Jonah 3 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jonah 3.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jon/3/1/s_892001

Meditate on verse 10.

When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way,

 then God relented concerning the calamity

which He declared He would bring upon them.  And He did not do it.

The LORD gave Jonah a second chance to obey and give His message to the people of Nineveh. It was an eight-word sermon (four Hebrew words) that brought this great city to its knees in repentance and faith in God (v. 4). The LORD was so moved by the people turning from their violent wickedness and earnestly calling on Him that He relented of the calamity He was about to bring on them. Amazing!

800 years after Jonah proclaimed the Word of the LORD, Christ preached a similar message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). And as He died on the cross in the place of those who needed to repent, the same LORD who forgave the Ninevites cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Thankfully, your merciful Savior still turns to all who call on Him in repentance, relenting of the deserved calamity. Have you humbled yourself in repentance to Christ Jesus your LORD?

Pray Jonah 3:8-9 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“God, I am earnestly calling on You!  May ________ and I turn from our wicked way

 and from the violence in our hands.  God, please turn and relent

 and withdraw Your burning anger so that we will not perish.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jonah 2 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jonah 2.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jon/2/1/s_891001

Meditate on verses 3a and 4a.

For You had cast me into the deep,

so I said, “I have been expelled from Your sight.”

Jesus cried out with a loud voice,

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

—Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34

Jonah experienced the wrath of God because he was punished for his sins.  Jesus experienced the wrath of God because He was punished for your sins.

Without Jesus, you are Jonah:

·      In distress, in the depth of Sheol, the belly of hell (v. 2)

·      Expelled from the sight of God (v. 4)

·      Engulfed to the point of death (v. 5)

BUT with Jesus, God:

·      Answers you and hears your voice (v. 2)

·      Brings your life out of the pit (v. 6)

·      Gives you His salvation (v. 9)

Pray the prayer of Jonah in recognition and thanksgiving for what Jesus Christ did for you when He died for your sins (Jonah 2:2-9).

“I called out of my distress to the LORD, and He answered me.  I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.  For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me.  All Your breakers and billows passed over me.  So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight.  Nevertheless, I will look again toward Your holy temple.’  Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me; weeds were wrapped around my head. I descended to the roots of the mountains.  The earth with its bars was around me forever, but You have brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.  While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. 

That which I have vowed I will pay.  Salvation is from the LORD.

Thank You!  In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jonah 1 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jonah 1.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jon/1/1/s_890001

Meditate on verse 17.

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah,

and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

But He (Jesus) answered and said to them,

“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign;

 and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;

for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster,

so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

—Matthew 12:39-40

Jonah’s story foreshadowed the life and death of Jesus Christ:

·      The same LORD who hurled a great wind on the sea to break up Jonah’s boat commanded the winds to hush and be still when He was awakened on a storm-tossed ship (Jonah 1:4; Mark 4:37-39).   

·      The sailors on Jonah’s ship did not want innocent blood on their hands (Jonah 1:14).  At the crucifixion, Pilate washed his hands of Jesus’ blood; the crowd said His blood would be on them and their children (Matthew 27:24-25). 

·      Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish foreshadowed where Jesus went prior to His resurrection (Ephesians 4:9-10).

God’s Word is amazing!  Ever page tells the story of Jesus.  Be fascinated by your LORD as you ponder Him on the pages of Jonah.

Pray Jonah 1:9 and 14 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land,

 may _________ and I fear You.  We earnestly pray, O LORD,

do not let us perish on account of __________, and do not put innocent blood on us. 

O LORD, do as You please in the life of ____________.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Colossians 4 - Praying God's Word

Please read Colossians 4.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/col/4/1/s_1111001

Meditate on verse 17.

Take heed to the ministry which you have

received in the LORD, that you may fulfill it.

Jesus Christ came to earth to die for your sins. He was resurrected to conquer death and become your living Savior. In Christ you are eternally alive. Christ lives inside you to give you glorious, eternal hope (Colossians 1:27). You are complete in Christ because Christ is your life (Colossians 2:10; 3:4). God chose you to live in Christ; you are His beloved, and you are holy (Colossians 3:12).

