What is It?

CALL TO PRAYER

By: Stephen Osei Kuffour

Date: 22.01.2023

Title: What is It?

So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.  (Exodus 16:15 NKJV)

When the Lord through Moses delivered the Israelites from their suffering in Egypt and was leading them towards the Promise land, there was a time that the people started complaining of hunger. The people complained to the extent that some even wished they would still be in their captivity in Egypt. The Lord heard all their complaints and so He decided to cause Bread to fall from Heaven like rain for the people.

Since the Lord is true to His word, the area around the camp was wet with dew the next morning. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat (Ex 16).”

As Christians, we pray all the time, and we carry all our requests, burdens, and needs to the Lord because He is our Father and there is nothing impossible for Him (Matthew 19:26). And so, whether we desire a spiritual Gift, Growth in our Ministry or need a Job, Marriage, Healing, Fruit of the Womb, etc., we take our requests to the Lord in prayer. The word of God even encourages us to do so (Mark 11:24). However, after we spend long days and hours including sleepless nights to pray and wait upon the Lord and He answers our prayers, we become like the Israelites and say, “what is this?”

It is very sad that most Christians are not able to recognize the answers to their prayers. This is because we usually have preconceived ideas of how the answers to our prayers will be. However, God works in His own way and His ways are not like our ways, and His Thoughts, are not like ours (Is 55:8-9). Therefore, if the answers don’t come as we expected, we mostly don’t recognize them.

For example, you may pray for a Destiny-Helper and the Lord will bring someone into your life. However, the appearance of the person the Lord led you to, may not look like someone who can change your Destiny. That’s why we have to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and not judge others by appearance. Also, you may be praying for a classy and high-paying Job, but the answer may come with a low-class and low-paying Job.

However, the Lord has planned it in such a way that this low-class Job is the one that will usher you into the high-class Job. If you are not humble and sensitive enough, you will miss this glorious Opportunity. It is very important to know that when most of the Israelites didn’t know what the flaky substance on the ground (Manna) was, Moses on the other hand was sensitive enough to recognize that it was the answer to their prayers.

Beloved in the Lord, the answers to our prayers may not always come in the manner we expect. This is because the Lord works in His own time and ways, which are not like ours. We have to therefore be always sensitive to the Spirit. Let’s not be like the Israelites who didn’t know what “Manna” was but let’s all be like Moses who was able to recognize that “Manna” was the Bread of Heaven.

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for blessing us with another year. Let’s ask the Lord to help all Believers to always be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be humble and not judge by appearance.

God bless you all