Our God is so wonderful! He is all-powerful. He is gracious, merciful and loving. He loves those who are His and gives us endless blessings. He is full of majesty and power. He is worthy of all honor and glory and praise!
God is good to me every day, but I guess you can tell that He has been especially good to me today. It is a wonderful blessing to part of a prayer group. If you have never tried it, you should. I cannot begin to explain the marvelous benefits of praying as part of a small intimate group. It has changed my life in so many ways. Our prayer group has seen many prayers answered and we have seen God working in our lives in amazing ways.
I guess you can tell from all this, that I was able to meet with my group tonight. It left me full of love for the Father who loves us so much. If we are walking in the light, then the Lord is with us all the time. As we grow and mature in our faith and prayer life, we begin to see this - even in the smallest details. As we begin to see it, we constantly thank the Lord all day long; or at least we should.
Let's take today for example. I was at work -- I was hungry, so I needed a snack of some kind to tide me over until I could go out and get something more substantial later. I knew I didn't have much money - not even very much change. But I began to dig around in my purse thinking if I could just find 50 cents that would be enough to go buy a pack of nabs (peanut butter and crackers).
So I looked in my wallet and there was nothing there but a few pennies. Then I heard some change rattling at the bottom of my purse-so I kept digging and I found a quarter. Then I pulled out two dimes--I almost had the 50 cents I needed. I went from one side of my purse to the other and finally I could feel one more coin. Guess what it was when I pulled it out? You got it- it was a nickel and that made my 50 cents!
As I stood there holding those coins in my hand, I said "Thank you, Lord. You gave me just enough. You gave me just what I needed - just what I asked for." Sometimes- MANY times our Heavenly Father will do that for us. He will give us just what we need- just WHEN we need it. God's timing is perfect! And to me - that is an awesome thing!
Don't get me wrong - it does not surprise me when God answers my prayers- for to say that would mean that perhaps I doubt my Lord in some way. It is not that I am surprised that He takes care of us --that He answers prayers for us. It is just that sometimes I am amazed -awed--in the way He does it. I think if we ever forget how wonderful God is and how awesome it is that He cares for us-- and answers our prayers- even the ones for just 50 cents -that we lose our zeal for the Lord.
I will share another example. This one is somewhat humorous, but I don't think my sister in law will mind me sharing because I heard her share it in a Ladies' Sunday school class once. When her oldest daughter was born, she weighed a few ounces over 11 pounds. I can't remember exactly, (sorry Shannon). I think anyone would agree that's a big baby. And no, there was no C-section. Elizabeth is a lovely young Christian lady now. And I am so proud of her!
When the next baby was on the way, my sister-in-law prayed that daughter #2 would not weigh as much as the Elizabeth had weighed. God answered her prayer. Mary Dixon came into this world weighing just one ounce less than her older sister! (I hope that's right- it may have been two ounces, but it was still over 11 pounds).
Next comes baby #3. Shannon prays, "Dear God, please don't let me have a baby born weighing in the double digits. Let him weigh less than 10 pounds, please." So take a wild guess how much my nephew Will weighed? You got it -9 pounds and 15 ounces; that's 1 ounce-- just 1 ounce less than 10 pounds! My parents were in the hospital room. Shannon looked over at my Dad and said, "I think God has a sense of humor." But God gave Shannon what she prayed for-even if it was just by one ounce!
I tell this story to help illustrate a few points. You see, our great God knew Shannon. He knew how much her babies had weighed! Don't you find that awesome? Think of all the babies that are born every day- every year-- each individual baby --and God knows how much each one of them weighs --AND he knows which baby belongs to whom!
God also loves Shannon and He did hear her prayer. Now some people may think her prayers didn't have anything to do with how much her second and third babies weighed -that it was all just a matter of coincidence. But don't you dare tell Shannon that! She won't believe you for a minute and I don't either. It is way too much of a coincidence to think that those babies were just an ounce less than what Shannon prayed for. No, that was not pure chance. God did that!!
I am not sure why God answered her prayers in just that way --but I have no doubt that He did. Maybe it was just so she could tell that story--so people could understand and know God's power. Maybe it was because of His sense of humor. I don't know. But I do know that there are times in our lives when we can see that God heard and answered our prayers --and gives us just what we need- just when we need it.
He doesn't always cut it that close. I remember one time praying that my car repair would cost less than $100. The bill was only for $77 and change. There have been other times when He answered my prayer with so much more than I ever imagined.
God works in our lives. I saw it today with 50 cents. I saw it tonight in our prayer group. I have seen it over and over again in my life and in the lives of those I love.
Honor Him, obey Him,- glorify Him. He will give you what you need -when you need it. Sometimes it will be just enough and that's wonderful because it is just that- enough. It takes care of what you asked for. Sometimes it will be so much more than what you asked for --and that is wonderful too-because either way God is blessing you! So don't forget to be thankful. And don't forget that when our awesome God blesses you--use those gifts sometimes to bless others.
Thank you God for all your blessings- both big and small. Thank you for knowing what we need and for loving us enough to give us just that (what we need)- when we need it. Thank you for your perfect timing!!
Christ above all things,
Robin
No comments:
Post a Comment