From His Heart

[Judy Harder]

Having a Heart for God

"The Lord sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people." 1 Samuel 13:14

When I was a freshman at the University of Texas, I began to study the Bible. As I did, I fell in love with the stories of David. He was an amazing person – strong, handsome, courageous, wise, tough, and tender. While he possessed so many great attributes, the one thing that really set him apart was his heart. He is the only one in the Bible described as "a man after God's own heart." 

GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART

When God chose David to be king in Israel, David was just a kid, probably no more than fourteen. His father, Jesse, didn't even think to invite him to the "anointing feast" because he was so young. Jesse thought to himself, "Certainly, God would not have little David as king." But, God sees past the outward appearance. He sees down into the heart. And David's heart was special to God. What was his heart like?

1.  He had a passionate heart. David loved God sincerely and supremely. He did not play at his worship. He really had a desire in his heart to walk with God and please God. His heart was completely His (Psalm 103). 

2.  He had a humble heart. David never lost sight of the fact that he was nothing and God was everything. He never started believing his own press clippings. He knew all his success came from God (2 Samuel 7:18). 

3.  He had a dependent heart. David depended on God, not himself. He sought God early and often throughout the day (Psalm 63).

4.  He had a grateful heart. David gave praise and thanks to God regardless of His circumstances. He knew God was worthy of praise, even if everything in his life seemed to be falling apart (Psalm 34).

5.  He had a repentant heart. We all know that David was a great sinner. The story of Bathsheba proves it. But unlike King Saul before him, when David   sinned, he confessed his sins to God and turned from them. He repented and got his heart right with the Lord (Psalm 51). 

HOW ABOUT YOUR HEART?

How does your heart look to God? Are you moving in the right direction in these all- important heart areas? Do you need some spiritual surgery to get your heart beating for the Lord?

God wants YOU to be a person after His own heart. In order to do it, you must confess any sins and ask Him to soften you and change you on the inside. Spend time with the Lord each day. Talk to Him from your heart. Share your burdens with Him, seek His face, and obey Him. Jesus wants to be your closest friend on the planet ... if you will only let Him.

  Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

The Best Friend You Could Ever Have

"A man of many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

How do you see God?

Do you see Him as a king?  He is certainly that.  But those who see Him primarily as the great king of the universe tend to have trouble getting close to Him.

Do you see Him as a father?  He is certainly that.  But some have had abusive fathers here on earth, so the concept of Father God can be hard to embrace, to say the least.

Do you see Him as a friend?  He is certainly that.  He is "a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  He is a friend who will be there for you through thick and thin.  He is a friend to whom you can share your deepest, darkest secrets.  He is a friend who wants to help you.

Be honest.  Do you really see God as your friend?

A MIND SHIFT

I am convinced that most Christians don't really relate to God as friend.  They tend to gravitate more toward king and father.  That is good and fine, except when it comes to sharing your heart.  You see, we all have faults, failures, and struggles with sin – dark and ugly sin.  Whether it be lust, jealousy, bitterness, hatred, greed, anger, substance abuse, sexual addiction, or whatever, sin is ugly and shameful ... and not something you really want to discuss with the king or your father.  But you can talk to your friend.

David is called "a man after God's own heart," but he was still a human being with weaknesses and sins.  One of David's greatest strengths was his honesty before his friend, the God of heaven.  David could pour out his heart to God because he saw God not only as king and father and shepherd, but as friend and helper.  He said in Ps. 54:4, "Behold, God is my helper."  What a great verse!

Behold is an important word in Psalm 54:4.  It is a word of astonishment, exclamation, and emphasis.  David is saying, "Look! See! Wow!  The great God of the universe, who can do all things, He is my helper."  It is time for you to look and see that God wants to be your helper.  He wants to be your friend who helps you.   

IN YOUR LIFE

In the ways you see God, make sure to add friend, a helpful friend.  Talk to God today as you would your best friend.  Share your successes and failures with Him.  Don't sugar-coat your struggles to make them more presentable to the king, or to your father.  Share them just as they are, like you would share them if you were talking to your best friend.  If you will relate to God in this fashion, you will be amazed at the closeness and intimacy that will result ... and the help the Lord will bring to your heart and to your circumstances.

