Hope in Jesus
Coming to know who Jesus is, the Son of God who sacrificed everything for each of us, marks a beautiful transformation in life. It’s the beginning of real HOPE. We all feel a deep longing in our hearts to know and be known. I can remember as a child trying to wrap my head around the idea that the God of the universe sent His only son for our sake, and that His son, who is one with God, loved us enough to die for our sins. I didn’t realize I was a sinner. I thought I wasn’t so bad. And then life’s twists and turns allowed me to be broken and realize my great need for someone to love me exactly as I am. I began to go further down and deeper in. I began to read my bible to learn more about Jesus. Aloneness and heartache can help us know Him better. Sometimes when we find nowhere else to turn we cry out to Jesus. And what I learned in the darkest hours alone was an increased understanding of Jesus’ great love for me, of His unchangeable character and trustworthiness. The thread of trust was woven into a strong and coherent bond. If we can just know Him better, we will trust Him more fully; and when we trust Him, we can stop focusing on our troubles. And that is where we find HOPE.
Even if we sort of fall into trusting Jesus because we have no other choice, He is so kind to meet us there and show us His character. Pray to Him; read His book. Knowing that someone all-powerful is trustworthy and will never leave me gives me great hope. All of the Old Testament pointed forward toward the coming of Jesus, our Savior. “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:2-3
God’s word all points to His great love for us, the gift of His son Jesus, and His desire for us to know Him through His son Jesus. If you feel a deep longing in your heart to be loved, exactly as you are, you can ask Jesus to fill that desire and He will answer. And you can get to know Him better by reading the bible and learning more about what He said while He was here on earth. And the more you get to know Him, the more confidence you have to face everything with HOPE for the future. Because if you read the end of the story, you see that Jesus is victorious and if we accept Him as Savior we will be with Him. That’s hope.
Why Do You Pray Out Loud?
Someone asked me one time, why do you pray out loud? I had to think about that for a minute. For me: praying out loud helps me feel a connection to God the minute I begin praying. It helps me to not get distracted or lose focus on whatever it is that I am praying about. A lot of times I pray out loud in the name of Jesus, asking Him to bind the evil one from entering my thoughts. I don’t even give Satan the acknowledgement of who he is. That’s why I call him the evil one, the devil, or deceiver because that is who he is.
If you pray “In the Name of Jesus, evil one get behind me” the Lord will answer your prayer, because you said, “In the name of Jesus.” Jesus is the only one who can know your thoughts. The devil can only hear them. "And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, 'Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?'" Matthew 9:4.
Praying out loud makes it more personal to me. The bible says: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” – James 5:16. When I hear myself saying the words out loud, it helps me stay focused.
My prayer journal is divided into different sections. One section holds my own personal prayers, while other sections include prayers for family, friends, world, police, firefighters, government/military and teachers and even an important section about miracles. I write the date and the prayer down, and I pray for that person or persons for weeks. Sometimes even for years. When the prayer has been answered, I write the date it was answered and a brief description of how it was answered.
If you believe in Jesus, when you die, you will go to heaven. But let me make this clear, you must believe in Him and ask Him to come into your life. When you go to heaven, your body will be free of all disease, sin, hurt, pain, sadness, even loneliness. The Bible tells us: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Years ago, I was in a bible study at Fellowship Bible Church and the teacher told us to be careful how we pray. For instance, if you are praying for a friend who has cancer, and pray for healing, or complete healing, healing from something could mean you are praying for them to go to heaven. Ultimately, if you pray for healing, going to heaven is the answer to complete healing from all aliments. So instead, I started praying like this, “Dear Lord, please remove the cancer and heal my friend, this side of heaven.” I want to make sure God knows I want my friend healed while she is here on earth and not take her to heaven!
I always pray out loud during my morning prayer time, and again right before I go to bed. All throughout the day I pray silently. I call them popcorn prayers. Ephesians 6:18 says: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
I’m constantly sending up little prayers. For instance, if I hear of a friend in a crisis situation, or see an ambulance driving by, I pray for the people in it, or if I see violence on T.V., I pray for the families, police and victims. Paul says to pray without ceasing! 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Praying Through....
