Prayer Works Morning Devotion: August 12, 2025

Thus Says The Lord-Who God Says He Is, His Commandments and Promises

Genesis 28:10 -17 "Then He Dreamed And Behold, A Ladder Was Set Up On Earth and It's Top Reached Heaven "

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Good morning, family. Welcome to the prayer works morning devotion and pray that you had a wonderful night, peaceful night and that God is with you and all that you are doing today. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 

Heavenly Father we thank you for this day. Thank you for waking us up and bringing us into this new day with new grace and new mercies. We pray for your blessing to lead us this day. Your Holy Spirit to guide us and be our helper as we walk through this day for a Father. 

We know that this day is made by you and therefore all things will work together according to your will and that your grace is sufficient for this day and that you will not put anything on us that we are unable to bear. You always make an escape and so thank you Father for your loving kindness.  

Thank you for just being an Abba Father. Now Father as we devote this time to you and to learning about your ways and how you dealt with humans throughout history. We are praying for the floor your spirit to descend, Holy spirit to lead us. Push me aside and allow your word to shine through and touch the hearts and minds of all those around this call. 

We pray for your grace to lead us as we go forth in devoting this time to you. Now give us your words Father. Give us your daily bread. We thank you and we pray this in Jesus name, Amen.  

So family we are studying thus says the Lord. This is the theme of the Bible and devotion studies that we are having this month. Thus says the Lord who God says he is his commandments and his promises and that's just in case you decided to join us today and it's your first time. 

we are walking through scriptures that show who God is, and what his commandments are and his promises and how he has kept his promises. Today, I know yesterday we went into Exodus. 

But today I want to jump back into Genesis and I want to talk about what happened to Jacob. Jacob's dream as a matter of fact is what I'd like to talk about. And that will be found if you're following along in Genesis chapter 28:10-17 and I'll start by reading that now. 

And it says now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went towards Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head and he lay down in the place to sleep. 

Then he dreamed and behold a ladder was set up on earth and its top reached heaven. And there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold the Lord stood above it and said I am the Lord of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. 

The land on which you lie I will give you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south.  

And in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you. 

Then Jacob will walk from his dream and said surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said how awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.  

So family what does this dream signify? First who was Jacob for those that may not be familiar with this story. Jacob was the son of Isaac who was the first born of Abraham and Sarah. 

And I don't know if you've ever heard of the term Jacob's latter. Because that also is a common phrase in the world. And I understand it's been used in movie titles and book titles. It's also the name of a flower and it's even the name of an electrical device.  

But from where did this phrase originate? Well based on what we just read we can see that it definitely came from the book of Genesis versus 10-12. And it mentions it because in the dream Jacob saw a stairway or a ladder resting on earth with its top reaching to heaven. 

And the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. In this passage God reveals himself to Jacob and reaffirms the covenant he made with Abraham. Promising Jacob who will later be named Israel. 

That his offspring will be many and that the promised land will one day belong to his descendants. In this vision Jacob sees something similar to a ladder or a stairway which signifies a connection between God and man. 

In instance it was God who provided the means necessary to link himself to man as opposed to man or men for example of Babel which is in Genesis chapter 11 who tried to reach heaven by their own actions aside from the help of God. These passages of scripture reflect different schools of thought over the issue of salvation. 

One group tries to reach heaven based on their own actions aside from God's help. But the other group has access to heaven based on the provisions of God and only the provisions of God. 

So God uses dreams and or visions which are waking dreams several times in the Bible to communicate with people. Visions seem to have been common enough that their lack was sorely noted and absence of visions was due at times to a wealth of prophets. 

As we can look in Samuel's 3:1 and also in other times to disobedience of God's people again in Samuel 28-6. In the Old Testament God used visions and uses them to reveal his plan.  

Or to further his plan and put his people in places of influence. In Genesis 15:1, God used a vision to restate the Abrahamic covenant. Reminding Abram that he would be the son or rather he would have a son and be the father of many nations. 

Then we go to Genesis 20:1-7 which is referencing Abimelech and Abraham's wife Sarah. That she was so beautiful that Abraham came to a new area and he feared the local ruler would kill him and take Sarah for himself. 

And so Abimelech who took Sarah God sent him a dream telling him not to touch Sarah because she was Abraham's wife. And then we come to Jacob with his mother's help he stole Esau who was the first born inheritance from Esau. And the reason that Jacob was in this place have this dream was because he fled Esau's anger and he was on this journey. 

He was in the wilderness if you will and he had this dream while he was in the wilderness of reaching heaven on which the angels as we read were ascending and descending.  

Then we come to Joseph in Genesis verses 37:1-11. Joseph is also a famous dreamer or if you recall he had the ability to interpret dreams but also he was having a dream that his brothers would bow down to him. 

 Which was one of the reasons why he became hated and they eventually sold him into slavery. And he even ended up in prison in Egypt before he became second in command right. 

And you also recall in Genesis 40 where the cup bearer in the baker went to Joseph and he gave dreams about how one of them would Be Pharaoh's cup bearer and the other one, the baker I believe it was would be headed.  

So he had an ability because of God being with him to provide interpretation for these dreams that he had. And again, this was Joseph. We can continue to go on there are so many examples in the Old Testament that show mainly for our purposes how God communicated with humans.  

