Bible Lesson: Answered Prayer:
Gideon, Prayed For Success.
Subject Of Prayer: Success
Against Israel's Enemies, Midian And Amalek.
Bible Text:
Judges 6:36-40 NLT
36 Then Gideon
said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as
you promised,
37 prove it to
me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor
tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground
is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel
as you promised.”
38 And that is
just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he
squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.
39 Then Gideon
said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one
more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let
the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.”
40 So that
night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but
the ground was covered with dew.
(Be sure to read the “whole-story,”
to get the complete picture! Judges 6:1-40)
Before King Saul, was the time of the Judges, some 15 in all, who
were chosen of God, from out of every tribe. Some military leaders,
but not all, wise individuals of counsel and wisdom.
The Judges Of
Israel:
Othniel (Judges
3:9)
Ehud (Judges 3:15)
Shamgar Judges
3:31)
Deborah (Judges 4:5
)
Gideon (Judges
6:36)
Abimelech (Judges
9:1)
Tola (Judges 10:1)
Jair (Judges 10:3)
Jephtah (Judges
11:11)
Ibzan (Judges 12:8)
Elon (Judges 12:11)
Abdon (Judges
12:13)
Samson (Judges
16:30)
Eli (I Samuel 4:18)
Samuel (I Samuel
7:15)
For Israel, there
seemed to be an endless cycle of Blessing, Forgetfulness,
Apostasy, Judgment and Repentance, and
Restoration.
Who was Gideon,
that The Angel Of The Lord, should appear to him?
He was the
youngest son of a man named Joash, who lived at Ophrah.
The Angel Of The
Lord had called Gideon to deliver His people, Gideon would become the
fifth judge of Israel.
Judges 6:34 NLT
Then The Spirit
Of The Lord clothed Gideon with power.
I Samuel
12:10,11 NLT
10 “Then they
cried to The Lord again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning
away from The Lord and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth.
But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our
enemies.’
11 Then The
Lord sent Gideon, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to save you, and you
lived in safety.
God had heard Gideon's prayer, and answered.
The Midianites And Amalekites were routed, and Israel had peace for
40 years.
Our Lord's promise to Solomon has always been true, and is true for
us as a people as well!
II Samuel 7:14
KJV
If My people,
which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Today, our land is under attack from our spiritual enemy. The people
of God have become lukewarm, loving the world, and our enemy has
looted the land, leaving behind ruin and devastation.
Ezekiel 22:30
NLT (The Lord told Ezekiel.)
I looked for
someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the
land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I
wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
Our Lord, not only looked in Ezekiel's day, but in our day as well.
Are you that person of faith as was Gideon, ready to stand in the
gap, to conquer for The Lord?
Could God answer your prayers? Yes, …
God Hears And
Answers Prayer!
Joshua 10:14 KJV
And there was
no day like that before it or after it, that The Lord hearkened unto
the voice of a man: for The Lord fought for Israel.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
I Chronicles
16:11 KJV
Seek The Lord
and His strength, seek His face continually.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
Psalm 6:9 KJV
The Lord hath
heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.
Psalm 55:17 KJV
Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear
my voice.
Psalm 65:2 KJV
O thou that
hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Psalm 66:19 KJV
But verily God
hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 88:1,2 KJV
1 O lord God of
my Salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer
come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
Psalm 91:15 KJV
He shall call
upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will
deliver him, and honor him.
Psalm 99:6,8 KJV
6 "...they
called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
8 Thou
answeredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast a God that forgavest
them..."
Psalm 102:17 KJV
He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Psalm 122:6 KJV
Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Proverbs 15:8,29
KJV
8 The sacrifice
of the wicked is an abomination to The Lord: but the prayer of the
upright is His delight.
29 The Lord is
far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Isaiah 38:5 KJV
“...I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears...”
Isaiah 56:7 KJV
"... for
Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 58:9 KJV
Then shalt thou
call, and The Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say,
Here I am...:"
Isaiah 65;24 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.
Jeremiah 29:13
KJV
And ye shall
seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your
heart.
Zechariah 13:9
KJV
And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they
shall say, The Lord is my God.
Joel 2:32 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of The Lord shall
be delivered..."
Matthew 5:44 KJV
But I say unto
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
Matthew 6:6 KJV
But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 7:7,8
KJV
7 Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you:
8 For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 18:19,20
KJV
19 Again I say
unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father
which is in heaven.
20 For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them.
Matthew 21:22
KJV
And all things,
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 26:41
KJV
Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak.
Mark 11:24,25
KJV
24 Therefore I
say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye
stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your
Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Luke 11:9,10 KJV
9 And I say
unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luke 18:1,7,8
KJV
1 And He spake
a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and
not to faint;
7 "...don’t
you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry
out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?
8 I tell you,
He will grant justice to them quickly! But when The Son Of Man
returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”
Luke 21:36 KJV
Watch ye
therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before The Son
Of Man.
John 15:7 KJV
If ye abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
John 16:24 KJV
Hitherto have
ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy
may be full.
Ephesians 6:18
KJV
Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in The Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Philippians 4:6
NLT
Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you
need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Colossians 4:2
NLT
Devote
yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
I Thessalonians
5:17 KJV
Pray without
ceasing.
I Timothy 2:8
KJV
I will
therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without
wrath and doubting.
James 1:6 KJV
But let him ask
in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you
James
5:13-16 KJV
13 Is any among
you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick
among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of The Lord:
15 And the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and The Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
I Peter 4:7 KJV
But the end of
all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
I John 3:22 KJV
And whatsoever
we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight.
Revelation 8:3-5 NLT (Prayers heard and kept)
3 Then another
angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a
great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of
God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of
the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended
up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.
5 Then the
angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar..."
