One night, I was praying and confessing a scripture that I often spoke in times of trouble. "Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me, O Lord, make hast to help me." Psalm 40:13. There were so many pressing issues; I didn't know what to do.
The next night while in prayer I heard, "make haste to help God." I thought to myself, the Lord doesn't need my help. He doesn't need help to pay bills. He is not stressed with hurt, pain, or fears. God has everything. How can I help God? Within days, this scripture came to mind:
..Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:40
My urgent prayer request was for God to help me. The instruction I received, was for me to make haste to help others. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, my attitude was:
Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
John 2:5
I began helping others by sharing words of encouragement. First, with my family, then with anyone else that would listen. Soon, I was able to provide help to others through additional means. I realized the answer to my prayer was in doing the word - hearing and obeying.
..be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer
of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man
beholding his natural face in a glass: For he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway
forgetteth what manner of man he was.
James 1:22-24
A person who hears the word, and doesn't do the word, is like a man who looks into a mirror and sees his natural face. The face in the mirror is worldly (of the flesh) not of the Spirit. It has a way of thinking, which has been conditioned by this world.
But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto
him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
1 Cor. 2:14
In my natural way of thinking, I wanted to rely upon my own abilities, getting a job or starting a business, to overcome my troubling circumstances. In my spirit, I recognized the road, and realized I had ventured that path before. Nonetheless, my natural man wanted to go that way again. Helping others by giving away the little I had, was out of the question.
I can't tell you how often listening to myself has gotten me into deep trouble. Of all the people in the world, no one has the ability to deceive me as much as myself. Any answer received from God in prayer would have been the right answer. Any thought or idea concocted without prayer and instructions from God would have led me down the wrong path.
In my obedience, I have learned that the Word of God is my source for getting all of my needs met. As I encourage others, I feel loved, joyful, and peaceful. I continue to receive provisions to meet the needs of others, as well as my own. I am here to encourage those of you who are facing challenges, to make haste to help God as a solution to your concerns.