Putting the Republican Party on Notice
Return to Conservative Values – Or Fade into History
By Barbara Henderson
Are you, the conservative people, sick of and even terrified by the Marxist policies being pushed through congress by the liberal Democrats? Do you, like millions of Americans, have no idea of how those hideous creatures even got to Washington in the first place? Do you wonder what it will take to stop them? Well, I have a few suggestions.
First, identify reason the liberals got there in the first place. Republicans keep ‘playing to the middle’. They want to be seen as good old boys and girls willing to get along with everyone. They don’t care if they are seen as good old boys and girls without any character or principles. They just want to be liked. Public opinion means more to them than right or wrong. SO – they run middle of the road candidates – RINO’s – Republican’s in name only. The results have obviously been disastrous!
Take a look at the last presidential election. Hillary Clinton was the darling of the Democrats. She had waited years for her turn, and her time had come. Or, so it seemed. To defeat her, the Republicans needed a candidate that was a true conservative. The people wanted a choice. Instead we got John McCain as a candidate. If you put John and Hillary’s voting record up on a scoreboard, what differences would you have seen on taxes, spending, and support of a traditional family? Both candidates couldn’t distance themselves far enough and fast enough from anything resembling Christianity. You had two peas in the same liberal pod.
Well, the democrats were smart enough to seize the day. They dropped Hillary like last week’s lettuce. They put in someone much farther to the left. And he was elected, to the sorrow and possible downfall of my country. He and his detestable czar/henchmen are currently working to dismantle the constitution, control every cent of money in the nation, and silence everyone who opposes their Marxist agenda.
That is where we stand today. And, the fault is at least partly with the Republican Party itself! They have taken conservatives for granite. They have acted like the conservatives have no place to go except the Republican party. They have even acted like committed conservatives are a fringe element and really an embarrassment to the Republican Party. Honestly, you can blame Republicans for the mess in Washington DC based on their failure to be true to conservative values.
To change the trend of namby pamby Republican leadership groveling at the altar of the ‘middle of the road’ is going to take determination on the part of true conservatives. In order to effectively change the party, committed conservatives must first get the attention of the Republican leadership. This is going to take courage. To date, we have been ignored for years, and even treated as though we were the nutty relative that must be kept hidden in the attic.
So, how can we get the attention of the Republican leadership?
I think it will take third party candidates. (I told you it was going to take courage.)
Right now, the common thought is that a vote spent on a third party candidate is a wasted vote. Baloney.
Every vote spent on a third party candidate is a message to the Republican leadership.
It clearly says,
‘We, the voters with true conservative values, are not interested in just keeping Republicans in power. If elected Republicans vote like democrats, what is the point anyway? Now, LISTEN TO US. We are through voting for someone just because the Republican Party throws him or her out there and labels them as a Republican. AND – don’t talk to us about the consequences of putting liberals in office. The consequences are the same whether the elected official calls himself a Republican or a Democrat. If the Republican Party wants to count on the votes of committed conservatives, then you better start running true conservative candidates.’
You may be thinking, ‘Barbara, the elections are over. The Republicans gained two Republican governors.’ To that I would say, ‘Yes, you are totally correct. However, midterm elections are just one year away.
• Republicans need to get ready for those elections by turning from their foolish ideas of ‘getting along with the democrats’.
• Republicans are not supposed to get along with Liberal Democrats. They are supposed to oppose them! True conservative ideology has nothing in common with true liberal ideology. There is no common ground!
• Republicans are supposed to have core values that are diametrically opposed to the core values of the liberals.
• Republicans are supposed to hold the line! They are supposed to filibuster evil legislation that raise taxes and erode freedom. Take it to the public. Shout loud and long. Embarrass the liberals at every turn. Don’t attack them personally – just show the folly and deceit of their policies.
Every Republican needs to take stock of his or her core values. If they are actually liberals – then stop lying about it and switch parties. A Republican who votes with the Democrats should be subject to party sanctions – and targeted to be voted out of office. Name one important issue that warranted parties working toward a common goal. You may be able to name some things that are of concern to both liberals and democrats, but core value differences will set two diametrically opposite courses of action to solve the problems.
This is war! It is being fought in the halls of the house and senate. Many of the elected Republicans are so afraid of losing their office, or being labeled as ‘unable to work in a bi-partisan manner’, that they sacrifice all conservative principles. Why on earth would true conservatives vote to keep such power hungry attention seekers in office? Why wouldn’t they vote for a third party candidate that clearly articulates conservative values and solemnly promises to do the best job possible to be a voice for the conservatives.
This is what the Republican Party needs to get through their tinsel covered heads. WE ARE SICK OF YOUR ACTIONS. You claim to be for us, but you are really for yourself. If that means you have to crawl in bed with the liberals, then you have no problem with it. You make us sick!
AND, Republicans can no longer count on the vote of committed conservatives. We would rather vote for a third party candidate or a even a write in candidate than continue to vote for the liberal Republicans you keep running for office.
In the end, I think one of two things will happen.
First, and hopefully, the Republican Party will finally get the message. Just as they fought for the ‘Independent’ vote, they now have to fight for the true conservative vote. They cannot take our votes for granite anymore. Instead of going for the ‘independents’, Republicans should just work to get all the true conservatives to vote. Many have left off voting simply because their gag reflex won’t let them vote for the RINO candidates. (for you liberals reading this – that means the so-called Republican candidates make true conservatives vomit – so they just don’t vote at all)
OR – Second – a third party representing true conservatives will eventually come up. I know, a third party system has a lot of problems. However, the Republicans currently are a group without authority, core values, or a vision for anything other than just how to stay in power. They are really just a useless appendage of the liberal/socialists currently in office. I believe the Republicans could be the ones to fade away, while what begins as a conservative third party movement, actually becomes the leader in a two party system.
Republican Party Leaders – it is up to you.
Either listen to true conservatives, and run true conservative candidates,
or
true and committed conservatives will find a party who will!
Barbara Henderson
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Providing Evidence of Who You Claim to Be
Evidence
By Barbara Henderson
In a recent article, I asked readers, ‘What is the motivating force in YOUR life?’ The motivating force in your life should be your love for the God who saved you. It is easy to say that your love for God is what motivates you to live your life the way you do; but, can you provide evidence that your love for God is the controlling factor in your life? Evidence that God is the motivating and controlling force in your life can be found in these areas:
OBEDIENCE. Psalm 119:2 says, ‘Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with their whole heart.’
This is easy to say, but more difficult to actually do. Are you doing the things that God says to do? And, how could you even know what God says to do if you are not seeking Him wholeheartedly? You have to put effort into obedience. This requires Bible study on a daily basis. It requires that you meditate on God’s words and how to apply His teachings to your life. As a Christian you are no longer free to choose your own way, your own thoughts, or your own pleasures. Isaiah 58:13-14 says,
‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
This is easy to read, but it is harder to put into practice. You will never be perfect at it, but are you even trying?
TRUST. Proverbs 3:5 says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not to thine own understanding.
Trust requires that you go ahead and do the things God says to do even though it may sometimes be against what your feelings tell you. Feelings are fickle to say the least; and they lead you astray.
Trust requires that you go ahead and do the things God says to do even though it may not appear to be the best thing at the time.
PRAYER. Jeremiah 29:13 says, ‘And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
You are a work in progress. The more you obey God, the more you see that doing the things He says to do will always be in your own best interest. That leads you to trust God more. Yet, you will still feel the call of the world to doubt God and disobey Him. In times of temptation, you should turn to God in prayer. Jeremiah’s encouragement to prayer is to an unwavering and resolute prayer. In the midst of whatever struggle you find yourself, seek God with your whole heart.
REPENTANCE. Joel 2:12 says, ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.
As you are seeking God wholeheartedly, He will often point out some things in your life that are bothering Him. This is your opportunity to get the objects that are standing between you and a better relationship with God cleared up. You need to change what is bothering God in your life. Your sins stand between you and God. The prevent God’s blessings and God’s answer to your prayers.
The question eventually becomes, ‘Which do I want more? Do I want to hang onto my sin? Or, do I want to get rid of my sin and then present my requests to God with a clean heart?
JOY. John 15:11 says, ‘these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Joy in the Lord is something that the children of the world cannot understand. It does not depend on what is happening in your life at the moment. Your joy rests on God’s love for you personally; His loving watch care over you; His promise to never leave you nor forsake you; and many other good things that come from a closer walk with the Lord.
