Does God Hear Jesus Pray?

Have you ever prayed something and thought, “That won’t happen…God will never answer that prayer.”  Or maybe you have thought that since something you prayed for didn’t happen God wasn’t listening.  I once heard a story about a young lady that was physically and sexually abused by relatives for five years.  She was undergoing Christian counseling and had a lot of questions for God.  The counselor didn’t know how to answer so they sent her to a pastor.  Once the pastor heard the sad story of this girls life the question came up, “where was God when I was being raped?”  Huge question!  The answer from the pastor was less than helpful, but I understand why he struggled to find an easy answer to that question.  The answer he gave was, “Well, maybe he was on vacation and didn’t see you or hear you during those times…he was busy elsewhere…”  What!?!  God on vacation from being God!  From that time on this girl struggled to know if God would ever return from vacation to be with her…The point of this story is to get you to think, why doesn’t God hear my prayers?  You know, Jesus could ask the same thing…

Look at the following passages and thoughts:

 Luke 22:31-32

³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

¨    Huh, Jesus prays for Peter that his faith will not fail and yet we see Peter deny him three times…to me that looks like a failed faith…

¨    …but Jesus in the next few verses tells Peter he will deny him…so Jesus already knows his prayer will not be answered, or at least answered in the way I would think it should be answered.

¨    Maybe we should be open to the idea that God could answer our prayers in a way that seems like he ignores the request.  But, God knows better than we do so we might ask for something and God changes the request so that we get something better…he knows what our hearts need more than we do.  There is a bigger picture at stake…

John 17:20-23

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

¨    Jesus prays for all of us that believe through the message of the gospel.  He prays that we would be one.  How many denominations are there?  How segregated are we when it comes to age, race, social status?  Are we one?  Are we united?  That is a prayer we are still praying so it hasn’t been answered yet.

¨    Jesus prayed for something and 2,000 years later it has yet to be answered…maybe we should have more patience for God to answer our prayers…

Hello, Is Anyone Listening

          Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you knew they were not listening to a word you were saying? Their eyes were glossed over and they just kept nodding and saying, “uh huh, hmm” but you knew they had no idea what you were talking about.  Sometimes we listen to God like that.  We read the Bible or listen to a sermon or maybe even in our prayers we sense God talking with us and we say, “huh, interesting, hmm…” but then five minutes later we have no idea what we were even listening to.  We are not alone in this difficulty of listening to God.  The Israelites many years ago also struggled with paying attention, even when their very lives depended on it.  Today we are going to look at a short passage from the book of Ezekiel. 

            Ezekiel was a prophet to the people of Israel and they seemed to like him, even though he prophesied destruction and pain…a lot of destruction and pain.  People would listen, but not do anything about it, sounds familiar…Ezekiel has just finished preaching about all the horrible things the people of Israel are doing and how God is going to destroy them in judgment when God give Ezekiel a prediction…here is what God says…

 Ezekiel 33:30-33

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’ ³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. ³² Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

³³ “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Things to think about:

¨    Notice that the people were eager to hear the message.  It wasn’t that they ignored Ezekiel completely or didn’t show up for church…oh, I mean, didn’t show up to the gate to listen.

¨    They even invited their friends to come!  Awesome witness right?  Doesn’t that count for something, having friends here the message of God?

¨    God makes a striking contrast between the words of the people and the desires of their heart.  How is that contrast in your life?  Do your desires match your words?

¨    I love the part about singing with a beautiful voice because I can’t sing at all, but on occasion people have commented that I teach well…is it about how well I or anyone else preaches/teaches or is it about how much you actually DO what God is telling you to DO?

¨    When the end comes – and it surely will – will you know that a message has been in your ears that you should have been listening to and obeying?  It was too late for them, don’t let it be too late for you!

To Follow or Not to Follow, That Is The Question...

As I was preparing for a youth lesson this past week I heard a really interesting quote that got me thinking.  Here is the quote by Francis Chan, a pastor and speaker, "You really can't follow God and fit in."  Hmm...think about that one for a minute.  Do you think that is true?  Do you think it is ALWAYS true?  Why or why not?  If I call myself a follower of Christ does that automatically mean I do not fit in with the world?  Look at the following passage and think about how Jesus would have answered that question.

John 15:18-21
¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

Things to think about:

• Why did the world hate Jesus?  Does the world feel the same way about you?  Why or why not?
• What does it mean that we do not belong to the world?  Where do we belong?  Do you live as if you do not belong here?  How do we do that?
• Verse 21 is a great clarification verse for me...why does the world treat us poorly and persecute us as followers of Christ?  Answer: Jesus' Name!  The world rarely persecutes people for being nice, for being kind to strangers, for helping the homeless, for building shelters, for smiling and looking good.  The world persecutes people that profess the name of Jesus regularly and in all they do.  Test this theory - talk about Jesus in every conversation you have throughout the day and see what happens, you will quickly become an outsider. 
• If you are just trying to live a good life and never mention the name Jesus are you really following Him or are you just using Him as an example of how to be happy and satisfied with life?

Absolute Power, Absolute Grace

I am sure many of you have heard the phrase, "absolute power corrupts absolutely."  I understand why that phrase has become popular; it seems true doesn't it.  The more power a person seems to attain the more corrupt and sinful they seem to become.  They start cheating, stealing, lying, all to maintain or grow that power.  Look at all of the dictators around the world and you can see how this saying is played out in front of our eyes.  But, here is my problem, those dictarors don't have absolute power.  They may have a lot of power, they may have almost all of the power in their country, but not absolute power.  The only person that has absolute power is God, and He is certainly not corrupt!  So really the saying should read, "With much relative power corruption is unnavoidable, but with absolute power comes absolute Grace."  I don't think it will be as catchy, but you get the idea.

Psalm 33 is a great example of God's absolute power and absolute Grace...

¹ Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
² Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
³ Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
⁴ For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
⁵ The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars^[a];
he puts the deep into storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
¹⁰ The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
¹¹ But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

Things to think about:

• What reasons does the Psalmist give for praising the Lord?  Do you find yourself praising God for these same reasons?
• Read vs. 6 again...how was everything made?  Does that blow your mind?  Do you know how big the Universe is?  How much stuff did God make with just his words?  It is as if He didn't even need to try hard...
• If God is for you, what could possibly stand against you?  If God is agains't you, what could possibly stand for you to save you?
• Huge thought for the day, It is the Lord that Judges and Lord that Saves...Fear of the Lord should turn to Grace from the Lord, which turns to Praise for the Lord.
• Pray that God's greatest gift of Grace, his son Jesus Christ, would pay your debt and stand in your place, facing the judgment that was designed for you, so that you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life praising the Lord and free from any danger, any enemy, any disease, any sin, forever, and ever...AMEN!