The Spirit of Supplication

Let us look at Daniel's prayer : "Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer and supplications of your servant ... My God, listen and listen ! Open our eyes and look at our ruins ... For it is not because of our righteousness that we present our supplications to you, because of your great compassions" (Daniel 9: 17-18).

The word "supplication" is never used in the Bible except to speak of a cry or a prayer that is vocalized. In other words, it is never a private prayer or a meditation. The supplication definitely has something to do with the voice !

The Hebrew term for "supplication" means ; "An olive branch wrapped in wool, or a garment, agitated by a suppliant to seek peace or announce surrender." To put it simply, it was the white flag and it meant a cry of surrender Total and unconditional.

Imagine a soldier exhausted by the battle, torn and dirty clothes, tired and outdated, stuck at the bottom of the hole of his own will. He is alone and has exhausted all his options, so he breaks the branch of a tree and ties his white tee-shirt. Then he raises it and goes out of his hole crying : "I surrender! I'm giving up !"

That is what supplication is ! She said : "I can no longer fight this battle. I am lost and in despair."

The supplication is not only to appeal to God to do what you want. It is not pleading with Him that He may assist you in your plans. On the contrary, it is a total abandonment of your will and your ways.

For centuries, Christians shouted to God while being filled with their own will, crying, "God, send me there, send me here, give me this, give me that." But in the Lately, the Holy Spirit will come down with great power and produce a sense of spiritual bankruptcy. We will wake up to the fact that even with our money, our brain, our programs, our departments and our plans, we have not touched this world. The truth is that the Church has lost ground and has become weak and pitiful.

There must be a surrender ! Our cries must be accompanied by a desire to abandon all things in our lives that are not like Jesus Christ.

David Wilkerson