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~ Spiritual counsel by
Rick Lawrence, D.D.
Here are some
answers to questions
on the minds of millions of people: Does God know who I am?
Will God really help me? How do I get His
help?
To begin with, yes! God knew you and created
you before the foundation of the world. In the Bible, the book of Jeremiah
chp.1, verse 5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you
apart..." God was telling Jeremiah that he knew him and created him according to His
plan for Jeremiah's life.
The apostle Paul wrote
to the church in the Roman province of Galatia and told them, "But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased
to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any
man." It follows that all people male and female are
created according to God's exacting and loving plans. God knows all about
every one before they are born; each individual is created according to God's
plan. We read Jesus' words in Matthew 10:30, " And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."
In Romans 8:28-32, Paul said, " And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his
Son..."
In Ephesians 1:3-4, the Bible says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."
God knows all about you and wants a close relationship with you.
Does God help people? He certainly does. He
told Isaiah, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isa.41:10. In the book of Luke 4:38-39, we read, "Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.
So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them."
In Philippians 1:19, we read, "for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."
Hundreds of times throughout the Bible we read
of instances where God helps his people. Of course, he may not help a person
in some circumstances. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah
55:8,9) He knows what is best for us at any given moment. Further, the quality
of our relationship with God and Jesus Christ is important if we hope for
answers to our prayers.
When a person comes to age of accountability
and learns what the Bible says about God's
Will -- we find out we have free choice to decide whether or not we will accept Jesus Christ as
our personal Savior and receive His forgiveness
of our sins. We also can choose to go our own independent way which will keep
us separated from God in this life and throughout eternity. Getting right with
God and Jesus, is an important gateway to God's help.
If you haven't
asked Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and invited him into your heart and
life as your personal Lord and Savior, you are missing out on a lot of
promises of help for your life. Jesus died on the cross for you and
wants you to invite him into your heart.. 1 Peter 3:9 says, "He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance." He wants people to repent, that is, to change their
heart and mind, ask his forgiveness and open the door of their heart to
him.(Rev.3:20)
The first greatest miracle change in your life will happen when you cross the
line and ask Jesus to take over the 'steering wheel' of your life. That's what
it means to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord of your
life. “If you were standing before Jesus and he asked you ‘why should I
let you into my kingdom?’ what would you say? “The
Bible says that we have all done wrong.”
“The Bible says the payment for doing wrong is Hell.” (Rom.6:23) But
we get to go to heaven if we just ask.”
“Is there any reason why
you would want to spend eternity in hell?”
I’m sure practically all of you are saying no!
GREAT! Let me help
you pray right where you are, Speak or
whisper the words as we pray.
“Mean these words with your
whole heart.”
“Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me for all of the things I have done
wrong. I acknowledge the fact that I am a sinner I ask for your forgiveness. .
I repent, changing my heart and mind, I turn away from my sins. I open the
door of my heart to you now, Jesus I place my faith in you Jesus who died for
my sin and made a way for me to have eternal life.” I ask you Jesus to come into my heart as my personal Savior and become
the Lord of my life. Help me to live for you. Thank you Lord for this miracle
that causes me to be spiritually born again. Help
me to live this new life, to obey your commands and do what pleases you. Amen
If you prayed this prayer and meant it with all of your heart, you will have
crossed over the line and accepted Jesus into your heart life. In the
Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter 3, verse 20 Jesus is speaking and
says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him, and he with
me." When you invited Him to come into your heart and life, you can be
certain Jesus keeps his promise, he has come into your heart by His Holy
Spirit and you have become spiritually born again. You have become a 'forever'
member of the family of God. You have crossed over from eternal death unto
eternal life. (John 5:24). You can read more about being spiritually born
again [given a new life] in Christ. See: John 3:3-5 Jesus told Nicodemus all
about it.
You will find a click here link to a new believers Bible study I have
written; it is on the RKL2.org home page about the middle of the page or below.
If an individual rejects Christ,
then God may refuse his help with the problem in that person's life. It
follows that in our earthly lives, we may also be denied help or favor if, as
true believers, we behave
with disobedience or rebellion.
