Work Through Me, Lord!

Galatians 1 : 1 - 2, Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), NKJV

As a child of God and a minister of the Gospel, there's nothing that is as fulfilling as when the Lord flows through me to touch a person's heart and life. Paul tells us, in Corinthians, that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. He goes on to explain why the Lord has chosen to perform His will in this manner; it is so that the people will know that it is the power of God flowing through us.

I remember when R. W. Schambach, the famous evangelist, struggled with heart issues. For years this powerful man of God would lay hands on people and watch the power of God heal them. When he found out that his own heart was in need of a miracle, he sought the Lord, but the Lord chose to heal him another way;  instead of an instant miracle, R.W. had to undergo heart surgery. I later heard him on television wrestling with his own theology over healing because he had needed surgery...He struggled with "why", when the Lord had used him to touch so many lives over the years.

This is what Paul is saying in our verse in today's word. It's not according to our will or man's will, but God will perform His mighty work through people who allow Him to flow. Paul was quick to let the Galatians know where his power to be an apostle of the faith came from.

According to 2 Corinthians 5 : 18, we all have been given the ministry of reconciliation (that includes you). You might be thinking, "God could never use me." He will use you, but you must allow Him to work through your heart. If you will remember, before Paul became a mighty man of God, he was Saul, a murderer. And like he wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, he, too was a new creature in Christ. Saul humbled himself and sought the Lord's will over his own desires in life, and God was able to use him. The Lord will do the same work through you, but you must be willing to submit to His voice.

"Work through me, Lord" is more than just  you and me hearing the voice of the Lord. He can do far more than we could ever ask or think, if we will simply pray before we start our day or set out to accomplish His will; this is what I have discovered in my times of prayer. I no longer just seek to hear instructions from the Lord, but I press on in my prayer time to allow Him to fill my heart with His will. It's obvious that Paul had come to that truth in his own prayer life with the Holy Spirit. He had learned how to become and to accept the call of God that was on his life to become an apostle through his time in prayer with the Lord.

None of us has the power within our humanity to perform the wonders of the Lord, so we must take the time needed to prepare our hearts for Him to work through us. Prayer will determine if a minister is ordinary or extraordinary. Jesus always sought the Father in prayer and moved according to the leading of the Holy Spirit afterwards. At the end of His ministry on earth, He told the Jews one day. "The Father is always with me, because I always do those things that please Him." The result of a life of prayer and supplication is a life that pleases the Father in all that we say and do.

Thank You for Using Me Lord,
Pastor Asa