DESIRE. You desire to please God in all that you do. Your heart wants to tell of God’s love to the lost. As a committed Christian, you gain a greater understanding each day of the great gulf between the eternal destination of the lost and the saved. Everyone should have a chance to at least hear the gospel so they can escape the torment of hell.
Normally I don’t care for the choruses sung in church today. However, I do like the first line of one that says, ‘I will serve thee because I love thee.’ This is the heart of the matter. God loved us more than He loved Himself. He laid down His life for us. God can give us the capacity to love Him and love others more than we love ourselves. Because we love God, we want to serve Him. Our love for God motivates us to serve Him. It motivates us to ‘lay down the life we thought we wanted for the life God wants us to have.’
I would like to promise you that the life God wants you to have will be a bed of roses from an earthly point of view. It might be. It might not be. I know of a young man who landed on the beach at Normandy June 6, 1944. He did all that was required of him. Then he began carrying the wounded to safety from that bloody beach. Eventually he was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. I know he was a Christian man. I personally talked to two of his comrades. They said there never was a finer young man. He literally laid down his life for his friends. I believe that love of God and of his country was so deeply ingrained in his daily actions that I don’t think he had any real choice in what he did. He did his duty and then continued on because of his love.
Do you think you would have been a hero that day? Would you have done more than was required of you? Would you have even done what was required of you? There is no way to tell. But, we can know that the Hollywood version of someone with a totally messed up life saving the day when the chips are down is NOT going to happen. If you want to be the one who pleases God when the chips are down, you have to begin today showing your love and respect for God, and the people He has put in your life. You have to treat them like you want to be treated. Obey God; keep the commandments; love others the way God loves them whether they deserve it or not. This is possible when you desire to please God more than you desire to please yourself.
Now, what was the end of the young man who died 6/6/44? Because he was a Christian, he went straight into the arms of God. Most of us will not be called to face such a situation. We are called to die to self daily. We are called to lay down our lives in order to do the things of God. We don’t know what will happen to us if we let the love of God be the motivating force in our lives. We don’t know if we will live a long and blessed life, or have a life that is cut short like the young man who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. In the end, death is certain regardless of the length of our days. And, after death comes the judgment.
For the Christian, eternal life is secured. But, to hear ‘Well Done!’ from God is not. That is determined by how we live our lives now. It is time to do a reality check in your own life. (I did one on my own life already. The results are ‘needs improvement.) Do you see obedience to God’s teachings in all that you do? Do you see your trust in God growing? Do you see your prayer life growing? Do you see your heart as more tender and repentant than it was just a short time ago? Do you see yourself having joy even in heartache? Do you see your desire to please God growing? Do you see your desire for God’s company growing? Do you see your desire to tell the way of salvation to the lost growing? These things provide evidence that God is the motivating force in all that you do.
The song for this article is ‘Brighten the Corner Where You Are’. Often we are waiting for an opportunity to do a great deed. That opportunity may never come. Actually, hopefully, it won’t ever come. Remember the young man on Omaha Beach on D-Day? He had the opportunity to do a great deed. He did it. He wound up in heaven really fast. Just be faithful where you are to do things God requires of you. You won’t be sorry.
Thank you for reading my article.
Barbara Henderson
‘Brighten the Corner Where You Are’
Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar,
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!
Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear,
Let not narrow self your way debar;
Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain
Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,
Here reflect the bright and Morning Star;
Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/r/brighten.htm
By Barbara Henderson
In a recent article, I asked readers, ‘What is the motivating force in YOUR life?’ The motivating force in your life should be your love for the God who saved you. It is easy to say that your love for God is what motivates you to live your life the way you do; but, can you provide evidence that your love for God is the controlling factor in your life? Evidence that God is the motivating and controlling force in your life can be found in these areas:
OBEDIENCE. Psalm 119:2 says, ‘Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with their whole heart.’
This is easy to say, but more difficult to actually do. Are you doing the things that God says to do? And, how could you even know what God says to do if you are not seeking Him wholeheartedly? You have to put effort into obedience. This requires Bible study on a daily basis. It requires that you meditate on God’s words and how to apply His teachings to your life. As a Christian you are no longer free to choose your own way, your own thoughts, or your own pleasures. Isaiah 58:13-14 says,
‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
This is easy to read, but it is harder to put into practice. You will never be perfect at it, but are you even trying?
TRUST. Proverbs 3:5 says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not to thine own understanding.
Trust requires that you go ahead and do the things God says to do even though it may sometimes be against what your feelings tell you. Feelings are fickle to say the least; and they lead you astray.
Trust requires that you go ahead and do the things God says to do even though it may not appear to be the best thing at the time.
PRAYER. Jeremiah 29:13 says, ‘And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
You are a work in progress. The more you obey God, the more you see that doing the things He says to do will always be in your own best interest. That leads you to trust God more. Yet, you will still feel the call of the world to doubt God and disobey Him. In times of temptation, you should turn to God in prayer. Jeremiah’s encouragement to prayer is to an unwavering and resolute prayer. In the midst of whatever struggle you find yourself, seek God with your whole heart.
REPENTANCE. Joel 2:12 says, ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.
As you are seeking God wholeheartedly, He will often point out some things in your life that are bothering Him. This is your opportunity to get the objects that are standing between you and a better relationship with God cleared up. You need to change what is bothering God in your life. Your sins stand between you and God. The prevent God’s blessings and God’s answer to your prayers.
The question eventually becomes, ‘Which do I want more? Do I want to hang onto my sin? Or, do I want to get rid of my sin and then present my requests to God with a clean heart?
JOY. John 15:11 says, ‘these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Joy in the Lord is something that the children of the world cannot understand. It does not depend on what is happening in your life at the moment. Your joy rests on God’s love for you personally; His loving watch care over you; His promise to never leave you nor forsake you; and many other good things that come from a closer walk with the Lord.
DESIRE. You desire to please God in all that you do. Your heart wants to tell of God’s love to the lost. As a committed Christian, you gain a greater understanding each day of the great gulf between the eternal destination of the lost and the saved. Everyone should have a chance to at least hear the gospel so they can escape the torment of hell.
Normally I don’t care for the choruses sung in church today. However, I do like the first line of one that says, ‘I will serve thee because I love thee.’ This is the heart of the matter. God loved us more than He loved Himself. He laid down His life for us. God can give us the capacity to love Him and love others more than we love ourselves. Because we love God, we want to serve Him. Our love for God motivates us to serve Him. It motivates us to ‘lay down the life we thought we wanted for the life God wants us to have.’
I would like to promise you that the life God wants you to have will be a bed of roses from an earthly point of view. It might be. It might not be. I know of a young man who landed on the beach at Normandy June 6, 1944. He did all that was required of him. Then he began carrying the wounded to safety from that bloody beach. Eventually he was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. I know he was a Christian man. I personally talked to two of his comrades. They said there never was a finer young man. He literally laid down his life for his friends. I believe that love of God and of his country was so deeply ingrained in his daily actions that I don’t think he had any real choice in what he did. He did his duty and then continued on because of his love.
Do you think you would have been a hero that day? Would you have done more than was required of you? Would you have even done what was required of you? There is no way to tell. But, we can know that the Hollywood version of someone with a totally messed up life saving the day when the chips are down is NOT going to happen. If you want to be the one who pleases God when the chips are down, you have to begin today showing your love and respect for God, and the people He has put in your life. You have to treat them like you want to be treated. Obey God; keep the commandments; love others the way God loves them whether they deserve it or not. This is possible when you desire to please God more than you desire to please yourself.
Now, what was the end of the young man who died 6/6/44? Because he was a Christian, he went straight into the arms of God. Most of us will not be called to face such a situation. We are called to die to self daily. We are called to lay down our lives in order to do the things of God. We don’t know what will happen to us if we let the love of God be the motivating force in our lives. We don’t know if we will live a long and blessed life, or have a life that is cut short like the young man who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. In the end, death is certain regardless of the length of our days. And, after death comes the judgment.
For the Christian, eternal life is secured. But, to hear ‘Well Done!’ from God is not. That is determined by how we live our lives now. It is time to do a reality check in your own life. (I did one on my own life already. The results are ‘needs improvement.) Do you see obedience to God’s teachings in all that you do? Do you see your trust in God growing? Do you see your prayer life growing? Do you see your heart as more tender and repentant than it was just a short time ago? Do you see yourself having joy even in heartache? Do you see your desire to please God growing? Do you see your desire for God’s company growing? Do you see your desire to tell the way of salvation to the lost growing? These things provide evidence that God is the motivating force in all that you do.