As Pastor Zee touched on Moses yesterday and how God revealed himself through the burning bush to get Moses to do what he needed him to do. Which was mainly to save and rescue his people from Egypt. 

And in the New Testament there are also visions that were provided that helped those that they were given to understand what God was expecting of them. God used visions and dreams to identify Jesus and to establish his church.  

We know Zacharia had a vision and that vision was from the angel Gabriel. And because Zacharias didn't believe that his wife Elizabeth would have a son, he was made mute. And that is an interesting dream because it's well, I shouldn't say a dream that was a vision. 

But it was a vision that was real because Zacharias became mute and couldn't speak until John the Baptist was born and we know that story.  

And then we have Joseph who was thinking about the divorcing Mary and he had a vision. He had a dream and was told to take Mary as his wife because the child that Mary was carrying was a holy child by Holy Spirit and that he was to name Jesus. 

And then we go into Matthew 27:19 and we also see where Pilate's wife during Jesus' trial. She sent an urgent message to Pilate encouraging him to free Jesus. And her message was prompted by a dream that she had really it was a nightmare and it convinced her that Jesus was innocent and that Pilate should have nothing to do with this case. 

Again, we can go on. The one that touched me this morning and made me think about all this too was the angel instructing Cornelius where God spoke to him and let him know in a vision that he was God of the Jews. 

And Cornelius saw an angel who told him where to find Simon Peter and to send for him and to listen to his message. Cornelius obeyed the vision Peter came and preached and Cornelius and his household full of Gentiles were saved by the grace of God.  

And you know it also reference is Peter in the same vein because before Peter was able to come and speak to Cornelius. Peter himself was praying on a rooftop in the house in Joppa and God gave him a vision of animals lowering in something like a sheet. 

It just goes to show how God was able to communicate and how throughout these centuries God has used dreams to lead us according to what he would have us to do. Paul another example had several visions in his career as missionary if you will.  

And he was sent to preach in Macedonia if we look in Acts chapter 16. He was encouraged to keep preaching and when he was in Corrine and threatened with death, you know God says you know I have people all over and you will be threatened but I will not let anything happen to you. 

So you keep preaching and so he did and God gave him a vision of heaven when we look at 2 Corinthians 12:1-6. And then we have the ultimate dream or revelation which is John. 

And this is from the book of Revelation because the entire book of Revelation is a vision that John had while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. So John's vision explains in more detail some of the events that God had shown even to Daniel. 

So today's dreams and visions are not really like those dreams and visions that the apostles and the disciples and even in the Old Testament how God once communicated. And why is that because we now have the Bible. 

And the Bible is the way that God speaks to us. Not saying that you may not have a dream that inspires you or leads you to do something that God would have you to do. But those are what we depend on more than the Bible to give us the vision and allow it to speak to us through the helper Holy Spirit to give us what God wants us to have. 

So as Christians we see the dream of Jacob as highly symbolic representing the mediator Jesus Christ who came to earth and became a ladder or a stairway for us to reconnect the relationship with God that was severed because of sin. 

Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  

So according to the Bible Jesus was our ideal Jacob's ladder. Who came to earth from the line of Jacob through the provisions of God and redeemed us so that we may live in heaven for eternity. Let's pray family. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for this word. Thank you for helping us along the path of righteousness through your word and as we saw through dreams and visions that you gave the saints of old. 

We know Father that through your word your word is a sanctuary. We know that your word leads us guides us touches us and as Jesus said this temptation with Satan that it is written that we should not look for physical bread. 

But we should look for the spiritual bread that comes from your mouth each and every day and so we thank you Father for this spiritual bread that you provide us because it nourishes us. It keeps us and it sustains us in the hope that you are always with us. 

You are always talking to us. You are always guiding us as you often say in your books of teaching, for those that have an ear let them hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying. And so Father we listen intently. 

And open our hearts and minds to you to hear what the spirit is saying. So that we can walk in a faith and not by sight. We can navigate this world in full confidence in spite of what we see and hear knowing Father that you sit on the throne, that you are in control and nothing, absolutely nothing escapes your view.  

So thank you Father for this confidence. Thank you for this peace in us that surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in our Lord and Savior Jesus. Now Father as we go forth in this day we pray for all of those that are on this call. 

Anyone who may be sick, anyone who needs healing from anything Father We know that you are the ultimate physician. And if we believe and come to you and faith that you will heal us of our ailments.  

And so we are praying for the saints we are praying for those that love you and honor you and bless your holy name Father that you will heal them and provide where they are lacking.  

Give them the confidence, give them the faith, pour back into them what they have poured out on your behalf. Thank you Father for our brother pastor Zee who is traveling this day. And we pray for him and all of those that are traveling with him.  

We ask for safe passage and we pray that you return him to us as swiftly as possible. So that we can continue to be built up and lifted up according to your will through the words that you provide through him. 

So Father now as we go forth in this day, let us not walk away from your precepts and statues, but embrace them, honor them, hold them dear to our hearts. We pray for all that that you will lead us not into temptation. 

But that you will deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever in Jesus name we pray, Amen. 

Amen family pray that you have a wonderful day and that you go forth in the knowledge and wisdom that God has placed in each of your hearts. Knowing that he is with you, that he loves you and that he will not let anything happen to you that will keep you from doing his will. 

May God bless you and may he keep you and your family this day. We will see you tomorrow again. God bless you.