Prayer

Answered Prayer

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But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”   Matthew 14:30-31  

When Peter began to sink beneath the waves; he didn’t consider even for a moment trying to swim back to the boat. Instead he just cried out; “Lord save me!” and it was done. God is delighted to answer prayer but He is waiting for us to give him our biggest problems; ones beyond simply blessing our food and giving us a good night’s sleep. Sadly when I think of this story I realize how little I have really lived it. Maybe it is because I am afraid of a God who is too real and too big for me to handle. But oh how I am missing out on the immense value of answered prayer.

Are you like me, sinking in your struggle with an ocean too big for you to handle? Then instead of just saying words and then trying to swim why not cry out; “God I’m in trouble – I need your help right now!” God is listening and waiting to hear our voice. He knows the path ahead and His amazing plan is to walk it with us!

Still a Revolutionary Idea!

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On this National Day of Prayer I thought it appropriate to return to where the founders began on July 4, 1776.

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Declaration of Independence

  • As we pray we must humbly remember that everything we have comes from God
  • As we pray we must believe that God will hear and answer prayer just as he did for the signers of The Declaration of Independence.
  • As we pray we should ask not only for God’s help for us but also for what He would want  us to do to help for others.
  • As we pray we must always remember that we are His creation and that without Him nothing else matters. No prosperity will ever be enough, no success can be final and no joy will last unless we put our trust in Him.

In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11

On this 7th of May in 2020 in the middle of the Corona Virus Pandemic, it continues to be true that trusting God is still a revolutionary idea!

close up photography of american flag

Photo by Travis Saylor on Pexels.com

 

He Hears

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I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

In my imagination I sometimes wonder just how soundly asleep Jesus really was during the storm at sea. I have thought that perhaps he was more aware of the circumstances than the disciples knew. Perhaps as He climbed into the boat that day He said something along the lines of: “Okay while you guys start rowing us across Galilee, I am going to take a nap. Then as He borrowed a pillow and went to sleep He was saying to himself, “I know what is coming next, I wonder how long it will be before they wake me up?”

photo of people on rowboat during sunset

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Then as the wind picked up and the sky darkened with storm clouds the disciples kept rowing as hard as they could. They didn’t want Jesus to have to worry about anything; after all they were all experienced fishermen. Then as the first wave or two sloshed over the side of the boat some may have begun to worry. Finally as wave after giant wave tossed the little boat up and down and it began to take on water panic took hold of their hearts.

 

“Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Mark 4:38b

 

Just like us, they had come to the place where they wondered if God even cared about their fears. But Jesus is in our boat, to be our Immanuel through any storm. He listened to the disciples. He listened to King David. He is listening to you.

If today you are facing your biggest fear God is with you in your boat. He is waiting for us to cry out like David, like the disciples and like countless generations of believers. He is with us and He hears!