Devotions

At times David suffered greatly under the Lord’s chastening rod. He was afraid the Lord had utterly forsaken him because of his sin, a thought he could not bear, and he pleaded with the Lord, “Let not the floodwater overflow me, nor let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut its mouth on me” (Psalm 69:15). He was saying, “Lord, please don’t let me go so far down I can’t get out!”

In David’s despair, his praying became intense. We read on many occasions where he cried out to God in anguish: “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!” (Psalm 130:1-2).

For many believers, sinking to the bottom means the end. They become so overwhelmed by their failures, they develop a sense of unworthiness, and over time they feel trapped beyond any help. Isaiah wrote of such believers, “O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted” (Isaiah 54:11).

Some eventually get mad at God because they don’t think he is moving quickly enough. “Lord, where were you when I needed you? I cried out to you but you didn’t answer. I’m tired of waiting without seeing any change.” Many such believers simply give up trying and give themselves over to their sin. Others fall into a fog of spiritual apathy, convinced that God doesn’t care about them anymore: “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14).

David was brought up from the depths by remembering the forgiving nature of God. After all his weeping to the Lord, David ended up testifying, “There is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:4). The Holy Spirit began to flood his spirit with memories of God’s mercies and the Father’s forgiving, pardoning nature.

Walking in the fear of the Lord makes us able to say, “I know my Father loves me and will never abandon me. He is always ready to forgive me whenever I call on him.”

How often do you pray for others? Too often when we tell someone, “I’ll pray for you,” we forget to do it. Or we pray once and then quickly forget about their need.

The apostle Paul experienced hardships so dire that he feared for his life: “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Paul shared his need with his brothers and after he was delivered, he gave them credit for their support in prayer (see 2 Corinthians 1:11).

We don’t know exactly what Paul’s trouble was but 2 Corinthians 7:5 offers a hint: “For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.” Paul was at a point of exhaustion of some kind, perhaps suffering mental anguish, and he obviously needed prayer support.

Many believers today suffer as Paul did; their greatest anguish is emotional, perhaps caused by those they have loved or helped the most. A significant lesson Paul learned in his anguish was that he had to turn to the Lord. He could no longer trust in his flesh, abilities or willpower. “We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9).

A precious elderly man wrote to tell me that God had prompted him to pray for me daily and he asked if he could put me on his prayer list — which included widows, the poor, ministers and unsaved people. He leads a simple life and prays without ceasing. I believe that those who intercede for others receive an especially rich reward in heaven. When I think about the souls God has allowed evangelists to reap into the kingdom, I immediately think of the incredible helping prayers of people like this dear saint.

America’s children today are a lost generation. No generation in history has been so plagued by sex, drugs, alcohol, greed and murder at such a young age. Who is to blame for this?

Our educational system has become vile and perverted as teachers are introducing students to atheism, evolution, perversion, permissive sexual attitudes and anti-religious bigotry. A teacher cannot place a Bible on his desk — but he can display literature on subjects ranging from communism to pornography.

I am convinced our entire society is experiencing a moral collapse. Many parents, including Christians, blame this on schools, the government, the media, the church and their children’s peers. All these forces play a part in the disintegration of our youth, but neither schools, culture, media, evil music or backslidden churches alone are causing all this ruin. The truth is, the responsibility for this generation of youth rests primarily with the parents. The home is where most seeds of rebellion and wickedness are being sown.

I sincerely believe that parents need more wisdom and discernment now than at any time in history. Satan has many more wicked inventions and subtle disguises to use against God’s people and only through daily, diligent prayer and immersion in God’s Word will we have power against him as guardians over our homes.

Take special note of this covenant promise for your children: “Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant’ and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses’” (Isaiah 44:2-4).

Parents, plead God’s promises over your children; claim them as yours and hold them up to the Lord in intercession. Then bathe your family in prayer — and watch the enemy flee.

“You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:48-49).

Jesus tells his friends who had been with him in ministry for three years that they had been witnesses to his heart, his mind, his works and his wisdom. And yet he tells them to remain in the city — don’t move — until.

Many of you reading this today need an until in your life. Things are not the way you want them to be or believe they should be. And you are waiting until something happens.

Until God comes, things are going to stay the same. Until God comes, there will be no power encounter with heaven that will transform things taking place on earth.

The author of Luke also wrote the book of Acts and we see again, “[Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promises of the Father” (Acts 1:4). He is telling them again to wait until you have been endued with power from high.

Wait! Don’t rush to get things you believe you were meant to attain in life. We must work at waiting, in a sense. The humility that waiting requires says, “I don’t have the power to do this and I can’t do that in my own strength. I need the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.”

What do you think this waiting looked like for the disciples? They were not groaning, “Oh, we have to wait on God.” No! We see that Jesus blessed them and even as he was carried up into heaven, they were full of great joy. 

“And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:50-53).

In 1987, God put a burden on the heart of David Wilkerson and he founded Times Square Church. The Lord told him, “I am sending you to New York City to gather a remnant. [In other words, those who desire a sincere walk with God through Jesus Christ.] I want you to warn the city that judgment is coming.”

The Lord gave Pastor David a vision of a thousand fires burning in New York City. He said these were race riots that would affect not only New York City but many major cities throughout the country. As we look around at our society, it is easy to conclude that those very days might be starting in our midst.

Because we were willing to receive the warning, we have been able to intercede in prayer. We have prayed that there would be a thousand fires of revival burning in this city before those other days come — a thousand churches whose doors will not close, so that people can come in and seek God. This has been our prayer because the Bible tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment. It does not mean that judgment is not coming, but mercy takes away its finality when men and women find Christ as Savior.

We see in the Bible that even in the days of the early Church, the Lord was faithful to warn His people when suffering was on the horizon. For example, in the book of Acts it says, “And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar” (Acts 11:27-28).

How did the early Church respond?  “Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea” (Acts 11:29). Something in their hearts bore witness to the word of warning, so they moved to make preparations for themselves as well as others who would be in need.

Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.