I never wanted a cell phone. I liked being unreachable at times. After a few years of swimming against the current, necessity demanded that I get a cell phone, so I did. When I had no cell phone and I needed to get in touch with someone, I would call or email them, fully knowing that they might not see my message right away and I was content with that. Now, however, it’s a little frustrating to not get an almost immediate response. Funny how new technology can change the way you think...not always for the better I might add. I have adjusted my thinking because I now understand why some people would rather text than talk and why some prefer to keep their phone on silent and check it at their own convenience.
What does this have to do with the subject at hand? God’s had his own cell phone-ish service in place since the creation of man. It’s called prayer! And why I don’t take more advantage of it than I do is a mystery to me. It is the most uncomplicated and effective form of communication there is.
The line of communication between God and man is simple to use. You don’t have to be clever enough to operate a smart phone to use it! God’s plan does not require that you buy minutes and does not limit the amount of use either. You must sign up for the plan though. It’s called salvation. That is the only requirement. Otherwise your prayers are not heard. And you must use the plan by faith. Faith is what keeps the lines open and operating correctly. Sometimes sinners will complain that God did not answer their prayers. I always tell them it’s because He didn’t hear them. He didn’t get the message! It’s out there floating around in the atmosphere somewhere. That’s not His fault. They didn’t sign up for His plan. That’s on them.
God’s cell phone is always on and He immediately answers every call. I love the verse in Daniel where God explains to Daniel, who is now 21 days weary of waiting on an answer, that from the moment Daniel prayed, God had dispatched the answer but the demonic host had held up the answer, had even taken the messenger hostage, and a battle had ensued in order to free the messenger and the answer. That reminds me that delay is not a “no” from God and to expect delays to prayers that glorify God and defeat the plans of the enemy. I have several prayers like that and I have been waiting for what seems like an eternity. And WHEN the answer comes, it will be glorious. I must persevere in them and not lose faint or lose hope in knowing that the were prayed in faith and according to God’s will, therefore they are “yes and amen!”
Prayers are an interesting thing. They are eternal. They have no expiration date. They don’t fade through time. They are never cancelled by God, although people can cancel out their own prayers through unbelief or wrong speaking. They are always answered by God according to the faith of the one offering them.
I have no scriptural basis for this but I believe that prayers leave a residue. In those times when my prayer tears have fallen in my Bible, the stains are still visible even after many months or years. Tear stains remain on pillow cases until laundered. I’ve even met people who I just knew had been soaked in prayer even though their lives gave no indication of it. I’ve heard the story of George Mueller and his prayers for his friends. Some got saved in his lifetime. One at his funeral. One after his funeral. I believe that it was because of his prayers. His prayers did not die with him. They lived on in the lives of his friends until they were answered.
The church that I attended when I first came to the Lord was turned into a charter school. I happened to get a job giving piano lessons there. One afternoon, my scheduled student went home ill and I wasn’t contacted so I moseyed into the auditorium/gym area. It had once been a sanctuary where the Spirit of God had moved freely. The kids in there were clueless, but the moment I walked into the room, it was like the room became the sanctuary again. I stood at the place where I had received Christ, where I had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, where God had first plainly answered a nagging question from His Word straight to my heart, where I had witnessed my first tangible miracle, and the place where I had been water baptized. I could still feel the power of the presence of God in that room even though it had not been a church for nearly 10 years. Those things came alive in my heart and memory and tears filled my eyes as I recalled all the time I had spent in that place. It was long past but still very real.
Prayer means you are never alone. There is always someone to talk to and always someone to listen. Some people say that they need someone with skin at times, but if I recall correctly, Jesus is still in human form. He still has His skin on. And he understands anything we could possibly bring to him more than another human being. If you need someone with skin on, talk to Jesus, He still has skin. He is our High Priest, our intercessor and our Good Shepherd. Realize that you are talking to all wisdom and perfection. You are communicating with the highest being there is and He is listening to you! What a thought!
I think that prayer must be the most neglected and underestimated part of Christianity. I pray that God will show me the method and the power of prayer in a richer and fuller way.
What does this have to do with the subject at hand? God’s had his own cell phone-ish service in place since the creation of man. It’s called prayer! And why I don’t take more advantage of it than I do is a mystery to me. It is the most uncomplicated and effective form of communication there is.
The line of communication between God and man is simple to use. You don’t have to be clever enough to operate a smart phone to use it! God’s plan does not require that you buy minutes and does not limit the amount of use either. You must sign up for the plan though. It’s called salvation. That is the only requirement. Otherwise your prayers are not heard. And you must use the plan by faith. Faith is what keeps the lines open and operating correctly. Sometimes sinners will complain that God did not answer their prayers. I always tell them it’s because He didn’t hear them. He didn’t get the message! It’s out there floating around in the atmosphere somewhere. That’s not His fault. They didn’t sign up for His plan. That’s on them.
God’s cell phone is always on and He immediately answers every call. I love the verse in Daniel where God explains to Daniel, who is now 21 days weary of waiting on an answer, that from the moment Daniel prayed, God had dispatched the answer but the demonic host had held up the answer, had even taken the messenger hostage, and a battle had ensued in order to free the messenger and the answer. That reminds me that delay is not a “no” from God and to expect delays to prayers that glorify God and defeat the plans of the enemy. I have several prayers like that and I have been waiting for what seems like an eternity. And WHEN the answer comes, it will be glorious. I must persevere in them and not lose faint or lose hope in knowing that the were prayed in faith and according to God’s will, therefore they are “yes and amen!”
Prayers are an interesting thing. They are eternal. They have no expiration date. They don’t fade through time. They are never cancelled by God, although people can cancel out their own prayers through unbelief or wrong speaking. They are always answered by God according to the faith of the one offering them.
I have no scriptural basis for this but I believe that prayers leave a residue. In those times when my prayer tears have fallen in my Bible, the stains are still visible even after many months or years. Tear stains remain on pillow cases until laundered. I’ve even met people who I just knew had been soaked in prayer even though their lives gave no indication of it. I’ve heard the story of George Mueller and his prayers for his friends. Some got saved in his lifetime. One at his funeral. One after his funeral. I believe that it was because of his prayers. His prayers did not die with him. They lived on in the lives of his friends until they were answered.
The church that I attended when I first came to the Lord was turned into a charter school. I happened to get a job giving piano lessons there. One afternoon, my scheduled student went home ill and I wasn’t contacted so I moseyed into the auditorium/gym area. It had once been a sanctuary where the Spirit of God had moved freely. The kids in there were clueless, but the moment I walked into the room, it was like the room became the sanctuary again. I stood at the place where I had received Christ, where I had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, where God had first plainly answered a nagging question from His Word straight to my heart, where I had witnessed my first tangible miracle, and the place where I had been water baptized. I could still feel the power of the presence of God in that room even though it had not been a church for nearly 10 years. Those things came alive in my heart and memory and tears filled my eyes as I recalled all the time I had spent in that place. It was long past but still very real.
Prayer means you are never alone. There is always someone to talk to and always someone to listen. Some people say that they need someone with skin at times, but if I recall correctly, Jesus is still in human form. He still has His skin on. And he understands anything we could possibly bring to him more than another human being. If you need someone with skin on, talk to Jesus, He still has skin. He is our High Priest, our intercessor and our Good Shepherd. Realize that you are talking to all wisdom and perfection. You are communicating with the highest being there is and He is listening to you! What a thought!
I think that prayer must be the most neglected and underestimated part of Christianity. I pray that God will show me the method and the power of prayer in a richer and fuller way.
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