God's Purpose Will Prevail!

Over the past wee while I have been drawn to Proverbs. Moving from chapter 16 and a couple of the chapters that follows it says of how regardless of the x amount of plans we make God's purpose will prevail.

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 20:24
A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?

God Speaks Through the Silence

God doesnt always speak in a loud voice - often he speaks through the silence. These words from the hymn writer John Greenleaf Whittler who writes Dear Lord and Father of Mankind have often struck a chord with me:

With that deep hush subduing all
our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of thy call,
as noiseless let thy blessing fall
as fell thy manna down

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, John Greenleaf Whittler 1807-1882

Does God Hear?

We have prayed and we say sometimes God hasnt really heard what we are saying or the answer seems to be a long time in coming! If you feel this then these words are appropiate from Exodus!

Exodus 2:23-25
During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

The Israelites may have well been seen to be putting their complaints and groans before God for a long time but note God did take action. There is indication of an active God.

God hears

God remembers

God looks

God is concerned!

These verses appear at the end of chapter two but as you move on God is going to act on their behalf. He sends Moses to be their leader. God demonstrates his power through signs and miracles which ultimatlety point to their freedom/salvation.

The First Step

Well congratulations to our little daughter, Catriona who took her first steps towards mummy yesterday with me looking on! It has taken a long time in coming. I was discussing this with someone recently. It must be something for a little one like Catriona to take her first step. It feels for us like a long time coming but we have waited paitently. We suspect that for a while she has known what she has got to do but yet gradually we have seen her putting it altogether like moving from holding with two hands to one then none! For us who have been walking it becomes a part of our normal life but for a little one it is the first big step!

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Without being too spiritual about it, we often pray for things but yet we know sometimes what we are meant to do and just need to take that first step of faith. God is always there granting us the strength to carry out what we have been called to do. While this blog is entitled a "Prayer Blog" - prayer should never be an excuse for no action.

Answered Prayer

So easy to say what the bible says about prayer - isnt it exciting when you see answered prayer! Everyday, I guess you see evidence of God at work. We are thankful as a family for providing a job for us this past week after a number of months applying for stuff and waiting on God to provide! This doesnt mean that we are going to stop praying for his will. But rather how much more do we day by day need to know his will for us as a family.

Praying For your Town or City

Througout this post you will see pictures I recently took of the town I live in:


















Do you ever sit back and pray for the town/village/city etc that you stay in? What effect would it have on our towns etc someone signifcant in the life of that community were to make a decison to follow Christ?
It is good to pray for our towns and many do this individually or as a couple. Many have prayed in the old tried and tested idea of prayer triplets. There is also other ways of praying such as Christians getting together to pray for their town /street /workplace.


Newham is a borough on the edge of London and stands to benefit from development as result of the olympics coming to London. Christians there are encouraged to pray for their street or block. These are entitled Neighbourhood Lighthouses and Workplace lighthouses. To view more about the Transform Newham click here

Obstacles Crowding the View?

Well today, I took up painting today after a number of years - I attended a local watercolour class. In watercolour and any kind of painting, it is important that we have a focal point and to have just one thing as the main focal point. Otherwise the person looking on to the painting which has many focal points trying to compete to catch the viewers eye. And often we can be distracted from the thing which is realy meant to be the main focal point.
How does this all relate to prayer? We are part of busy lives and we have to make sure that we keep Jesus as our main focal point.

Colossians 3:1-2
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Lord's prayer

This now comes to the end of postings on the Lord's prayer. There is 11 postings with it beginning on the 19th May and ending yesterday (9th June). It is so easy to pray this prayer so rigidly. It is a prayer that looks forward to being united with the Heavenly Father.

Temptation

Matthew 6:13

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '

Does God lead us into temptation? By no means what so ever! Why does the author pray such prayer? Please note that when it is speaking about temptation here it is referring to testing.
Jesus who is teaching them to pray has experienced testing. Before he went into the ministry he was tested in the wilderness but yet he did not give into it. Jesus brings up the matter of temptation in the wilderness. Jesus knows that these disciples will not go through their Christian lives with facing testing and temptation. But yet Jesus knew no sin! What are we saying when we pray this prayer? We are asking Jesus to be Lord over every situation that we come accross.
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To view a post on the theme of temptation click here

Forgiveness From God and Forgiveness From Others

Matthew 6:12
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Verses later expand upon this

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Does this mean that we have to work for our Forgiveness by forgiving others? No but having said that it important that we come before God right with our fellow man. In the incident, God forgives us and what amazing lengths he has gone to forgive us. He sent his only son to die for us. That is his mercy for us. Should we not follow his example and be a merciful people? Looking at it another way does God limit his forgiveness to one and not the other.

Matthew actually encourages us to be right before our brother. He says that if we have come to place of worship to offer and are not right with our brother, we should first go to our brother and make things right.

Our Daily Bread

Matthew 6:11
Give us today our daily bread

Today we get paid monthly and possibly weekly or fortnightly but it is very rare that we might earn daily. Essentially, in those times they worked today for tomorrow's keep! Praying this petition means that we have to trust the Lord for his provision.
All these recent phrases about Lord's kingdom coming in and His will to be done are looking forward to the future and in a sense this is too. Psalm 23, the Shepherd Psalm, we see how our shepherd and companion prepares for us a banquet in the presence of our enemies. By recieving today's daily bread we get a foretaste of that final day in glory when the King of Kings will prepare a feast for us.

The Father's Will to be Done!

Matthew 6:10
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Having prayed for His Kingdom to come, he now prays that the father's will would be done. The Father's perfect will for us is modeled in heaven as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to one another. As we see the trinity relating to one another so perfectly, so we want to pray that this would be modeled on earth.

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to view a previous post on the father's will click here

Looking Forward to the Kingdom!

Matthew 6:10
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The next phrase prayed in the Lord's prayer is to pray that the Lord's Kingdom would come. The coming of the Kingdom was something which was often prophesied about in the Old Testament. John the Baptist preached about it and was looking forward to its coming.

Matthew 3:2
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

As Lord was teaching the disciples to pray, the idea of the kingdom was something that the disciples were still coming to grip with. Jesus later on teaches in parables (matthew 13) so that those who are able to hear will hear what he has to say on the kingdom. Those who are spiritually hard of hearing will be closed to what he is saying. To those who were receptive and accepted the message which Jesus brought they will begin to live in the Kingdom, where Jesus is the messianic King. But yet there is a future element which we will never truly know or experience til we are reunited with the Lord in glory. So we pray Father let your kingdom come!