Praise God we have a friend in Jesus who will never leave us nor forsake us.  He will always be a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

Cross Fit

"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."
2 Timothy 2:1

When I was in college, I took a weight lifting class.  I took it with my roommate, Jerry.  It was a fun class, an easy "A" and forced me to work out three times per week.  As a result of that class, I have continued to lift weights for all these years.  Sometimes it's not too fun.  Sometimes I want to follow Nancy Reagan's advice and "just say no!" to the gym.  But I always feel better after I lift, and it helps me grow in strength and fitness.

In the Christian life, God wants us to grow strong.  He takes no delight in spiritual weaklings, in people who should be benching their weight by now, but are still struggling to push up the 40 pound bar.  So, how can you and I really grow spiritually strong and be "cross fit", so to speak?

A BIG step in the right direction is to grow in our understanding and application of grace.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND GRACE?

Grace is so critical in the Christian life.  Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God.  It is God's riches at Christ's expense.  It is the desire and power to live for Jesus.  It is what saves us - "For by grace are you saved through faith ..." (Eph. 2:.  It is what makes us the people God wants us to be.  Paul said, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10).  No one can live the Christian life apart from grace.  Paul opened and closed every single epistle with a word about grace.  The last verse in the New Testament says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.  Amen" (Rev. 22:21).  I think it is safe to say that grace is paramount.         

Here is the sad truth: Many Christians don't understand grace very well.  They don't walk with God based on grace.  They end up walking with Him based on performance – if I'm doing good spiritually, God loves me, accepts me, and can use me ... but if I'm failing in an area of my life, God doesn't love me, doesn't accept me, and can't use me.  The performance trap is an easy one to fall into.  I know because I have fallen in more times than I can remember.

IT'S GRACE, NOT PERFORMANCE

One dear man wrote me recently saying he wanted to kill himself.  He was a Christian but had failed God miserably.  He loved the Lord, but he knew there was no way God could still love him.  He was so distraught that he wanted to die.

What was his core problem?   He had fallen into the performance trap and needed to grow in grace.  You see, grace is not a reward for the righteous, but it's a gift for the guilty.       

God doesn't accept any of us based on performance.  He only accepts us based on His grace.  The best of us has nothing to commend himself to God.  While it is certainly true that the Lord wants us to obey Him and walk in victory, it is also true that we can't do it without His grace.  And His grace – the desire and power to live for Jesus (Bill Gothard's wonderful definition) – is available to you and me today.

Hebrews 4:16 tells us that God sits on a throne of grace and has grace to help us in our time of need.  Are you in need?  Come to the throne in repentance and faith.  Ask God for His grace which He freely bestows on those who boldly and humbly come before Him.

Refuse to live in the performance trap.  Transform your mind with the truths of Scripture.  Are you unworthy for God to love you, accept you, and work in your life?  Absolutely!  And so am I ... and so was Paul.  But by grace, we are accepted, loved, and useful to the Master.

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."  Don't let the devil blow you over with his lies.  You can live a life that pleases God and walk in victory over sin as you choose to apply His marvelous, matchless, amazing, abundant grace to your heart today and every day.

Will you do it?


Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

Because He Said So

"Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,' so that we confidently say, 'THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.  WHAT SHALL MAN DO TO ME?'"  Hebrews 13:5-6

When I was in college, I was introduced to a popular teaching known as "name it and claim it."  The crux of the teaching went something like this: "What do you want?  What big item, dream, healing, or wish is in your heart?  It is yours in Jesus ... so just name it and claim it."  Multitudes of people fell in love with this teaching, and began naming and claiming everything under the sun.     

Does the Bible really teach a name it and claim it theology?  The correct answer is "sort of."  But the one who names it is not you or me, it is the Lord Himself.  We can claim by faith anything that He has first named for us.  If He hasn't named it, you have no claim to it.  Moses surely couldn't name and claim going into the Promised Land, because God had given him an emphatic, "NO!  And don't ask Me about this again!" (see Deut. 3:26).  Paul couldn't name and claim a mission trip to Bithynia, because "the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them" (Acts 16:7).
We can only claim what He names.  He is the Master, and we are the servants.   

DON'T FAIL TO CLAIM WHAT HE HAS NAMED

In Hebrews 13, we are given a great promise.  It is the promise of His enduring presence.  It is the promise that no matter what, our Savior and Lord will never ever bail out, forsake, or desert His own.  When He saves, He saves forever.

And because He has named this, we can confidently claim Him as our helper.  Because the Lord is with us always, there is no need to fret or fear.  There is no need to face your giants, whatever they may be, alone.  You can say with rock-ribbed assurance, "The Lord is my helper."

Are you going through some really trying times in your marriage, family, finances, or health?  Have you lost the love of your life and can't seem to make sense of anything anymore?  Are you drowning in an addiction to drugs, alcohol, pornography, or whatever?  Do you feel like God has abandoned you?  He hasn't.  He can't.  He has promised never to do that, and it is impossible for Him to lie.

BY FAITH CALL UPON YOUR HELPER

Regardless of where you find yourself today, will you start claiming what He has named?  Will you claim Him as your helper, your faithful friend who will never turn His back on you?  Will you claim His almighty, miraculous help in your dark and seemingly hopeless situation?  He is your helper ... and He wants to help you.

Perhaps you heard the story of the little boy who was playing in the sandbox.  There was a big rock in the middle of the sandbox, interfering with his fun and games.  He wanted it out, but it was too big for him to handle.  Try as he might, he couldn't get it removed.  In utter frustration, he began to cry.  His father, who was watching the whole thing unfold, said to his son, "Son, why don't you use all your strength?"  His son cried, "Daddy, I did use all my strength, but it still won't move."  His dad said, "Son, you didn't use all your strength ... because you did not use me."         

"The Lord is MY helper."  He is the one who can remove the boulders of sin, sorrow, and setback from our lives.  Claim the truth that He has named, and believe that He will help you and bring about miracles of provision, victory, and restoration.


Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

The Difference Maker

"Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon."  Daniel 2:17-18

Daniel and his friends were in a tough spot. King Nebuchadnezzar had a very troublesome dream. He called on his pagan Babylonian seers and soothsayers to tell him both the dream and its interpretation. When they could not – "Only gods could do that," they said – Nebuchadnezzar got really angry. He ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be killed. And this death sentence including innocent Daniel and his three Hebrew friends, Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael) and Abed-nego (Azariah). Talk about some bad news.

Daniel and the boys were in trouble with a capital T. Death was imminent and seemingly unavoidable. What would they do? Would they worry and fret? Would they moan and groan? Would they try to run to save their hides? NO! They would call on the God of heaven. They would cry out to the only One who can make the difference in any situation. They prayed fervently and earnestly that night... and God answered.

God truly knows, cares, hears our prayers and answers in mighty power.

Because Daniel and the boys prayed, God intervened. Because God intervened, Daniel and his three friends were not executed. As a matter of fact, they were promoted! Isn't that just like God? He takes the worst situations and turns them around for good when we walk with Him, trust Him, and PRAY! He truly is a Romans 8:28 God.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Are you in dire circumstances today and don't know what to do? Are you facing cancer, or divorce, or a job loss, or financial reversal, or family turmoil, or a new normal that you didn't want? Call on the God of heaven... and keep calling. He will answer you at the proper time. He loves you and promises to respond to our prayers (see Jer. 33:3).  And when He answers, you will see and experience great and mighty things from His good and gracious hand.

Prayer really does change things because God answers prayer!


Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

Sounding the Alarm

"Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."  Jude 1:3

Jude is a powerful little book, written by the half-brother of Jesus.  In his epistle, he shares about the dangers of apostasy (falling away from the Lord) and the coming judgment of God.  It is definitely not a "feel good message."  Interestingly, he wanted to share soothing, uplifting words about the wonders of salvation, but God put another message on his heart.  Rather than getting to share the sweet sound of a harp, he was led to share the shrill sound of an alarm because a clear warning was desperately needed.   

I can relate to Jude.  So often I sit down to write a sermon or an article that would be more soothing to the hearers, and I end up sounding an alarm, warning people to get right while there is still time.  What can I say?  It is the message that continues to resonate in my heart.

TITANIC IGNORANCE

Most people know about the tragic historical events of the "unsinkable ship" known as Titanic.  That massive ship, the largest passenger liner ever built at the time, was undoubtedly the crown of man's oceanic achievement.  On April 10, 1912, Titanic left port in Southampton, UK for her maiden voyage to New York City.  Although she would be navigating through the iceberg-infested waters of the frigid Atlantic, she was traveling at top speed in order to set a record and make headlines.

Titanic was warned repeatedly of icebergs directly in her path, but she blew off every warning.  When the final warning came, about two hours before the crash, radio operator Jack Phillips angrily responded to that important iceberg message with these words, "Shut up, shut up!  I'm busy!" 

Disaster struck at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, and the unsinkable ship went down inside of three hours.  Over 1500 people lost their lives simply because pride and arrogance overran common sense.  Warnings which should have been welcomed and heeded were dismissed as a nuisance and a bother.  Looking back, it is hard to fathom the utter foolishness and recklessness of the captain and crew.  Without question, stupidity has no bounds when one is deceived and blinded by pride.               

I believe our nation is acting much like the captain and crew of Titanic.  There are millions of people who are arrogantly and foolishly disregarding every warning from God.  To quote the late, great Adrian Rogers, "America is strutting her way to hell, thinking she is too good to be damned."  How deceived can a people be?   

GOD'S PEOPLE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

So what do we do?  We humble our hearts, heed His warnings, and get right with God.  We turn from our wicked way and embrace the Lord's Word and ways for our lives.  The time is now for Christians to get off the fence of compromise and get serious about walking with God.  The time is now for believers to shine for Christ in this dark and dying world.

We need some folks who, like Shadrach and company, won't bend or bow to the pressure.  We need some Daniels who will stand up for truth and do what is right, regardless of the circumstances or the consequences.  It is the Daniels who make the difference ... and God is calling you and me to be Daniels in the evil age in which we live.

Will you stand up for what is right?  Will you speak the truth in love?  Will you sound the alarm and pray for God to open ears and hearts to the warnings?  As the little couplet so aptly says, "Life is short, death is sure.  Sin is the curse, but Christ is the cure."


Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

Why On Earth Are You Here?

"But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and ways, you have not glorified."  Daniel 5:23

I remember taking a test in my college history class where I misread the essay question.  I wrote and wrote and wrote ... and it was all wrong.  UGH!  I got a low "D" on that exam – thank God there were other test questions I didn't blow – the worst test grade I ever made in college.  My problem was simple: I missed the point of the question.  I spent a good portion of the allotted test time writing lots of information I had learned that was inconsequential to the question the teacher posed.  No wonder I got a "D."  I was a dummy for missing the obvious!   

ARE YOU MISSING THE OBVIOUS IN LIFE?

I spent an hour of my life missing the obvious, and I paid for it when the grades came out.  But, can you imagine the tragedy of spending the hours of your entire life missing the obvious?  Can you imagine the horror of getting an "F" in life ... with no chance of a do-over?   

Why are you here on this earth, anyway?  To make money?  To get married and have children?  To enjoy the finer things?  To slug it out, Monday throughFriday, in a job you don't really like so you can live it up and party like a rock star on the weekends?  Why did God make you and put you here?  What is your purpose for being?

God made you to glorify Him.  Isaiah tells us that fact – "Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory.  It was I who created them" (Is. 43:7 NLT).  To glorify God means you honor and exalt Him, you live your life to please Him.

Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was told by Daniel the prophet in October of 539 BC that his number was up.  God was calling in his loan on life.  Belshazzar had chosen to spend his years on the earth living for sin and self.  God had graciously given him life and every single breath, yet Belshazzar chose to spit in God's face.  He did not acknowledge God, nor give Him the honor and thanks that He is rightly due.  How terrible.  How tragic.  How costly.

GETTING IT RIGHT

If you want your life to count, if you want to spend your days on the right path, answering the right question, then spend your life glorifying God.  Make each day a day where you honor God and give Him thanks for His goodness and grace.  Make every choice with God's glory in mind.  You see, He doesn't owe you or me anything.  All He does for us is an undeserved gift of His love.  Each breath you take comes from God ... so, be grateful, thankful, and mindful of it.   

Paul said, "Whether, then, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).  As you work your job today, work for His glory.  As you go about your household chores, labor for His glory.  As you go through school, study for His glory.  It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do it to honor Him.  Martin Luther used to say, "A dairy maid can milk cows to the glory of God."