The song for this article is ‘Brighten the Corner Where You Are’. Often we are waiting for an opportunity to do a great deed. That opportunity may never come. Actually, hopefully, it won’t ever come. Remember the young man on Omaha Beach on D-Day? He had the opportunity to do a great deed. He did it. He wound up in heaven really fast. Just be faithful where you are to do things God requires of you. You won’t be sorry.
Thank you for reading my article.
Barbara Henderson
‘Brighten the Corner Where You Are’
Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar,
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!
Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear,
Let not narrow self your way debar;
Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain
Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,
Here reflect the bright and Morning Star;
Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/r/brighten.htm
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
More on Getting Your Prayers answered
Oops! I Left Out a Couple of Things on How to Get Your Prayers Answered.
By Barbara Henderson
Oops!
Last week I wrote an article titled ‘Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayers Answered’. Well, this week I realize I left out a two important things. First, there is another step; and, it may be the most important step after the step of salvation. It is forgiveness.
When I first realized the importance of forgiveness my thought was, ‘Oh! RATS!’ Why does THAT have to come into getting my prayers answered? I suppose it truly is about getting my prayers answered; but, even more important, it is about getting closer to the Lord.
Anyway, if you are praying for something that is dreadfully and continually important to you, then you must consider your own life. Sometimes, a delay in getting a positive answer to your prayer means ‘sin lieth at the door’. (Genesis 4:7) The sin at the door is often lack of forgiveness toward those who have wronged you. The more I studied on forgiveness, the more I came to realize…. ‘I’ve been robbed!’….
That’s right. Robbed! I don’t know of the right word here, so I will use the word ‘unforgivness’.
Unforgiveness robs you of:
Peace with God.
Direct access to God.
Answers to prayers.
Freedom – it chains you to your hurt and prevents you from enjoying the blessings of the day.
Don’t misunderstand that the act of forgiveness is sort of like a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Forgiveness isn’t cause and effect in that you forgive someone and then God will grant your prayer. Forgiveness is a requirement for getting God’s attention when you pray. Your level of forgiveness to others is key to how well God hears your prayers. The smaller hurts are just as dangerous as the big hurts. Left unforgiven, they wind up growing to the same size as a big hurt.
Unforgiveness is:
A liar – it tells you things are worse than they really are.
A slave driver – an unforgiving heart finds every thought consumed by anger and bitterness toward the one who ‘done him wrong’.
A devouring fire – destroying whoever gets in its way. No one and nothing is more important than holding on to that anger and hurt.
And – unforgiveness is EXPENSIVE!
It costs the future by chaining you to the past.
It costs the present by binding your thoughts to hurt.
It costs you the people and things you love because you neglect them in favor of nursing hurt feelings.
According to John MacArthur there are seven reasons to forgive:
To deflect pride
To show mercy
To restore joy
To affirm love
To prove obedience
To restore fellowship
To thwart Satan
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/47-9
I also left out something else. Step 7 to getting your prayers answered was that we should keep on praying. Prayers often go unanswered because we fail to continue to pray. Why is that?
Do we still want our prayer answered?
Probably, but there is a problem. To continue in prayer regarding one subject, whether it be healing of an illness, restoration of family relationship, or revival in the lives of Christians, is usually going to require something of the prayee (the one praying) that is very difficult. It requires the prayee to deal with sin in his or her own life.
Yep, that’s exactly right. I have never gone to the Lord in effectual fervent prayer (James 5:16) without being severely convicted of something in my own life that was bothering God. It turns out that there are no ‘little’ sins to God. If there is something going on in your life that is not pleasing to God, get ready to hear about it from Him.
Continual passionate prayer is work to begin with; but it is also dangerous work for anyone who wants their own lives to go along without change. To get your prayer answered often causes your own life and self image to be turned upside down!
There is some really good news in all that. God can’t fix what is broken in your life until He has your attention, and because of your passionate prayer He suddenly has it. Then, God ‘runs a diagnostic check’ on you. One thing may have led you to pray, but God is going to use it to your good. He is going to point out obstacles that are keeping you from being the growing Christian God wants you to be.
