2000-07-31 - Prayer
Psalm 4:3 Yahweh hears when I call to Him.
I do have a question: Everyone says our time of death is known before we are even born My question is why should we pray for people to be healed if God already has our death date? I had two events one me and I KNOW God healed me. My sister at the age of 41 loved and prayed as much as I did and she was not healed. I can accept it was her time and God spared her but why pray if we can't change it? I believe in the power of prayer with all my heart but in this area I don't think we need to pray since God's will is already planned before we are even born. I don't want to sound doubtful of God because I am not. If you can help me in any way I would appreciate. Thank you and keep up the great work you are doing."
Part of me leaps out of my seat and screams, AMEN, or There exists someone else who trusts the will of God, who believes in the providence of God, who trusts His mercies and His decisions. Amen to all that! God is the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Establisher, God is the Lord, and His name only we shall exhault. God is, I AM, God is God. To rest in the Lord is so wise, so wonderful, so close to reaching peace and joy this side of eternity. I believe, rest and live (as I am able) all of this, at least in my heart. But in my practice, also, as I can.
And in trusting in these truths, we still pray, why? What is the point? This is a great question. I wanted to write this week on prayer because of circumstances in my life that needed prayer. My dad, who is my best friend, became paralyzed this week. I am a proud man, I hate to admit needs, but I cried for hours. I pleaded with the Lord, "think what this man can do, a servant in your kingdom, spare him for the sake of your gospel." My dad is a pastor. In my mind he is perfect for this church he is recently settled in. But what of the will of the Lord? Should I not trust that? I do, but it hurts to do so. It is hard.
As I write this, the prognosis is good on my Dad. He should recover. However, as I write this he is also getting worse. The real problem with his condition is he is becoming paralyzed, it is a result of a severe case of Lyme disease. And as time goes on it gets worse and worse and the recovery becomes less and less likely. In the next week he may recover fully, or he may die, or he may never recover from where he is now, for the rest of his life. This is the prognosis. What am I to do about it? I am to pray. I trust the Lord. But I beg His favor. I beg Him that He might see how my father is useful in his kingdom. I beg Him that my mom would be hurting without him. I beg the Lord that to keep my dad paralyzed for life you limit his usefulness for the Kingdom of God. But, one thing I do, I beg. Because I know from the Bible, The Lord hears when I call to Him. I beg the Lord how much I would hurt if he died.
Yes, God has our death date. But even in Scripture we see where the death date of one, proclaimed so by God, is changed by prayer. (2 Kings 20:1-11) Prayer moves the hand of God. The Bible tells us so. I trust in this, and more so than ever. We are mere people, our time will expire. But we have a God of love who has been gracious to us. How wonderful is this? Who can fathom the depths of Gods love? OH, my friends, how I wish I always had a prayer life like I have had the last few days. I pleaded, I cried, I begged the Lord, and I felt communion with Him in a great way. Prayer, my friends, reaches the deepest parts of your soul. It is conversation with God, and when it is desperate conversation, it seems, God hears all the more. So to answer your question, yes, we should pray, because God hears, and we have in Scripture an example of how God added years to a life because of prayer. You are right that we all have our time, save this fact, it is Gods time not ours.
Soli Deo Gloria,
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