God Hears Us

Posted on by korgrocker

“So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!””
John 11:41-44 NLT

What happened next in the account of Lazarus was amazingly unequivocal. Jesus prayed out loud about His Father in Heaven hearing Him, not because it was necessary for what was about to happen, but so that the people around Him would make the connection between an amazing miracle, Jesus, and God Himself. After this there would be no doubts about where Jesus had come from and why He was there in Israel. With such a demonstration of His God-given power, how could anyone not believe in Jesus?

Jesus of course didn’t have to remind everyone through a verbal prayer. He was always in constant communication with His Father, Spirit to Spirit, mind to mind, thought to thought, Son to Father. Jesus as we know was and is part of the Godhead, the Trinity, and for a brief time, was willing to become human for the sake of mankind. There was never going to be another opportunity for people everywhere to believe in Him. Greater miracles were not ever going to happen. 

Ever since the devil assumed control of the world, introducing wickedness and evil, mankind has been in self-destruct mode. The last thing the devil wanted was to see people come to a faith in Jesus, because by doing so they would be released from his clutches. Through faith in God, people ever since have had the ability to live in a different way, able to communicate with their loving Heavenly Father, because He always hears us. The Holy Spirit now resides within us, those of us who are believing pilgrims on their way to the fruition of their faith, eternal life. 

Psalm 139:1-4, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord”. The Psalmist David, who wrote these words many years ago, knew from his relationship with God that He heard everything he thought, not just prayed. He went on to say, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (Psalm 139:7). And he finished the Psalm with, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! …  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:7, 23-24).

God hears us, even when we perhaps think otherwise. Apart from the obvious outcome regarding our thought life and behaviour, we have the assurance that the relationship we have with God is alive and real, and it enables us to check in with Him at every opportunity. Because of our humanity we are prone to sinful thoughts but through Jesus we have a remedy that allows us to maintain our relationship with God. So what are we thinking today? God is listening in as well, don’t forget.

Dear Father God. As Your children we are grateful for Your presence in our lives. Please help us to live in a way that is worthy of You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Is Always Ready to Hear

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.” “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.””
John 9:28-33 NLT

Mr Blind-no-more wasn’t afraid to stand up to the Pharisees, unlike his parents. The Pharisees argued that because they didn’t know where Jesus had come from, then His miraculous act of healing lacked validity. They maintained that it couldn’t have been God, or anyone representing Him, who performed the miracle, because whoever did it should have first checked things out with them and obtained their seal of approval. The Pharisees’ view of God was boxed in by their interpretation of the Law of Moses. But Mr Blind-no-more had a different logic. He said that regardless of the Pharisees’ opinion, which was, “If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” He went further by turning the Pharisees’ logic around and said that regardless of where Jesus had come from, He must have come from God to perform such a miraculous healing. 

In the middle of the exchange, Mr Blind-no-more said that “God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will”. Such a view was commonplace in the legalistic environment of those days, that God listened to those who were for Him, and He didn’t listen to those who were against Him. So according to the Pharisees, if Jesus was a sinner, the miracle, if it happened, couldn’t have been from God. 

Does God only listen to the prayers of a righteous person? If we believe that then we are doing what the Pharisees did – we have put God in a box. God is compassionate, loving, and gracious, and He will do what He considers to be right. And if He answers the prayers of someone who doesn’t believe in Him, then that is His prerogative. Quite why such a person would pray to Him is perhaps academic, because there are unbelievers’ prayers heard by God in the Old Testament. In Genesis 21 we can read the story of Hagar and her son Ishmael. Or the people of Nineveh in Jonah 3. In times past, desperate people have cried out to God for relief from their situation. Sometimes He answered. In. 1 John 5:14, we read, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” Perhaps that verse also applies to anyone, believers or not, who pray in accordance with His will. 

Sadly today we in the UK are living in an increasingly secular society. And the names of God and His Son are only used in expletive phrases. People fail to believe that he exists, their minds blinded by the enemy and his servants who come up with all sorts of theories (for example, evolution?) that try and explain the world around us. And instead of turning to God when circumstances dictate, they even turn their back on Him and some even go to occultism for a remedy. It must break God’s heart to see such happenings, as it did in Genesis 6:6, “So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart”. But there will come a day when God will be universally acknowledged. Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

We pilgrims love the Lord. We are His children and we know that He listens to our prayers. Of course, every cry for help will not always be answered in the way we desire, because we live in a fallen and sinful world, but God is always there for us in our times of trouble. And by faith in Him, we are overcomers, rising above our circumstances. 

