And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:1-8 (ESV)
When God wants to teach us something, he will provide many occasions for us to take what he is teaching us and put it into practice. You can’t miss the subject. It will be in sermons you hear, the devotionals you read, and the verses you are studying in the bible. My lesson for this season is prayer and talking to God about all my concerns. I realized this recently when I had an issue with a neighbor. There was an infringement on the property of this neighbor that was causing me great concern. I fretted, got angry, mumbled to myself, and worried. Week after week the neighbor was not doing anything to correct this issue so I finally wrote to the HOA about it. As soon as I mailed the letter, I felt great conviction but I wasn’t sure why. I spoke with a trusted friend and she said, “I don’t know what else you could have done. I’m sure you prayed about it!” ZING! Therein was the answer. I hadn’t prayed about it! I was trying to fight this battle on my own. The conviction was the Holy Spirit reminding me, once again, that I need to take everything to God.
I thought about how often I take it upon myself to act without consulting God (shared in a previous posting)! I need to be like the widow and constantly take my requests to him. God is going to judge fairly in every situation. I can trust him to either solve my problem or direct me as to how I should take care of it. Perhaps writing a letter to the HOA was not the best solution. Maybe something is going on with the neighbor I know nothing about—but God does! I read through this parable and asked myself, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” about myself. Oh, I have faith for the big things, but the little day-to-day mundane things I don’t think to share with him. I want to have unshakeable faith and that has to include believing he cares about everything.
Two years ago I lost my best friend. We had been through so much together. She was my “go to” person to share my joys and dump my frustrations on. I had one of those days recently when I missed having a “best friend” and cried out to God in prayer. I sensed my answer to be “you need to make Jesus your best friend.” One of my other friends would call that a V-8 bop to the head! I still had a best friend, someone who knows me and loves me, and cares about what kind of day I had. I just didn’t have enough faith to include him. I couldn’t help but remember some words to the old hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Joseph M. Scriven, 1855). “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer!”
Heavenly Father, thank you for never giving up on me. You continue to teach me even when I don’t get it right. I can see how all you want is to have a relationship with me. Jesus, you want to be my best friend. No one knows me better than you, no one else loves me unconditionally. You are sovereign yet accessible. Oh Lord Jesus, when you come, I want you to find many filled with faith! I want others to know you and your goodness. Give me opportunities to share! In your name I pray, Amen
Cindy (gardnlady)
Sixty-six books in a year 