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And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
The Bible tells us in many different places that if we come to God with our requests that He will hear us and answer our prayers. Jesus says that ‘if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains.’ We are taught that prayer is the most effective weapon we have in combating the issues of life that surround us.
The reality is that even for those of us that believe in Jesus Christ and strive to follow him throughout our entire lives, sometimes it seems like our prayers go unanswered. We pray for health issues and people die. We pray for safety and injuries happen. We pray for financial success and debt results.
Sometimes God withholds what we think we need because He has something better in store for us. We ask for things, even good things but don’t know the future. Our Heavenly Father loves us dearly and wants only the best for us. But He knows better than any father what is best for us. When we look back on our past we’ll be able to see that His way is truly best.
We may ask for physical things. Good things that will help us be comfortable and healthy; things that will help others or even bring others to Christ. But those things may keep us from relying on God for His provision.
God knows what things will make us stronger and wiser. He knows what lays ahead of us tomorrow. He has promised never ever to leave us. It’s a matter of faith. If God is who we say He is then we need to learn to rely on Him with the same faith and confidence whether the answer is yes or no to our prayers.
We are also promised that we will receive our needs dependent on His strength and His riches. Not on our own ability to provide. It’s easy when we are in distressing situations to think that our deliverance will somehow depend on our own strength or our own worthiness. But God’s word tells us that His promises to meet our needs are based on Jesus, not us.
As we grow closer to Him through reading the Bible and daily prayer He will meet our every need physically, spiritually and emotionally. We serve a God of grace, not one of vengeance and hate.
PRAYER; Father God, I confess to you that I am sometimes filled with doubt when I pray. I pray expecting that the answer will be ‘no’ or that you won’t answer at all. I get discouraged and start to doubt you when things I ask for don’t happen. Please forgive me for my lack of faith. Help me to grow closer to you each day and to believe will all my heart that you will meet my needs, not always my wants, because of who Jesus is. Thank you for your promise to help me through the most difficult times of life. Amen
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3
If you money were no object and you could provide your child with anything physically, spiritually or emotionally what gifts would you give them?
If money were no object and you could provide your child with anything physically, spiritually or emotionally what would you WITHHOLD from them? Would there be anything they needed to live that you would keep from them?
If money were no object and you could provide your child with anything physically, spiritually or emotionally would there be anything that your child could do that would cause you to say, “That’s enough? You are no longer my child. You’ve overstepped the boundaries. You are on your own from now on. I don’t care about you!”
We have been blessed by our Heavenly Father with every spiritual blessing available. Our blessings aren’t based on our ability to deserve them. We are unworthy of even one of those blessings. But because Jesus loves us and because of His death and resurrection we have access to everything we need to travel though life’s journey. We will encounter obstacles and tragedy. We’ll be lied to and lied about. We’ll succumb occasionally to selfishness and anger. But none of those things will keep our Father from wanting to bless us.
Sometimes life gets hard. Sometimes we get distracted. When that happens, take some time to get alone, take a walk or just sit and meditate on the things God has done for you. When we focus on God’s blessings, it’s easier to endure life’s hardships.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I have to confess to you that I really can’t comprehend all you have done for me. There are so many times when I’m down. So many times when I want things my own way and feel abandoned when I don’t get them. So many times when friends and those who say they love me reject me. I ask that today, I would walk through life’s journey constantly reminded that You love me and have given me every blessing through Jesus. When things go wrong remind me of all you have done to help me through in the past. Amen.
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
God is my refuge. A refuge isn’t a zoo where life is sterile and everything I need is handed to me by some ‘celestial zoo keeper’. I don’t exist to be put on show so that people can scrutinize my movements. I’m not here to be free of all enemies and hardship. I’m not in a cage that keeps me from being the real me.
God is my refuge. He didn’t send His son, Jesus, to die for me and then leave me to fend for myself in a world where I need protection from spiritual forces. He’s not a distant, apathetic or angry old man that is wringing His hands wondering what will happen next and how He can endure the struggle of keeping me alive.
He is my refuge. A refuge is a place set up for animals to thrive in their natural environment. Natural hardships still occur but they are there to help me grow stronger. I am free to roam. Free to be myself. Some refuges have no fences. They are simply areas set aside where unnatural enemies (man) can’t enter to kill, harm or maim. The animals inside are free to leave, but most realize that it is to their benefit to stay.
As Christ-follower our enemy is an unnatural one. Satan wants to harm us, to keep us bound, to lead us to a path of destruction. He tempts us by trying to get us to believe that true freedom rests beyond the boundaries of the refuge we have in Jesus. He lures us outside so that he can attack and destroy.
When we stay safe within the bounds of God’s love and learn to walk with Him in obedience we are protected from Satan. That doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t encounter hardship. In fact, we can almost be guaranteed there WILL be hardship. But that hardship is there to make us stronger and so that we can be free to live life the way we were intended to live it.
PRAYER: Holy Father. Thank you that you are my refuge. Thank you for providing a place in life where I can live life to the fullest. I acknowledge that when I am walking with you, you offer protection that I can’t find anywhere else. Help me to learn to live within the safety of your refuge. Thank you for the forgiveness you offer when I stray. Amen
You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:23
I am a child of the Creator God of the Universe. As such I claim all the rights of being a son. I can talk to my Father at any time with any request and know that I am heard.
I was purchased at great cost by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave up His heavenly throne to live among us and show us the way to God. Most importantly, He died as an innocent man for my sins and rose from the grave so that I can be forgiven and live forever.
Because I am God’s child now, I can live in security, knowing that every minute of every day, whether I am awake or asleep, at home or on the road, He watches over me and protects me. There is absolutely nothing seen or unseen that He is not aware of in my life.
Because I am God’s child my past doesn’t matter. The price He paid for me was so large that it wiped out the mistakes of my past. Even though I may still suffer from the consequences of some of those decisions, the guilt, shame and embarrassment is gone. NOW I am His child.
Because I am a child of God I don’t need to listen to you! I don’t need your religious dogmas and your man-made rules in order to gain God’s favor. I have His Word that I can go to in order to learn about Him, about life and about direction.
Because I am God’s child I don’t need your strength and guidance. I may ask your advice but my real information comes from His Holy Spirit who indwells, empowers, guides and directs me along life’s pathway. I may be taking a different road than you do. I may have different talents and abilities. But my master gave me those gifts and abilities and they are just what I need to get me through today and tomorrow and the day after that!
Because I am God’s child I don’t need to listen to your verbal attacks or be affected by your emotional abuse. What you think about me doesn’t really matter. The ruler of the universe, creator and sustainer of all things loves me! He looks upon me with pride and admiration. He is passionate in His desire for me.
Because I am God’s child I do not need to be driven or affected by fear. He knows my yesterdays. He knows my tomorrows. You can try to make my cup look half empty but I know it’s half full on bad days and overflowing on most. So with all due respect, don’t try to instill fear in me. There is nothing you can do that will stand between me and my Jesus.
Because I am God’s child I am free! I am free to follow His direction, to like the music I like, to eat the foods I eat, to enjoy the things He has given me to enjoy. So don’t load me down with rules and regulations. My heart belongs to Jesus and as I grow in relationship with Him I will know the path I am to take.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Creator God, Sustainer of the Universe. There are so many things trying to distract me today from following You. I praise you from the bottom of my heart for the fact that I do not need to listen to the voices that try to instill worry, fear, guilt and despair in my life. You are in control and I ask that today you would take ownership of my thoughts, my actions and my surroundings. Thank you for being my Daddy. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 