MY FRIENDS, IS PRAYER AND A JOINT EFFORT THE SOLUTION?

April, 3, 2016

MY FRIENDS, IS PRAYER AND A JOINT EFFORT THE SOLUTION?

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Jer. 29:12-13 (KJV) “After we have offered our petitions, we are to answer them ourselves as far as possible, and not wait for God to do for us what we can do for ourselves.

The help of God is held in reserve for all who demand it. Divine help is to be combined with human effort, aspiration, and energy…..The unlovely traits in our characters are not removed, and replaced by traits that are pure and lovely, without some effort on our part.” (E. G. White, Find God Through Prayer) why is there a joint effort when God tells us to “ask and it will be given?”

My friends, the part of that text we seem to overlook is the last part that states, “seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matt. 7:7-8 (KJV) As God’s children our Father “knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” So now it’s personal and our relationship with God becomes a criteria for “citizenship in God’s Kingdom which will involve great personal sacrifices.”

If it didn’t then the gate to Gods kingdom would be wide, and broad would be the way and everyone would be able to find it instead of the other way around. Matt 7:13-14 (NKJV). So our part of this joint effort after we “ask” but first let’s not forget these things we ask for must be all about God’s needs and how, what we are asking for will benefit Him. So now our part is to seek; “or go in search of” and then to knock; or “give a sounding or forcible blow to.”

Both words requires action on our part. The invalid at the pool of  Bethesda who had waited for thirty eight years before he was healed, never realized until Christ told Him that all He had to do was “take up his bed” in order to walk” just imagine all the work he could have been doing for the Master for thirty eight years? Instead he laid around waiting on a hand out from someone to help him into a pool of water with no real supernatural power.

My friends, all he needed was the faith of a mustard seed, a heartfelt and sincere prayer that begin with “Lord, not my will but thy will be done” and then a joint effort between Him and God “to take up his bed to walk.” I need us to understand today the power of prayer and how important it is in all we seek in God’s Name.

Soon the history books will be closed and God will say to His Son, it’s time to go get our Children. But not before all of prophecy is fulfilled, for there will be “great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again]. And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.” Matt 24:21-22 (AMP) My friends there is no short cuts in a joint effort which requires, prayer, faith and endurance as we give it all to the Master, while staying on that narrow road in preparation to meet Christ at His soon appearing.

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.