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Petitioning YHVH
Hannah was childless and it caused her great sorrow. She petitioned YHVH for a son, and He gave her children. Adonijah petitioned Bathsheba for Abishag, she was beautiful and he wanted her to be his wife. However, he had ulterior motives…Esther risked her life to petition king Ahasuerus for the life of her people. Job, after suffering so much hardship that he could not bear it any more petitioned YHVH to take his life. Instead YHVH healed him and restored back to him what he lost. The Israelites petitioned YHVH for meat with devastating consequences. Zacharias petitioned YHVH for a child, and this child was a great prophet who prepared the way for the Messiah. We can learn much from all these narratives. A petition is a form of prayer, but whereas prayer encompasses all communication with YHVH, petition is to make a specific request of YHVH. It can be compared to a formal request made to a sovereign. The purpose of this study is to understand what it means to petition YHVH. We shall look at each of these narratives to see what we can learn.
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Know thy enemy!
We need to know our enemy if we want to succeed in battle. As we know, our battle is not against flesh and blood. We need to know who these powers of darkness are that we need to struggle with. What does the Scriptures teach us about the adversary? Do we think about the adversary only with our Western mindset or do we really acknowledge what the Scriptures teach us? He is real and we need to know how he operates if we want to overcome his system.
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A Scriptural introduction to angels
In the last couple of articles, we have started investigating the spiritual dimension of the Scriptures. When we talk about the spiritual dimension we also need to talk about the spiritual beings. In Scripture we find a number of references to heavenly beings. What exactly does Scripture teach us about angels, and which parts of what we think we know is made up by man through time? Let us look at angels from Scripture to find the truth.
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Thoughts, the battle in our minds
What are you thinking right now? What have you been thinking about today? Are you worried, thinking about the challenges you face or thinking about pleasant things, rolling hills and wild flowers perhaps? Our thoughts are important; it shapes who we are and who we become. If you dwell on negative thoughts, you will become negative and so perceived by others. Did you know that your thoughts play a role in your health too?
