09.04.07
“GOD IS REAL!”
Isaiah 43:10-12
“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from Me there is no Savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses’ declares the LORD, ‘that I am God.’ “
More and more I feel that I know less and less about the ways of God. There are impossible situations in life that are beyond our comprehension and ability to control. When we pray, God does not always answer in the manner or in the timing that we would expect. Does that mean that God is unfair? No! It simply means that we cannot put God in the bottle of our own understanding.
God says that we are to be witnesses of His mighty presence, but so many times we are consumed with the gods of this world (money, jobs, prestige, family, church, sports, recreation), that we do not experience the presence and power of God Himself.
It is interesting that the list I have just given are good things - necessary things, but they can often control us in such a manner that God is pushed out of our life.
Knowing and experiencing God is so fundamental to spiritual maturity that words fail to explain or describe the process. God has always desired that we, as His children, know Him and enjoy Him. The problem with “things” in our life, is that they separate us from our God.
Great care must be taken to spend quality time with God to see how He is working in our lives. In our flurry of activities, we can become so involved in specific things that we fail to see how God works. We pray for a particular matter, but quite often forget what we had prayed for, so when God answers, we fail to recognize the answer and Give Him the glory. How tragic!
Years ago we had a Prayer Chain Captain named of Blanche Laird. She was a true prayer warrior of the highest order. Not only would she pass prayer requests along to other members of the Prayer Chain, but she would document the date and time of the request and in another column the time and manner in which the prayer was answered in her Prayer Notebook.
One day Blanche went to the Post Office and inadvertently left her prayer notebook on the counter. She was aghast to arrive at home and find it missing. A call to the P.O. produced no results.
Meanwhile, “back at the ranch”, so-to-speak, a young woman from a law office had gone to pick up the mail. She had accidentally also picked up the “Prayer Notebook.” My wife, Joyce, was working in the same office. The young woman asked Joyce if she knew a Blanche Laird? Joyce replied that she did as Blanche was our Prayer Chain captain.
She was stunned to read the requests and especially that almost all of them had a notation as to when and how the prayer was answered. In that moment in time, this young woman knew that there is a God in heaven who not only hears when we pray, but He answers! Do you?
How strong is our faith? Do we believe God enough to bring all of our needs and concerns to Him and then watch carefully as He demonstrates His plan and purpose? May we be doers of His Word, not simply hearers!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
- - - Pastor Cecil