Sustained

Recently a friend asked for prayer that she will be sustained. So last night I woke up in the night and began praying for her, and as I prayed I felt the Lord revealing.

It seemed He was saying, "I already AM sustaining her."

Then he gave me a mental image of a woman in a boat out in the middle of the ocean. She was frantically moving arms and legs in a swimming motion. Someone else in the boat asked, "What are you doing?" And she replied, "I'm out in the middle of the ocean--I have to swim or I'll sink!" Her friend says, "Right, I get that--but we're in a boat. The boat is holding us up and keeping us from sinking."
It really spoke to me. In the midst of vast oceans in which we could so easily fear slipping under, we need not fear. He is under us, around us, over us and within us. He is sustaining us. He is that boat we're in out in the middle of the water. No need to frantically flail about--He is holding us up.

I felt prompted to pray differently--not that He WILL sustain her, but more that His sweet sustenance, which is already in full effect in my friend's life, would be undeniable and more than evident to her in all her ways--that she will stand in God-confidence knowing He upholds her cause.

"So do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will UPHOLD you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who SUSTAINS me.

Psalm 54:4