As ladies have learned to know me a little, particularly now that I am the wife of a Preacher, I hear many requests for prayer. They call me on the phone; meet me at a church, or as last week, in a restaurant! I even had a sweet lady I met here in West Virginia tell me she “knew I could reach God” if I would just pray for a friend of hers. I beleive he does here my prayers but your prayers are just as precious to God as mine. Don’t leave Him out of the request to have someone else pray. Please, let me know how I can pray for you and with you. I promise you I will pray. But make sure you haven’t excluded God from being the first to go to.
Pray first then ask others to pray with you if you think it necessary. I am no different from you. I struggle with many things in my life. It doesn’t have to be something anyone even knows about, and there are some things no one knows anything about except my dear husband. Stuff is Tuff! What are we doing to help ourselves and others around us? If the first thing we do is to run to another person we know, share our hearts, and ask them to pray – I believe we started out wrong. Have you ever been guilty of sharing and not even asking someone else to pray, you just wanted to “talk”? The very first thing we should do is take it to God. Then ask Him to direct us to the one that will pray with us and for us! Believe it or not, when I am done praying like that, I find that I usually don’t need to “share” with anyone else. I have already shared it with my dearest friend and Saviour.
“. . . Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . . ” 2 Cor. 12:9 God already knows about the “stuff” that makes your life tuff! Believe me. Take this verse to heart – glory in your infirmities no matter what they are and count it all pleasure to suffer for Him. Tuff words – but so true if we could only grab that great piece of wisdom.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. All things. You don’t mean the “Tuff Stuff” do you! I most certainly do probably more than anything. Most people look at this verse the same way – but what does it really mean. I have heard it quoted thousands of times I know, “. . . all things work together for good . . .” and that is where they stop! What was God in his great wisdom, trying to teach us? It will do our souls good to search this truth out. Every providence from God, leans toward the spiritual good of those that love God; it will break them off from sin, bring them nearer to God, wean them from the world, and fit them for heaven. This could be the “stuff” in your life. God has a way of taking “stuff” from us to draw us closer to Him. It could be a husband or wife you are complaining about; a child, a parent, a job, pastor or church, any number of things. Be grateful you have them. One day they may be gone!
What is keeping you from serving God as you know how? When the saved act out of character, corrections may be taken to bring them back to the Lord again. I pray that God does that to me every day. No one likes to be chastised or disciplined. But, we should want to have our minds and hearts to be His; renewed when we wake every morning. I do pray for that! Do you know that worldly cliché that is quoted all around the globe, “What Would Jesus Do?” – I have adopted and adapted it a little. Not only what would He do, but what would He think of what I am doing right now. Is it Christ honoring, uplifting, loving, caring or all the negatives to that. God help me to always be aware and to try to be a help and blessing to all those around me.
As my husband preached God’s Word this week at a revival in Bomont, WV, I realized how blessed I am to be married to a called man of God. He has surrendered his whole life to God, trusting Him who saved us to direct and guide his every footstep. He loves me and wants to see me grow in the Lord. His messages on grace this week were certainly sent from Heaven. How they blessed my heart and revived my desire to a higher level of service to God. Renewing a deep desire to live for Him using His free gift of mercy and grace to help me in my daily walk! Through the Word, I was given a renewed fervor to pray as never before re-dedicating my life and heart to be totally surrendered in every area. Prayer, study of God’s Word, in the grace of salvation, singing, service, standing, and through it all he provides His sufficient grace. “. . . My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor. 12:9 I will trust the Lord to provide that grace I need in my every day walk for Him.
Everyone of us know people who live daily with hurts. Listen, I am one of them. In our daily lives we face the issues of life in general, from marriages, friendships, children, lost loved ones and the list goes on. My heart aches for folks just like this, but I'm coming to realize that we can be each other's greatest enemy as we tend to share with each other and sympathize with each other. Are we really helping each other, or are we fueling the fire of discontent? Have you listened to someone share a heartache and then couldn’t wait to put your “two cents worth of wise knowledge in before they have barely drawn breath” all because you want to help them and all said and done before you even prayed? Listening is a wonderful gift or it could be your greatest curse. I know what it is to spend hours in tears; wanting to run away, and on a very rare occasion thought it would be better if I just died, then I could be out of my misery and stop causing others misery. Yes, folks, I have been there. I needed a friend to talk with and all the time, He was waiting. Lean on Him and His understanding. What is God’s will for our lives? Trust in a Holy God to direct. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17.
