Week Thirty-Forty, 2018
WHEN GOD ANSWERS DO WE HEAR?
By John Grant
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:3
As the man, late for an appointment, drove around the packed office parking lot he could find not one parking space. He kept driving and increased his fuming. Suddenly he thought to pray, saying, “Lord, you know how important this meeting is and if you will find me a parking space, I will attend church every Sunday for the next year.”
Suddenly a space miraculously opened up right in front of him and he pulled right in. He thought and suddenly began to pray, “Oh God, never mind. I found a space right in front of me.”
God hears and answers prayer, sometimes, yes, sometimes no and sometimes wait.
Sometimes we get frustrated as we want immediate answers and we want what we prayed for. But God is God and not a celestial order taker.
I have asked God for a lot of things, but in retrospect, I am glad He didn’t give me what I asked for, as it would have been a disaster for me. He knows much better than I do what is best for me and what is His plan for my life. Prayer is not an exercise in asking for what we want but praising Him and asking what He wants for our lives.
Sometimes God answers our prayers in strange ways and we need to focus on. we are often unprepared for the answers we receive from God. His answers frequently do not look at first like answers. They look like problems. They look like trouble. They look like loss, disappointment, affliction, conflict, sorrow, and increased selfishness. They cause deep soul wrestling and expose sins and doubts and fears. They are not what we expect, and we often do not see how they correspond to our prayers.
The Lord of the universe isn’t under obligation to say “yes” to every prayer. That’s a good thing, considering some of the things we request. But sometimes God says “no” to our most heartfelt requests. Have you discovered this to be true in your own life? I certainly have.
When we pray we should look carefully for a response. It may be disguised even though it is right before our eyes. And when God answers our prayers we should rejoice, give thanks and give Him all the glory.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Why are parents hiring “Fortnite” coaches for their kids?
Fortnite is an astounding cultural phenomenon. More than 125 million people play the online video game worldwide.
Are parents worried about the violence of the game or its addictive nature? For many, the answer is no. They’re worried that their kids are losing.
So, according to the Wall Street Journal, they’re hiring Fortnite coaches for their children One contracting site has hired out more than 1,400 Fortnite coaches since last March.
One mother explains: “There’s pressure not to just play it but to be really good at it. You can imagine what that was like for him at school.”
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CHARACTER:
Character is built slowly over a lifetime. It is the sum of every right decision, honest word, noble thought, and every heartfelt prayer. Honorable work, generosity and humility build character. Character is a precious thing . . . difficult to build and easy to tear down. We must live each day with discipline, honesty, and faith. When we do, integrity becomes a habit. Donna Reidy
For many of us, church has become a country club to showcase our best selves rather than a community that gathers to honestly share our struggles and failures, secure in the grace of our brothers and sisters and, ultimately God. Jordan Raynor
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DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?” “No,” replied Johnny. “How could he, with just two worms.”
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. Oliver Wendell Holmes
The higher we climb a ladder, the farther we have to fall. Jim Denison
Question: Am I around Christ, far from Christ, or in Christ? Ron Upton
Question: Has my preference become greater than God’s presence? Ron Upton
Augustine, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, our heart is restless for you until it rests in you.”
C.S. Lewis, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation, is that I was made for another world.”
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©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618