The Power in Prayer
“Ah, Lord Jehovah! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm; not any thing is too difficult for You….” Jeremiah 32:17
The Bible teaches us that we are to come to God in prayer, trusting that He can and will hear and answer us for Jesus’ sake (cf. James 1:6; Luke 5:12-13).
Jesus Himself said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For each one that asks receives, and the one that seeks finds; and to the one knocking, it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
John wrote in his first epistle, “And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
But so often we forget or doubt God’s willingness and ability to help. God commands us to pray, saying, “And call on Me in the day of distress; and I will save you; and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). He assures us that even before we call, He will answer; and while we are still speaking, He will hear (Isaiah 65:24).
Because Jesus Christ, God’s Son, suffered and died for our sins and then rose again on the third day, we are assured that God accepts us as His own dear children through faith in Jesus and grants us the privilege of coming into His very presence with our prayers and petitions (cf. Hebrews 10:19ff.; Romans 8:15).
But can God answer all our prayers? Is He able to do all that we may need or ask of Him? If you have doubts, look around you at the wonders of His creation, or put your head back at night and look up at the stars in the sky. Cannot the God who has created and preserved all this grant your request? Is there any need, any request, too great for Him?
Consider the words of Jeremiah, the prophet: “Ah, Lord Jehovah! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm; not any thing is too difficult for You….”
Is God willing to hear and answer our proper prayers (those prayers which are in accord with His holy and perfect will)? Consider the inspired words of St. Paul to the Christians in Rome: “Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not freely give us all things with Him?” (Romans 8:32).
Most certainly, God is able and willing to hear and answer our prayers, and He desires that we come to Him. If we do not have, it is not because of God’s inability or unwillingness to help. Rather, all too often the truth of James 4:2 applies to us: “You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
As children of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26), we have every reason to come to our heavenly Father with our own troubles and needs as well as with those of others. He loves us, will hear us and can and will answer our prayers in accord with His good and perfect will.
O Gracious and Merciful Father in Heaven, we thank You for the great privilege of coming to You in prayer, and for the knowledge that You will both hear and answer our prayers for the sake of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit and the faith to know and believe that there is nothing too difficult for You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Devotion in Audio Format: http://mollfoto.com/audio-devotions/Jer.32.17.mp3
From the Lutheran Confessions
The Smalcald Articles
THE FIRST PART
Treats of the Sublime Articles Concerning the Divine Majesty, as:
I. That Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three distinct persons in one divine essence and nature, are one God, who has created heaven and earth.
II. That the Father is begotten of no one; the Son of the Father; the Holy Ghost proceeds from Father and Son.
III. That not the Father nor the Holy Ghost but the Son became man.
IV. That the Son became man in this manner, that He was conceived, without the cooperation of man, by the Holy Ghost, and was born of the pure, holy [and always] Virgin Mary. Afterwards He suffered, died, was buried, descended to hell, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God, will come to judge the quick and the dead, etc., as the Creed of the Apostles, as well as that of St. Athanasius, and the Catechism in common use for children, teach.
Concerning these articles there is no contention or dispute, since we on both sides confess them. Therefore it is not necessary now to treat further of them.
Editors’ Note: When pastors and congregations subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions, they subscribe to the doctrinal content of those confessions and not to illustrations of the day or pious phraseology of the time. Thus, congregations and pastors are not subscribing to the Latin phraseology used above in reference to the virgin Mary which, strictly taken, would indicate she is always a virgin – ex Maria pura, sancta, semper virgine. The German does not include the “always” – von der reinen, heiligen Jungfrau Maria. The Bible only says that Mary was a virgin until the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:24-25). Though some still choose to believe they were cousins, the Bible does refer to Jesus’ brothers and sisters (Matthew 13:55-56), indicating Mary and Joseph had a number of children after Jesus was born.
Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday
Scripture Readings for Sunday are: Psalm 111; Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; and Mark 1:21-28. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.
The Sunday Adult Bible Class will continue its study of the book of Hebrews, in chapter two, verse. 17.
Remember to Pray
Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation, as well as for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – for Dixie Grant who is recovering from injuries received in a traffic accident; for Sam Rusch; for Bonnie Hawes, who is recovering from heart surgery; for Mel Boren who is in a nursing home; for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for believers who are alone and have no congregation. Continue to pray for Lutheran congregations and believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.
Events and Announcements
A pot-luck dinner is planned, following our worship service, on Sunday, Feb. 5. All are welcome to join us.
On-line video of worship services can be found at: http://goodshepherdrogers.org/blog/worship-service-video.
Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.
Audio Devotions - In addition to the newsletters and written devotions and articles, the church website, http://goodshepherdrogers.org, has a number of audio devotions which can be listened to on a computer or smart phone.
New Website
In addition to our church website at www.goodshepherdrogers.org, a new website has been started as an outreach site for people to send in questions about life issues for Bible-based answers at www.life-issues.org. The site is especially designed to answer questions for today’s young people, but questions of all kinds are welcome.
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