As you consider these amazing truths about who you are in Jesus, be mindful that the LORD has given you a ministry, and He wants you to fulfill it. Do you know what that ministry is? If not, ask Him to reveal it to you. If you know what the ministry is, are you paying attention to it and fulfilling it by the LORD’s power? Living a resurrected life means living for the One who gave you that life.

Pray Colossians 4:12 and 17 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, may _________ and I stand perfect

and fully assured in all Your will.

Let us take heed to the ministry which

 we have received in You, that we may fulfill it.

In Your name and by Your power, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Colossians 3 - Praying God's Word

Please read Colossians 3.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/col/3/1/s_1110001

Meditate on verses 1-2.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ,

 keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,

 seated at the right hand of God. 

Set your mind on things above, not

on the things that are on earth.

Resurrection is the core of Christianity and the proof of your salvation. Colossians 3 lists the attributes of a person whose life is resurrected in Jesus Christ. Does this list describe you?

·       You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (v. 3).

·       Jesus is your life (v. 4).

·       You are dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (v. 5).

·       You lay aside anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech (v. 8).

·       You do not lie to others because you laid aside your old self with its evil practices (v. 9).

·       You have put on the new self that is being renewed to the image of your Creator, Jesus Christ (v. 10).

·       You are chosen of God, holy, and beloved (v. 12).

Pray the characteristics from Colossians 3:12-17 to be visible in you and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, let _______ and me put on a heart of compassion, kindness,

humility, gentleness, and patience.  Let us bear with one another

and forgive each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone,

 just as You forgave us, LORD.  Beyond all these things, let us put

on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Let Your peace, Christ,

 rule in our hearts and let us be thankful.  Let Your Word dwell within

 us richly with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another

 with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with

 thankfulness in our hearts to You, God.  Whatever we do in

word or deed, let us do all in Your name, LORD Jesus,

giving thanks through You to God the Father.”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Colossians 2 - Praying God's Word

Please read Colossians 2.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/col/2/1/s_1109001

Meditate on verse 3.

In whom (Jesus) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Jesus Christ (v. 3).  Many are revealed in Colossians.  Meditate on these treasures:

·       Good discipline comes from Jesus (v. 5).

·       Stability of faith and establishment in faith comes from Jesus (vs. 5, 7).

·       All the fullness of God dwells in Jesus (v. 9).

·       In Jesus, you are made complete (v. 10).

·       Jesus is the head over all rule and authority (v. 10).

·       With Jesus, you are alive, no longer dead in your sins (v. 13).

·       In Jesus, all your sins are forgiven (v. 13).

·       Jesus nailed your certificate of death to the cross and cancelled it (v. 14).

This wisdom keeps you from being taken “captive through philosophy and empty deception” (v. 8).   Share this knowledge with others.  Let it eternally change their lives just like it is changing yours.

Pray Colossian 2:2-3 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, encourage ________ and my hearts and knit

 us together in love.  Let us attain to all the wealth that comes

 from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true

 knowledge of Your mystery, that is Christ Himself.

 In You, Jesus, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Thank You for sharing them with us, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Colossians 1 - Praying God's Word

Please read Colossians 1.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/col/1/1/s_1108001

Meditate on verse 18b.

He (Jesus) is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

Jesus conquered death and is preeminent over it (v. 18). Jesus made Satan powerless over death, so you can live without fearing it (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Through Jesus, you are rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to His Kingdom (v. 13). In Jesus, you are “holy, blameless, and beyond reproach” (v. 22).

If you are a follower of Jesus, He lives inside of you, and He is your hope of glory (v. 27). Because of Jesus, you can “continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel” (v. 23).

Jesus holds you together (v. 17). Jesus completes you (v. 28).

Thank Him for accomplishing everything for you through His death and resurrection. In dedication to His will, pray Colossians 1:9-14 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, fill ________ and me with the knowledge of Your will

 in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we will walk

 in a manner worthy of You, to please You in all respects, bearing

fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You, God.

 Strengthen us with all power, according to Your glorious might,

for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.  We joyously

give thanks to You, Father, for qualifying us to share in the

inheritance of the saints in Light.  Thank You for rescuing

 us from the domain of darkness and transferring us

 to the Kingdom of Your beloved Son, in whom

we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell