Prayer: Lord, Protect Us
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid
(January 19, 2020)
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” (Psalm 121: 1-8, King James Version [KJV]).
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus Yahshuah,
My brothers and sisters, we give honor to our Lord and Savior for helping us, to make it through the day, to press to the mark for the high calling, in Christ Jesus [“Philippians 3: 14, King James Version (KJV), I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”]. I must say, Thank you Lord! I come by faith through the perils, in the storms of life by day and by night holding on to see what the end is going to be. I cry out to you, Lord, save me.
Lord, protect! You Are JEHOVAH SABAOTH – The LORD our Protector [hearwelldone.org]. My soul love you. I did not think in Christ Jesus, in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the Kingdom of God.
I thought all my imaginations were true, not outlandish and wayward—-outside of the plan of God. I was intent to feel uncomfortable in my own skin, fearing the world instead of my God because that was the foregone conclusion I picked up from other nonbelievers, unaware the task-at-hand, was to love God with all my soul. Somehow, the root of my belief system, my fundamental purpose, awakened me, to know that I was not of a culture, acclimated to the environment, acculturated to sin, I was a child of God, with a way, to follow. I was not lost in the darkness of the world, I was the light of the world, spreading the gospel, the Word of God, near and far, for the saving of souls.
My fears that haunted me, for the brevity of the time of doubt that tried to take me and make me a captive, left me. I strongly felt the presence of God and I just want to say, I love the LORD GOD. He heard my cry - the stillness of my soul, waiting on the LORD GOD to save me, pulled me out of the darkness of doubt. I heard a nonbeliever say, It must be low self-esteem.
I wondered, Was that nonbeliever seeing in me things that the nonbeliever could not see in herself? Was the Spirit talking through the nonbeliever, telling me the reason why the Spirit had to use the nonbeliever to deliver the message was because I was at a point in my life when the words of nonbelievers meant more to me than the Words of God? This was why, God spoke to me through a nonbeliever because I had shut God out of my life although I faithfully served the LORD GOD, I was oblivious to my own lie. I was living a lie, denying my love for the LORD.
If, self-esteem seemed to be the problem then, obviously I did not fear loving the LORD. Was the problem my purpose in that I was not sure of or was it the public embrace of God’s Word, publicly loving God, for all eyes to see, in front of everyone? I did not want to cheat, anymore. I wanted to come clean, in the untainted and incorruptibility of God’s love, to celebrate a pure love in a pure heart.[“Proverbs 30: 5, KJV, Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."].
I had made up my mind to love the LORD GOD, in the service of Christ Jesus Yahshuah. It was not because I tried loving man and failed each time, it was because my failures at loving man made my love for GOD, a sure thing. What did I have to lose? My LORD and Savior called me since my conception.
I was seeded, since the beginning and it was high time I left all the mishaps behind and served the LORD GOD. GOD knew the time had come for me to show the world, I believed, to press to the high calling, in Christ Jesus, in the protection of God. Jehovah Sabaoth, Lord my Protector, Lord, Protect! Is this where you are, at—-running your race or are you still uncommitted but you have the clothes on, in the Kingdom of God—-dressed the part but still wavering in your heart? Is it low-esteem?
Is that a new concept you just learned, low self-esteem? Is it more than that new word you learned: low-self-esteem; is it fear of truth? Is the truth, in your heart, beating you down for you know one more lustful relationship in the world will not make or break you, only keep you in limbo, of the truth —- your truth in Christ Jesus Yahshuah, in God’s plan, for you are chosen to run your race? You surely could do, a lot of things in life and a lot of things in life could tell your story.
Why don’t you become a part of the greatest story of God’s mankind, the greatest story ever told, the story of Jesus —-His story? You are there, in his story and you might as well take your place in his story. The plan of God, for you, according to Jesus, as witnessed by the disciple, publican, tax collector, Matthew [22: 32-40, KJV], starts by knowing GOD YAHWEH:
“I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Christ be with you.
In closing, Jehovah Sabaoth, Lord, my protector, I need you, now. [“Psalm 18: 2, KJV, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."]. My salvation is Christ Jesus Yahshuah. [“2 Samuel 22: 3, 31, KJV, The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence . . . As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him."]. Lord, when I am burdened down, I need you. [“Psalm 55: 22, KJV, Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."]. GOD be with you. Walk with GOD.
Amen.
