July 2020 Fasting and Prayer Notes – Saturday AM
his is a write up of the notes from the July 2020 fasting and prayer weekend led by Pastor Praveen and held at our church. We had four sessions, Friday morning and evening and Saturday morning (posted here) and evening. During our fasting and prayer sessions, it is usual for the Holy Spirit to speak to us through Pastor Praveen.
Pastor Praveen’s Message – The LORD is Close to the Brokenhearted
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).
Pastor Praveen continued the theme that he had introduced during the Friday morning session. On Friday, he spoke about the LORD’s provision for Hannah who cried to Him with a broken heart. Saturday morning, he spoke about another brokenhearted woman – Hagar. (Genesis 21:8-21).
When Sarah told Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away, God told him to listen to Sarah. He had no choice; he knew he could not compromise with God – so he gave them some bread and a skin of water and sent them away. Hagar was distressed, but she had no choice. She had to go.
Pastor Praveen focused on Genesis 21:15-19. He said that when the water ran out, Hagar had no hope. She was alone with her boy. There was nothing in the wilderness except some bush trees and thorns. No water. She put her son under a bush and retreated a distance away – and cried. She could not watch her son die. Suddenly, she heard the voice of God over her broken heart, over her tears and hopelessness.
That is God. Whenever you cry to God with a broken heart, you will hear the voice of God over your problem, your cry. Because everything is under His feet, His power is above our problems and can break through anything in our life. God answered Hagar, “Why are you crying? What is the matter? I am the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? I have seen the boy crying. I will make him into a great nation.”
Pastor Praveen made several points:
God heard the cry of the boy, not just Hagar’s cry. When we cry before the LORD for our generations, we know we are crying out, but we don’t see their cry. But God sees the heart and the tears of our children/generations. We are not seeing the wells of blessing or the new doors God is opening for them.
Ishmael heard the voice of God speaking to his mother, Hagar. He heard God promise that He would make him into a great nation.
Similarly, Genesis 22:9-18 describes a time when Isaac heard the voice of God. Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac because he loved God with a selfish love – more than he loved Sarah or Isaac. He was a friend of God. Because of this intimacy, he knew God’s heart: His heart is kind His name is great.
Isaac heard God when He spoke to his father, Abraham, promising that He would bless all nations through his descendants. God swore this promise by Himself because there is nobody greater than God – I Am Whom I Am. His name is above all names. He will not change His word.
Both boys, Isaac and Ishmael, heard the voice of God – God has no favoritism. But the boys had different anointings and promises. Isaac’s promise was that “all” nations would be blessed through his descendants. Ishmael’s promise was that God would make him into “a” great nation.
God loves everyone. He has no favoritism. God says, ““I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” But we all have different promises, anointings, callings, plans, and purposes.
Since God answered Hagar’s cry, how much more, in New Testament times, will God give promises when His children cry out to Him? We are the inheritance of Jesus Christ, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are stars because our God is the super-star. We are extraordinary beings – children of God – because our God is a mighty God. If he answered Hagar’s cry, how much more will He give when we cry for the Holy Spirit? John 7:38 says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.”
If you believe God and cry to Him, He will open many kinds of wells, many streams of living water for you and your generations. It depends on your faith and hunger.
In the same way, the Israelites cried for bread in the wilderness, and God rained down bread on them. They were saying, “What is this? We asked for bread, but now it is raining bread.” (Exodus 16:4, 15). This is how God works. We may ask for one blessing or grace, but He will heal and deliver us from anything. You may ask for one job, one helper, but He will send many. He is close to the broken hearted and crushed in spirit. He loves everybody. He is the light, the LORD of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Him?
God has already opened the wells for you from generation to generation. Why are you crying? What is the matter? Healing and deliverance are your right, because He died for you. Do you think He will pass by your tears? He will not. Because His heart is kind, His love is rich, and He is slow to anger – and His anger is covered by great love. Ask Him for the biggest, greatest thing and He will open more streams for you. Don’t limit God’s blessing. His blessing is unlimited.
Click to continue with the Saturday PM write-up of the July 2020 fasting and prayer notes.