2020-01-10
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today’s command to me from the Holy Spirit is to discuss the effectiveness of prayer. While it’s not always easy to assess, the Holy Spirit wants me to express some of the key issues associated with prayer in this message. I do this as we continue to examine the vertical relationship between humans and God and the horizontal relationships between people. This also continues to provide supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians.
Like some others, I began my walk with the Lord Jesus having spent my life not believing in the effectiveness of prayer. I didn’t have an active prayer life at the time. I was a trained scientist, and prayer can’t be physically tested or held in one’s hand. Yes, I had a lot to learn, as my true spiritual self was only then beginning to be fed. IS 59: 1-2, “Don’t think God is too weak to save you, too deaf to hear your call for help. Because of your sins He doesn’t hear you, or keep you apart from Him when you worship Him.” In this concise passage, a most powerful truth abides. The key here is one’s sinning. Remember, what we learn before Christ’s Atonement is what pleases God and what doesn’t. What we are given by Christ’s Atonement is the choice of whether to sin. Salvation, justification, and eternal forgiveness for sin only became available to us with Christ’s amazing sacrifice of His own physical life on the cross [RO 3: 25]. EPH 3: 12, “In union with Christ and through our faith in Him, we have the boldness to go into God’s presence with all confidence.” He doesn’t want any kind of suffering to stop us from doing that. These statements should give us the freedom to go before God, but only with a genuine heart-attitude, and genuine contrition. That gives God the message that we are coming to Him, asking for His help with reverence and respect. There is nothing we can hide from God; after all, He is omniscient [HE 4: 13].
Our God is a loving Being, One Who is not very eager to deliver punishment. This doesn’t mean that He lacks a line drawn beyond which He will not tolerate bad thoughts and behavior [RO 3: 26]. Having written these truths, it would be necessary to cite yet another, 1 JN 3: 21-22. “And so, my dear friends, if your conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence. We receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.” Just as God gives the obedient boldness, so He can make this bold statement, found in JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.” So, the issue is: Do we keep God’s teaching in us and obey it, as He would wish. Believe it or not, there are times when we are not sure. Those are the times we should get on our knees and ask Him for His direction. If we do this first, before coming to any conclusions or taking any questionable actions, He will indeed help us. And yes, there are times when we must come to the end of ourselves before we have the wisdom to turn to Him. The latter is always what we should do first!
So, examine for yourselves, as I have, whether you believe prayer is effective. Our Lord never lies. (That’s one of the few times, we can confidently use the word, never). In view of sinfulness that is exists in our lives, and yes, we are all sinners, it’s a wise person who searches himself to find even the most subtle of sins and confesses them to the Lord. In fact, that is part of our promise in the Covenant of Grace (the New Covenant). It is key to our spiritual maturation. JN 15: 16-17, “You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so, the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name. This, then, is what I command you: love one another.” Christ has opened the totality of His wisdom to us and has inhabited the spirits of believers. This is the key which unlocks true happiness, in this humble writer’s opinion. Consider the messages I write today and know that prayer is God’s two-way open channel between Himself and His human creation, a channel meant to be used often. Know that He is as interested in our victories, recitation of our history with Him, utterance of acknowledgement of blessings received, as He is in allowing us to confess and stop sinning.
PRAYER: O Lord, the love You have for us is not like anything another human can give. You have said, in RO 8: 38-39, that nothing can separate us from the love of God. It is natural that one would love his or her offspring. That also applies to You. Your love is a responsible love, the love of a parent,
Who is disgusted by sin and pleased in the absence of it. If we find ourselves being punished righteously, then You are not trying to destroy us, but instead, correcting wrongful thoughts and behavior. PS 103: 13, “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who have reverence for Him.” PS 116: 5, “The Lord is kind and does what is right; our God is merciful.” PS 107: 1, “Say ‘thank You’ to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind.” These three verses, Dearest Father, reveal what we should do and the attitude You deserve. We acknowledge all Your wisdom and good; we look for Your lessons when reprimanded; we offer You praise and thanks in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ for all You are and all You do. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to continue writing on the intriguing subject of the effectiveness of prayer. This includes all the other goals stated in the first paragraph of today’s devotion. Before it comes to an end, I am eager to tell you about an experience I had many years ago. I’ve been a Messianic Jewish person for 55 years. It’s an adventure with something to learn or something interesting around every corner. (A Messianic Jew is a person who appreciates the richness of his Jewish heritage, while at the same time recognizing the Jesus Christ is the Messiah for Whom traditionally Jewish people still search). Years ago, before becoming a Messianic Jew, I felt trapped in an unhappy marriage. There was sly, malevolent behavior on the part of my partner. I was unhappy and my spiritual life was running on empty. I prayed to God, asking Him for direction, since my ex-spouse had announced he was moving out to a condo he originally told me was bought as an investment. Believe me, this was very early in my spiritual life. I heard a still, small voice within saying, “No, you do the moving!” The rest of this experience, I can tell you only from hindsight. I obeyed that advice, surprising everyone around me and losing a precious family heirloom in the process. But it was the right thing to do. I quickly learned that God never gives bad advice! A divorce ensued, one that turned out to be in the best interests of both myself and my son. For the first three days, I was so angry that I was able to strap a spinet piano to my back and move it across the room. Then I came to peace with the decisions I had made. God was helping me to do that and to answer my prayer. He knows our needs sometimes even better than we do. As events transpired from that point on, I met and got to know my next-door neighbor, a righteous and decent single man, who later became my second husband. Peter and I have been married now for 43 years, and I pray we can be married for many more. God does answer prayer, and He deserves our eternal thanks and praise for this and so much more. Thanks, and praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives