Monday 10 April 2017

God can!

I can't - but God can!

Jesus told his followers in Matthew 19:26 that what is impossible for human beings is possible for God - all things are possible!

For prayer people like me, this is a very important message from Jesus.  It is  message we need to hear because it is easy to get discouraged.

Perhaps your family problem is getting worse instead of better.  Or, your church seems to be on the verge of falling apart. Or, the world around you appears to be more Satan's playground than God's.

Of course, there's no guarantee that God will put a bandaid on your problem - or mine - and that it will get better right away.

But we are promised in 1 John 5:14-15 that when we ask something according to his will, he will give us what we request.

Sometimes, it takes time - God's timing.  The children of Israel called out in anguish to God under Egyptian slavery for 400 years before the Lord sent Moses to deliver them.  And Hebrews 11 tells us that many great believers prayed for the messiah for hundreds of years before Jesus came.

That may not be comforting if you have a serious problem now.

There are, of course, many wonderful answers to prayer that happen quickly.  The lame, the halt and the blind called out to Jesus for healing - a form of prayer - and were instantly cured.

A handful of prayer warriors prayed for some years for revival on the Scottish island of Lewis after the Second World War and were rewarded by an awesome display of God's power with many giving their lives to the Lord.  This happened in the lifetime of these praying people.

The great thing about God is that he can surprise us at any time.  No one would have picked timid, fearful Gideon to be the saviour of Israel against the Midianite hordes, but he was.  In the process, God showed Gideon and the Israelites that they won because of his power, not theirs.

The Bible is one long story of weak people casting themselves on God in desperation and seeing their prayers answered in astounding ways.

The lesson I draw from all this is that I must not give up praying.  No prayer is wasted.  It will be answered in God's way and in God's timing.

Jesus said as much in Luke 18 in his parable of the persistent widow.  He told his listeners we must persevere in our prayers as a widow did who plagued an unjust judge with her pleas for justice until he gave in and granted her wishes.

And, even though it took a long time, God told Moses at the burning bush in the wilderness that he had heard the prayers of the suffering Israelites in Egypt and was acting in response. (Exodus 3:7-9)

So, how am I to pray when things look bleak?

First, I must seek God and ask him for his guidance on how to pray in that situation.  I must look for the Holy Spirit's illumination as I read the scriptures and listen to his promptings in my everyday life. Perhaps the Lord will gradually change my prayers as time goes by and he reveals his will to me.

Next, I must continue praying until I see God's answer.

Finally, I must never lose faith that God has heard my prayer and that my prayer matters.

I must never lose sight of the fact that God can do the impossible.

Maybe I can't - but God can.



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