7-28-2023

Good Morning All,

           1 Kings 8:28; “Nevertheless, my Lord God, please pay attention to my prayer for mercy.  Listen to my cry for help as I pray to you today.”

    Have you ever played the game “20 Questions”?  Someone thinks of something and then the other player has to guess it by asking questions?  It can be a challenge, especially if you don’t ask the right question.  When you watch the old Perry Mason shows, we see how carefully he would word his questions to lead the witness to give the right answer.  Even when someone asks me a question, I’ll often ask them, “Why do you want to know?”  The goal of this question is to get to the question behind the question.   Why are you asking this question?

   Sometimes when we pray, we don’t get what we pray for.  This can lead to a frustrating situation.  We often cry to God and ask, “Why?”  This is the wrong question.  We should ask the question, “What?”  What do you want for me Lord?  This is what we should ask; we should ask for direction not an explanation.  We do this by first trusting God to do what is best for us.  No matter what else happens in our life; we are always a redeemed child of God, blessed by him and carried by his promises.  Nothing can or will change it.  So, as we face prayers that seem to be unanswered, we need to remember that our desires do not form us, but God’s mercy forms us.  We may need to let go of one desire as God may have a different one in store.

    We need to ask God for guidance and support; then we need to turn to our brothers and sisters in Christ and listen to them for their comfort, their wisdom and their direction.  God uses Christians to speak his Word to us.  Then we may need to step back a little and see what else God is telling us.  Sometimes our focus is so narrow that we miss all God’s beauty around us.

    We then need to look at God’s gifts and see the new dreams that he has in store for us.  It may be time for a change in your life; perhaps major perhaps not so major but we know that, through faith, God is guiding us along.  He has promised that all things work for the good of those whom he loves.

    Look forward to what God is promising.  He promises us plans that will make us prosper.  He has plans that will give us eternal life.  He has a love for you to give you what we need and what is best for us.  Trust God to hear your prayer and answer you.  His love for you endures forever.

Dearest Jesus, we come to you in prayer and often ask “why?”  Give us the wisdom and faith to ask “what?” what can I do to serve you? Give us the strength of heart to follow your direction. Lead us to share with those around us who are hurting and lost to hear your Good News and to find peace in your Name.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret