The why prayer. [Psalm 22v1 ]

A brother in his prayer,prayed for all the why prayers, there are literally millions of people who are asking the question ,why?,and many yes, even of Gods children,who pray why?, prayers,,maybe we all have to some extent.We may not voice the why?, but we may think it,the Lord who understands and knows all things,is totally aware of our why?.What is your why?, at this time,maybe you have carried your why? with you for many years,even going back to your childhood.Why did my parents give me up for adoption?,why did God allow that to happen to me?,why did I loose my job?, why did I loose my husband?why am I suffering this illness?. In Matthew 27v 46 we have Jesus of all people praying a why prayer,so right away we see it is not wrong to ask God why?,in some ways it is a mystery, why Jesus of all people should pray that prayer,but He did.In praying that prayer Jesus was fulfilling the words of Psalm22 v1,it reminds us that the depth of His suffering was something that was real. .Why is it ,as Christians,we feel that we will not suffer?that the life we live will not bring to us various degrees of pain and hurts.In the Bible we see many of Gods choices saints suffering,Job  may have received twice as much as he had before [42v10]but I am sure he still felt pain as regards the children he lost.Then there is Joseph,hated by his natural family,sold as a slave,imprisoned for something he didn't do,He may have understood it,when he was released from prison,but what if he not been released?.We will leave it there and continue on tomorrow.
A  prayer ...../Dear God we confess there are times when we ask why,because we struggle, we thank You that you are not offended,when we ask why,into our confusion, pour in upon us Your grace and peace, in Jesus name Amen /

The importace of All. [Proverbs 3 v 5-6 ]

There are particular scriptures that mean a lot to me,like Proverbs 3 v5-6. /Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct thy paths./The key word in these verses is all, The scriptures speaks of the double minded man,that such a person is unstable in all his way[James 1 v8] W Barclay,/James uses a vivid word of such a man.He says that he is dipsuchos, which literally means a man with two soul,or two minds,inside him. One mind believes,the other mind disbelieves, and the man is a walking civil war  , in which trust and distrust of God wages a continual battle against each other/Honest doubt must submit to the all, and trust in Gods word. Each new day is a journey,as we step out into it,let us acknowledge God in everything we do remember the folly of Israel ,when they made a peace treaty with the Gibeonites,this they should not done,for we read, that they did not consult the Lord[Joshua 9 v14]. Charles Bridges wrote./ Be in the habit of going to Him in the first place- before self will,self pleasing,self-wisdom,human friends, convenience,expediency/
A prayer..../Dear God forgive our foolish ways, our giving into our doubts,of failing to coming to You as we should,in Jesus name Amen /

Arrived [ Psalm 23v6 ]

I am sixty eight,and out of the blue a thought struck me,it appears to me that all my life I seem to be going somewhere , but never arriving. I think every Child of God may feel this,reflecting more on this ,I would  point you to Hebrews 11v13, there we have the saints of old, men and women of  faith., who confessed,that they were strangers, and pilgrims on this earth. They desired a better country,that is a heavenly, in other words no matter how prosperous they became, no matter how blessed they were,they never let the hope of heaven die,nor must we.Al Jolson was one my favourite singers when I was a  wee boy, and he used to sing a song called, Sonny boy. There is a line in that song which goes,/ You made a heaven, for me here on earth/, many people are trying to make heaven here on earth.They will never succeed,because we have sin here,and into every so called earthly paradise,death will always intrude in this fallen planet.Our mortality soon becomes evident as the years roll on, if we live long enough ,we are conscience of life's shortcomings. For the child of God the best is yet to come,and in the words of the hymn, there is a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar. On that day,the feeling of never arriving,will disappear,on that day we will have arrived at our final destination
A prayer...../Dear Lord lead us on to our heavenly destination, in Your name we ask this Amen /.

