doing a kind deed for and it’s hard to dislike or hate someone who is doing a kind deed for you. However, in v.24 Ya’akov/Jacob the heel catcher, the supplanter, the conniver, the swindler was left alone. His family is gone, his possessions are gone, his servants are gone, his protection is gone, and the verse says, “And Jacob was left alone;” Have you ever been alone with God? Just you and God, in a cabin with a Bible, a blanket, a canteen and maybe a Strong’s concordance for a pillar? That could change your life forever and those in your inner circle, trust me!

Anyway, it says, “And there wrestled a man with him until, the breaking of the day.” All night he wrestled with this ‘Man of God’ and the angel did not prevail, Jacob was wrestling for his life and those of his family also. This ‘Man of God’ did not prevail against Jacob and the sun was coming up, I guess Jacob had him in an angel-lock, so he dislocated Jacob’s thigh and he still wouldn’t let go and said, “I will not let you go except you bless me.” Praise God! Now, that my friend is persistent, desperate, sacred praying, Jacob is destitute. In Gen. 32:28 Jacob gets a new name, ‘Israel, Prince with God’ because as a prince he struggled with man and with God and has prevailed, Wow! Can men say that about you, can they? Have you struggled with men and with God and have you prevailed with both? Do you bear the marks, do you walk with a limp? Read II Cor. 11:23-33 and 12:1-10 and tell me if Paul bore the marks, struggled with men and with God and prevailed? Tell me if he fought a good fight, kept the faith, finished his course? If you think a vibrant, effectual prayer life is easy, read on…….

The word wrestled is the Hebrew word (abaq) and means to float away as a vapor, to be dust, to grapple, to be light dust particles, the idea is one of fierce wrestling, being ground into powder; this is the only place this word appears in the Older Testament. In Gen. 30:8 Rachel wrestles with Leah (patal) to twine or struggle.  There a different word and meaning is used altogether, then you have in Gen. 32:24. Here the struggling is intense, in the dirt, dust is flying, grinding each other into powder, this wrestling match is so fierce bones are dislocated, and no one is yelling, uncle. Wow! What a beautiful picture of persistence in prayer, of not letting go until God blesses you, hanging on tenaciously until death or blessing! “Persevering in Prayer!” In Luke 11:5-10, Yeshua/Jesus tells us about ‘Importunity in Prayer’ with the parable of the, ‘Persistent Friend’ and again in Luke 18:1-8 with the, ‘Woman and The Judge.’ Importunity means to request or beg for urgently, to be persistent in a request or demand, to be troublesomely urgent. Jacob is troublesomely urgent, Esau is coming to kill him and his family with 400 warriors. He’s scared, desperate and destitute, just where God wanted him.

He is at his wits end, or in ‘Wits end corner’ have you ever been there? He is wrestling, not with Abraham’s God, and not with Isaac’s God, he is wrestling with the God of Jacob, the God of Israel, you will see that in Gen. 32:20 when he builds an altar to ‘El-elohe-Israel’  “To the God of the God of Israel.” But here he meets God ‘face to face’ and names the place, ‘Peniel’ which means, “The Face of God.” Have you wrestled with God all night in the dust lately? Do you have your ‘Peniel?’ Yes, Jacob was a scoundrel, and a conniver but he had his Water-loo on the Jabbok River and he received a new name, ‘Israel – Prince with God’ (He will rule as God). This is the first time Israel is used in the Bible. Oh that we might have our own Waterloo with God, our own Jabbok River and have it soon. I wish that every one of us could wrestle (abaq) all night for a blessing from God and cry out in the night, “I won’t let You go unless You bless me!” Then get up limping, just how desperate are you? Peniel, “The face of God,” east of the Jabbok River, he has not entered the Promised Land yet, and before he does he must meet God face to face. If he is to become the nation of Israel and rule as God would have him, he must know Him personally. Gen. 32:31, “As he passed over the Peniel the sun rose upon him and he halted/limped upon his thigh.” Just as he crosses the river, the sun rises on him, the dawn breaks, and he limps into the Promised Land ready to meet his brother, broken and humble, but a ‘Prince with God.’ What a change, what a transformation a night of prayer can make in our lives but more importantly in the lives of others in our inner circle.

Gen. 33:1, “And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked and ‘Behold Esau’ came and with him 400 men.” The moment he crossed the Jabbok River he faced his greatest fear. Prayer doesn’t always remove our fears, it gives us the strength many times to face them head on and God is always with us in the midst of them, Isa. 43:1-7. Here comes Jacob’s greatest fear, “ESAU,” Gen. 33:4, “And Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept.” Oh my, I bet Jacob was not expecting that reception. Esau set out to kill him, not to kiss him, you don’t take 400 warriors to a kissing party. What changed Esau’s heart? The 550 animals, seeing all the women and children, his limping, humble brother bowing seven times; I believe the same angel, “The Angel of The LORD,” that touched Jacob’s thigh that night while wrestling in prayer, touched Esau’s heart while wrestling in sleep. Not to belittle the gift to the offended party and the bigger the better, but your prayers many times will do as much, if not more to soften the heart of the offended party to the touch of the Master’s hand than anything else. In fact 25 years later, Jacob and Esau together bury their father Isaac who is 180 years old in Gen. 35:29 in the cave of Machpelah with Rebekah their mother. That prayer on the Jabbok River is still working 25 years later or was it the gift of 550 animals? One thing for sure, Jacob was still limping on that hip…..!   “…Between The Lines…”

“Oh LORD, may we have our Peniel and may we have it soon. We want to wrestle with You or Your Angel and prevail. May we know both the ‘Presence’ of Your almighty power and the ‘Power’ of Your almighty presence in a new and personal way like Jacob.” In ha Shem Yeshua we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer In Genesis”  ‘Jacob the Angel Wrestler Part #4′

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Gateway To God, Heart After God, Judaism, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Stolen Blessing, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment