Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
Recently our church had a week of prayer. Since we are going through a complicated and difficult transition, it was exactly what we needed as a church body, but also something I needed personally. Each night that we gathered, a part of our time was devoted to hundreds of handwritten individual requests that were spread across the altar. They varied from, “Please pray for my Nana; to, “Pray for my friend, who is depressed and thinking of suicide.” I found it too easy during those times to simply close my eyes, repeat the words and then flip to the next request, without truly engaging my heart in intercession for those needs. Though I have not come all the way, it does help me to move a little closer to what Jesus has in mind when He taught us to pray in what we call: “The Lord’s Prayer.” I especially love the last verse in the King James version.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. Matthew 6:13 KJV
Though the more modern translations leave out the last half of this verse, I always include it, because it gives me the reason behind why God hears and answers our prayers. It is also interesting that almost the exact same prayer was used by Solomon when he was dedicating the temple eight hundred years earlier,
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 KJV
So, if you are struggling to pray because it is hard to believe that God will answer, remind yourself: that God will provide our daily bread, forgive our sins, protect us from evil and will lead us today because He loves us as a Father and it gives Him glory. ANd everything is possible with our God who rules as King over all the universe!
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14 NKJV
God taught me a lesson about answered prayer during my battle trying to start my lawn mower last week. Here in Florida, we’ve had lots and lots of rain this October. Lots of rain is great because we were in drought, but lots of rain also means lots of lawn mowing (Every 5-6 day recently). Last Saturday I went out to start my mower, but when I pulled on the starter cord, it wouldn’t even budge. I decided to take a peek underneath and immediately noticed that it was totally clogged with grass clippings from the previous mowing. So, I carefully disconnected the spark plug wire, turned the mower on its side and spent several minutes scraping and cleaning. Feeling I had the problem licked, I turned the mower back up and tried again, and to my great relief the cord pulled back smoothly, yet the machine still wouldn’t start. Figuring that I had probably flooded the engine while leaning it on its side, I went inside, had a snack and a cup of coffee and came out to try again…but still no results. This time I went in again for a bit longer and came out determined to get my lawn mower started before it got too hot to work. I pulled…and pulled….and pulled, still with the same results. Just then, the neighbor, from whom I had bought my mower passed by and asked, “What’s up Pete?”
“”This lawn mower just won’t start for today.” I replied between deep breaths, and then, suddenly a little light bulb went off in my brain, “The spark plug dummy!” Sheepishly, I reconnected the loose wire and do you know what happened? Yup! That stupid lawn mower started! Many times, that is exactly what is happening with our prayers. We pray and pray, pulling with all our might on the cord, but nothing is happening, because we have become disconnected from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our mind, our heart and our schedules are so filled with everything else besides God’s will. We grow impatient, discouraged and frustrated yet all the while God is waiting for the spiritual light bulb to go off in our minds.
Sometime in the 1960’s in Namibia, Paul Makai wrote a simple chorus we call, “God is so Good.”. It became so popular that in 1970, when a missionary named Marilyn Foulkes, heard it, she loved it and translated it into English for us. But whatever language we speak, that truth rings clear, God is so good: and one of the first verses of this chorus that we sing adds “God answers prayer, He’s so good to me.” Does it feel as if you are singing about God answering prayer, yet experiencing very little of it? Remember the spark plug wire! I do hope you will enjoy this simple video, where I share this message and song at Life Care Center this past Friday. Have a blessed weekend everybody!
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