There
are doors which can only be opened by God - "See, I have placed
before you an open door that no-one can shut" (Revelation 3:8). There
are doors which must be opened by man - "Here I am! I stand at the door
and knock. If any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come
in and eat with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20). This is
illustrated in the story of Esther. She became the Queen of Persia
according to the sovereign purpose of God. God opened the door.
Nevertheless, there were doors which had to be opened by Esther. As the
Queen of Persia, she had to act in a wise and courageous way in order
to carry out the purpose of God. In everything, we must say, with the
Psalmist, "My eyes are fixed on You, O Sovereign Lord" (Psalm 141:8).
This is not, however, to be the kind of heavenly-mindedness which makes
us oblivious to what is going on around us. We must keep a close eye
on events. We must direct our prayers towards the fulfilment of God's
purpose through the particular course of events which are taking place
here-and-now. This is precisely what the Psalmist does. He sees what is
happening, and he prays, "Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil"
(Psalm 141:4). His "prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers"
(Psalm 141:5-6). This, again, is a combination of God opening and
closing doors - "What He opens no-one can shut and what He shuts no-one
can open" (Revelation 3:7) - and ourselves opening and closing doors
as, looking at what is going on around us, we choose God's way rather
than the world's way. Concerning this opening and closing of doors, we
say, "O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).
There is to be prayer from “every one who lives in the land” (Joel 1:14). It is to be personal prayer - “O Lord, I cry to You for help!” (Joel 1:19). These two belong together - prayer for the nation and personal prayer. This is expressed so well in the words: “O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me.” We hear the words, “Return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:13). They are followed by some wonderful words about the character of God - “He is merciful and compassionate, patient and always ready to forgive and to change His plans about disaster” (Joel 2:13). How do we know that God is like this? We look at what He has done for us - “Be glad and rejoice. The Lord has done great things!” (Joel 2:21). Looking at all that the Lord has done for us, we trust His promise: “Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). This salvation is more than forgiveness for past sins. It’s more than the future glory of being in God’s ev...
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