The Prayer Closet: The Sons of Issachar

For many years now, I have been praying that God would make me like the sons of Issachar who understood the times. You can read about them in 1 Chronicles 12:32. I’ve always been interested in current events and history, and I thought that understanding what was happening in the world and how it could affect people was important. One of my spiritual gifts is discernment and that seems to go hand in hand with this idea of understanding the times.

These sons of Issachar were a part of David’s army and he realized how valuable their understanding was to Israel. These were men the king could rely on to have discernment on what Israel should do. As I look around at the people that I meet, I find that there are many who have no understanding of what is happening. They have their eyes and “understanding” on culture, and what they’ve been taught to believe. They have a hard time seeing beyond the mainstream narrative and see what is really going on.

God doesn’t always work in the mainstream. He is beyond that. Often, He is working and we miss it because it doesn’t look like something we recognize. Jesus rebuked people in Luke 12: 54-56:

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so, it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.  You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (ESV).

The people here knew how to tell if it would rain, but they didn’t recognize that the Son of God had come to bring the Kingdom to earth.

I think it’s so important to be in the Word and to ask God to help us understand the times. It seems critical at this point in history. We must teach our children to look to God for this knowledge as well. We want to be able to share the Gospel with the lost, but we also need to be able to explain to them what’s happening and their need for the Gospel.

Many people are scared right now. Everything has turned upside down in the last few years. Life, as we knew it, has changed, and much of it will never go back to the way it was. This is not all bad, as many things have needed to change, but I think what’s so scary to people is that they have been so distracted that they didn’t know the enemy of our souls was stealing what we thought of as our way of life.

When we learn to discern the times, we can comfort those around us. We can show them that God is at work and He desires to have us turn and walk with Him. We can teach our children how to draw close to the Lord, to stand with Him, and to look for what He is doing. I believe He is at work and exposing many deeds of darkness.

I’m trusting Him for revival in our land for that is truly what is needed. We don’t just need to fix gas prices, elections, health care. We need Jesus! We need salvation and His power to conquer darkness. We need to grow in our knowledge of Him and lead others to Him.

I hope you and your children will become like the sons of Issachar as well and will be secure knowing that the Lord is at work.