Do Not Despise the Lowly Worm
{A GUEST POST By Joanna Mayes from The Table Ministries in Foley, AL}
In a world where people are creating platforms all around us and everyone is crying out to be seen and heard, it can be very difficult to make ourselves pull away to the secret place with the Lord. With so many things pulling us in so many different directions it can feel like a struggle to even find time to come into the prayer closet with the Lord. I exhort you to fight for those times in your life and I pray you will be motivated and inspired to do so after reading these words, because God is calling out to his intercessors to come into the inner chambers with Him. God is raising up an army of intercessors in the hour we are living in. The Great Harvest hinges on the prayers of these intercessor warriors.
We are Worms But We Are God’s Worms!
Isaiah 41:8-20
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, 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.
11 “All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Dream
A few years back the Lord gave me a dream that profoundly affected me. There were many facets of the dream, but for the sake of time I want to focus on one part of the dream. In my dream, I was in a school, and in the janitor’s closet of the school a container with worms that had been developing, tucked away hidden in darkness were pulled out. I was concerned about the safety of the development of these worms, not wanting them to be disturbed.
I would not have focused on the worms at all after the dream except that a few days later I awoke with the words, “do not despise the lowly worm” as my first loud waking thought. The thought kept coming to me throughout the day, and so I began to research earthworms and seek the Lord as to what he was trying to teach me through the dream.
What I discovered took my breath away. The worm is a humble creature. It is lowly, but it is far from worthless. As I studied earthworms I realized that though they are lowly and often invisible, in simply doing what God created them to do they make the world around us beautiful.
Dream Interpretation
The janitor’s closet represents the secret place with God. It is the place where it is just Him and us in prayer and worship together. Jesus is the janitor. He laid aside all of his majesty and splendor and came to earth taking the form of a lowly servant to make man clean and purify the land. His tools are water (love) and soap (correction unto repentance). He alone knows the proper ratio each of us needs.
The worm represents the us as men and women who take on the servant position of intercessor, developing in the secret place with Jesus. It can feel lonely in this place and the intercessor can feel like they aren’t making much of a difference in the world around them. While others are out getting much done that can be seen outwardly and receiving praise and recognition, the intercessor can feel discouraged and forgotten and boxed in. However, the intercessor is moving heaven and earth in ways he or she often cannot see.
Earthworms are amazing little creatures. They don’t get a lot of glory or recognition for what they do but farmers know their value well. They have a huge impact on the soil and fertile soil produces an increased harvest. Earthworms literally transform the soil, breaking down organic material, taking organic material from the surface of the soil down deep into the soil. They act to filter out bad substances from the soil by breaking them down as well as distributing incredibly fertile castings in their wake. The worm acts as a little plow breaking up the soil and loosening it so oxygen and water can permeate the soil properly. They help produce the perfect conditions around the roots of plants. Good roots produce good fruit.
As intercessors, it is important for us to consume the Word of God daily. As we digest His Word and spend time in the secret place with Him, we begin to fertilize the world around us. Below the surface our prayers are helping make fertile soil as well as breaking through hard impacted ground around the hearts of the lost.
Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
As God sends the rain of his love onto the soil, it’s able to actually be absorbed instead of just running off without hydrating the roots. A person with a hardened heart is resistant to letting love in, but prayer helps break up that fallow ground. It also keeps the heart of the intercessor in a permeable place as well. It’s hard to remain hard toward people we are truly praying God’s best for.
Earthworms also act to filter out toxins from the soil. God uses prayer in much the same way. Demonic activity is shut down through the power of prayer. People are healed and delivered through prayer. Heaven moves in response to prayer!
The Living Waters
John 7:37-39 English Standard Version (ESV)
Rivers of Living Water
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Earthworms need water to live and so does the intercessor. Without it the worm will dry out and shrivel up and die. How sad. Without rivers of living water, none of us can live. Because of this, the earthworm thrives best below ground, out of the spotlight. However, there are times that the earthworm does come to the surface. When the showers of rain fall on the earth, the earthworm feels the vibrations of the soil and comes up to the surface. In this situation, I cannot help but think of Jesus who remained hidden for his first 30 years but surfaced and produced much fertile soil. Ultimately, Jesus gave his life for mankind in much the same way the worm ends up dying. Jesus was pierced and lifted up on the cross to die. The worm helplessly gives its life up as the birds come and swoop it up, becoming food for the bird and its young.
Broken as Bait
When Jesus called some of his first disciples, he told them he would make them fishers of men. When I think of that I have images of nets being cast out for large groups of fish at a time. Certainly, that is a big picture view of what happens, but just as fruits and vegetables are harvested one piece at a time, a fisherman often casts out his pole with the worm hanging from the hook as an appetizing meal for the fish. As we spend time in the secret place with God, we become irresistibly transformed and flavorful to draw in the catch of souls of men and women around us. We give off a wonderful flavor and aroma of Jesus and people are hooked on the love of Jesus which salts our words and deeds. In this instance, the intercessor’s interactions with those he or she encounters can produce much food for those around them.
Power in Humility
The earthworm understands its position. It knows there is safety and effectiveness in hiddenness. The things that the average person relies upon for success are irrelevant to the earthworm. The earthworm’s appearance is not beautiful by man’s standards. It’s often hidden and underground. When it comes to the surface it’s in its most vulnerable state, susceptible to being stepped on and crushed.
The earthworm is strongest when doing what it was created to do. Below ground, it plows and slowly but surely moves the earth before it, consuming with its most powerful weapon, it’s mouth.
As intercessors, it can be hard to be hidden. We may feel lonely and forgotten in our times of prayer. We may feel unseen. But God sees and He moves heaven on our behalf. He acts in response to prayers that align with His will. Our strength lies not in our power, beauty or abilities but rather lies in the power of our King. As we come in low like the earthworm, God’s heart is moved on our behalf. A true prayer warrior knows that God loves a broken and contrite spirit.
Psalm 51:17
My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
The intercessor understands that he or she is praying in line with God’s will. While we can be tempted to pray for what we want and view God as working for us to accomplish our plans, it is important that we align ourselves in the proper position. We are instead to come in low and humble and take a listening posture to hear the Father’s heart. We are invited into His plans. Understanding that God does fight, but He goes before us in battle. God is not interested in choosing sides. He is for His plans and purposes and therefore it is important that we take the time to seek His will and follow Him into battle.
Joshua 5:13-15
The Commander of the LORD’s Army
13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
14“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as commander of the LORD’s army.”
Then Joshua fell facedown in reverenced and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”
15The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”
And Joshua did so.
We live in a world that teaches us that success comes in what we can accomplish and achieve by the works of our hands and through power and position. God’s ways are different however. Our greatest victories can be achieved as we can find rest in positioning ourselves in the humble posture of the earthworm. Our hiddenness protects us from the pride that so many with high profiles battle and often succumb to. Many have fallen through premature power and position that they were unprepared to handle.
As intercessors, we can achieve more than we may ever even realize until we meet God face to face in heaven one day. While there is much we see around us that changes in response to our prayer, I also know that our prayers are also effecting change that will continue on long after we are gone as well as reaching far beyond what we are positioned to see.
Did you know that a field of wheat with numerous earthworms moving below the surface, breaking up the ground and releasing its fertile castings can yield up to a 400 percent increase in harvest? I believe that God’s creation reveals how His Kingdom operates.
Be strong and take courage earthworm intercessors! You may not realize it but you are part of a powerful army literally moving Heaven and earth in response to your prayers!
-Joanna Mayes
ChristianFreedom.Life