May you and I get this thing called "life" right.  May we live out all our days "to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Eph. 1:6).  He alone is worthy.  Living for any other glory is answering the wrong question.

[Judy Harder]

Why, God?

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, 'ELI, ELI LAMA SABACHTHANI?' that is, 'MY GOD, MY GOD WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?'"  Matthew 27:46

Horrific and heartbreaking. That pretty much sums up the unfathomable tragedy suffered by those in Oklahoma after the category 5 tornado touched down for roughly 40 minutes, destroying everything in its wide path and claiming the lives of precious souls. Anyone with an ounce of compassion hurts for these dear people who have lost so much in a matter of minutes.

What are we to make of it all? How are we to reconcile the devastation with our faith in a good and loving God?  Why would He allow this to happen? Why, why, why!?

The "why" question always comes out when we are hurting deeply. It is normal. It is natural. Job asked why repeatedly when he experienced his monumental trials.  Even Jesus Himself asked why when He was hanging on the cross, gasping for breath in agony and blood.

A QUESTION GOD DOESN'T OFTEN ANSWER

While, in the midst of tragedy we naturally ask why, the reality is that God doesn't often answer our whys.  He speaks directly to the questioning Job for four chapters (Job 38-41) ... but never answers his why.  An important thing to remember about God: He is not in the business of explaining; He is in the business of sustaining.  And "when answers aren't enough, there is Jesus.  He is MORE than just an answer to our prayer."

If your heart and mind are flooded with whys today over the devastating circumstances of life ... if you cannot make sense of that which seems so unfair and so uncalled for, keep in mind the bedrock things that you do know.

1.  God really does love us.  The cross of Jesus Christ proves this beyond any shadow of a doubt.  Romans 8:32 says, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"   

2.  God really is in control and does everything with a purpose.  Nothing sneaks up on God.  He is the blessed and only Sovereign.  While He is definitely not the author of evil, evil cannot touchdown in our lives unless He, for whatever purpose He deems necessary, allows it to (see Job 1-2).  He is in charge and never makes a mistake.  And everything He does flows from a heart of love, because "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:.

3.  We can trust God, no matter what.  God is worthy of our trust.  He is the one who takes all the bad things and works them together for our good and His glory (see Rom. 8:28).  While He doesn't often tell us why things happen the way they do, He does tell us, "My child, even in this, you can trust Me."                           

Will you trust Him?  In your own personal hurt, pain, and bewilderment, will you choose to come to Him and cling to Him, no matter what?  He is God, and there is no other.  He is the only One who can see you through.  Resist the temptation to get bitter at Him when you don't understand, and surrender all your whys to His unfathomable love, His limitless wisdom, and His amazing grace.


Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

Love the Sinner... Love the Sin?

"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."  1 John 1:8-10

Have you ever heard the Christian admonition, "Love the sinner, but hate the sin"?  It is a good, biblically based statement that speaks to the proper balance between love and truth.

God loves us, but He doesn't love our sin.  In fact, He hates sin and cannot have fellowship with sin.  He hates sin so much that when Jesus took all our sins into Himself on the cross, the Father turned His back on His Son and forsook Him – "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46).     

STRANGE TIMES

In our world today, there are some who don't like "love the sinner, but hate the sin" because they don't agree that what they are doing is sin.  These folks want to redefine morality and immorality.  They say, "We are enlightened and have progressed ... and the 'bigots' and 'haters' and 'Neanderthals' need to wake up, smell the coffee, and get on board with the new program."  What used to be universally understood as sinful and wrong behavior in society, and especially the church, has now become something that we are being forced to endorse and embrace.  Love the sinner ... and love the sin (although you better not call it that!).

God's Word is clear, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Is. 5:20).  If a person, family, or society wants to experience woe, just simply try to change the unalterable, eternal rules of morality that God has clearly delineated for us.  By doing so, you make God out to be a liar, and His truth and His word will not be in you.

WHATEVER THE SIN

All sin separates us from God, regardless of what it is.  And the only way to get in fellowship with God is through honest confession and repentance.  If we confess (agree with God) concerning our immoral actions and the sinfulness of them, and turn from them, God will graciously forgive and wash us "white as snow" (Is.1:18).  If we don't, He won't.