Prayer is an attitude of the heart. It is trust. It is knowing who God is and understanding the attributes of a loving Father. Sometimes what I want isn’t good for me. Sometimes another’s actions cause me harm. Sometimes evil just happens without any apparent cause. But in all things I develop strength, peace, and joy through knowing that my Father in heaven loves me and wants what is best for me. When I trust Him, I can face any circumstance, because I am not focused on the here and now, but on Him. When my son was sick and the pediatrician’s face fell, he took my hand and said, “you know why we are running these tests, don’t you?” then I knew that I should be terrified. I had nowhere to turn but prayer. I cried out in my heart, “Jesus, help me.” Help me carry on. Help me get through this day. Help me care for my child. “I trust you, just Help, please Lord.” And as I looked inward, to my heart and the knowing Father who dwells with me at the deepest level, I was flooded with peace of heart and mind. He poured out His peace and I was calm. I know it is supernatural when it is good and doesn’t make sense. Peace in the face of great uncertainty about my child’s health was not my natural response. It was supernatural. It was good.
God does not need my prayers. But through prayer, I am able to participate in the treasure that He desires to give me. I know He desires good for me. He has walked beside me for years and whispered in my heart, “I love you. I want what’s best for you and your children.” But above all I know that He desires peace and joy in my heart despite my circumstances. A sick child. The debilitating fear. How do I put one foot in front of the other? But slowly, as I have nothing but God, when I turn to Him in prayer He shows up and teaches me about love. There might always be a deeper sadness or a greater pain. Even death cannot snatch me or those He loves out of His hand. This life is fleeting, but in it, I know that He desires to heal and to save. Praying through is my only option; I know nothing else to do. And then healing comes. First peace, then joy, and then healing. My child is fine. The virus must run its course. And the Lord does the healing.
I love my son. I want what is best for him. I want health and abundance in life for him. But above all I want him to know that he is loved. My heavenly Father treats me that way. He’s given me that glimpse of his love for me, His child. It’s only a glimpse and not fully developed, as in a mirror or shadow. But my love for my child feels enormous, searing, painful at times. And I get a small taste of how my heavenly Father feels about me. Prayer is my opportunity to get to know my God. He desires my good, but more importantly He desires for me to know Him as He knows me. And He loves me.
Are You Blind or Do You See?
We read this story and couldn't help but be reminded of this verse from Mark 8:18: "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?"
A 24 year old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted…
“Dad, look the trees are going behind!”
Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year old’s childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimed…
“Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”
The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man…
“Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?”The old man smiled and said…“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.
What have you been blind to? Are you ready to see?
Forgive Without Punishing
When I was young, I used to think I was a pretty good person, and didn’t really need much forgiveness. I thought if I worked hard and took care of myself, I deserved a comfortable life. Isn’t that the American dream?
As life grew more complicated, I began to understand a new level of emotional pain. I was married with three small children and an increasingly difficult relationship with my husband. Life wasn’t easy or comfortable. The hurts that my husband inflicted began to take a toll on my heart. I began to harbor wounds. Ugly words and actions that I replayed again and again on an endless tape in my head. I hadn’t really studied God’s word, His timeless love letter to his children. I didn’t understand the breadth of damage that bitterness can cause. “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you,” and “be quick to forgive, “are instructions found in His word. But I thought my anger was justified. I was continually mistreated. I kept score.
And then my health began to fail. I developed a debilitating arthritis that impaired my ability to walk, to turn a doorknob, to carry anything. I had to quit my job and look for friends and neighbors to help me with my children. One day I realized that my daily bread, my simple prayer to my Father in heaven that I had known but never bothered to actually spend much time with, was for God to help me feed my children and get them to school. My husband traveled often and I was alone much of the time. Pain was my constant companion. I only wanted to survive and to see my children thrive.
I spent a long time studying God’s word and began to understand the meaning of grace. Unmerited favor. My heavenly father had loved me all those years when I ignored him and life seemed good. And He loved me consistently when I was alone and in pain. He sent His son to die for my sins. And my sins were not insignificant. I had built up resentment for the man I married. I was bitter and my thoughts and words were ugly. I asked God to forgive me and give me His forgiveness for my husband.
I still remember the day it happened. My husband’s temper blew and he stormed out of the room and slammed the door, but instead of my usual reaction of anger and fear I felt deep sympathy. That man was tormenting his wife and children. But he was tormented. It took several months before I realized that I no longer felt the arthritis pain. That I had forgotten to take my medicine.
My Rheumatologist could not believe that I appeared healed. But I know that rather than feeling a burning desire to keep score and punish my husband for the hurts he caused, I had been set free. Forgiveness does that. It is better than medicine. The Bible says that God “forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.” And that, “a merry heart is good medicine.” Forgiveness is for the forgiver, not the one who caused the harm. It can change you. I encourage you to study God’s word. It is a love letter. In it, you will find life.