Greetings those with a prayer on your lips...
"To You will I cry, O Lord my Rock: Do not be SILENT to me...lest, if You are SILENT to me...I become like those who go down to the pit. HEAR the voice of my supplications when I CRY to You When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary." (Psalm 28:1-2)
The Psalmist is requesting an answer from the Lord...not stone, cold, silence. Sometimes it does feel that way when I pray. It is like you are firing off prayers and they appear to be deflected back at ceiling level.
When we pray...why would we pray...if we thought (1) There is no God (2) There is a God but He can't hear us (3) There is a God but He is like a Greek/Roman god who is fickle (4) There is a God but He hates us (5) There is a God but He is weak and cannot answer our prayers
(6) There is a God...but...(fill in the blank).
No...we approach God with an expectancy of Him hearing...and Him answering back. As of this writing...I am about to teach a class at my church called CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD (Communicating With The Creator). In it we see that prayer is not a monologue where we just talk and talk and talk to God only. He SPEAKS back to us. I like Francis Shaffer's book entitled...GOD IS NOT SILENT...WE ARE NOT LISTENING.
"Blessed be the Lord...because He HAS HEARD the voice of my supplication." (Psalm 28:6)
When we PRAY...we must pray in FAITH.
Many times between:
THE POINT OF PRAYER<............>THE POINT OF PROVISION there is this little thing called....SILENCE.
This is the time time where we WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT. (II Corinthians 5:7)
When Jesus was giving the boys (disciples) a lesson in prayer when they saw fig tree that He had spoken to ...had died...He told them...HAVE FAITH IN GOD...CONSTANTLY.
(Mark 11:22)
He then laid out...how that should be manifested in prayer.
"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain BE REMOVED and BE CAST INTO THE SEA (the prayer)...and (1) does not doubt in his heart BUT (2) believes that those things which he says (prays)...WILL BE (future event) DONE...he will HAVE (answered prayer)...WHATEVER HE SAYS (prays)." (Mark 11:23)
Jesus then says THEREFORE. Remember...that the word THEREFORE is for you to see WHAT IT IS THERE FOR...and refers back to what was just spoken.
"Therefore...I say to you...WHATEVER things you ASK when you PRAY...BELIEVE that you RECEIVE them...and you will HAVE THEM." (Mark 11:24)
Jesus then caps this teaching on prayer off with the need for us to FORGIVE.
"And WHENEVER you stand PRAYING...if you have ANYTHING...against ANYONE...FORGIVE him...that your Father in heaven may also FORGIVE YOU your trespasses. But if you do NOT FORGIVE...neither will your Father in heaven FORGIVE you your trespasses." (Mark 11:25-26)
Well...that just scratches the surface of prayer...but...when you pray...pray in faith...and get ready to hear God speak OUT OF THE SILENCE.
Love and Prayerful Kisses
Rodney "Silently Anticipating" Boyd
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