Dear God. We thank You that You always hear our prayers. And whatever our circumstances we acknowledge that You have our interests at heart. We praise You today. Amen.

The Gold Altar

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.” Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops.”
Revelation‬ ‭9:13-16‬ ‭NLT

A speaking altar. John’s vision clearly described it as being made of gold, with four horns, and positioned right there in God’s presence. There must have been something sacred and holy about it. And a voice came from it with an instruction that became the second terror, or woe. But what was the significance of the altar? To answer that question we have to look back into the Old Testament, where altar-building instructions can be found.

In Exodus 30, God gave Moses a blueprint for the golden altar, that was to be used for burning incense. We read, “Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense. Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold moulding around the entire altar.” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭30:1-3). God continued with instructions about what the altar was to be used for. “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s most holy altar.” (‭‭Exodus‬ ‭30:7-8, 10‬ ‭NLT).

So the golden altar in John’s vision was probably the same as the altar we read about in Revelation 8, “Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.” (‭‭Revelation‬ ‭8:3-4‬ ‭NLT). Some theologians think that the golden altar with its horns was a “type” of Christ because His prayers of intercession are constantly rising up to God like incense.

 Altars played a very important role in ancient Jewish worship. But what about today, in our Western churches? Pilgrims from a Catholic or Anglican background, and visitors to churches in these denominations, will be aware of a cloth covered table located at the front of a church building. The decorations and ornaments are beautifully ornate, with extensive use of gold and even precious stones, and someone like myself, brought up in an Anglican Church, feel a sense of reverence when approaching this object, what is referred to as an “altar”. From an early age I grew up with the thought that somehow God lives there. In Anglican liturgy it is at the altar that the priest undertakes various duties during a church service, with congregants looking on. Bodily responses such as genuflection or bowing are performed when passing in front of the altar, reflecting the reverence and awe afforded to this item of furniture.

A modern application of an altar is in the wayside shrines that crop up today. Perhaps where some unfortunate person was killed in a road accident, or, as in my local community, where a young man, apparently high on drugs, committed suicide. The person’s loved ones have erected an “altar” in their memory and regularly place flowers there. Another example of this is with the inclusion of plaques of remembrance being affixed to park benches. But an altar is nothing more than a place of consecration. A place where a memory can be immortalised.

But whatever our liturgy or upbringing, is an altar of any real relevance in our pilgrim lives? I would suggest there is great importance in an altar, but a personal one. In Jewish worship it was on the altar that animals were sacrificed as an act of worship to God. But in a personal way we develop an altar to commemorate our commitment to God. In my morning prayer walks, I have way points where I pause to offer up to God thanks and praise for something or someone in my life that has been significant. We all need something to associate our loving Heavenly Father and our relationships with Him. so we develop our own personal altars, where we praise and worship our God. Where we offer up our thanks with grateful hearts for His provision. Where we pray for petitionary prayers for our loved ones and even national issues. In our hearts we have a ready made home for our altars, a place far more precious than any cloth covered man-made edifice located at the front of a dusty old mausoleum.

Dear Father. Where else can we find You than on the altars of our hearts. We praise and thank You for dwelling there by Your Holy Spirit. We pray that You never leave us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pray For Me

