GENESIS 7:1-5
Reading:
The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and
your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this
generation. Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal,
a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal,
a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male
and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days
and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every
living creature I have made." And Noah did all that the LORD
commanded him. (Genesis 7:1-5)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: Noah
Place: Middle East
What's Happening: God gives Noah specific instructions.
Prayer
Dear God,
You are very specific with your instructions. With Noah you detailed
the number of animals, the kind of animals, the amount of time
that will transpire and your ultimate goal. Noah needed to pay
attention in order to do all that you commanded. When you give
me instructions to do, I must do them exactly as you specify.
If Noah had messed up one detail, who knows what could have happened.
Maybe one species of animal would die, or a family member, or
all of humanity. Maybe evil could have slipped on board and prospered.
You prepare all of us before a major cataclysmic event in some
way. We must listen carefully to your instructions, whether we
are in the building phase, organization phase or the event phase,
the slightest variation could be tragic.
ADDITIONAL PRAYER
"I believe you are asking me to…"
"I need to have some things onboard with me…"
"The reason I tend to not listen carefully is because…"
GENESIS 7:6-10
Reading:
Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on
the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives
entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean
and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along
the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark,
as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters
came on the earth. (Genesis 7:6-10)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: Noah
Place: Middle East
What's Happening: The animals get onboard in twos.
Prayer
Dear God,
When you sought to preserve our world and nature, you made sure
there were two of each kind - male and female. You streamlined
your efforts down to two of each species. The entire fate of a
species rested in the hands (paws, wings, etc.) of two animals.
My earthly wisdom tells me to grab six, seven, a dozen of each
species, just to play it safe, but you went with the exact minimum.
Any more of each, would mean no more room on the ark for another
species. For us, that's too close for comfort. For you it's no
problem. If one of those animals died during the year on that
ark, that's it, the end of the line for that species. You protected
every animal. Many times you whittle down our lives to the absolute
barest of minimums to test us-do we trust you or trust the numbers?
We want thousands to play it safe, but you can get us by with
one or two.
ADDITIONAL PRAYER
"Right now I have very little of…"
"I believe you are testing my faith…"
"I trust you, not the number of…"
