God's Purpose alone will stand

God's Purpose alone will stand (Isaiah 46:9-10)

In the place of prayer a few minutes ago, the Lord began to speak concerning His purpose for each one of His children and for the families, churches, communities and nations that they represent:

 'remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please'

He says he wants us to remember certain things that He did in the past that displayed His sovereignty as the omniscient, all knowing God who declares the end from the beginning. He has a purpose and a plan for each one of His children and He makes this plan known because that's what He wants to happen.

He reveals His plan to us His children so that we may take ownership of it (embrace it as the purpose of God which must stand) and have the opportunity to co-labour with Him to bring it to pass (by begining to pray into it so that it can become our reality). Someone might say 'well, if it is God's will, why do I have to play any part in it? why does he not just bring it to pass in my life?

God wants us to play a part in it because

(a) that is the way He has set things up to operate so that we have the opportunity to willingly take part in the creative process (consider Mary's response and her part in the conception and birth of Jesus as recorded in Luke 1:38)

(b) by praying about it we are authorising God to carry out His purpose in our lives and in the earth because God needs man's co-operation (by invitation) to carry out His will on earth because 'the highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men' (Ps 115:16). This is why He says in Matt 7:7 'ask that we might receive' (even though He knows what we need and has given us all things to enjoy) and in James 42b 'you have not because you ask not'

(c) it is in the place of prayer that we hear clearly what God is saying concerning the declared purpose so that we may obey His directions, perhaps somethings that we need to do or to stop doing so that the purpose might manifest.

The bible is full of confirmation of this word of the Lord.  Paul says to Timothy in 1Timothy 1:18 to fight a good warfare with the prophecies (God's declared purpose) that have been spoken over His life. In Jeremiah 29:11, God declares His purpose for the children of Israel but goes on in verses 12 to 14 to say that they will now come and pray to Him and seek His face with all their hearts and He will fulfill His promise to them. James 5:17-19 records that Elijah prayed fervently that God's declared purpose of 3 years of famine to turn the hearts of the children of Israel back to Himself would happen and also that it might be ended by a down pour at the end of the famine. 

Finally, in Isaiah 55:10, God declares that His words (his declared purpose/plan) will not return to Him void but will accomplish what He sent it to and in Jeremiah 1:12, God says He is watching over His words to perform.  So when we pray in accordance with His declared purpose, we are joining forces with the Lord to 'hasten' the performance of His word.

Let him who has an ear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the church!