Encouraging Word for Today

Now this the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1John 5:14,15

That is an awesome promise. I think there are many prayers prayed in which there is no expectation of getting an answer. Unfortunately, we most often get what we expect. Do you believe God hears your prayers? Jesus walked in that confidence. As He stood outside Lazarus' tomb in John 11:41-43 He said, "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." He had absolute confidence that the Father heard His prayers. He expressed that in the people's hearing for their benefit and it is recorded for our benefit as well. He knew that the Father always heard Him. He could be confident in knowing His prayer was answered because He knew the Father heard Him.

In the first John passage there are only two requirements to answered prayer: 1) Praying the will of the Father and 2) Confidence.   When we speak of the will of God in this passage it is not broad generalities, but specifics. The type of prayers mentioned here are petitions (specific requests)." If it be Thy will is not a specific confident prayer." In the Lord's model prayer Jesus says to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. That is not an iffy prayer; it is a confident prayer expressed in aorist tense, imperative mood. His kingdom invading a situation is His will.

One might ask , "How do I know His will?" Without getting into a long teaching, let me bring Romans 12:2 to your attention. It is the renewing of the mind that gives us transformation and the ability to discern the will of God. How is the mind renewed? It is renewed by the washing of the water of the word and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Be confident when you pray that your Father hears and that He will answer. Jesus' thanking the Father for Him was an example for us. He knew that the Father heard Him and that Lazarus was coming forth from that tomb because the Father had heard Him. John is saying we can have that same confidence and know that our prayers are answered. 

Encouraging Word for Today

I am often encouraged by the Psalms. I guess that's because in the writings of David I find a man who experienced great trials and great triumphs and we find him going through every range of emotion. So often he was grieved, rejected, or in pain and we see him pouring his heart out before the Lord. If we are honest we all can identify with many of David's feelings. Some of you may be dealing with discouragement today. I remember a time years ago when going through a time of discouragement, that I received Psalms 27:13, 14 from three different sources. I knew the Lord was speaking to me.  So as you read these verses today, let them stir hope in your heart.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say on the Lord. Psalms 27:13,14  

      As we look at what's going on in our nation, there is opportunity to be discouraged. I have fallen prey to that discouragement on occasion. I guess one of the things that disturbs me most is that there are so many who are not even aware of the course of destruction we as a nation have embarked upon. Many place their hopes in a political party, or a politician. The government has become their answer, their source. The answer is not in the democratic party or the republican party. In the natural the damage done cannot be fixed. Many in the church are asleep; it is almost as if they think the United States is exempt from suffering. Others look to the rapture as the great escape. I am not a prophet of gloom and doom, but just looking at things logically there is no avoiding economic collapse.

      I am not going on a long discourse today, to expound on the problems of and the threats to our nation. I am more interested in putting my focus where it belongs. As we have said already politics is not the answer. So, what is the answer? The psalmist said, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." He was not looking for the hills to help; he was looking to the one who created the hills. It is time to recognize that it's broke and the best of men can't fix it. Yes, we need to be informed, responsible citizens and vote for men and women who adhere to godly principles, but the best of men cannot save our nation. It is time for our nation to call upon God. Our hope is in God and God alone.

Encouraging Word for Today

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of
these is love. 1Cor. 13:13

I woke up thinking about this verse today, so I'd like to share this
thought. Hope will sustain you,
faith will make you an overcomer, but love will make you more than
a conqueror.
Hope doesn't disappoint because God's love is being shed abroad in
our hearts. (Romans 5:5a).
Faith works through love. (Gal. 5:6b) Love never fails and the
other two which abide are dependent upon it.

God's love is the greatest; it never fails and the best news of all
is that He loves you. Have a good day.

Encouragement for Today

But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who
lifts up my head. Psalms 3:3

There are many who go through life believing that there is
something that the acquisition of would make them happy. They think that if they
had money it would make them happy; if they were married they would be happy;
if they had this position they'd be happy; etc. Their thoughts go like this," If
only.... "; or "I wish....". Some live their lives longing for these things and
never obtaining them while others strive for and obtain them only to find they
are still unfulfilled. Everyone was born needy. When I say needy, I am not
speaking of our physical needs to live, but our spiritual need that brings life.
We've heard people speak of a God shaped vacuum in the soul of every man and
every man created has the need of God's life in Him. I believe Adam and Eve had
a covering of glory prior to their fall. Sin brought shame and nakedness, but
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ brought restoration. Jesus said, "And
the glory You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are
one." The Lord is our covering and our glory. He is the one in whom we find our
joy, peace, and fulfillment. There is only One who can satisfy the longing of
our heart.

Encouragement for Today

I will lift my eyes to the hills----from whence comes my help? My
help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalms121:
1,2

The psalmist is not looking at the hills for help. He
is asking a question," Where is my help coming from?" He then answers his own
question, "My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth." Look to
the one who made the hills. I don't know about you, but too often I find myself
looking to someone or something else before I take my problem to the Lord. Why
is it that we first exhaust all human possibilities before we seek the Lord with
a problem? I really thought I had gotten better about seeking the Lord first
with my problem, but I had another reminder a few days ago.
My son who is working temporarily in Palm Springs, California has his
mail coming to our house. The things that were important I collected and sent to
him. There two large envelopes containing very important information. One
arrived normally, but the other and the most important of the two, he did not
receive. A week later it still hadn't been found and it could have been a very
bad situation and at the least a lot of aggravation. Finally, after rehearsing
possibilities for several days Danna and I seriously committed to pray for it to
be found. It turns out that the very same night my son who was very concerned
committed it to the Lord in prayer. The next day he sent me an e-mail that
simply said, "Hallelujah! the package came." Kind of reminds me of an old song ,
"O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do
not carry everything to God in prayer". Our God is an ever present help in time
of trouble. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Our help comes from the Lord, maker
of heaven and earth.

Encouraging Word for Today

Remember the word to your servant, upon which You have caused me to
hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.
Psalms 119:49,50


A leading psycholgist at a mental facility shared that if they
could somehow infuse the people kept there with hope, they could send them home.
Hope is a powerful thing. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking, but a confident
expectation of a desired end. Our hope is as sure as the object of that hope is
faithful. I sense that there are those this morning that are feeling a sense of
hopelessness. Bodies racked with pain, broken relationships, stacks of bills
piled high with little or no means to pay them, and countless other situations
steal one's hope. This is exacerbated by the enemy of our souls saying to us,
"There is no hope for you in God." The psalmist says to the Lord, "Remember". Do
we have to remind God of His promise because He is absent-minded? Has He
forgotten His promises? No, He hasn't, but in our reminding the Lord we remind
ourselves, we give the promise value, and we set ourselves in agreement with
what He said.
It is easier to endure hardship when we know there is a desired
end. Our hope is sure because our God is faithful.
Hopelessness is the lie of the enemy. Just as lies bring hopelessness, the word
of God gives hope. Hope is the soil in which faith is planted. Has the Lord
given you a word? Hold fast to that word. God is not a man that He should lie.
You can safely trust in Him. His words are spirit and they are life. A word from
the Lord can change your life. As the psalmist said we, too, can say,"Your word
has given me life."

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it
is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12