by His design

Answered Prayer

“I will bow down…and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word according to Your name. On the day I called, You did answer me; You made me bold with strength in my soul” (Psalm 138:2-3).

Don’t we all love it when we get answers to our prayers? Sometimes we pray for weeks, months, even years before we see what looks like answers. Other times we get answers, but they aren’t what we want, so we figure we haven’t received one. Yet, God answers prayer.

I recently finished leading a group of women through The Language of Hope, Finding the Way Through as a weekly Bible study. When I was asked to do this study months ago, I started praying: for the women God wanted to join me, for their open hearts to receive what God would teach us, for a good experience together, and for the strength, patience, wisdom, and love to handle this commitment.

And God supplied. I saw Him work His wonders by bonding us, challenging us, molding us, revealing His truth, and bringing us back week after week to look into what it means to walk into hope, no matter what our current circumstances are.

We learned that worship is more than singing praise songs on a Sunday. It’s living out truth in difficult places. It’s telling God our secrets and trusting He’ll accept us. It’s sharing answers to our prayers with sisters who need encouragement for their desires. The Psalmist reinforces this idea when he says, “And they will sing of the ways of the Lord; for great is the glory of the Lord. For though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly; but the haughty He knows from afar” (v. 5-6).

Our calling, which is uniquely ours, would be troublesome, frustrating, and easy to abandon if not for God’s character and His supply. Each day, as this calling unfolds, His presence goes with us. His Spirit points the way and, oftentimes, shows us the significance of what we’re engaged in. For this assignment with the women God brought, I knew haughtiness wouldn’t get suffice. Humility and dependence would serve me, as I prayed for each of them and their specific needs, whether expressed or merely implied. His Spirit told me how and made me care.

The Psalmist, in this case David, counted on prayer. His words reflect an assurance before His Lord that God cares when his life’s calling made him vulnerable. Listen to what he says: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me. Thou wilt stretch out Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies. And Thy right hand will save me” (v. 7). Much of his life he knew what it was to have enemies. But he also knew God could take care of him when surrounded.

My group of women faced enemies also: doubts, despair, demands, bitterness, faithlessness, and a host of others. Our common enemy dogged our steps as we strove to reach new levels of belief. And I got a front row seat to see the enemy of our souls defeated week after week. Hope was real. We would find our way because God knew our names and had a plan. We see it when relationships are strengthened, rebellious children humbled, job opportunities come our way, health is restored, hard hearts and mental mindsets become pliable, co-workers cease from tormenting, and especially, when we can wait in peace before these evidences present themselves, trusting in our Lord’s mercy and love toward us.   

David’s continued belief is reassuring, because he lived with what we experience: fear, betrayal, defeat, personal failure, disillusionment. The Scriptures make his struggles transparent to us. He knows God answers prayer. “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me. Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting. Do not forsake the works of Thy hands” (v. 8).

My time with this women’s group is at an end, for now, but the impact we’ve made on one another is lasting. I will continue to think of them and pray for each one, as God fulfills His calling in them. None of us is the same since we’ve seen the work of His hand among us. Glory to His name.

Strengthen Our Souls

Lord of the humble, the trusting ones who lift their hearts to You, hear our prayers. And when answers come, let us give thanks to Your name, because we count on the works of Your hands. Lead us in Your truth, especially when the enemy is in our midst. Strengthen and support our desires to keep believing. And let us sing of Your ways to one another, as You revive our hearts and send encouragement our way. King David said, “All the kings of the earth will give thanks to Thee…” one day. Let us live out our calling so that those we meet will give thanks to You. Show us (all) the way, everlasting. Amen.

Say the Name

Say the name of Jesus,

Say the name of Jesus,

Say the name so precious,

No other name I know—

That calms our fears and dries our tears,

And wipes away our pain.

When you don’t know what else to pray,

When you can’t find the words to say,

Say the name.

Read the Signs

“Thus says the Lord, ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted…because they are no more’” (Jeremiah 31:20).

It’s happened again in our land:  tragedy and terror on a widespread scale. Lives lost or derailed, many innocent, but not all. Others begin the journey into pain and longing as loved ones are maimed, or worse. We are becoming accustomed to this scene.

While national debates about gun laws continue, a cry is rising among us. It’s the sound of bitter weeping and lamentation. It’s the justified expression of a people refusing to be comforted. World events are being played out on the screens of our minds and in our media. There is no escaping their impact.

We all seem to know someone connected to these cataclysmic events of recent times: explosions in West, Texas, tornadoes in Mississippi (again), widespread wildfires in the western states (2012), Aurora Theater and school shootings, Boston Marathon bombings. And that’s just in this country. Ask friends or family and they may admit, “The circle is tightening at an accelerating rate.”

The prophet Jeremiah warned of coming heartbreak for his people. He told of judgment, “a sweeping tempest,” in response to wickedness. Israel, before the Babylonian captivity, got a taste of it. But the Bible talks of a future time, the culmination of life on earth, when the forces of good and evil will do battle one final time.

But what about now? What are we to do in the face of this new climate of unease and disequilibrium? How do we and our children survive what seem like random acts that bring destruction to all corners?

The Bible tells of a people who, though chastened by their adversaries, “found grace in the wilderness” and “survived the sword…to have their fortunes restored and their mourning turned to joy” (Jeremiah 31). But this happens only in taking the long view.

For this time, however, we will see more evidence of evil among us. Man and nature will continue to be at odds. Yet, we live as though this isn’t true for us. The prophet Daniel also spoke of perilous times. He called it “the abomination of desolation,” which Jesus, Himself, referred to when He told of His second coming at “the end of the age” (Matthew 24:15, 3).

Jesus said, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs…and because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold…for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall…Behold, I have told you in advance” (v. 8, 12, 21, 25).

The thing to do, it seems to me, is know what Scripture teaches about the world we are living in and what the future holds. The prophets and apostles have written of such things to be understood and acknowledged. Everything else is short-sighted and misguided.

God has shown us His love in His Son. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come” (v. 14). In the midst of evil and catastrophe God is redeeming a people unto Himself. We can hear their stories, but not usually in the media.

On other continents in distant lands, not just our own, God is ushering in His kingdom into hearts formerly darkened by self and sin. In places of natural disasters, workers have come to rebuild properties as well as lives. This is the work of the gospel in our times.

And one day, perhaps sooner than we can imagine, the climax will come and the weeping will cease for those who wait: “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet…and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds…with power and great glory” (v. 31, 30).

Jesus further instructs, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree:  when its branch has already become tender and and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door” (v.32-33). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away” (v.35).

Come, Lord Jesus

When we’re frightened and downcast because our hearts and minds are gripped by images and a barrage of newscasts retelling horrors, tell us Your words again, Lord. Tell us what these things mean and how we can move through our times.

Remind us of those around us who are not bent on evil. Show us the face of kindness and decency in our neighbors. Hold us close when our world is rocked by loss and suffering.  When the wild winds of change turn in our direction, sweep us up into Your arms and don’t let go.

Let us bury our tear-streaked faces in Your embrace. Or let us cry with those we love whose own circumstances have been altered in an instant. Catch our tears and feel our sorrow, but also lift us up again by Your power and grace. Comfort, care, and create new life according to Your promises which cannot fail. Lord, our only Rock and Refuge, Amen.

A Redeemer

There is a Redeemer,
Jesus, God's own Son,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Holy One.

Thank You, oh my Father,
For giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit,
'til the work on earth is done.

 -Keith Green