PUSH: Persevere Until Success Happens Through Prayer Read Online Free PDF Page A

Solomon wisely stated,
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1). We must learn to be patient, to
“let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”
(James 1:4).
    One of the most difficult mental and emotional challenges during pregnancy is
waiting
. Especially in the last trimester, when the potential is no longer hidden, it is felt on every level—the weight of it is almost unbearable—and still there is nothing to do but wait.
    I am reminded of the parable of the sower recorded in Luke 8:5-8, and the myriad of ways the seed of God’s Word is lost: it isn’t watered, the enemy steals it, and the world’s distractions choke it out. It is easy to be deceived by what seem like other priorities or pressing issues. We can be shortsighted, or rather nearsighted, focusing only on short-term concerns rather than long-term goals. James left us with a good piece of advice, however:
“Be patient, brethren…. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains”
(James 5:7 AMP). We must learn to be patient and faithfully carry the seeds of promise we are given to full term; we must patiently wait for the fruit to mature before we look for a harvest.
    A large part of carrying the Word of God to full term in your life is surrounding yourself with the right kind of support. Too often within your relationship constellation you are exposed to people who have what I call an “abortive spirit”—they have a way of killing your vision, destroying your passion, undermining your sense of direction and identity, or simply dampening your expectations. These individuals might be family members who are verbally or physically abusive, parents who compromised your innocence during childhood, or a spouse or employer who demoralizes you. These are methods the enemy uses to cause you to miscarry the seed of greatness God has planted in your heart—they are abortive in nature.
    Some of the world’s problems have gone unsolved because individuals who were carrying the assignment to provide the answer were aborted. Leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, and so on were either aborted or somehow miscarried the assignment. Nations are asking, “Where is the moral leadership in our land today?” Could it be that some of these leaders fell victim to the abortive spirit at work in the earth?
    Think about what almost happened to Moses in the Book of Exodus. Pharaoh had all of the Hebrew male infants killed because he feared that a deliverer would rise up from among their ranks. The same thing happened under the rule of King Herod after the birth of Jesus. Sometimes there is a satanic knowledge that a certain generation will birth a leader, and because the enemy doesn’t know who in particular that leader will be he will attempt to annihilate the entire generation. We see this happening in our own day throughout the world where the atrocity of genocide is taking place. This is the abortive spirit that we see at work—not only as a cultural norm that permits individuals to legally abort their babies, but also where entire villages are wiped out. Could it be that there is an expected deliverer who was to be born within that particular village or within that particular generation?
    The important thing to remember is that every person has been endowed with a seed of greatness. Each person holds the seeds of an answer, a solution, a message, or a gift—a special assignment involving some kind of delivery. God created each person to be a deliverer on some level in whatever arena or sphere of influence God has positioned him or her. Whatever God has graced you with, value it, nurture it, and bring it to fruition. Paul told Timothy,
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you”
(1 Timothy 4:14). In the words of author and television host Rev.