So, every Christian praying for something important has to make a decision.
How badly do I want this prayer answered?
Count the cost before you set out to get a prayer answered.
God is not going to ask you to go out on a great quest in order to get Him to listen to your prayer. He is not going to ask you to sacrifice something in your life like ‘fish on Friday’, or powdered sugar donuts for breakfast (thankgoodness). He is going to ask you to get your heart right with Him.
God will ask you to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who often speaks through scripture, so Bible reading is a must if you are serious about wanting your prayer answered.
My preacher and dearest friend Evan New preached that a good reason that King David was loved so much by God, even though David was at times a dreadful sinner, was that once David realized the error of his ways, or ‘came to his senses’ regarding a sin, he immediately repented. David did not waste time excusing his sins. He truly repented and asked forgiveness.
That is an example that we need to follow. Don’t waste your time explaining how badly someone hurt you, or what your provocation was to sin in the first place. Just admit it was a sin. Turn from it. Restore your relationship with God. It is really plain stupid not to. Here’s why. God can soothe the hurt or trauma like no one and nothing else can do. To stay alienated from God because of anger or hurt feelings is like a burn victim refusing medical treatment because he is mad that he was burned in the first place.
Well, those are the two things I left out of ‘Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayer Answered’.
Forgive others as Christ has forgiven you.
Be ready to repent and turn from sin in your own life immediately upon conviction of sin.
I have to add that none of these ‘steps’ are guaranteed to bring you the exact answer to anything. Often God changes our prayer to suit Him better. In effect, we come to desire something better than our original prayer. It is like in Psalms 37 – God gives us the right desires in our hearts and then He brings it to pass.
Instead of a song I think I will just add Psalm 37:1-11 and Psalm 107:26-30.
Psalm 37:1-11
1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and veriy thou shalt be fed.
4. Delight thyself also in th LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5. Commit they way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him”: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devises to pass.
8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Another really good passage for anyone going through something so terrifying and distressful that it brings them to agony of spirit is Pslam 107:26-30. This passage compares someone in turmoil and distress to a mariner going through a storm.
Psalm 107:26-30
26. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. (That pretty much describes the emotional roller coaster ride we go through when facing a crisis.)
27. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
28. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. (PLURAL – distresses – I love that part.)
29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (God stops your emotional storm, and helps you to be still and hear His voice.)
30. Then are they glad because they be quite; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Oh, man, I love verse 30. We reach our desired haven. The storm is over!
Barbara Henderson
http://askbh.com
Visit my web page for more articles and free booklets to download.
Don’t forget to check out my recommended books and other items through my online store.
By Barbara Henderson
Oops!
Last week I wrote an article titled ‘Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayers Answered’. Well, this week I realize I left out a two important things. First, there is another step; and, it may be the most important step after the step of salvation. It is forgiveness.
When I first realized the importance of forgiveness my thought was, ‘Oh! RATS!’ Why does THAT have to come into getting my prayers answered? I suppose it truly is about getting my prayers answered; but, even more important, it is about getting closer to the Lord.
Anyway, if you are praying for something that is dreadfully and continually important to you, then you must consider your own life. Sometimes, a delay in getting a positive answer to your prayer means ‘sin lieth at the door’. (Genesis 4:7) The sin at the door is often lack of forgiveness toward those who have wronged you. The more I studied on forgiveness, the more I came to realize…. ‘I’ve been robbed!’….
That’s right. Robbed! I don’t know of the right word here, so I will use the word ‘unforgivness’.
Unforgiveness robs you of:
Peace with God.
Direct access to God.
Answers to prayers.
Freedom – it chains you to your hurt and prevents you from enjoying the blessings of the day.
Don’t misunderstand that the act of forgiveness is sort of like a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Forgiveness isn’t cause and effect in that you forgive someone and then God will grant your prayer. Forgiveness is a requirement for getting God’s attention when you pray. Your level of forgiveness to others is key to how well God hears your prayers. The smaller hurts are just as dangerous as the big hurts. Left unforgiven, they wind up growing to the same size as a big hurt.
Unforgiveness is:
A liar – it tells you things are worse than they really are.
A slave driver – an unforgiving heart finds every thought consumed by anger and bitterness toward the one who ‘done him wrong’.
