I believe the church will never understand the importance of prayer until we grasp one foundational truth. Simply put, prayer is not just for our own benefit or relief but rather for the delight of the Lord.
I don’t believe there ever has been a time like the present with so many devoted Christians worldwide being so incredibly tested. God is allowing his children to be tried by fire, and many are going through the test of their lives.
Every child of God suffers disappointments. At times we can feel totally defeated, despairing and dead inside because all our hopes, dreams and visions have gone wrong. We may hope for something, seeking God for it and waiting for it expectantly, but we never see it come to pass. All of these things bring disappointment, and that can lead to anguish. Anguish is a painful loss of heart, a sense of hopelessness that no matter how hard we may try things will never work out for us.
Believers everywhere wonder, “Are we in the very last years of human history?” Any thoughts on this subject are mere speculation. One thing is sure, however: World events are accelerating.
I want to share with you two verses from Helen Spurrell’s translation of the original Hebrew text: “When designing pursuers approached me, who are far from thy law; then thou, O Jehovah, wast near, with all thy faithful commandments” (Psalm 119:150-151).
Embedded in this passage is a glorious truth that can change your life, bringing you peace and giving you rest beyond anything you have yet experienced. Once you understand the fact that God loves you and is continually near you, all fear and anxiety must go.
Who told you that you’re unworthy, no good, useless, unusable to God? Who keeps reminding you that you’re weak, helpless, a total failure? Who told you that you’ll never measure up to God’s standard?
We all know where this voice comes from. It’s the devil himself. You hear his lies all day long, a voice that tells you God is continually angry with you. That voice comes straight from the pits of hell.
“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12, NKJV). In this verse, Paul tells the Christians in Philippi not to worry about all the things they’d heard had befallen him. All those “things” he refers to included great afflictions and infirmities.
In Jeremiah 32, the prophet describes a dire scene. Jerusalem was surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean army. Outside the city, the enemy was building large mounts to send their troops over the walls. Any Israelite who looked down on this scene was surely filled with a sense of doom.
Jeremiah was one of them. As the terrible scene unfolded, the prophet had to watch from a prison cell.
If anyone ever needed to hear a word from God, it was Job. You remember Job’s story: God had taken down the protective hedge around him and given Satan permission to try Job’s faith. Immediately, chaos broke out in Job’s life. All ten of his children were killed when a tornado struck. All his material assets were destroyed—his home, his cattle, his property, everything. Finally, Satan was allowed to attack Job’s body. The man was stricken with boils from head to toe.
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
What does it mean to confess or deny Christ before men? The Greek word for confess here means “covenant” or “assent.” Jesus is speaking of an agreement we have with him. Our part is to confess, or represent, him in our daily lives. We do this by trusting in his promises to care for us and by testifying of it through how we live.
