Scripture: John 2:5; 2 Kings 5:10–14 (KJV)
“Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” — John 2:5
What if the answer to the prayer you keep praying is waiting on an instruction you have not obeyed? We love divine intervention, but we do not always talk about divine instruction. Yet when you look through Scripture, you’ll see the two repeatedly meet.
At the Red Sea, Israel was told to go forward; at Jericho, they were given specific instructions about marching around the city. Naaman was told to wash seven times in Jordan; the widow was told to borrow vessels, shut the door and pour her oil; at Cana, servants were told to fill waterpots with water, and Peter, after fishing all night without a catch, was told to launch out again.
In all of these stories, we see different needs, different instructions, and the same God. The instruction does not produce the miracle by human power. Marching round the wall cannot pull down a fortified wall; water cannot cure leprosy just because someone baths seven times, or filling waterpots does not naturally produce wine, and casting a net where you have already caught nothing does not guarantee fish.
We often ask God to intervene and then wait for Him to do everything while we remain exactly where we are. Sometimes, the answer to prayer comes with something God requires us to do. Their obedience was not the power behind the miracle; God was, but they still had to obey.
We may be asking God for a promise when He has already given instructions about the next step. Naaman is a striking example. He wanted healing, but when Elisha told him to wash seven times in Jordan, he became angry. His problem was not that he did not believe God could heal him. His problem was that he had already decided how the healing should happen.
In his words, he said, “Behold, I thought…”. This exposes that we can also be like Namaan. Naaman had imagined the prophet coming out, standing before him, calling upon God and dramatically healing his leprosy. Instead, he received an instruction he considered beneath him. And he almost went home exactly as he came.
Sometimes the greatest resistance to God’s instruction is our own expectation. We have prayed, but we have also written the script. Then when God gives an instruction that does not fit the picture we have created, we hesitate.
Naaman’s servants eventually persuaded him to obey. He went down into Jordan, dipped himself seven times, and his flesh was restored. Jordan had been there before Naaman arrived; in fact, the water had no special ability to cure leprosy. What changed was that Naaman finally did what God had instructed.
At Cana, Mary gave the servants one of the simplest instructions for experiencing God’s intervention: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” Jesus told them to fill waterpots. They filled them “up to the brim.” Then He told them to draw from those same pots and take it to the governor of the feast. Imagine carrying what you know you poured as water to the person responsible for judging the wine.
Obedience sometimes requires you to move before you have evidence that anything has changed. Therefore, divine instructions cannot always be evaluated by whether they make immediate sense to us.
There may be an instruction attached to the intervention you are asking God for. The instruction will not always be dramatic, but do not despise what God tells you to do because it looks too ordinary for the size of your need.
There are things only God can do; do not ask God to do your part while asking Him to do His. Is there an instruction you have postponed because it looked insignificant? Is there something you know you should do but have replaced with more prayer?
“Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”
Do not let yesterday’s empty net stop you from casting it at His word. Pray for God’s intervention, but remain ready for God’s instruction.
PRAYER
Father, as I seek Your intervention, make my heart sensitive to Your instruction. Show me where You have spoken and I have delayed; show me where my own expectations have made obedience difficult.
Deliver me from “Behold, I thought”. I surrender my own picture of how You must answer me, and as I obey, let Your power accomplish what my obedience could never accomplish by itself.
In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
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