I spent a lot of time talking about spiritual matters with a friend who was diagnosed with cancer. During one of our conversations he gave his heart to Christ. The doctors said he would never walk again and would probably spend the remaining few months of his life in the hospital. Over the next weeks we did a lot of praying and his cancer went into remission. He began praising the Lord for the miracles taking place in his body.

Well, he not only walked again, he went home, and even drove his car. As time went on he started denying the power of God and instead insisted he had done it himself. We remained friends and shortly before his death three years later (the cancer returned) he asked God to forgive him for his arrogance.

My prayer for you this week:

“I pray that your confidence is found in Christ for such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Amen.”  2 Corinthians 3:4-6

By Alec Niemi
used by permission

Alec Niemi, an entrepreneur, lifestyle evangelist and pastor is passionate about helping people find Christ.  He lives in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada.

FURTHER READING

Our Confidence

When Trust is Established

Yet Will I Praise Him

The post Denying God appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”  Luke 17:33

When my husband was deployed I needed some practical help as I was raising four children without family around. During one deployment two gentlemen came to my home every week to look after my lawn. I’ll never forget looking out the window and watching them with a humbled heart. They both had full time jobs and families at home but offered their time and work for my family.

When we give to God, we get to take part in the work He is doing.

When the disciples chose to follow Jesus they were giving up their own will, their own ways, their own agendas, their own understanding, their own ideas of what their futures would hold. They gave up their thoughts and their plans and gave all they had to Jesus.

Submitting ourselves fully to God allows Him to come into our lives in ways that we could never fathom and in ways we could never arrange on our own. The disciples could never have imagined the astonishing journey they were about to take when they said, “YES” to Jesus.

The two gentlemen who took such good care of my lawn displayed a wonderful expression of God’s love for me. I felt personally and deeply cared for. Their sacrifice is a reminder of the impact God can have on us when we give of ourselves to Him.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your ultimate sacrifice of your Son Jesus, so I may know you, love you, and share you here on the earth. Help me to remember that without you, I have nothing. Open my eyes to see the opportunities that you are giving me to share who you are with others. Amen.

By Brigitte Straub
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

Confronting the Crucible of Choice

God’s Power to Change

Audacious Trust

The post A Wonderful Expression of Love appeared first on Thoughts About God.

As I recently prayed about an important decision I needed to make, I remembered there was a time when I didn’t. As a young Christian I didn’t even know that I should.

When I was in my early twenties I moved without even praying about it. I loved God and it was not my intention to go the wrong way, I just had not learned yet that we are to seek God as we make choices and decisions. I just plowed ahead completely tossing all wisdom aside.

I was a young Christian and hadn’t been in my Bible much or heard a lot of teaching and I didn’t know to even pray about choices and decisions. I had not been raised in the church and had not learned these important spiritual lessons.

So, I immaturely quit a job and moved out of state just because I was not satisfied with the status quo. Long story short, that move failed and I quickly ended up back in the same town, but without an apartment, furniture, or job. I had to start over.

But it wasn’t that long until my husband came into the picture and I knew exactly why God brought me back.

When I think about God undoing my bad decision and bringing me back and how He brought my husband across my path by moving him to my town and bringing him to my church – I saw His grace and love for me forged deeply across my heart forever.

Oh, I am grateful He covers us with a lot of tender grace in our youth and that He is patient with us as we learn and grow in the ways of the Lord.

God definitely gained my attention through that experience and how He amazingly worked in my life. It was a significant turning point in my spiritual growth that impacted the deepness of faith I walk in today.

God cares about every detail of our lives and He has a plan that is slowly unfolding through the circumstances we experience. We would be wise to seek Him, and pray and also to trust and wait on Him.

Philippians 4:6-7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

Are you at a place in your life where you want to know Jesus and have him in your life?  You can start a life surrendered to Christ today. This is a sample, simple prayer, but the words are powerful and full of meaning.  If  you truly believe them Christ will enter your life and start you on a wonderful journey. (not always easy, but never alone)

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to You and ask You to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

It starts now!

FURTHER READING

Pray, Then Decide

God Knows – Know God

If God Were to Answer Your Phone Call

The post Pray Before You Leap appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” Luke 18:1

There is probably a prayer in your life that no longer comes easily.

At first, you prayed it with confidence.

Then you prayed it with hope.

Later, you prayed it through tears.

Now you may barely know what to say.

