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Divine
By
Bob Myhan Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. (Phil.
4:6-7) Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory
of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph.
1:3-6) "In
this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your
kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread." (Matt.
6:9-11) Now
to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph.
3:20) We
can be sure that God answers the prayers of His people. (Matt. 7:7; 1 Peter
3:12) If not for providence, one’s supplications and intercessions would fall
upon deaf ears. When
we make our requests known to God, we are inviting Him to act in our lives
and/or the lives of others. He has promised to do so, as we have seen. He does
not have to work a miracle in order to answer prayer. Confess
your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be
healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was
a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain;
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed
again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James
5:16-18) Then
Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of
abundance of rain." So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to
the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between
his knees, and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea."
So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven
times he said, "Go again." Then it came to pass the seventh time, that
he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the
sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go
down before the rain stops you.'" Now it happened in the meantime that the
sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode
away and went to
Jezreel. (1
Kings 18:41-45) There
was no miracle in the above answer to Elijah’s prayer. The “abundance of
rain” did not come out of nowhere; it came out of a cloud that came up out of
the sea. This was a natural phenomenon. Remember, the forces of nature are under
God’s control. It is God who “sends rain on the just and on the unjust”
(Matt. 5:45). Of
course, thanksgiving should always accompany our petitions. If we do not thank
God for what He has already done, we have no right to petition Him to do
anything else. The consistency and persistency with which we pray will manifest
itself in the degree to which we recognize the providence of God in our lives. God
answers prayer in various ways. He sometimes answers by doing as we ask. (Matt.
7:9-11) He sometimes answers by doing something different and unexpected. (2
Kings 5:11-14) He sometimes delays an affirmative answer. (1Sam. 1:7-11)
Sometimes, He denies our petitions altogether. But even a negative answer is an
answer. When
God seems to be denying our petitions, it is time for introspection. 1.
It
may be that something we are doing or failing to do is hindering our prayers. (1
Peter 3:7) 2.
He
may be denying the petition because He is does not want us to become proud. (2
Cor. 12:7) 3.
He
may want to build our character via deprivation. (2 Cor. 12:8-10) 4.
It
may be the case that our petitions are self-centered. (James 4:3) 5.
Or
it may that granting the petition would involve a miracle (Heb. 9:27) Someone
reportedly found the following in the pocket of a Confederate soldier after a
battle during our Civil War. He
was a Christian and he prayed. He
asked for strength that he might do greater things, but he was given infirmity
that he might do better things He
asked for riches that he might be happy, but he was given poverty that he might
be wise. He
asked for power that he might have the praise of men; he was given weakness that
he might feel the need of God. He
asked for all things that he might enjoy life; he was given life that he might
have all things. He
had received nothing that he asked for; all that he hoped for. His
prayer is answered; he is most blessed. (Mitch Simpson, What the Bible Says
About Prayer, College Press) Every
Christian should have such confidence in God to answer prayer according to His
wisdom not ours. & Priority
of Truth By
W. E. Brightwell If
we are trying to go to heaven and take everybody with us that we can, we will
have to place truth above the desire for peace and progress. Truth
must have priority over friendship.
Differences are unpleasant. There is no excuse for them unless they are
necessary to reaching our destination. Truth is more important than
friendship. It is not a friendly act to compromise the truth. Love for friends
demands that love of truth be put first. (John 8:32) Truth
must have priority over courtesy.
John sets the limits of courtesy where truth is involved: "If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker
of his evil deeds” (2 John 10-11). Truth
must have priority over peace, unity and fellowship.
Those are more desirable. We have preached millions of sermons on
"unity." It is sad that we cannot enjoy more of it. But
these things are results not goals. They follow conformity to the truth as naturally
as night follows day or as water runs down hill. "If
we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another...."
(1 John 1:7). Would it not be better to preach more on loyalty to God and to His
truth, and let the peace, unity and fellowship come in their natural order? The
notion that we should sacrifice truth to keep peace in the family or make
"party" progress is equally vicious and more formidable than any
false doctrine. We must continue to fight error or we will become a
denomination. Which shall it be—truth or party? &
[From Words of Life, June 1998] |