A devouring fire – destroying whoever gets in its way. No one and nothing is more important than holding on to that anger and hurt.
And – unforgiveness is EXPENSIVE!
It costs the future by chaining you to the past.
It costs the present by binding your thoughts to hurt.
It costs you the people and things you love because you neglect them in favor of nursing hurt feelings.
According to John MacArthur there are seven reasons to forgive:
To deflect pride
To show mercy
To restore joy
To affirm love
To prove obedience
To restore fellowship
To thwart Satan
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/47-9
I also left out something else. Step 7 to getting your prayers answered was that we should keep on praying. Prayers often go unanswered because we fail to continue to pray. Why is that?
Do we still want our prayer answered?
Probably, but there is a problem. To continue in prayer regarding one subject, whether it be healing of an illness, restoration of family relationship, or revival in the lives of Christians, is usually going to require something of the prayee (the one praying) that is very difficult. It requires the prayee to deal with sin in his or her own life.
Yep, that’s exactly right. I have never gone to the Lord in effectual fervent prayer (James 5:16) without being severely convicted of something in my own life that was bothering God. It turns out that there are no ‘little’ sins to God. If there is something going on in your life that is not pleasing to God, get ready to hear about it from Him.
Continual passionate prayer is work to begin with; but it is also dangerous work for anyone who wants their own lives to go along without change. To get your prayer answered often causes your own life and self image to be turned upside down!
There is some really good news in all that. God can’t fix what is broken in your life until He has your attention, and because of your passionate prayer He suddenly has it. Then, God ‘runs a diagnostic check’ on you. One thing may have led you to pray, but God is going to use it to your good. He is going to point out obstacles that are keeping you from being the growing Christian God wants you to be.
So, every Christian praying for something important has to make a decision.
How badly do I want this prayer answered?
Count the cost before you set out to get a prayer answered.
God is not going to ask you to go out on a great quest in order to get Him to listen to your prayer. He is not going to ask you to sacrifice something in your life like ‘fish on Friday’, or powdered sugar donuts for breakfast (thankgoodness). He is going to ask you to get your heart right with Him.
God will ask you to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who often speaks through scripture, so Bible reading is a must if you are serious about wanting your prayer answered.
My preacher and dearest friend Evan New preached that a good reason that King David was loved so much by God, even though David was at times a dreadful sinner, was that once David realized the error of his ways, or ‘came to his senses’ regarding a sin, he immediately repented. David did not waste time excusing his sins. He truly repented and asked forgiveness.
That is an example that we need to follow. Don’t waste your time explaining how badly someone hurt you, or what your provocation was to sin in the first place. Just admit it was a sin. Turn from it. Restore your relationship with God. It is really plain stupid not to. Here’s why. God can soothe the hurt or trauma like no one and nothing else can do. To stay alienated from God because of anger or hurt feelings is like a burn victim refusing medical treatment because he is mad that he was burned in the first place.
Well, those are the two things I left out of ‘Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayer Answered’.
Forgive others as Christ has forgiven you.
Be ready to repent and turn from sin in your own life immediately upon conviction of sin.
I have to add that none of these ‘steps’ are guaranteed to bring you the exact answer to anything. Often God changes our prayer to suit Him better. In effect, we come to desire something better than our original prayer. It is like in Psalms 37 – God gives us the right desires in our hearts and then He brings it to pass.
Instead of a song I think I will just add Psalm 37:1-11 and Psalm 107:26-30.
Psalm 37:1-11
1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and veriy thou shalt be fed.
4. Delight thyself also in th LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5. Commit they way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him”: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devises to pass.
8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Another really good passage for anyone going through something so terrifying and distressful that it brings them to agony of spirit is Pslam 107:26-30. This passage compares someone in turmoil and distress to a mariner going through a storm.
Psalm 107:26-30
26. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. (That pretty much describes the emotional roller coaster ride we go through when facing a crisis.)
27. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
28. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. (PLURAL – distresses – I love that part.)
29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (God stops your emotional storm, and helps you to be still and hear His voice.)
30. Then are they glad because they be quite; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Oh, man, I love verse 30. We reach our desired haven. The storm is over!
Barbara Henderson
http://askbh.com
Visit my web page for more articles and free booklets to download.
Don’t forget to check out my recommended books and other items through my online store.
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