A voice is crying in the wilderness; perhaps it is mine.
Can you hear it? It is crying:
"Make ready the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight."
Luke 3:4
Things stand ready in heaven!
"...(He) who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been made subservient to Him."
1 Peter 3:22
It is here on earth that things are stalled! The way is not ready...
"...heaven must receive (Him) until the time of the restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ages past."
Acts 3:21
"But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God... to give us a reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins..."
Ezra 9:8, 9
His paths are not straight...
"...the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."
1 John 2:6
Do you hear Jesus calling?
"Come to Me... Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me..."
Matthew 11:28, 29
"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'..."
Matthew 21:13
Instructions for this brief moment:
"But the end and culmination of all things has now come near; keep sound minded and self-restrained and alert for the purpose of prayer."
1 Peter 4:7
"Whoever speaks, let him speak the utterances of God; whoever serves let him do so from the strength which God supplies, so that in all thing God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen!"
1 Peter 4:11
Whoever Speaks: A Closer Look
"And take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, with all prayer and petition praying at all times in the Spirit... "
Ephesians 6:17
Whoever Serves
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He found me faithful, putting me into service."
1 Timothy 1:12
And I resolve:
"In the morning, O Lord, Thou will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer (or sacrifice) to Thee and eagerly watch."
Psalm 5:3
A Postscript: 9/24/12
Handbook 4: Article 43