Level Praying Ground

UV 2765/10000 Level Praying Ground
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Isaiah 45 v 2

The Lord promises to go ahead of us even as He led the ancient Israelites from bondage to freedom, from slavery in Egypt to their own land. Joshua and his army of freed Jews had to defeat 31 powerful kings before they gained control of the promised land. Likewise, to enter our promised land, to have the promises of the Lord fulfilled, the enemy places many impassable obstacles, massive difficulties, barriers, hazards in our path to freedom from sin, death and curses. But in this uni-verse, the Lord promises to go ahead of us. We need to wait for the Lord to take the lead in our lives.
In real life, we can never have a level playing ground but we have access in Jesus to a level praying ground. When we kneel in prayer, the Lord goes ahead of us as an advance guard and straightens the crooked places that lie in our path. While we close our eyes in prayer or submission to the higher intelligence, wisdom, character, love and power of the Lord, we will see with our inner eye the mountainous challenges before us levelling out, the valleys or our weak spots being strengthened and reinforced, the demolition of all forces and factors opposing us and the will and purpose of the Lord. He will enable us to overcome our challenges and be victorious whatever be the odds against us. Our faith is often so weak and our knowledge and understanding of the grace and power of the Lord is so untrue and unreal that it causes us to tremble with fear. But once we understand that He, Jesus, is the Lord of Hosts, the Almighty God, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Eternal King, the Prince of Peace, we will realize that nothing is too difficult for Him, nothing absolutely is impossible for Him. He can tear asunder gates of bronze and cut through iron bars, implying all that opposes us will melt in His presence.
In army operations, a patrol party and a mine clearer goes ahead of any movement of troops into unknown territory to detect and do away with booby traps. Likewise, before we endeavour to do something new, we should ask the Spirit of the Lord to go ahead of us. He will clear many things that are not physically visible to us but can prove hazardous. He will also detonate or destroy any barricades or barriers that impede our progress. He will fill every valley and level every mountain that lies in our path. Every mountain we cross or every hurdle we clear will increase our faith level and our understanding of who the Lord is. This is precisely the reason why the going for a believer is never smooth. Though the going is tough, we are assured of ultimate victory. Our faith imparts the quality of resilience and tenacity to our lives. Our courage and confidence are bolstered as we know we are never alone.

Prateep V Philip