Thursday, December 16, 2010

Message from Nancy Cook, Bookkeeper

"'Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you are turning their hearts back again.' Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench." 1 Kings 18:37-38

How often do we see our circumstances as too difficult or impossible? We believe nothing, short of a miracle from God, will lift us up or rescue us from our situation.


When Elijah prayed to God at the time of sacrifice on Mount Carmel he fully expected God to make his presence known. Contrast this with the pleading cries of the prophets of Baal. All of their frantic pleas to their deaf, mute, and powerless god, urging him to light the fire from under their sacrifice, went unanswered.

Prayer preceded many great events in the Bible. For example, the early church was “earnestly praying” when Peter was imprisoned and, as a result, God rescued him – “the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.” (Acts 12:1-9)


How privileged we are to have a God who hears our prayers and answers them - for this brings glory to God. We serve a God who is all powerful and mighty and greater than our circumstances.

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power. His understanding has no limit." Psalm 147:5

I am blessed to have a prayer partner who is bold and confident in approaching the Throne of Grace and I am learning so much about the importance of prayer and the power of prayer each week that we meet to pray.

When you pray, do you expect God to do something because you know he is able, or do you expect to be disappointed because you doubt God would do something so great for you, for someone you love, or for Phoenix Christian? I confess, I have often been the latter even though I know God is able.

May we not limit our great God by our small faith and small expectations. Rather, may we be bold in our prayers, praying fervently and coming to God in faith and with expectancy. With God, all things are possible (Matt 19:26). And with the psalmist, let us say:


"Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me." Psalm 66:20

2 comments:

  1. Nancy,

    Thank you for the reminder to pray with confidence and boldness.

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our God is AWESOME!!!

    Your sweet spirit and quiet faith are an encouragement every week! Praise God for the power of agreement He's given us in prayer! You are a blessing!

    ReplyDelete

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