Posted on by korgrocker

“And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.”
Ephesians 6:19-20

So far in this Epistle, Paul has been dispensing wise and helpful words for the benefit of his friends back in Ephesus. He’s been praying for them, encouraging them, blessing them and revealing God’s truth, and now, as if he senses that he is coming near the end of his letter, he suddenly turns to consider himself. And so he should. Locked up in a probably disgusting prison cell, in chains, it has been amazing at what has flowed from his pen. But not a hint of self-pity. Quite simply, he asks for his friends back home to pray for him. Even then, I would have expected his prayers to be focused on his circumstances – the cold cell, the damp, the lack of sanitary facilities, the rats, his chains, poor and insufficient food. But none of this. He only wanted them to pray for him, that he would, at every opportunity, be able to share the Gospel, the Good News, with everyone to whom he had access. So a passing jailor would frequently receive Paul’s message. A soldier at the end of his shift. Fellow prisoners in adjacent cells. They all knew what Paul stood for. On occasion, he would have been taken out to meet a magistrate or some other dignitary, once again being processed through the next step in the Roman legal system. But no hint of wanting prayer for his protection, from abuse, from ridicule, from an aggression unknown in our culture. He wanted prayer for the courage to speak out clearly and boldly so that there would be no excuse for his hearers if they rejected his message. The Jews would have been incensed that this ex-Pharisee was preaching that they should intermingle with the hated Gentiles. The Gentiles too would have been upset that someone was rubbishing their gods. All in all he would have been unpopular at best and constantly vilified at worst. 

But I can feel his anguish as he clenched his fists, digging his finger nails into the palms of his hands, crying out to God for more power, more opportunities, more of the right words to penetrate into the cultural fog of his day. And to help him in his mission, he asked his friends to pray for him. Was it a pointless prayer? Something he felt he should ask so that the Ephesians could think they were doing something useful to help him? No – he really valued their prayers. He believed, in faith, that God would answer them, granting him the right words and opportunities he so desperately desired.

So what about us? Do we ask for prayer from those around us? From our church family? From our pastor or minister? Or do we continue to live on in our circumstances, too proud to admit we need help? Here’s a revelation – pilgrims need prayer. Constantly. For their health, their life, their witness, their journey. And God has given us the means to help one another – prayer. Prayer changes things. God listens to our prayers and delivers answers. Paul knew the value of prayer, and so should we. Note that I’m talking to myself here as well – I’m not good at asking others to pray for me. But thankfully God hasn’t finished with me just yet. 

Let’s resolve today to ask some one to pray for us. We never know – there might be a life-changing answer just waiting to be delivered, an answer that is timely and profound. Bringing clarity into our lives. Unstopping an obstacle. Removing a hurdle. Healing an illness or condition. Our journey with God is exciting – we never know what He has for us next. With prayer we might just get to find out.

Bend Down, God

Posted on by korgrocker

“Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; 
     answer me, for I need your help.”
‭Psalms‬ ‭86:1‬ ‭NLT‬

Yet again the imagery in the Psalms impresses me. Straight away, this verse develops within me a picture of a parent bending down to hear what a small child is saying. David is back again, pushing the Psalmist’s pen. And once again he is calling out to God for help.  If the only information about his life was contained within the Psalms then we would perhaps have a very skewed picture of his existence, as he seemed to stumble from one disaster to the next. From one petitioning audience with God to the next.

But this picture of God bending down to hear our prayers. My prayers. Your prayers. The world’s prayers. So many of them incessantly rising up into Heavenly places. But we read that God doesn’t loftily wait for them to arrive, holding out a net to catch the best ones, letting most fall back to earth unanswered. No, God actually bends down to hear them – David wouldn’t have asked otherwise. Our hurried whispered prayers. Not making much sense. But God knows – He bends down to hear them. And just in case the words from our mouths are garbled and incoherent, He checks out what is in our hearts, where the source of our prayers are birthed. 

The wonderful thing about our relationships with our Heavenly Father, is that He is always there for us. “An ever present help in times of trouble”, (Psalm 46). And we can call upon Him at any time. Day or night. From wherever we are. From a prison cell or a palace. In bed, on our knees, at our office desk, anywhere at all. There in no place where God is unreachable. So why do we hold back in our petitions, in our prayers for help when we need it? 

David’s faith was such that he was convinced God would always answer him. He wrote in verse 7 of this psalm, “I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me.” And he also knew that God would never tire of hearing his prayers. He wrote in verse 3, “Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.” David knew the wonderful love and provision of His Heavenly Father. But He’s our Father as well and He has no favourites. We can all stand before Him, equally able to offer up our prayers. His unfailing love and mercy means He is always ready and waiting to hear us, bending down if necessary to hear our heart-felt petitions. Oh – just one more thing – we mustn’t forget our manners – we mustn’t forget to thank Him. And offer Him our praise and worship, in constant wonder that the Creator of everything cares enough to bend down and hear our prayers.

‭‭