Passover and Prayer
THE WEEK OF APRIL 12 TO 18 IS A REMARKABLE WEEK THAT BRINGS US TO PRAYER! The week started with Easter, then the conclusion of Passover (April 8-16), and the slowing of the Corona Virus. This blog discusses ways for us to gain strength during this challenging time.
Would you like to see the Virus pass over so we can get back to work and our destinies?
How is that possible in the USA and around the World?
Four Ways of Hope
The more we study scripture and hear from anointed pastors, the more we are gaining hope for an end to the danger of the Corona Virus. This hope is based on four major sources of hope:
- Easter, 2020, gives us the promise of Resurrection and New Beginnings.
- The timing of the 2020 Passover (Hebrew Pesach—Feast of Unleavened Bread) delivers another promise of protection and new beginnings.
- Jesus’ promise to give us the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) to help us “Overcome the World”
- A call to prayer that came to King Solomon when he dedicated the temple to God as described in 2nd Chronicles 7:12-14.
Easter signaled New Beginnings
Easter is a time to remember that Jesus arose from the grave and conquered death. He also gave us forgiveness of our past sins because of His blood sacrifice. Since Christ is in us as believers (Colossians 1:27), we also have the promise of forgiveness and eternal life.
We can only guess what God the Father felt as His only Son experienced such a brutal death, and then an uplifting feeling when we arose. We do know that the cross and resurrection were part of the Father’s plan, but even so, He must have felt that His Holy Son would have difficulty associating with sin. The outcome, however, was glorious conquering of the enemy—a new beginning. We should embrace this as our own conquest!
A personal story helps to understand some of the feelings at Easter. Several years ago, our daughter contracted a bacterial infection that caused damage to a heart valve. Her doctor heard a heart murmur during a routine physical and told her to go to the hospital immediately. We learned of this by phone and burst out the door to meet her at the hospital. Doctors soon discovered the damage of the infection and scheduled open-heart surgery to close an opening in one of her heart valves. You can imagine how we reacted to all of this!
The day of the surgery, we experienced the feelings that the Father must have felt. Our daughter was wheeled down a corridor to the surgery room and our hearts were bounding knowing the risks of the surgery. When we saw her later in the recovery room, with tubes everywhere, she looked gray and holding on to life! Wow—how do you describe how we felt?
The next day, we took our time getting to the hospital because we wanted her to have more resting time. However, when we walked into her hospital room, she was sitting up and said, “Hey, you two, where have you been?” like her upbeat self! To us, this was resurrection! It is possible to overcome major illness and recover and to have new beginnings! Easter showed us this again this year.
To remember all the blessings of Easter, we have followed the advice of other pastors to take communion frequently. It reminds us of Christ’s gift to us and sends a spirit of peace in our hearts. We highly recommend doing this at home and frequently.
Passover came to the Rescue
In the original Passover (Chapter 12 of Exodus), the Israelites escaped the curse of death on the first-born child by putting sacrificial blood on the door post of their homes[i]. During March 2020, weeks before the Passover in our world, several prophetic pastors had messages of hope.[ii] The messages predicted a drop in the “curve” showing the number of cases of the Virus. The leveling of the curve and reduction of hospitalizations and death were signs used by government officials to assess the progress of the virus. At the same time, many secular commentators were predicting that the virus would continue strong for 18 months! However, Passover came to our rescue—thanks to the Lord God Almighty and His Angel Armies! Also, the effects of quarantine restrictions and the fervent prayers of many believers in America and elsewhere helped to tame the spread of the virus. Some States are beginning to open the businesses that have been closed. Father God wants to protect us! Thank Him with all your heart, soul, and strength, and keep on praying.
The Holy Spirit in Us
Jesus made a great declaration in John 16:33—”In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” Because He lives in us as believers, we can also overcome. And Pauls’ message is, “we are more than conquerors[iii] through Him who loved us” (John 16:33). Unlike many unbelievers in America, we believe that there is hope and there will be an end (soon) to the serious threat of the virus. In the meantime, we have the Holy Spirit guiding us to use “common sense” (intuition that is bolstered by the Holy Spirit’s guidance) and conquer this threat. Read the Book of Joshua, Chapter 1:6-9, that speaks of having courage, boldness, and believing that He will not abandon us! Read it often and pray for the freedom Jesus wants to bring to us!
Strong Intercessory Prayer
One surprising advantage to the current “stay at home” lifestyle is time for prayer. My wife and I have lists of prayer topics that remind us of the important targets for prayer. We try to pray each day for health, protection, truth, and blessings on America.
A timely and powerful prayer for us today is the famous one of 2nd Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Let’s look at this passage closely and get ready to pray:
Called by His Name. Do you feel called by Jesus? Do you believe He listens to your prayers? If not, ask Him to build up your belief (see Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find…”). As a believer, you are a “child of God,” therefore you are called by His name!
Humble Yourself. Proverbs 29:23 says, “Pride lands you flat on your face; humility prepares you for honors.” (The Message translation). The Lord is looking for those who will humble themselves so that He can guide us. That is why He was willing to come into the world as a child born in a stable. Being humble worked for Jesus and will work for us! I remember one valuable thing my own father said to me, “Don’t get a big head,” when I won a scholarship and some other honors in school. Those words have stayed with me in many ways. When Jesus saved me, I spoke clearly that He would be the Master of my life, not me!
Pray and Seek His Face. Effective prayer for the Virus situation, will come when we take the time (available to us in this Stay-at-home times) to be QUIET and vigilant to enter His Presence. That is one meaning of the phrase “seek His Face,” being in God’s presence. It may help using soft music (see “Music to Journal By” by Julie True—one of our favorites) and time alone or with close prayer-partners to give effective prayer.
Turn from Wicked Ways. It’s time to ask forgiveness and repent not only for our sins or for those of America’s past. Although we were not involved, there remains many sins of the past and present in our country that have gone against God’s will. Make a list of some things like abortions, pornographers, human traffickers in our past and present in America. Cry out to God to forgive our country. Promise to turn away from any temptation that has been in your life. Coming clean before God is always important before making pleas for His help.
Pray with Passion. Use all this preparation to cry out to God for His grace and mercy on America. Call out protection and wisdom on the leaders of states and federal programs. Ask Jesus to come closer and even speak to you through the Holy Spirit so you can be safely guided day by day. Join the millions of believers who are crying out the same way—I know we are!
GO IN PEACE!
Pastor G. Harold
[i] You may think I am quite strange, but I did the blood thing on my doors during the daytime of April 8th (Passover starting on the 8th at sunset). The virus passed over our family!! Scripture does come true!
[ii] You can find some of the messages on YouTube by Johnny Enlow, Dutch Sheets, Chuck Pierce, Tracy Cooke, Lance Wallnau, and others.
[iii] “More than conquerors” can mean that we, not only win battles against the evil one, but the devil gets tired of trying to disturb us. Because Jesus is alive in us, the enemy goes elsewhere to find an easier target!