The “die is not cast”

I awoke early this morning and have been praying for several friends of mine who are experiencing serious problems, some of which are life-threatening.

I have read the Bible cover to cover so many times that I cannot even remember exactly how many times I have read it. I have read most of the translations and always come away convinced that aside from style, there really is not that much difference in any of them and the message remains the same. I believe the Bible to be the holy word of God. Although God did not personally put it to pen and paper, He inspired every word that was written and I do not believe that He, (the all powerful Creator of everything seen and unseen), would ever have allowed a single word to be put down in error. The Bible is God’s one and only communiqu with this world and it is absolutely amazing to me how many of those who profess faith in Him have not ever taken the time to read it, especially when one considers the sheer number of books about other subjects that they read each and every year.

Although there are parts of the Bible that will always remain a mystery to me, (probably because it was written for a different generation and a different age), I do believe every word recorded in the Bible to be true and it is the foundation for my faith. I do not derive my faith from my parents, friends, family, or some preacher or priest’s belief system; I derive my belief system right from the pages of the Bible.

The Bible has much to say about prayer. I believe in prayer in times of duress, because the Bible tells me that prayer works and there are numerous examples of it throughout the Bible. Jesus prayed so hard the night before His arrest that blood actually came through the pores of the skin on His brow like sweat. Stop for a minute and mull that over in your mind. Can you imagine praying that intensely? This was the Son of God and is our example to follow throughout life. Jesus often went into the desert or up on a mountain to pray; I suppose He did that in order to find solitude. I can just picture Him kneeling and pouring His heart out to His Father on our behalf with just Him and the Father in deep communication with one another. He did not limit His prayer life to solitude however; and prayed virtually everywhere He went and did so both publicly and privately.

The Bible states that we should be anxious for nothing. Those are tall orders when one is facing a life-threatening situation. It states that we should pray without ceasing. I take that to mean that throughout the day and during our every waking hour that we should be praying to the Lord to assist us with most everything as well as to thank Him for what He has done and continues to do in our lives. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit prays for us too and asks God to intercede on our behalves in “groans and uttering” that cannot even be understood by mankind. It also states that the prayers of righteous Christians avail much and can make a difference as God listens intently to our petitions and there are numerous examples of God being persuaded to alter His decision after listening to fervent prayers.

Ultimately God knows what is best for us and we should be prepared to accept His judgment. As every Christian knows, particularly those of us who are turning white headed, the answer to every prayer will not be “yes”. God also answers prayer with a “no”, or “wait a while, now is not the right time for what you desire”.

Jesus prayed very hard and asked His Father if there was any way that He could escape what was coming on the cross to please allow it; however He ended that prayer by stating plainly, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as You will”. We should end all prayer requests in like manner and like Jesus, we should willingly accept God’s will for our lives and recognize that he is in control and that His plan for our lives is “perfect”. Similar to a CEO of a large organization, God is privy to far more information than anyone else and He knows every detail of the plan for our lives and for all of creation, and the Bible assures us that there is a perfect plan for our lives.

Most importantly we should keep in mind that God loves us far more than anyone could even love their own child or anyone or anything else for that matter. God loves us so much that He allowed His one and only Son to suffer and die a brutal mind-boggling death in order that we might live. God’s love for us should demonstrate that He is going to do what is best for us, albeit it is often difficult to understand why some things have to happen when and how they do at the time they occur.

With that said, remember to pray. Don’t ever think that the “die is cast” and prayer is a waste of time. God hears prayers and can oftentimes be persuaded to intercede even to rescue our country that seems to be going down fast. We are told to petition Him often and we should do so. Read your Bible if you need assurance for this, and when you do pray don’t forget to thank Him for everything He has done and is doing for you and yours.

Psalm 35:15
The eyes of the Lord are on the
Righteous,
And His ears are open to their
cry.