Blog On

A busy week has kept me from the blog recently. A R.R. campout, a funeral, meeting out of town, etc. Excuses, excuses.

Week two of The House God Loves this Sunday was "When God Says No." There are two extremes in prayer. One being a "God's gonna do what God's gonna do" and it really doesn't matter how or if I pray. The other is making God our bell boy who does whatever we tell Him to. A healthy middle is a sovereign God who answers prayer. But why does God say "No" sometimes? Here are a few reasons.

-Did we even pray? We have not because we ask not. (James 1:2)
-Did we pray with wrong motives. James 4:3 "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
-Does your prayers match your life? Isaiah 58:1-5
-Sin has consequences. Grace wipes away the stain of sin, but not all consequences disappear. 2 Samuel 12:13-14 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
-Did we give up too soon? Luke 18:1-7
-Did we pray in faith? James 1:6-8
-Were we using a cheap formula prayer? Acts 19:13-16
-Does God have a greater plan? "Three times I [Apostle Paul] pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Cor. 12:8-9

Be Refreshed!

Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 17:3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

Scripture of the Day: 1 John 5:14-15 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Quote of the Day: "It is not enough for the believer to begin to pray, nor to pray correctly; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray. We must patiently, believingly continue in prayer until we obtain an answer. Further, we have not only to continue in prayer until the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing. Those who are disciples of the Lord Jesus should labor with all their might in the work of God as if everything depended upon their own endeavors. Yet, having done so, they should not in the least trust in their labor and efforts, nor in the means that they use for the spread of the truth, but in God alone; and they should with all earnestness seek the blessing of God in persevering, patient, and believing prayer. Here is the great secret of success, my Christian reader. Work with all your might, but never trust in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing in God, but work at the same time with all diligence, with all patience, with all perseverance. Pray, then, and work. Work and pray. And still again pray, and then work. And so on, all the days of your life. The result will surely be abundant blessing. Whether you see much fruit or little fruit, such kind of service will be blessed.: George Muller