Keep Praying

As they (the disciples) passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:20–25)

In a prayer time with others, we agreed that it often easier to walk by sight than by faith when it comes to praying. Each of us had long-term prayers that had not yet been answered. Sometimes God uses that kind of waiting to build our faith and patience. Sometimes He uses it to show us something we need to confess, like lack of forgiveness. But sometimes He is answering the prayer and does not show us the answer.

I heard the amazing story of a missionary in Africa who had been threatened by the natives who opposed him. However, they didn’t show up on the day they told him he would die. Much later, those natives became Christians and he asked them why they had not come when they said they would. He was told that they did come but the missionary and his co-workers were surrounded by a number of large “giants” and they fled in fear.

Much later, he was on furlough in his home church and told this story. Someone in the church asked the date that happened, then dug out the church records to discover that there had been a prayer meeting that day — attended by the same number of people as the number of giants his enemies had seen!

What can be said to that? Do I have any idea what God is doing because of prayer? Because of my prayers? 

There are two lessons in the words of Jesus. One is to keep praying without doubt in my heart. He hears and I cannot always see or even predict the outcome. 

The other is to keep short accounts. If I have any attitude or action in my life that is contrary to the will of God, He is going to deal with that first, not my prayer request. In other words, unconfessed sin means no answer or delayed answers to my prayers. Keep my life clean and who knows — God may turn my words into giants.

Lord Jesus, this story motivates me, not just to pray about the problems and needs that I can see, but for Your people at work in the world that I cannot see, anything or anyone that You put on my heart. Nothing is too hard for You and no problem or evil is unsolvable or impossible to deal with. You don’t need to show me what You are doing. Just keep building my faith so I trust that You are hearing and doing what needs to be done!

 
 

Because He says “I will…"

The Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:1–7)

Sometimes it’s the small things. We drove to the registry office to renew my driver’s license, a place usually full of people. My husband prayed for ‘no line up’ and as we pulled up, there was an empty parking space at the door. He thanked God, we went in, and not a customer in the place. Again, we thanked God.

Sometimes it is bigger things. Sometimes we don’t get to see the answers. Yet look again at the words of the God who hears: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.”

Then He told Moses what to say: “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

Unlike all communication with God, He told them what He was going to do before He did it, and He did this because of who He is and what He promised to do. Therefore, He did it. This is the same God that I cry out to and can rely on, not because my prayers have any power but because He is who He is and will do what He says He will do. He is totally faithful to who He is and that does not depend on who I am.

Do You promise parking places? Not that I can find, but You do promise to be good to me, to take care of my needs, to grant answers that will bring You glory and build my faith. You told the Israelites that You would delivery from slavery. It didn’t look possible, but You did it. Therefore, I trust You, and if the parking lot had been full or the lineups long, maybe in Your great love and wisdom, You decided I needed a walk or a rest!


The faith connection to prayer…

Yesterday included brief visits at our church brunch and a longer talk afterward while my hubby led the cleanup crew. These conversations involved prayer requests. Some were stated as such and others came to me as I listened to what friends were saying.

Today’s reading is about prayer and that Jesus tells us that when we “pray according to our faith it will be done to us” (Matthew 9:29) It has taken me many years to grasp the importance of what He is saying.

Faith is about believing what God says. So if I am praying according to my faith, that prayer must be based on what He says. Knowing the Word of God and praying accordingly, becomes the foundation and motivation for prayer, and includes one vital factor — I must believe what He says.

This isn’t about salvation faith, the belief in the gospel that gives me forgiveness and eternal life, but the faith that God is powerful and has a redemption plan for this world. This faith is general in that I believe God can make things happen, but specific in that I can pray specifically as long as my requests fit with what He reveals in His Word to me.

My first example is humorous, at least now. Many years ago our family was camping in a tent and a bear came to our campsite. It was night and the bear was bold. He kept running to our tent door. My hubby could smell its breath. My prayer? All I could think of was the words to an old song, “Lord, You saved Daniel from the lion’s den. For goodness sake do something about that bear.”

He did. Some very inebriated campers came and chased it away. Odd angels but when the shadow of the bear appeared on the side of our tent a few hours later, we were not afraid. God was with us… and I now realize my prayer had scriptural precedence — the story of Daniel.

Last month on the day our family reunion was going to begin, I was driving to the venue, pleased that God had cleared the smoky sky and lowered the temperature from very hot to normal. Much prayer for that as we had wildfires and a long heatwave that threatened our enjoyment of this event. But the wind was about 50 km and grass almost flat in the ditch. Jesus could command the wind, so I asked Him to do it and within a few minutes, it stopped. The weather that weekend was perfect.

I’m beginning to see the connection between faith and answered prayer. It isn’t just faith that God can do it, but faith based on His character and actions as revealed in the Bible. Applying this today, I can pray for the requests from yesterday. One involves a young person straying from her faith and letting weeds grow in her life, weeds that are choking her from being fruitful. Jesus talks about such an environment in the parable of the sower.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

Jesus exposes her problem. She is being choked or inhibited by worldly cares. The idea of being rich has also captivated her heart, is easy to see in conversations with her. She needs prayer that recognizes and resists these weeds. Jesus likens the heart’s need to be cleared from anything that prevents weeds from growing. Faith in His words helps me know how to pray.

Another request involved family rifts. I also know from the stories of Jacob vs. Esau and Joseph vs. his brothers that God wants family reconciliations, particularly between brothers. Also, the story of the prodigal tells how one came home to a brother who was not happy to see him. This was not God’s will. He wanted both brothers to be more like their father who patiently waited for both to live in love and truth, not in resentment and greed. From the Word of God, my faith tells me how to pray.

PRAY: And Jesus, I go now to pray for these people and for the other things You have put on my heart and on my prayer list. I know Your heart for lost souls and need to pray according to Your heart, not my “I wants” but faith that You will answer according to Your wants and Your plan. Grant me both faith and wisdom as I pray.