God has given us His Word which is full of promises He has made to us. Get in there and find your promise. It will help. The following thoughts and those written above, were brought to my mind while studying today. Let them be a blessing to you as I have.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. All things. Ah! But you don’t know about my problems, you say. They are greater than any others. My marriage, my finances, my children, my job, my life in general is a mess. God surely can’t fix this! Do you claim the blood of Christ for your salvation? Have you trusted him to save you? Are you saying that God cannot save? If you have a faith and believe in your salvation - believe He can clean up your "mess". He said all things in Philippians 4:13 – Then I say I believe that – but do I?
Honestly, I unfortunately don’t claim that verse all the time. I want to, but I confess I am guilty! I am just like anyone else. I do let myself wonder and fret a little too much (okay my husband says a lot) over things I personally cannot control. Maybe it is a heartache that only God can heal. I will be guilty of trying to understand, wallow it around in my own mind and weep as I never have before each time I bow my head to pray, begging God to “fix it”, all the while, wondering what I have to do to fix it. Oh! Yes! I do that. Have you been there? Oh! If we could only trust in the all things portion of this verse and allow GOD to take control. Through his mercy and grace God can help us with the all things in our lives.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. What are your needs: emotional, physical, material, financial? Again, I take us back to our salvation. If you believe you were saved by the precious blood of our savior, why can’t you believe that He will supply? The experiences of need I could put down on paper are so many I would never get done writing. And I know there are needs in your lives; needs that may be desperate needs, ones that need to be met every day. What is your need? Are you physically ill? Do you have a disease that only God can heal? He is the great physician and beyond our physical needs, He wants to heal your heart and soul. Is your heart broken over some circumstance or situation in your life? He can heal that as well. Do you know Him as your personal Saviour? If you do not, then much I say here may not be of help. However, lost sinner, I do pray it will encourage you to make your decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, surrender your sin ridden life to Him and be saved. And Christian I pray you are encouraged and changed.
It doesn’t matter who you are; a teenager, woman, man, we all need to look at whatever situation we find ourselves in right now (good or bad) and pray as our Lord prayed, He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Matthew 26:42. As we choose to see that God is with us and wants to bless us even in the worst situations, we can find the peace “. . . which passeth all understanding, Philippians 4:7. Get into God's Word and claim His promises -- they are God's personal gift to you, believe he loves you so much that he would give us these promises to stand on. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4.
We fight battles in our lives every day. If we could grasp the fact that the battle is not ours, but God’s! 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's...Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
And when the battle is over, Joy comes! Psalms 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Are you looking for the joy of the Lord. It is ours to claim.
We are not walking alone. Many preachers say (as mine did last night) Christians are either coming into a storm, coming out of a storm, or are in a storm. But we are going to come out of the storm, it is a promise, and more than that, during that storm He is with us. Jesus said it best! “. . . I will be with thee;. . .” in Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Another great promise, God’s grace is sufficient, whether we think so or not! A promise many of us forget or may never have known. This is a promise I need daily. God wants to meet your every need as he tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
“. . . all things are possible”, why is it so hard for us to claim this verse. But it is a promise! Why do we count our iniquities greater than God? I have that tendency – to make my “tuff stuff” bigger than God. That is ridiculous. The reason we don’t claim this verse is quoted in the verse. “. . . If thous canst believe, . . .” Our faith in God is not what it should be. Let’s just be honest about that. We should always check up on our faith to make sure we are where we are supposed to be scripturally. “. . . If thou canst believe. . .” words Jesus himself said in Mark 9:23 “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Wow – all we have to do is not get weary and we shall reap! I don’t know about you, but I do get weary of “well doing” and honestly sometimes I faint or fail. It seems as there are so many around us who have needs that are made known in so many ways. Sometimes I “see” the need, someone tells me about someone’s need, and then I believe God has a way of putting someone on my heart that might have a need. I just want to be “in place” as my husband says, to help in time of need. But there is a reverse to that. I have needs. Just keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to those around you, and don’t grow weary, “. . . for in due season we shall reap. . .”
I am almost finished here, but have by no means listed all of God’s promises. I have enjoyed this study however, and trust you will use it to help you. And comment back – give me your precious promise and thoughts so that I might be blessed. I would love to hear from you. God loves you and I appreciate you all for your prayers and support in our ministries.
How about this promise? Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. God delivers us from our afflictions. Did you say that right, you ask? Yes, according to this verse God will deliver us from our afflictions. That is a positive for sure promise. Your affliction or mine is never to great for Him. Claim this verse now, and trust God to deliver you no matter the circumstance. He Will!
2 Corinthians 4:17 God works for us! He is working for us as it says in 2 Cor. 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” I am so thankful that our afflictions are “. . . but for a moment. . .” God surely wants to meet your needs. Our afflictions are but for a moment if we call upon Him today. Put your faith and trust in Him.
I trust these thoughts will be a help and blessing.
Linda K. Milam, Missionary to America
Ps. 48:14
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