Monday, January 16, 2006

 

Dear Family,

 

During the past week several scriptures have come to my attention. While on the surface they do not seem to be on the same subject they indeed are.

I Sam 7:25 "Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. (NKJ)

So many times we go to the Lord in prayer desiring that He will give us the desire of our heart but then we tend to add, “if it be your will”. We put that little phrase in there as assurance against the possibility that He doesn’t give us the answer we seek. We are told that if we fulfill the conditions that God will give us the desire of our hearts. So why not go to God and demand that He do what He has promised to do and know that He has.

We tend to see Him in the way we see ourselves and /or our resources. We fail to realize that He is the creator and controller of all things. Just this week a new gold mine was opened in Colorado, and the deepest oil well ever drilled is underway in the Atlantic. There is no oil shortage we just haven’t tapped the resources that are there. There is no shortage of God’s resources we just do not tap into them.

Does God run out of birds, fish, trees, grass or grains of sand? No! A thousand times No! If we do not believe it, does it change the truth of it? No! It is still true. The Psalmist says “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” All the resources of the earth are His. All the resources of the earth are created by Him and for His benefit and glory. Therefore, is it not logical to assume that if we want the desire of our hearts we should go to Him and say, "Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said.”

Elisha had a group of students as His understudies. One day the students came to Elisha saying the place is too small to house us all. So they determined to build a number of small huts or lean-tos at the edge of the river where they might have ample room. But low and behold one who had borrowed an ax dropped the head of the ax in the water. So the young man, in panic, went to Elisha for help.

II Ki 6:6 So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. (NKJ)

The young man was concerned over the loss of the ax but notice that Elisha was not the least concerned and simply instructed the young man as to what action to take “and he made the iron float.”

What do you suppose the young man expected Elisha would do? Do you honestly think he expected the iron to float? And what was required of the young man for it to happen? Simply put the stick in the water and reach for the ax! What a tremendous lesson in prayer.

1.) The young man approached Elisha and told him what had happened.
2.) The young man asked for Elisha to help him.
3.) The young man followed Elisha’s instructions and put the stick in the water.
4.) He had faith that he would get the ax out of the river.
5.) He knew Elisha would give him the solution to his problem.

No less is expected when those around the Christian come to ask for help or for the solution to a problem. Christians and non Christians alike come to the true dedicated Christian and ask them to pray to the one and only true God of the universe for solutions. It matters not what the problem might be, somewhere deep inside their mind they believe that the God of the Christian and Jew’s can in fact solve the problem. They do not put as much confidence in any other when faced with the impossible. Sometimes they are sincerely saying, make the iron float, heal the sick, move the mountain and raise the dead.

I Sam 9:6 And he said to him, "Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go." (NKJ)

The Christian has the son of the God as their resources to go to for answers to problems and cares and He promises to hear and respond. While the world is falling apart around us, God says ask and you shall receive! Put the stick in the water and see the iron float.

Love ya,


Dad