Jesus told us that in the world we would experience great strife…that’s much more than a series of “bad-hair” days. It’s more than dealing with grouchy people ordering coffee at Starbucks. It’s a real battle with principalities, power, the rulers of spiritual wickedness in high places…not flesh & blood but cosmic evil. Though the battle is indeed played out in the shoe-on-pavement world and has physical consequences, its arena is nonetheless a spiritual one. It is a battle to harm us, discourage us, to try and get us to “stand-down” and stop reaching out to the world caught in the deadly grip of sin. That is why we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, soaked in God’s almighty power, clothed with Jesus as our armor, filled with Life that will never end to wage a war that our Captain as enlisted us in as His feet and hands on the earth.
PRAYER Jesus Christ NEVER taught on what we call "unanswered prayer." James wrote that a divided loyalty between trusting the Lord God for life and at the same time relying on the world's systems to get what you want will result in you not getting anything from God you may have prayed about. God will never reinforce the unbelief that flows from divided loyalty. THAT is not unanswered prayer. That is God saying, "No." to your request. God saying, "No." to your requests is not unanswered prayer. It is His grace. His "No" is just what I would want if I knew what He knows. The Lord also answers with, "Not now; not yet." because we are not yet prepared to receive what we think we need. God works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. If I am praying for something God wants to do in me and the Holy Spirit is working in me preparing me to receive what God has in store, His "Not yet." is NOT unanswered prayer. As we see...
Comments
Post a Comment