Prayers Are Not Being Answered

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Me:  Where are you going Prodigal?

 

Prodigal:  I thought I would stop in this prayer garden and pray.

 

Me:  Some people were just asking me about prayer and when it is not answered.

 

Prodigal:  I would like to hear about that!

 

Bill Hybels writes in him book Too Busy Not To Pray

 

If the request is wrong, God says, “No.”  If the timing is wrong, God says, “Slow.”  If you are wrong, God says, “Grow.”  But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, “Go!”

 

I think one of the misconceptions of our day is that if we just ask God for a prayer request He will give it to us because He is a loving God.  So there are people going around asking the same thing over and over again and when it does not happen they think they are a failure.

A perfect example is when two guys may be praying to marry the same girl.  If we follow the example of God will just give it to us because we ask enough times, then that means the guy who prayed more will get the girl to marry him.

We know this does not happen though because there are marriages made that are perfect in God’s eyes but at first there was not a lot of prayer to marry that specific person.  See in the cases of marriages that happen that are really ordained by God, He matches people for some different reasons.  We tend to want to marry the good looking person.  We may want to marry the person who is fun to talk to and be around.  God looks at the couples strengths and weakness.  He looks at how they can help each other out in their strengths and weakness.  He looks at how their personality together will be able to serve others to glorify God’s name.  He also though wants us to be able to enjoy the other person.  We find out that there were hidden things that we really do have in common and God knew all along.  These things make the relationship so much more enjoyable.  It doesn’t mean that person can’t look good in your eyes or that you will not have fun with them.  It just means that there is even a bigger depth in the relationship because it God’s hand is all over that relationship.

If we go back to the first example, in that case God would not have just given the person who prayed the most for the girl because God saw the whole picture and we did not.  God knew what would be the best for each person and also their future together.  So if God is saying no, then it is because the whole picture is not in view right now.  Some of you God is saying yes too and remember there are perfect reasons why you are together!

 

1 John 4:8

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

 

 

What We Think About God

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Me:  Prodigal, are you going to church?

 

Prodigal: Yep, I am going!  I was wondering if it really mattered what I thought of God?

 

Me:  I think it does.  Let me share a list of reasons why I think it does.

 

This list comes from the book Growing Deep In the Christian Life by Charles Swindoll

 

What we think about God.

 

—It shapes our moral and ethical standards.

—It directly affects our response to pain and hardship.

—It motivates our response toward fortune, fame, power, and pleasure.

—It gives us strength when we are tempted.

—It keeps up faithful and courageous when we are out numbered.

—It enhances our worship and prompts our praise.

—It determines our lifestyle and dictates our philosophy.

—It gives meaning and significance to relationships.

—It sensitizes our conscience and creates the desire to be obedient.

—It stimulates hope to go on, regardless.

—It enables me to know, what to reject and what to respect while I’m riveted to planet Earth.

—It is the foundation upon which EVERYTHING rests!

 

We are to be reminded of what it means to believe in God and how it does effect all areas of our life!

 

Isaiah 57:21

There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Casual Attitude

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Me:  Howdy Prodigal!  What are you drinking there?

 

Prodigal:  A refreshing glass of water, I am parched from talking so much.

 

Me:  Well just finish your water and I will share with you some thoughts!

 

Dr. Larry Crabb in his book Men & Women Enjoying The Difference writes these thoughts down.

 

Two elements then contribute to our casual attitude toward sin: 

  1.  An isolating and damaging world that provides us with excuses for self-centeredness
  2. God’s delayed judgment, which I might misinterpret to mean that he isn’t all that bothered by our sin.

 

I have used both elements and I have had a casual attitude toward sin and it left to a dead end road.  Sin always hurts us and others.  If you don’t believe me then ask that person who you gossiped about?  Were they hurt?  Ask that business person that you didn’t pay your bill too?  Does it hurt them and the bills they owe?  Ask that friend that you got angry with?  Were they hurt?  The good news is that we just turn our sins to Jesus and He has paid the cost for them.  We also then repent in our heart and are truly grieved over our sins.

 

John 11:27

She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

 

Jennifer Van Allen

 

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Be Yourself

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Me:  Howdy, Prodigal!

 

Prodigal:  That is in interesting piece of art.  Something different.

 

Me:  I would agree with that.

 

E.E. Cummings  states this

 

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

 

God made us different for a reason and He loves us even if we don’t seem to measure up to someone else.  He also loves us when we seem to be alone in how we act as long as our hearts are full of love.  I am glad that you are different!  It makes life interesting!

 

Jeremiah 32:28

And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

 

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

 

Breakdown

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Me:  What happened to the car Prodigal?

 

Prodigal:  Someone hit while it was in the parking lot.  I am waiting for a tow truck.

 

Me:  Well I will share a story then.

 

This is from Voices of the Faithful by Beth Moore

 

It isn’t unusual for me to travel more than 100 miles across rugged roads in one day.  Sometimes we are in areas where there are no roads, just a walking path.  It’s a miracle that we don’t have more truck problems than we do.  But when a breakdown does happen, it causes quite a stir in our lives.

One day.  I was traveling to some smaller villages when the truck broke down.  I had a truck full of students, and everyone had his or her own idea on what the problem was.   Nothing we “fiddled” with seemed to work.  That’s when I finally decided it was time to pray.  We asked God to help us.

Not more than five minutes later, a man walked out of nowhere.  He stopped along the path to see what our problem was.  We found out that he was a mechanic from the capital city, Lusaka.  I let out a resounding “Praise God!” as he looked at the truck.

As the mechanic worked, I learned more about him and began sharing the gospel.  By the time the truck was repaired, our personal mechanic had accepted Jesus into his life.

We piled back in the truck and went on our way.  The students kept talking about the breakdown and mentioning how sorry they were about the whole thing.  I turned to them and said, “God allowed this to happen so that this mechanic would come to hear about Jesus.”

Situations happen all the time–what do we do with them?

 

Mike, Africa

 

And I want you to know this, dear brothers:  Everything that has happened to me here has been a great boost in getting out the Good News concerning Christ.

Philippians 1:12

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org