Psalms 91:14-15 ‘Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.’

DAILY READING   1 Peter 3; Jeremiah 35-36; Psalm 136

Ashley Smith made headlines in 2005 when she was held hostage for seven hours by alleged criminal, Brian Nichols. On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols escaped  from the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, where he was facing trial. He  stole a gun from a sheriff’s deputy and gunned down a judge and court reporter.  He ended up killing four people before escaping.

Living faraway from the courthouse was Ashley Smith a 26-year-old waitress. She was a young Christian who was trying to put her life back together, having recently been widowed. She had a 5-year-old daughter, who was living with an aunt. That evening, Smith had just returned from work. She was trying to make her way into her apartment when she was suddenly confronted by the escaped criminal Brian Nicholas. He forced his way into her apartment, and held her captive in her home for seven hours.

For Ashley, in that dark moment, God was her own only recourse.  Surprisingly Brian spared her life, and she tried to reason with her captor, reading him  passages from the Bible and from Rick Warren’s book ‘The Purpose Driven Life,’. During the seven hours while she was held captive, Smith was able to talk Nichols down and convinced him to surrender to the authorities. Again, surprisingly, he took her advice and surrendered himself to the police. Her terrifying story, made national headlines and later became the inspiration for the Hollywood movie ‘Captive’.

Isaiah 25:4 says ‘For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’

The truth is that the storms of life come suddenly. And at such times, our relationship with God speaks for us as He arises to shelter us from the storm. Ashley was certainly not expecting the events that suddenly confronted her that night, but God showed up and helped her to overcome.

The effectiveness of our prayer in times of crisis is dependent on the strength of our relationship with God.

God says in Psalms 91:14-15 says ‘Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.’

In other words God is saying when we are in relationship with Him, we can call upon Him in the day of trouble and He will rescue us. And we build up a strong relationship with God through time spent in constant prayer and the study of His Word. The more we fellowship with God in prayer the more intimate we become with Him. And when we study The Word consistently, we build up faith and inner strength that will help us stand in the face of challenges.

It is important during times of trials and challenges to have The Word dominant in your heart. This gives you inner strength and guidance. The Word you are storing up today is what will give you strength in the future to withstand any test or trial. We don’t prepare in the midst of battle, rather the time of peace is when you prepare for war. Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:13 told us to put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. In other words we need to always live battle ready.

Therefore decide today to build up your relationship with God through time spent in prayer and in-depth study of His Word. And when you have stored up The Word in enough quantity and quality in your heart, whenever you are challenged, your victory will be sure.

PRAYER ; Lord Please help me to build up faith and inner strength through storing up your word in my heart. Please also grant me the grace to maintain a fervent prayer life so that I can emerge the winner in every conflict in Jesus Name.

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When you apply The Word of God, it will work for you, anywhere and anytime- WORDBITE 222.