Fasting and Prayers Day 20 — Above and Beyond

by | Dec 20, 2017 | Fasting & Prayers, General |

Scripture Reading For Today: Isa 54:1-5

 

The Instruction —
“Enlarge the place of your tent…“ Isa 54:2

 

The Promise –
Your Break out is imminent!

 

 

Q. What does this promise really mean – for you?

Answering this question positions you to properly respond to the word and activate your promise due in this season.

Yesterday, God was speaking to us about preparation and Process in relation to fulfilling our destiny.
In today’s bible text, we can see this same principle at play in Zion’s case.
Preparation is often a two-part process —

What the word does to you, and then what you do with the word.
 

We can see these two interplay in Joseph’s life. In Psalm 105:19, the bible says:

“Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him”. (NKJV)
 

Reading the same verse from the New Living Translation, we get a deeper understanding of the text:

“Until the time came to fulfil his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character.”
 

The time of preparation is the time of character testing and character building.

 
Tested by the word — Tested by time, tested in waiting, contrary situations, challenges, emptiness, even sometimes, demotion.
 

As it was also in the case of Zion in our main text — The word will stretch you!

Stretching as uncomfortable and painful as it will be, is often a critical and necessary part of our preparation for promotion, growth and enlargement.

Stretching always comes before enlargement; it is the preparation for the change that is about to happen.

 
God was saying to Zion “Prepare for change….Put some things into place for what I am about to do in your life !”
 

Stretching will come in different ways:

• Instructions to obey
• Work to be done
• Challenges to bear or overcome
• Step of faith to be taken

Stretching will move you beyond what you are comfortable with; it will take you farther than your “safe zone” and challenge the limits of what you think you are capable of doing— Stretching will bring you almost to your breaking point and take you beyond your limits; but then, God Steps in!

Stretching is God’s mechanism for exposing and removing the weak points, separating the dross from gold so that your ending is much better than your beginning.

 

“Enlarge the place of your tent“ means to have God’s vision.

Think about this — A barren woman has no need for a bigger tent. But God says, “Enlarge the place of your tent. He is telling his sorrowful people to have God’s vision beyond the limitations of their current experience or “reality”!

Having a vision and a hope…making more room for God to be God.

For some it may mean pulling down the old structures and letting go of the convenient and familiar and breaking new grounds.

Friend, you may be going through your stretching or preparation season right now, but please be encouraged; your enlargement, your breakthrough, your breakout is an imminent product of your stretching. Rejoice, your change is about to happen! The stretching is not to break you, it is designed to make you.

Shalom,

Pastor Wale Ola

Prayer Focus
Show me what displeases you about me (my blind spots)

Show me how I can please you more

What will you have me do – How would you have me serve

What would you have me change?

Ask God for the grace to endure the stretching and to pass the test for your promotion.