Believe!

I know I speak of believing a lot on Sundays. Believing in God; believing in Christ; believing in the Holy Spirit and; my favorite, believing in the power of prayer. I really don’t want to seem like I’m beating a dead horse but, in my humble opinion, believing is the most important part of prayer and our faith.

We all show up each week, why? Isn’t it because we believe in God, believe in Christ, our Savior, and in the Holy Spirit? Maybe not. Perhaps you all come because you want something in which you can believe. After all, life isn’t easy whatsoever and how nice it would be to find something, or someone, we can truly believe in, put our trust in and bring us peace of mind and a calm heart. For this reason, God offers us His word.

When Your Heart is Troubled

We live in tough times but, I can assure you, not as tough as in the time of the Disciples. They faced trials and tribulations every day which far exceeded those we face today. Their hearts were constantly troubled as, think about it, they had given up all their worldly possessions and were following a man they never knew but felt comfort in his words and peace in his lessons.

John 14:1-2 – “’Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?’”

When your hearts begin to feel troubled, remember this message from Christ to his disciples and feel comfort in your beliefs, and your faith, understanding what God has in store for you.

Who Do I Pray To?

That is a good question and I hear it quite often.

Wikipedia: The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is three consubstantial (of the same substance) persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit—as “one God in three Divine Persons”. The three people are distinct, yet are one “substance, essence or nature”. In this context, a “nature” is what one is, whereas a “person” is who one is.

We also need to remember, Jesus told us in…

John 14:11 – “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

Obviously, as we can see here, we can pray to whomever we choose as ALL WILL HEAR YOU: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit for they are as one. But, to make things really simple for you, let your praying be to the Father, through the Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.

Believing and Your Faith

This, as I said earlier, is the most important part of our faith. WE MUST HAVE FAITH AND BELIEVE! We pray, we wait, and we expect answers immediately but rarely do we see them. This is not a reason to get discouraged. We need to remember…

1 John 5:14 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

…and, going further

1 John 5:15 – “And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Just recently, a friend of mine’s son tested positive for a disabling disease. He was only 22 and had his whole life in front of him.

When I found her crying in the back of our office, I asked her what was wrong.  She went on to tell me about this disease with tears in her eyes and suddenly, grabbed me, and said, very sternly, “Woody, of all people, you should know. Why does God let this happen?!” Understanding her pain, I grabbed her hands and said, “God doesn’t make these things happen but, if you pray, and believe, He will help you.”

She then asked for my prayers which I, of course, agreed to and asked of her, “I need you to pray as well and, more importantly, I need you to believe He hears you!”

A week or two passed and he had gone through several further tests… all showing negative. He had one more to go and my friend said to me, “Woody, one more! Please continue to pray!” I, once again said, “…and you, to believe!”

She came to me this past Thursday morning, jumping like a rabbit through the hallways of our office. “Woody… it’s all negative… all negative! He’s going to be okay!”

So, I ask you, who healed her son? It surely wasn’t me as I have no such power. I need you all to understand. It was the power of her faith, and believing that God would help, that removed the affliction from her son’s body.

How important our faith is to us, and, how little it takes to have our prayers fulfilled. I recall the story, in Matthew 17, where Jesus had just rebuked a demon from a young boy’s body. The disciples had tried to do so but failed. Puzzled at this, they approached our Lord…

Matthew 17:19-20 – “Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’”

“The size of a mustard seed.” That isn’t much as a mustard seed is one of the smallest we have, and yet, grows great as Christ told us in…

Mark 4:30-32 – “Again he said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.’”

Listen and Await His Answer

We, as human beings, expect to see and hear all the answers right in front of our face. “Seeing is believing,” right? We’re not accustomed to listening with our hearts, seeing with our eyes closed and often ignore those little “voices in our heads.” I tell you, it is those things we should listen to. Pay attention because as He tells us…

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

“Things we do not know!” We need to pay attention! There are SO many lessons we can hear if we learn to open our hearts and, again, remember… He gives us what we NEED…

2 Thessalonians 1:2-3 – “Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you’re to be. You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it’s only right that we give thanks.”

Have Patience

Patience is an absolute must with our God. I can tell you, first hand, all too often I have been impatient and thought He had abandoned me. But, as I mentioned, I learned to open my heart and finally, I felt his presence and recognized the signs.

Here are a few verses to help you understand what the Bible says on patience and being patient. I hope you find them as helpful in your prayers as I have.

Ephesians 4:2 – “Be always humble, gentle and patient. Show your Love by being tolerant with one another.”

Romans 12:12 – “Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.”

Psalm 40:1 – “I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.”

Lamentations 3:25-27 – “The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in Him. So it is best for us to wait in patience-to wait for him to save us-and it is best to learn his patience in our youth.”

Have patience with our God; believe in Him always and trust He will deliver you what you need. Pray, every day, even if you repeat yourself consistently just knowing, He hears your prayers and will do what is right for you.

Listen with your heart; close your eyes and see; be patient with our God and trust in Him always and “just know” He will answer you.

Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always be kind… God Bless!