While I was a student at Memphis School of Preaching (MSOP), there was a classmate who usually sang the same hymn over and over again, the title of that hymn, “God Is So Good”. He did not sing it only when he was assigned to lead songs at Chapel, but during the breaks, while he was driving, walking, working out, or just doing something else. He loved that hymn. Its lyrics are very simple, and while there are some variations, basically it is a song to praise God because He is so Good, He answers our prayers, and He cares for us.
The inspired and wise James wrote,
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”
James 5:13-16.
Prayer is the most powerful way of communication we have. When we read the Bible, we listen to God, but when we pray, He listens to us. Dear brethren and reader, for those who are friends of this servant or follow him on Facebook, you might be aware of a post I did during the past week. In that post, I asked for prayers from my beloved brethren on our behalf because we were very afflicted. We love and rejoice to be back in Panama and to put into practice everything we learned during our time at MSOP, and we knew already about the difficulties that we were going to experience here. One of them has been with the financial help, as we, as everyone else, have bills to pay. The response to that post has been amazing. Lots of brethren and friends wrote words of encouragement and told us that they keep us in their prayers. Others have been able to send us some money, others started to find ways to raise funds to help us and we will be forever thankful to them for that.
The time of God is perfect,
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”
2 Peter 3:8-9.
While we might think, sometimes, that God is taking a long time to answer our prayers, He is the one in control. He knows the right time to give us an answer. Christians need to be reminded of this often. In the opening of his letter, James wrote,
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing”
James 1:2-4.
It has taken a long time and lots of prayers, but we are thankful that God blessed us with a congregation that is willing to be the sponsoring church for the work we do for the Lord. Today we finally have a group of brethren that have the willingness to be our point of contact in America. A group of brethren that are willing to learn more about our country, our family, our work, and even our language. A group of brethren that are also praying for more ways to do the work of the Lord [If you would like to know how you can support us or get in touch with the congregation that oversees our work, please fill the contact form].
One of the comments that were written in the post by a couple that we love greatly was in regard to the following passage,
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him”
1 John 3:16-19.
Dear brethren, the apostle Paul wrote to the brethren at Rome, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15). We asked for prayers because we were afflicted, but today, we are rejoicing in knowing that we are not alone. We rejoice in knowing that there are faithful Christians out there, willing to help the brethren whenever is needed. We rejoice in knowing that what we do is not for ourselves, but to glorify God. And we rejoice in knowing that that same thinking is in the mind of thousands of Christians around the world. Christians who know that the Word of God cannot be kept in just one place. Christians who know that this World needs Christ more than ever. Christians who recognize that none of the “many” things we own are because of us, but because our heavenly Father blessed us with having them.
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms”
James 5:13.
Today, as every day of our lives, we must remember that “God is so good, He answers prayers and He cares for us”. Let us never forget that. Let us be the faithful children of God that are thankful to Him all the time. Let us thank Him also for His faithful children that submit themselves to do His will. Let us be thankful for the humongous sacrifice that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did, not only for those who already obeyed and are in Him, but for the entire world, bringing the opportunity that, through the preaching on His name, many can repent and come to the obedience of the Gospel, and become faithful children of God too.
Let us remember that our prayers are not only a way to ask God for what we need, but also a way to thank God for what we have (1 Timothy 2:1). Let us remember that He is for us (Romans 8:31). Let us rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and give thanks to God in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Let us serve our heavenly Father in everything we can all the days of our lives. Trust in Him. He is listening and waiting to hear from us, did you pray today?
God bless you!