Empathy. [ 1 Peter 5 v7 ]

It was said of Abraham Lincoln that he possessed extraordinary empathy,Adam Smith said that,empathy is being able to place oneself in a persons situation, of feeling their misery,of changing places with those who suffer,to feel what they feel. As I hear of suffering ,the homeless,do I judge that person?or do I put myself in their place?,how do I feel for refugees?do I put myself in their place?.How do I feel towards people from poor countries,with no job,hungry children,no future,who try to get into the prosperous countries?,do I put myself in their place?.How do I feel every time I hear of a bomb going off,of the victims,who are often children,do I put myself in their place?. As a Christian I am called to follow in the footsteps of the Christ of the human road,in Christ we have a greater than Abraham Lincoln,the poet wrote this of Him,/ With every pang that rends the heart the man of sorrows has a part/.As the Christ of time and eternity views mankind's suffering,from rape,to cancer,he is overflowing with empathy,and a love that desires to help ,and comfort, Above all else he desires to draw them to himself, that His love may embrace them,and transform them,for this reason He came.
A prayer...../ Dear God soften our hearts,help us to be like our Saviour,who is touched with feelings of our infirmities ,Amen

Betrayed.[ Hebrews 4 v 15-16 ]

In the movie Brave heart ,William Wallace and some of his men are attacked,William does battle with one of his attackers,only to discover he was none other than his Prince,the revelation leaves him stunned. I suppose one of the most hurtful things that can happen to a person,is to be betrayed by a trusted friend,an enemy ,that's not so bad,but a friend,that is terrible.It happens frequently in marriage,we just read the statistics,but fail to appreciate the awful pain,that wife feels ,who suddenly finds out she has been betrayed,by her closest friend,the child who finds that the father she loved ,and adored,is no longer around. That son who robs his elderly parents,cheats on them,to support a habit or a life style,how distraught those parents must be,it happens more than we realise. There was a man I know personally, the kindest,gentlest person,who ever lived,he helped everybody,nothing was to much bother for him. He had a group of very close friends,he did everything he could to help them, but what do you think,one of them betrayed my friend,money was at the bottom of it all.Now my friend was arrested by cruel people, whose only motive was to kill him,but that's not the end of it,another of my friends,so called friends who had promised undying love,deneyed that he knew my friend,as my friend was being tormented,all my friend could do was turn and look at him. My friends name is Jesus,what His friends did really hurt Him,but my friend told me,that He is glad that He experienced it, for now He understands the pain that others feel who have been betrayed,He says if they come to Him, He can help them..
A  prayer ...../ Dear Lord Jesus,we can truly say no one understands like You,You know,the pain caused by betrayal, not only do You know,but You also long to help us, if we but come to You. Amen /

If we perish,we perish.[ Philippians 1 v 12-14 ]

Northern Nigeria has a 93 percent Muslim population,the Christian population have suffered a great deal, a group of extreme Muslims that go under the name of Boko Haram, have waged war against  Christians.Since 2009 it is thought that this group have caused the death of over 3000  Christians,
Christians also suffer discrimination, they even have to submit to aspects of Sharia law. We need to pray for those who are suffering for their faith, Hebrews 13 v3 ,exhorts us,/To remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body/.I was particularly struck with the words of a senior church leader,/We will keep the faith...if we perish , we perish/.May these words challenge all of us to pray for all Christians who are suffering for  Christ,but may they also encourage us to live and witness for Christ.
A  prayer../..Dear God it saddens our hearts when we read of the suffering of your people in so many lands,have mercy upon them,grant that we like them, will be found faithful in our witness for You, in Jesus name Amen /

Practice what they preach.[ Matthew 23 v1-3]

The account in Numbers 22-24 of the prophet Balaam is interesting,he received the word of God and spoke it.It was the time when Israel was leaving the wilderness and about to enter the promise land,they would destroy nations,and take their land.The king of Moab was afraid,and so he sends for the prophet ,so that he may curse Israel,in doing this he would reward him.The prophet tells the king that he will only speak what God says and this he does,the king is very persistent,and tries to receive a word from the prophet that will spell Israels doom,but to no avail. Balaam continually tells the king he will only speak what God tells him,in fact he speaks  a blessing upon Israel. Until this point we can commend Balaam,he faithfully spoke the word of God,oh that all Gods ministers would do this.Balaam is referred to 3 times in the NT ,/2 Peter2 v15/Jude 11/Revelation2v14/. It appears that Balaam yielded to the lure of money,in Numbers 25 v1-3/ 31v15-16/,we read how on his advice,Israel became involved in idolatry,and immorality.He was obedient  in speaking,but his heart ,and desires were not,it is so easy to preach one thing publicly,but privately to act contrary to the very words we have proclaimed.
A prayer..../.Dear God grant that those who are called to preach Your word,will also practice what they preach in Jesus name Amen /