I Prayed-He Heard

I Prayed, and He Heard

Together, we are experiencing a change in the atmosphere. I really love this stuff. “Something going on!!!”

Not long ago I shared a quote on twitter by Frank Bartelman.

The depth of your repentance will determine the height of your revival.

We live in a world where people want something for nothing. The church world is no different. I say this broadly.

Nothing real, nothing lasting, ever comes without repentance and prayer. “Lots of it”

I want to share some thoughts titled, “I Prayed, and He Heard”

When I began to think of Sunday’s message I had nothing. I looked at notes, scriptures, thoughts that I had jotted down. Nothing seemed right. So I prayed.

Usually in these situations I simply ask for a word. A place to start. The word came very quickly and it branched out with two more words that I will get to today.

In prayer, I heard the word, overwhelmed. It led to the word encompassed, and the word mourning. We will get to them all.

David wrote a Psalm after he had been delivered from all his enemies, including Saul.

Psalms 18:1-6

1 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

David had been overwhelmed, encompassed. He prayed and God heard.

He wrote again about confidence in God’s protection.

Psalms 61:1-4

1 Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.
4 Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

Another Psalm David wrote when he was hiding in a cave.

Psalms 142:2-4

2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. In the way where I walk They have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me; There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul.

“overwhelmed, encompassed, in mourning”

Emotions all over the place. Defeat, fear, doubt, sorrow, enemies abound.

David went on.

Psalms 142:5-7

5 I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.
6 “Give heed to my cry, For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong for me.

7 “Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me.”

Much of David’s life sounds like some of our days, and weeks, and years.

Overwhelmed, with life events, family and relationship problems. Financial situations, and on and on.

Encompassed, surrounded by negative influence. Situations that look hopeless, no way out.

Mourning, with a broken heart for family, friends, failures.

“Still have to face the issues”

What did David do? He prayed, and God heard.

James approached these issues with something of a different take. Now for those of us who have lived a while we understand that life events just happen. Without reason, without sin, or without failure. They just happen.

“It still feels the same.”

Still James wrote that we must look at ourselves. Probably because mankind has never changed. We still continue to make mistakes, bad decisions, and chase our fleshly desires.

James 4:8-10

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

If I could give a short commentary for these 3 verses it would be this.

“There are times, when we ain’t all that.”

Yes, there are times when we must accept some accountability for the things that come our way. It doesn’t make us bad people. It does however mean, that our heart must break for our part in the mess we are in.

James 4:8-10 AMPC

8 Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].

9 [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].

This is all about verse 10.

10 Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].” Here is the link for the video of this message. http://bit.ly/2tbBXnH

We pray-He Hears.

Blessings to you all.

#lovewins #hopelives