Perhaps you sometime think, that for whatever reason, possibly because you made some mistake, God is angry with you. There are some Christians who think that because God is angry with them, for various things they have done in their life, therefore, he does not answer their prayers, and in fact, some Christians are running away from God, because they have sinned somehow, and feel guilty. They think, that God is angry with them, for their sin.. The fact is, that God is not angry with them at all! That is the truth, coming from his Word. Just look at Romans 5:8-10. Can you see that? Even while we were still sinners, before accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, God loved us, and gave his Son Jesus to die for us. That is how big his grace for us is. Now look at verse 9. Can you see that the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for our sins, is enough to make God not angry with us? God is not angry with you, but delights in you, because you are a part of his family, you are a child of God. Even when God has to discipline us, if we do something wrong, because of our weaknesses, and because of the sinful nature in us, even then, God will discipline us, and we would not like his discipline, but he will not be angry with us. Never think again, that God does not give you blessings, or does not answer your prayer, because he is angry with you! Never! That is what the enemy of our souls, the devil wants us to think. He just disrupts the correct view of our heavenly Father we have, and tries to twist the truth of God's Word, and present God to people, by his lies, in a way, which is not true about God. God loves you so dearly, and the requirements of the Law are fully satisfied by what Jesus did for us, so there is no reason, for God to be angry with us, because we have been reconciled forever with him, by his Son Jesus, and by what Jesus did on the cross for us.
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Matthew 7:7, 8
You know, we are told by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to knock on the door, so that it can be opened to us. Some Christians, will not even knock on the door, so, how is that door, going to be opened to them? Knocking on the door, is our part, and is the first part we need to do, in order for God, to open the door, after we have knocked on it, and that is God's part. Although God can open any door to us, he will not open a door in our life, unless we knock on it. God wants to make us participants in opening of a door in our life, together with him, and he does not want us, to just stay there, and watch until he opens the door for us, so we just enter through it. There are three types of actions, any Christian can take, in regard to doors being opened or shut in their lives. The first type are the Christians, who for one reason or another, do not knock on the door which God puts sometimes, in front of them. They just do not. Maybe perhaps because they think that the door is not supposed to be in their life, at that particular time, but they forget, that God's timing for things in our life, is often quite different, than our timing. Or perhaps there are other reasons. But the fact is, they are reluctant to knock, on that door. The second type of Christians, are those, who knock a couple of times on that door, but give up soon, and because the door remains shut, they give up altogether, and do not continue to knock on that door. They forget, that the very purpose God places doors in our lives, is in order for them to be opened. But nevertheless, they give up after a couple of knocks, and go away from that door. The problem with the first and the second types of Christians, who never see the door opened, is that they could miss all the treasures God has prepared for them, on the other side of the door. But the third type of Christians, in regard to the doors placed in our lives, are those, who not matter how big the door seems to be, or how many times they have to knock on it, do not just go away, after a couple of knocks. They are the types who will actually sometimes brake the door and get through it, just to fulfil the purpose of the door, and that is, to be opened. And they are the ones who get all the treasures prepared by God for them, and placed, behind that door. In the Greek original language, of the New Testament, the word is 'keep knocking', which denotes a continual action, and not just one time action. So, let us break some of the doors, which God has placed in our lives, so that we do not miss, all those treasures, placed by God, behind that door for us. God does not mind us braking some of the doors in our lives, because the only reason he placed them in our lives, is that we can go through them, and get what he has left for us, behind them. Sometimes, we as Christians can be wondering, what should we pray for, or for who we shall pray for. But the Bible has shown us clearly, what and for who we shall pray.
If we look at 1 Timothy 2:1-3, we can see that Apostle Paul is giving us divine instructions, about who shall we pray for, and what shall we pray. Paul urges believers, to have petitions to God, and to pray for believers, that is for other Christians, and also, for people in authority. He also mentions intercessions and thanksgiving. Also, Paul says that we should pray for those things, first of all. Now that means we have to put those things on the top priority in our prayer, when we pray to God. Well, that includes some of the main things, for which a Christians should pray for. Let us look at each one of those instructions. Petitions and prayers, to be made for all people. Now, it does not say that we should pray for Christians only, but it says for all people. What does the word 'all' mean? Well, it means all, and that includes non believers and Christians. Petitions and prayers for them means we can pray what we want to pray for them, whatever the need they have is. We can pray for Christians that they will know God better, and come closer to God, and have strong faith in the Word of God, and we can pray other things about Christians. But it also says, that we should pray an intercession type of prayer, when we intercede for certain individuals before God, on their behalf. One example of intercession, is when we as Christians pray for another Christian, to be healed from a disease. We ask God to heal them, and in that sense we intercede for them, before God. And thanksgiving is also mentioned by Paul. Well, I would suggest that every time we pray a petition or intercession types of prayers, we should finish our prayers, with thanksgiving. Thanking God for answering our prayers, at the end of our prayers, shows God, and demonstrates to God, that we really believe, that he has answered our prayer. If we do not really believe, that God has answered our prayers, I do not think, that we will really thank him for the answer. If you do not believe that God is going to answer your prayer, then I do not think that you will thank him for the answer of your prayer. You thank God for the answer of your prayer, only if you believe that he has answered your prayer. Simple like that! And of course, we can give God thanks, not only for answering our prayer, but for million other things, like what God gives us in our life, either as a spiritual or material blessings, and for many other things. And another prayer is that one, for people in authority. Paul says that if we pray for people in authority, like praying for the government of our country, that would result in us, living a peaceful life. What more we need these days, with all those Covid 19 havoc creating days, than having a peaceful life. The whole world is messed up, so we really need a peaceful life. And that life is possible, we if pray for authorities. What shall we pray for the people in the government? Well, one think we could pray, is that God will grant them wisdom, in order to make good and proper decisions, for the glory of God, and for the blessing of the people of that country. Pray or perish. The more we press the snooze button, the less we pray, and the more we are tempted. The less we pray, the more we sin. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. That is a command, not an option. How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit if we do not pray? Jesus said in another place that we are in error, because we do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. How can we know the power of God, if we do not pray? Knowing and even acting on the Word of God is not enough. If we do not pray, we lose communication with heaven, and when we do, the communication we are left with is this world and what it has to offer. The image of God shines brighter and is shaped more and more in our life, when we pray. Less prayer, less image from heaven in us, and more from the fallen human nature in us and this world. Surely Jesus prayed more intensively, the closer he came to the cross. That is why he urged the disciples to do the same, shortly before he was captured and crucified. In the most crucial time in the garden of temptation, they pressed the snooze button. I am sure God wanted them to press the prayer button instead of the snooze button. The less we pray, the more we sleep. The more we sleep, the less we have what heaven has to offer. When we press the spiritual snooze button, we drop the Sword, and lose the battle. The less we pray, the more we sin. The more we sin, the less we grow in maturity in Christ. The less we mature in Christ, the more of the solid food for us God has we miss. We carry on drinking only milk and stay like a spiritual infant. The enemy knows that the less we pray, the more we can be tempted, so he is watching for an opportunity we give him, when we press the snooze button. |
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