I don't know what sin you are struggling with today.  Maybe it is pornography, or adultery, or fornication, or worry, or greed, or idolatry, or unscriptural divorce, or homosexuality, or strife, or jealousy, or just plain old selfishness.  Whatever it is, you must face the brutal facts, call your actions what God calls them: sin ... and turn from that sin to Jesus.  Only then can you be forgiven and set free.

THE CHURCH AND THE CHRISTIANS                   

May we hold fast to the Word of God and the clear teachings of Scripture regarding right and wrong.  May we never become a people of compromise who jettison the moral standards of God because of the pressure of political correctness and societal bullying.  May we be like Jesus and always love and embrace the sinner, but never love and embrace the sin.  For if we do, we deny Him; call Him a liar; and blow up the only bridge that leads sinners to the Savior.

The stakes are sky high.  May you and I be found faithful to God and His Word.

  Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve
From His Heart Ministries

[Judy Harder]

HAVE YOU THROWN IN THE TOWEL ON PRAYER?

Jesus told his disciples a story about how they should keep on praying and never give up.  Luke 18:1 CEV

I have always been a boxing fan.  Without question, boxing is a brutal sport that can get out of hand in a hurry.  Sometimes, to protect his fighter from serious harm, a manager has to "throw in the towel" to get the referee to stop the fight.

The phrase "throw in the towel" quickly moved from the boxing world to everyday life.  As we all know, when you throw in the towel, you quit ... you give up ... you accept defeat.  And people do it all the time.  They throw in the towel on their marriage, or their degree, or their dreams, or their very lives.  It is easy to throw in the towel.  It is much harder to push through and keep going.       

THE STRUGGLE WITH PRAYER

Now when it comes to the spiritual discipline called prayer, we are routinely confronted with the temptation to throw in the towel and quit.  Much of the time, the answers to our prayers are seemingly slow in coming.  We can start out so gung-ho over a need or a dream or a desire only to lose steam as nothing visibly changes.  The devil likes to show up in those moments and whisper in our ear, "You are wasting your time, your fool.  God is not going to answer your prayer.  He either doesn't care about your need, or He is unable to help you.  Regardless, you ought to cut your losses, get off your knees, and stop believing in the pipe dream that prayer changes things.  It doesn't."  Have you ever heard those thoughts swirl through your mind?  I know I have.   

THE LORD'S ENCOURAGEMENT

In our discouragement over unanswered prayer, the Lord reminds us, "Don't quit!  Keep praying!  Keep Believing!  Keep coming before me with your needs.  I hear you, and I care.  I will answer at the proper time ... if you don't quit."

You see, the Lord loves persistence.  He loves it when we dig in and choose to trust Him, no matter what the circumstances say.  He loves it when we refuse to throw in the towel on the prayer need that He put in our heart.  When we pray according to His will, we can have great confidence that He will answer us when the time is right (see 1 John 5:14-15).

SHANDI'S STORY

Shandi is a beautiful young wife and mom in our church.  She had been married to her husband Sean for twelve years.  She was a Christian, and he was not ... and she was praying for his salvation.  She was not pushy or preachy, but she longed for him to know Christ and to have a Christian marriage.  She prayed for him, and did not quit.  One Sunday at church, she could tell the Lord was working on Sean.  Shandi went down to the altar to pray, and she prayed fervently for Sean's salvation.  Her prayers were answered that day!  While she was on her knees praying for him, he slipped out of the pew and went done to the altar to give his life to Jesus ... and his nine-year-old son, Preston, followed him to do the same.  Sean and Preston were baptized together two weeks later! Shandi was beside herself with joy!

That was three years ago.  They told me this story just last Sunday night, and both of them were fighting back the tears.  God had done such a great thing in their lives, marriage, and family.  Shandi knew Jesus wanted to save Sean, and she would not quit until He answered her prayer!

KEEP GOING

Have you thrown in the towel on prayer?  Have you given up on that dream, that need, that desire God placed within you?  Pick up the towel, and get back on your knees.  If your prayer is a little off center, ask God to refine it so that is in complete accordance with His will.

Prayer really does change things because God answers prayer!  So, don't quit!