January 17, 2010

What If Our Prayers Go Unanswered?

Prayer

James wrote, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16). With this in mind, many people pray to God hoping that their prayer will be answered. They want to have a divine response that is visible and tangible. When we pray for the sick, we want to see the sick recover. When we pray for someone’s safe travel, we want to see that they reach their destination without incident. When we pray for help finding a job, we want to actually find a job. There are many other examples as well. We pray and let our “requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Since “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much,” we expect to see – at least some of the time – real and positive responses from God to our prayers.

But what if we do not see this? What if our prayers, as far as we can tell, go unanswered? This is likely something that most of us have perceived at some point. It can be discouraging, but we should not allow it to shake our faith in God. After all, Paul wrote, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). It does not say that true faith comes as a result of something happening that we determine must be God’s answer to our prayer. Sadly, many allow their faith to be either established or shattered based upon their own labeling of certain events as being God’s answers to their prayers. This is purely subjective. This is not true Bible faith.
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January 14, 2010

All Continues Just as it Was

When Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles were there to witness the event. Afterward, two angels appeared to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Christians today “eagerly wait” for the Lord to return, as the angels said He would, and bring the faithful home to heaven (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

That was about two thousand years ago. Yet we remain watchful, knowing that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:10). But there are many today who will ridicule this idea. They say we should live as we please here because this is the only life we will have. We should not be surprised that there are such people. After all, Peter wrote about them in the first century. As the apostle began discussing the day of the Lord, he wrote, “Knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
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November 24, 2009

Know Well the Condition of Your Flocks

Sheep at sunset

Our country is in the midst of a recession. The economic outlook for the future is uncertain. Unemployment continues to rise. The national debt is ballooning at an astronomical rate. Naturally, people are worried about their financial situation, both for the present and the future.

Despite all of this, we have the responsibility to provide for ourselves (2 Thessalonians 3:10), our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and be able to help those in need (Ephesians 4:28). Paul told us of the importance of working hard so as to not be a burden to anyone (1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8). But how can we do this if the economy collapses?

Christians ought to first consult the Bible to see what instructions are contained there that would relate to this economic crisis. The proverb writer has a very important reminder for us that we should notice, particularly with the current progression we are seeing in this country.
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July 19, 2009

Waiting for a Sign

Man by the water

There are times in our lives when we have difficult decisions to make. In considering major decisions such as choosing a spouse, deciding where to live, what course to pursue in college, what job to take, and so on, we wonder what choice is best and are often anxious about our decision because of the major impact it will have on our life and even the lives of others.

For Christians that believe in a loving and powerful God, it is natural to want to seek guidance from Him when we have to make decisions like these. But what sort of guidance are we seeking? And are we truly seeking His guidance or are we merely attributing things to Him and then making ourselves believe that the Lord led us to make a certain decision?

It is not uncommon to hear people talk about receiving signs from God. These “signs” come in many different forms – weather events, phone calls, scheduling conflicts, job promotions, being passed over for a promotion, or even being laid off, etc. The list is virtually endless. People take events like these as if they are signs from God and, therefore, the reason to make one decision over another. Does the Bible have anything to say about this?
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March 23, 2009

God Knows What We Need Before We Ask

Prayer

In teaching about prayer, Jesus taught to avoid using “meaningless repetitions.” He explained that using “many words” does not mean that God is going to hear us any better (Matthew 6:7).

Jesus went on to explain one reason why repeating the same words over and over is meaningless: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8).
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