Monday, April 14, 2014

6Apr2014 - Effective Prayer

How you doin?  Stacey took Paulie back to the ER this morning at 3:50am.  What a sick (not better then great) feeling.  Watching Stacey walking out the door crying with very sick Paulie in her arms is no fun.  This situation forces us to ask why our prayers aren't healing him.  We may never understand why.  Two things came to my mind after they left.  1) What's going on in the spiritual realm to be causing this in the natural?  2) If we lost Paulie, could I life with that?  That may sound drastic, but death is a reality.  Either way, I started praying differently then I have been over the past few days.  I'm praying for the manifest love of Jesus.  I'm praying for awareness of the spiritual realm.  While pondering the two things that came to mind this morning, I thought of one of my favorite quotes from Bill Johnson, "I will not sacrifice the glory of God on the alter of human understanding".  SO GOOD!!!!!!!  God is good.  I'm sitting here writing this email wondering why I have such a hard time praying in faith, belief, and sold out dependency on the Holy Ghost.  Lord God, please teach me how to pray.  Amen.  Unanswered prayers aren't from a result of God not holding up His end of the deal.  When it comes to either God or me lacking faith, belief, identity, authority, and power, who do you think it is?  In the kids show "Super Why" they say "when we have a problem, we look... in a book".  So I'll give that a try today.  I have a problem, so I'll look in THE book.  James 5 today.
Verse 11, "We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the [h]endurance of Job and have seen the [i]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."  This is a promise of God's character and nature that I need to hear in times of lack of understanding like now.
Verse 13-16, "Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [k]anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer [l]offered in faith will [m]restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [n]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective [o]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."  Verse 14 has no affect on me.  I wish I had more trust and value for the elder's of my church.  I find myself calling on folks that don't even attend my church.  I guess I'm jaded by their unbelief.  Verse 15 is where the rubber meets the road.  I believe this promise.  Lord grant me the gift of faith for Paulie's sake.
John 14 continues to come to mind as well this morning.  Verses 12-14, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."  I recently heard it said that "My name" means in His will.  I know it's God's will for all to be healed, for all to be SOZO. 
Verses 16-17, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [b]Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."

Verse 23, "Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."
Of course John 14 is loaded with gems.  These promises are very important to me now more then ever.  Paulie is in a great deal of pain and we need the Holy Ghost.  Help us Lord.  I love the "We" and "Our" in verse 23.  Lord make your abode in us.
PS   They believe that Paulie has Pseudo-tumor Cerebra.  Don't ask me what that is.  In Jesus' name pseudo-tumor cerebra, get out.  Praise you Jesus.  If you want to know more about what's going on please call me.

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