Luke 8:40Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,c but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
46But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Notice what Jesus did and did not say. He did not say "Daughter, the edge of my cloak has healed you. Go in peace." What Jesus did say is "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
How do you know the Lord is going to answer you? Your faith is the evidence along with the Word of God. That fire or even that flickering ember of faith within you is power that produces results.
Our faith plus the Word tells us our prayers will be answered
| ... and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. ... //bible.cc/1_john/3-22.htm - 19k |
| ... "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you'll receive it. |
| "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. |
What many people have a problem with is "when"......"When will I get my answer?" and when belongs to the Lord...
Ecc 3:1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Our faith is tested when the Lord does not answer immediately and some people give up. If we give up we cannot pass the test. Does the Word teach us persistence in prayer and faith? Yes.
Luke 18:1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ”
6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
This year we have signs in the heavens that the Lord is about to act. The lunar tetrad on the Lord's feast days tell us to be watching and ready.
I asked the Lord about this year, I said something like "Lord, your signs are in the heavens and I have asked you whats about to happen and I have not heard from you so we are flying blind into whatever is coming." He said something to the effect that we have His Word and we have our faith and that is enough. We should not be surprised that nobody is getting a blow by blow sequence of events before hand from Him. What He wants from us is faith and we are either going to stand or fall based on that faith of lack thereof.
He has impressed upon this writer that we should be at peace and rest in Him as this storm approaches. Yes, there is a storm coming and it will be most severe but we are not to be disturbed or upset by it. Rest and trust and peace are what the Lord has in store for us but we will only lay hold of these things by faith.
The Lord expects faith from us. What did the Lord say?
| ... Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” |
I pray that when the Son of Man comes, He will find you and me full of mountain moving, fig tree uprooting and thrown into the sea, miracle working faith.
And I will leave you with this today:
| 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 |
grace and peace
