Changes - I am moving all Pondering Life entries to my new Pondering Life Blog.
Check it out at Ponderinglifebycr.blogspot.com.
This is blog is now going to be devoted to having a Missions Heart.
Missions with a Heart for Costa Rica
Pondering Life - Unanswered prayer
Pondering life, what about unanswered prayer?
How does this fit in to the plan of following God and allowing Him to work in our lives? One more famous American "pat" answer is "God always answers prayer!" Does He? I have heard people say that He always answers, either with a yes or a no. I do not know about that. Is it His obligation to keep us happy by giving us what we pray for all the time?
When I was first saved 23 years ago I used to tell people that I witnessed to on the streets that if they come to Jesus their lives would work out for the better, and that their prayers would be answered. I was wrong! Yes our lives do work out for the better, but only after we submit our life and will to Jesus, and surrender to Him by giving Him complete control.
God always hears our prayers, He doesn't always answer them. Sometimes He is silent. If you are a young Christian and have never experienced this than just wait a little while, you will. God never ignores us or forgets about us, but sometimes He is just silent for a little while. We have to be patient, and continue to seek Him through the silence. After all, are we just serving Him because of what we are getting out of the relationship? Or because He is the almighty God who is worthy to be praised and served. This is when we come to the point where we serve the Lord because it is the right thing to do, not because we feel right doing it, although most of the time we do feel right doing it.
I believe God always hears our prayers. Proverbs 15:29 says "The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous." Sometimes He does not answer us right away because He wants us to continue to seek Him about it. He wants us to be pro-active in our faith, and in our Christian walk so that it becomes our pleasure to spend time with Him in prayer rather than just our duty.
The more time we spend in prayer, talking with the Lord, the more we will get to know Him and what His will is for us rather than just what we want. 1 John 5:14, and 15 says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."
God is faithful, and God is just; God is merciful, and God is good. He is good all of the time, even though we might experience some bad things some of the time. What are you reasons for serving the Lord?
How does this fit in to the plan of following God and allowing Him to work in our lives? One more famous American "pat" answer is "God always answers prayer!" Does He? I have heard people say that He always answers, either with a yes or a no. I do not know about that. Is it His obligation to keep us happy by giving us what we pray for all the time?
When I was first saved 23 years ago I used to tell people that I witnessed to on the streets that if they come to Jesus their lives would work out for the better, and that their prayers would be answered. I was wrong! Yes our lives do work out for the better, but only after we submit our life and will to Jesus, and surrender to Him by giving Him complete control.
God always hears our prayers, He doesn't always answer them. Sometimes He is silent. If you are a young Christian and have never experienced this than just wait a little while, you will. God never ignores us or forgets about us, but sometimes He is just silent for a little while. We have to be patient, and continue to seek Him through the silence. After all, are we just serving Him because of what we are getting out of the relationship? Or because He is the almighty God who is worthy to be praised and served. This is when we come to the point where we serve the Lord because it is the right thing to do, not because we feel right doing it, although most of the time we do feel right doing it.
I believe God always hears our prayers. Proverbs 15:29 says "The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous." Sometimes He does not answer us right away because He wants us to continue to seek Him about it. He wants us to be pro-active in our faith, and in our Christian walk so that it becomes our pleasure to spend time with Him in prayer rather than just our duty.
The more time we spend in prayer, talking with the Lord, the more we will get to know Him and what His will is for us rather than just what we want. 1 John 5:14, and 15 says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."
God is faithful, and God is just; God is merciful, and God is good. He is good all of the time, even though we might experience some bad things some of the time. What are you reasons for serving the Lord?
Pondering Life - meaning and purpose
Pondering life, the meaning and purpose of it.
I wonder, I have been thinking about how here in America we just say "God bless you", and "Just have faith, God will work it out". But how do you say these things to children whose parents are digging in someone elses trash bin just to give them a little food to eat? Or what about the Mom who just lost her baby, or just found out that her young child has cancer? It is easy for me to say these things to my friends here in America who may just be having a little financial trouble, but they still have a roof over their heads, and a car to drive. How do you impart taking a leap of faith and trusting in God completely to people who are having much larger hardships than you, yourself have ever had?
What do you say to people who are faced with circumstances that do not look like God's provision? How do you encourage them to keep trusting in God? Because He will work it out? Or because He is God.
These are the things with which I am being challenged. Here in America we are so used to giving each other pat answers, and usually in the end things tend to work out for us. But I am becoming aware of people who live in much worse conditions than I have ever lived in and I am wanting to convey to them that if they just trust in the Lord that things will work out for them.
What does that mean exactly? I believe that each of us has our own personal definition of what it means to have things work out for us. To one it might mean one more day alive, one more meal found to eat, to another it might mean a higher paying job, or going on a nicer vacation this year than we went on last year.
My challenge to you is to find out what your definition of "having things work out" is, and check it against reality. Do you have an inflated definition? One according to how you want your life to be? Or one based on God's provision. What does it really mean to say to someone "Don't worry, just put your trust in God, and things will work out!"
I wonder, I have been thinking about how here in America we just say "God bless you", and "Just have faith, God will work it out". But how do you say these things to children whose parents are digging in someone elses trash bin just to give them a little food to eat? Or what about the Mom who just lost her baby, or just found out that her young child has cancer? It is easy for me to say these things to my friends here in America who may just be having a little financial trouble, but they still have a roof over their heads, and a car to drive. How do you impart taking a leap of faith and trusting in God completely to people who are having much larger hardships than you, yourself have ever had?
What do you say to people who are faced with circumstances that do not look like God's provision? How do you encourage them to keep trusting in God? Because He will work it out? Or because He is God.
These are the things with which I am being challenged. Here in America we are so used to giving each other pat answers, and usually in the end things tend to work out for us. But I am becoming aware of people who live in much worse conditions than I have ever lived in and I am wanting to convey to them that if they just trust in the Lord that things will work out for them.
What does that mean exactly? I believe that each of us has our own personal definition of what it means to have things work out for us. To one it might mean one more day alive, one more meal found to eat, to another it might mean a higher paying job, or going on a nicer vacation this year than we went on last year.
My challenge to you is to find out what your definition of "having things work out" is, and check it against reality. Do you have an inflated definition? One according to how you want your life to be? Or one based on God's provision. What does it really mean to say to someone "Don't worry, just put your trust in God, and things will work out!"
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