photo #9287960

•A Prayer for the Fire Seasons of Your Life•By Anthony Valente👉 “Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: ‘Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God - come out!’ So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.”(Daniel 3:26)Have you ever eaten raw chicken?I hope not! I assume that you would never intentionally consume raw chicken. If you’ve ever had food poisoning, you know why you would never do such a thing.We must cook our food to a certain temperature in order for it to provide nutritious value to our bodies and not cause us harm. Are we any different?God is the chef, we are the raw chicken. He delicately prepares us for the journey to which He has called us. All raw chicken has to go through a “fire season” in order to provide us healthy nutrition.We too, must endure a fire season of our own, in order to be prepared for our calling in Christ. The Lord must prepare us, stand with us in the fire, and get us ready for the life He has in store for us.When King Nebuchadnezzar ordered all in his kingdom to bow down to the idol that he had fashioned, he expected all to follow his orders. To ensure they all would bow as he commanded, he threatened their lives. I believe the assumption was that if someone’s life would be in jeopardy, they would do what he said.When Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego refused to bow down to the idol, they created quite an uproar in the kingdom. When word got back to the king, he had his men fire up the furnace seven times hotter than normal. He was determined to show these traitors his power. They willingly admitted their refusal to bow down to anyone other than the one true God. They were bound and carried to the fire. The fire was so hot that the men who were leading these three to the entrance lost their own lives as they threw them in the flames.When King Nebuchadnezzar saw what appeared to be four men walking around in the furnace, he knew that their God was real. He saw it and he believed it. When he had them drawn out of the fire, they showed no signs of damage. They didn’t smell, they weren’t burned, they had not suffered at all; but they would never be the same.Let’s pray today for God to show up in our “fire seasons” — that though life may try to scorch us, God will see us through and use these times of trials and sufferings to make us into children who are more like him.🙏 Dear Lord Jesus,Thank You for sending Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego to be the forefathers of the fire season. Thank You for the visual, biblical, and historical example that the fire season is real. Thank You for the reminder in Psalm 66:12, “we went through fire and water but you brought us out to abundance.” I pray that my fire season isn’t quite as intense as a literal fire, however, I know that if it is, there will always be another there with me. Lord, I know that everyone’s fire season will look different and I pray that You use mine to prepare me for the journey You have ordained. I know that no matter the fire, I will never be alone and I will never be the same. I pray to be brought from the fire into abundance. Lord, thank You for taking the time to prepare me for who You have called me to be. Thank You for the fire season, and I pray that I never underestimate its value. I trust and love You Lord.In Jesus’ Name I Pray,AMEN 🙏 From His mouth comes a sharp sword (His word) with which He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty [in judgment of the rebellious world].(Revelation 19:15)Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.(Galatians 1:10)When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”(Daniel 6:20)And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’(Acts 2:21)One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”(Acts 16:16-17)For you will not go out in a hurry [as when you left Egypt], Nor will you go in flight [fleeing, as you did from the Egyptians]; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(Isaiah 52:12)If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. (Daniel 3:17)We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God's kindness that saved you.) (Ephesians 2:5)For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.(Ephesians 2:8-9)Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.(Romans 5:3-5)Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.(James 1:2-4)“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16)So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.(2 Timothy 1:8-9)(pic verse)Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!(Daniel 3:24-28)Artist 👨‍🎨 I Am With You Always - David Delfeld