Unanswered prayer. [Deuteronomy 3 v 25-26 ]

Unanswered prayer, there are four incidents that come to my mind in the Bible, [I am sure there must be more], when God refused to answer prayer, or when God said no. The first one we will consider, Moses the great leader, one used by God to bring His people out of Egypt. Now Moses found the task of leading Israel, difficult ,to say the least, often he cried out to God in despair. Just think about that if you desire to be a leader, it will not be easy, sometime you will despair, it is not easy being a leader. In Numbers 20,we read how the Israelites were doing their usual thing moaning, one of the reasons being ,they had no water, instead of praying to God,they choose to complain,so Moses sought the Lord, and the Lord answered,[oh yes He does also answer our prayers, but we have no problem with that]. Moses was told to speak to the rock, and water would come out, but what Moses did, he struck the rock, yes and water came out. If God tells us to do something in a paticular way, then we must be careful to do it, as He told us,if we dont then there will be consequences. The consequences for Moses was, he was not permitted to lead the people into the promise land, in Deuteronomy he prayed that he could , but God said no, and that was that. [Dear God help me to act as You tell me, help me to realize the importance of this, and the consequences if I dont, in Jesus name Amen ]

Pray for them.[ 1 Peter 5 v7 ]

Unanswered prayer, I was ministering last night, and a dear brother spoke to me ,and he mentioned his daughter who suffers from anorexia, an obsessional illness, to do with food, and feeling they are overweight, even though they may weigh very little. This illness is life threatening, and for this dear brother and his wife ,it is heartbreaking , as they try to support their daughter. How would you feel if your child suffered from this illness? put yourself in that brothers place, consider his pain. He asked me to remember them in prayer, and I have, and by Gods grace I will continue to pray for them, the girls name is Helene. Will you offer up a prayer for her,and her parents today, let us pray for those who are suffering from serious illnesses, and for those who care for them. We will deal with my opening words, unanswered prayer, tomorrow,but for today let us pray for people like Helene ,and those who are caring for them. [ Dear God we bring to You Helene,her mum and dad, and for all who suffering ,ungoing illness, be it physical or mental, and for those who care for them, in thy great mercy,grant them that neccessary grace they need, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Simple faith. [Acts 16 v31 ]

In Romans 4, the apostle Paul is teaching how we are saved by faith, and to illustrate the point ,he points us to Abraham. In v3 we read Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness, that is the simple truth of the gospel, we simply believe in Jesus to save us, that means we are not trying to save ourselves ,by good works[Ephesians 2 v 8-9 ], nor by works of the law.[Galations 3 v 11 ]. It all sounds to simple, to good to be true, but it is true, we make things very complicated, God makes it simple, so simple that even a child can understand it and embrace it. I trusted Jesus as my Saviour when I was a child, and so I believe in Child evangelisim, do not hesitate to tell children about Jesus, in fact do not hesitate to tell anyone about Jesus,because they are smart ,or not so smart. The smart people have to become like little children, the not so smart people, need not let there limatations be a barrier,to all who would be saved it is simple faith in Jesus, that saves.[ Dear God we thank You that You have provided salvation for all in Jesus Thy son, and we thank You that we can be saved simply by believing in Him . Amen ]

Everlasting love. [ Jeremiah 31 v3 ]

I found myself trying to sing an old song,/ Thirty pieces of silver, was the price they paid. Thirty pieces of silver, just the price of a slave. So my heart I have given ,to this Christ betrayed ,for I know just how much I love Him, by the price He paid/. Why am I a Christian ?and why do I continue to be a Christian after all these years?, because as John wrote, we love Him, because He first loved us [1 John 4 v19 ].The Christian relationship is a love one,it commences with love, is sustained by love, controlled by love, motivated by love. When love dies the relationship dies, we then just go through the motions,we are no longer in touch with our Saviour, and yet He still loves us,would seek to woo us back to Himself. The greatest example of this is in that meeting with Peter, the one who had denied His Lord in John 21. Mybe Peter felt His Lord did not love him anymore, but He did,mybe today you have failed your Lord like Peter,well the good news is He still loves you,repent and return to Him, and He will welcome you with open arms, and you will hear His words of love , I have loved you with an everlasting love. I finish with the words of a song by Keith Green, let them be our prayer. [ O Lord please light the fire that once burned bright and clear, replace the lamp of my first love ,that burns with holy fear . Amen ]

Someone stole my umbrella. [ John 16 v 33 ]

A quotation by a Lord Bowie, reads,/ The rain it raineth on the just,and also on the unjust fellow. But chiefly on the just, because,the unjust steals the just,s umbrella./ I found this amusing, but on reflection , I see a more serious side to it, as I read of many dear Christians, who loose not only their umbrellas, but their homes, their liberty, and their very lives. All through my Christian life I have heard of Christians suffering ,under communisim, to some extent it is still going on,but now it appears under Islam, and under religious groups. I do not believe it will ever change, and we should not be surprised at this, it is Peter who wrote,/ don,t be surprised at the firey trials/[1 Peter 4 v12]. Our Saviour told us to take up our cross, I wear a cross, but am I willing to take up my cross?, Consider the words of our dear Saviour in John 16 v 33,/ These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world/. We may loose our umbrellas but we can have peace, and can by Gods grace be overcomers, in Jesus. [ Dear Father help us be overcomers, as we seek to live for our Saviour, grant us the gift of Thy peace, in Jesus name. Amen]

The young . [Ecclesiastes 12 v 1-6 ]

In Proverbs 20 v 29, we read ,/ The glory of the young is their strength,the gray hair of experience is the splender of the old/. Charles Bridges writes,/ Every stage of life has its peculiar honour and privilege/,and this is true, in sport it is the young who excel, I was watching a tennis match recently, between an older man ,and a young man, the younger man won,because the older person tired.Youths natural strength if channelled aright,can accomplish much good,or if channelled wrong can cause much harm. In Ecclesiastes 11 v8 ff, the writer reminds the young ,yes to enjoy their life,as it were to live life ,to the full,but to remember that even the young are accountable to God for what they do.In chapter 12, we read,/ Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth/, he then goes on to draw a word picture of growing old. My study Bible comments,/ Being young is exciting, but excitement of youth can become a barrier to closeness with God, if it makes young people focus on passing pleasures, instead of eternal values./ If you are young remember ,if you live without Christ, and die without Him,then you will spend a lost eternity without God. [ Dear God we pray for the young, that they may be moved by your Spirit, convicted by your Spirit,and led by your Spirit to trust Jesus. Amen ]

Send me. [Isaiah 6 v 1-8 ]

I love the old hymns , but I also like many new hymns ,like the one I heard recently, /I, the Lord of sea and sky/. by Daniel L Schutte. This hymn has God declaring the great need of His people, it seems the writer is stressing ,those who are Gods people ,and those who would become His people. [I think ] Each verse ends with the words,/Whom shall I send/,which reminds us of the call of Isaiah [chapter 6 ], there the prophet has a tremendous vision of God, who is holy. God is holy and awesome,but He is has a deep love for this world,and He uses people, to tell the world of His love, He uses people to proclaim His word to His people. So we have God asking a question, whom shall I send,and who will go for us [6v8], God is still asking that question, and He is waiting for an answer. The prophet did answer with the words, Here am I ,send me, and God accepted that response, and said go. We are all called to serve, to obey,are we obeying that call?, let us finish with the chorus of the hymn, we have mentioned, it can be our prayer as we face another day with all its challenges. [ Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?. I have heard You calling in the night. I will go Lord, if You lead me. I will hold your people in my heart, Amen ]