Who am I? My relationship with God through prayer (part 24)

And God is so good. He fills me with the Holy Spirit, as He did His people in Acts 4:31. “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. He supplies my every need, my food, my shelter, my healing, and my comfort, as in Hosea 12:4, when God sent an angel to comfort Hosea. And yet there are times when He will not remove the “thorn from the flesh” because it is more sufficient that I learn dependence on Him. For in 2 Corinthians 12:,8,9 I am reminded that even Paul was not spared of the thorn. And He is not unaware of me when I do good. He calls me righteous when I believe on Him. And His eyes are on me, as His eyes are on all those who He calls righteous (Psalms 34:15,17) and He tells me He will be my supplier when I seek Him (Psalms 37:4,5). God is my only hope of survival. (Psalms 38:15). And He is my only hope for life.

Who am I? My relationship with God through prayer (part 23)

God multitasks for me and for all of His people. God delivers. That’s the promise in Nehemiah 9:27 and Judges 16:28-30. He delivers me, even from severe medical problems that I have had in the past, as He delivered Samson and strengthened him. He delivered me, when I turn to Him as God the Almighty and Father, from oppressors, as in Judges 3:9,15 and 4:3,23,24. As He delivered the people of Israel and allowed them to return and re-build the temple, He delivers me especially when my desire is to do His work. And He answers prayers. He gave Manoah a child in Judges 13:8,9 and answered David’s question in 1 Samuel 30:8 about pursuing an enemy. In 2 Samuel 2:3 God answered David about whether to go into Judah or Hebron. God answers prayers and delivers me, as in Psalm 118:5 and gives me as in Psalms 138:3. God instructs me, as He did Moses in Numbers 12:13-15 and again in Psalms 99:6. He hears my cries for help, as He did Moses in Egypt  (Exodus 2:23-25). And He tells me His history in His Word, as He did in Acts 7:34 and in the entire chapter of Hebrews 11.

Who am I? My relationship with God through prayer (part 22)

Something that goes along with this courage as displayed by my friend is fearing the LORD. Does that mean “shivering in your boots”? No, it means to be aware of the consequences of not doing what He wants you do to do and not obeying Him. Seemingly the bible is contradictory because on the one hand it says God doesn’t give us the Spirit of fear in 2 Timothy 1:7. On the other hand, Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Which is correct? They both are. God doesn’t want His children to live in fear and walk on eggshells, but they are to respect Him, that what He says is what we should and must do. This is explained well in Proverbs 2:3,5, because He gives us the spirit of understanding. Respect of God results in the delight of righteousness, as stated in Proverbs 10:24.

Who am I? My relationship with God through prayer (part 21)

And God is wonderful in His lessons to me. For example, in 1 Samuel 10-20, the story of Hannah teaches me that 1) God wants me to go with a pure heart bringing everything whether sorrowful or joyful to Him, as Hannah did promising her firstborn, the son for which she had waited for so long, to God; 2) I must be prepared to do as I promised, as Hannah was, she followed through on her promise without fail, 3) God has a reason for everything. And God’s time may not be our time. Only God knows the best time for events to occur. Only God knows what is truly best for us. Only God knows whether to say yes, no, or otherwise. In Judges 10:6-11:33 such is a story. Israel has just sinned against God and God gave them over to the Amorites and the Philistines but then delivered them. After a long war against Gilead, God helped them because they were sorrowful and penitent.

 

God nourishes us through prayer, because He is able to deliver us. Psalms 81:10 and 86:5-7 impresses this idea into the reader as well as the fact that He has the power displayed through the Spirit to carry us through anything. I have a friend in Kentucky that really brings this home to me. She had a difficult time with her pregnancy; so difficult she was put in the hospital for the last three weeks of her pregnancy. Then she had to undergo an emergency cesarean section because her blood pressure had gone too high and she was in danger of losing her life. Prior to being admitted to the hospital and during her stay, she collected verses on which to meditate. She related to me that she had forgotten those passages, but that another came to mind, “Be still and know that I am your God” (Psalms 46:10). What a testament to the Spirit of God and the power that He holds! If all Christians would understand His power!