One
of the approaches to God to secure his help
There
is tremendous power in God's answer to prayer. Often
people fail to receive an answer because they forget to pray; they
think about their problems and sometimes are almost crushed by the
circumstances, but they spend all of their time dwelling on the
problem and never get around to serious prayer about it. James, a
brother of Jesus, said this, "You do not have, because you do not ask God."
(James 4:2) Again he said," When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
First, How
should I pray? What do I say? Personally, I often pray on my knees before God, but
I also talk to God as
I would to an earthly Father, friend, or partner as I am seated
or walking around
taking care of my work. I tell God in normal conversation about my
needs and problems believing he is present in the room with me, or
wherever else I may be. I simply talk things over with him and ask for his
wisdom and help with my problems or need of direction.
Does he
answer this prayer? Always! But not always that moment, that day
or that week. He will answer you, and if he doesn't open the door
of help you are asking about, I've found when he closes one door,
he may open another -- the one he knows is best for me -- the one
he decides is right. "Father knows best." So,
pray to God and ask him for help or wisdom, in Jesus' name, and God
will answer you.
Some
People get mixed up -- they think God is a valet, an errand boy.
Not so! God will help us, but he expects us to work hard and
sensibly in our daily life. Being slothful won't fetch it. Laziness is only
a bad habit and won't get us very far. Ask God to be your partner,
the senior partner in your life and work. He likes and rewards that
kind of attitude.
Second,
We exercise FAITH in God. What is Faith really? In the Bible,
the book
of Hebrews, Chapter 11 defines faith this way, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Notice our five senses: hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell
have nothing to do with approaching God with "faith"
that he will provide an answer to our prayers. We must have faith
that he will keep his promises as mentioned in his Word, the
Bible. We don't try to second guess God and rely on what or
how we feel to decide whether he is answering our prayers. It is
extremely helpful to read the Bible because that is where God's
commands, promises and a whole lot more is recorded.
On
different occasions, Jesus referred to the faith of the people he
was helping. For instance he said, "your faith has healed
you." "According to your faith it will be done unto
you."... "Woman, you have great faith. Your request is
granted."... " When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are
forgiven."..."Have faith in God," Jesus answered."
Again, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
How important is faith? The Bible says, " And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
(Heb.11:6)
Here are
some more Bible verses about faith should you wish to read them: Mat 8:10;Mat
8:26;
Mat 9:2; Mat 9:22; Mat 9:29; Mat 13:58; Mat 14:31; Mat 15:28; Mark
2:5; Mk 5:34; Mk 10:52
Third, Visualize your prayer as being
answered within the Will of God. Why do I say this? Because
Mark, a disciple of Jesus recorded Jesus as saying, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you
have received it, and it will be yours.
(Mk11:24)
Notice
Jesus says "believe that you have received it." He
doesn't say. "believe you will receive it,"
rather he uses the past tense, "believe you have received
it." I have received many answers to prayer -- some
are absolutely remarkable in their timing! My advice to you is to
present your prayer requests to God and afterwards, whenever your requests
come to mind, thank God for granting the requests. Requests? You
mean I can ask for help with more than one thing, when I
pray? Yes! In Philippians 4:6, we read, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God."
Assuming
you are in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, and you believe
your prayer is within God's Will, you can present your request(s)
to him. Act as though you have
already received the answers to your prayer(s) and thank him! What
about asking again? I personally see nothing wrong with
reminding yourself that you have asked him for help and then thank
him that he has already heard your request and granted it. Believe
you have received the answer In God's timing, the answer to your prayer will be made
manifest in real time. It may be immediately or
in an hour, day, week or month (s). You will hear from God. And
remember, if he closes one door, he'll open another.
Summation:
Visualize (picture)
in your mind that you have already received God's answer to
your prayer. See a picture of it happening and be thankful for
God's help and answer to your prayer. There is remarkable power in
this approach to God in prayer. Remember, God loves you and wants
you to be close to him. Here is the verse again, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
(Mk11:24)
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