Maybe it is for a child who has wandered far from God. A marriage that needs healing. A financial burden that never seems to loosen its grip. A loved one who desperately needs help. A diagnosis you wish you had never heard. A door that has remained closed for far too long.

Eventually, disappointment starts asking a dangerous question:

What is the point of praying again?

Jesus understood that people could become tired in prayer. Luke 18:1 says He taught His disciples that they “ought always to pray, and not to faint.”

Because sometimes we do not stop praying because we stopped believing in God.

We stop because we are exhausted.

We are tired of hoping. Tired of waiting. Tired of watching nothing seem to change.

But a long wait does not mean a wasted prayer.

Hannah prayed through deep anguish before Samuel was born. Abraham waited years for Isaac. Israel cried out under oppression before deliverance came. The early church prayed while Peter sat in prison, and the door eventually opened in a way none of them could have manufactured themselves.

Prayer is not a lever that forces God to act on our timetable.

Prayer is relationship.

It keeps our hearts turned toward the One who sees the whole story when we only see today’s page.

Sometimes God changes the situation. Sometimes He changes us while we are still standing inside it. Often, He does both.

There are days when your prayer may not sound powerful.

It may simply be, “Lord, help me.”

Or, “Jesus, I am still here.”

Or perhaps nothing more than tears in His presence.

That is still prayer.

God is not impressed by polished sentences. He responds to honest hearts.

So bring Him the prayer you almost stopped praying.

Bring it without pretending you are not tired.

Bring the disappointment with it. Bring the questions. Bring the small amount of faith you still have.

You may not know how close the answer is. You may not know whether God’s answer will look like the one you imagined. But you can know that your prayers are not invisible to Him.

Pause and reflect: What prayer have you nearly surrendered because the waiting became painful?

Prayer:

Lord, You know the prayer I have carried for so long. You know where hope has become exhaustion. Give me strength not to confuse delay with rejection. Help me keep my heart open to You even when I do not understand Your timing. Today I place this burden back into Your hands. Amen.

Today’s Thought: Do not let a long wait convince you that God has stopped listening.

FURTHER READING

How to Pray

Pray Always, Without Giving Up by Andrew Murray

Foundational Core Truths about Prayer by Sylvia Gunter

The post The Prayer You Almost Stopped Praying appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

There is a kind of silence that can shake your faith.

You prayed. You waited. You prayed again.

And still, nothing seems to move.

No answer. No open door. No sudden breakthrough. No explanation.

Those are the moments when the questions become louder than the prayer:

God, are You listening?
Did I miss You?
Have You forgotten me?

The hardest part of waiting is often not the delay itself. It is wondering what the delay means.

But God’s silence is not proof of God’s absence.

A seed beneath the soil looks like nothing from the surface. There is no flower to photograph, no visible growth to celebrate, no evidence that anything is happening. Yet underground, roots are forming before anything ever breaks through the surface.

Some of God’s deepest work happens where you cannot see it.

Joseph carried a dream from God, but between the dream and the fulfilment came betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and prison. David was anointed king, yet spent years running for his life before he ever sat on the throne. Abraham received a promise, then waited until the promise seemed humanly impossible.

The waiting did not cancel the promise.

The silence did not mean God had walked away.

And the delay was not wasted.

We often want God to explain the whole road before we take the next step. God usually gives enough light for the step in front of us.

Faith is not always having an answer. Sometimes faith is refusing to abandon God while the answer is still hidden.

Psalm 46:10 does not say, “Figure everything out.”

It says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Be still when fear tells you to panic.

Be still when comparison tells you everyone else is moving ahead.

Be still when disappointment whispers that prayer is pointless.

Be still long enough to remember who God has already proven Himself to be.

Your circumstances may be uncertain, but His character is not.

He is still faithful. He is still present. He is still God.

And if you cannot see His hand today, you can still trust His heart.

Pause and reflect: What are you interpreting as God’s absence simply because you have not yet seen His answer?

Prayer:

Father, I confess that waiting is hard for me. When I cannot see what You are doing, keep me from believing that You have forgotten me. Quiet the fear, frustration, and doubt in my heart. Help me trust Your character when I cannot understand Your timing. Teach me to be still and know that You are God. Amen.

Today’s Thought: God’s silence is not proof of His absence.

by Barry Saunders
used by permission

FURTHER READING

Waiting on the Moth

Be Still

Be Still and Know

The post When God Seems Silent appeared first on Thoughts About God.