As our thoughts turn to spring and warmer temperatures, many of us begin to think of things associated with that season. When I personally think of the coming spring season, I think of "The New England Flower Show" which runs from March 11-19. Then we celebrate Easter on April 16 and then the Boston Marathon is on April 17. While thinking of these wonderful warm weather events. The Boston Marathon made me think of some things that everyone can learn from. Not so much the race itself, but how it is run and the preparation. I wondered why so many fail to make it to the end and how do those that do make it to the end, prepare for the race. You can draw a parallel with the Marathon runner trying to win that race and we as Christians working to win the race of life, finishing in great condition.
The Marathon runners take months and sometimes years to train their bodies to endure such a challenge. You could never just get out of your Lazy Boy recliner at home and run twenty six miles successfully. Why then should we as Christians think that we can run the race of life without proper preparation? I have a friend who runs in the Boston Marathon every year. I've known this man for twelve years, and each year when I ask him how he prepares for the race, he always has the same answer. He starts off running one mile a day and then he increases it to five miles a day and then ten. He does this until he's doing twenty mile runs every other day right before the marathon. So what he's doing is conditioning his body to endure, while also increasing its capacity and strength.
As Christians, we need to apply a similar philosophy to our Christian walks. We need to spend more time in God's presence everyday. Whether you’re having prayer time or reading the Bible each day. Our reading and prayer time doesn't have to be for a set amount of time, but when we spend that time we should feel that we have spent quality time in the presence of the LORD. I can't get that feeling from just reading five pages of his word, or by praying a quick prayer on my drive to work, nor have I met another Christian who can get by with very little time spent in God's presence.
We need to constantly be conditioning ourselves by spending more time in God's presence. If you’re currently spending little or no time, I want to encourage you to make a concerted effort to spend a little more time each day. You will eventually find the amount of time that you need to spend with our Heavenly Father. You'll know you've reached your peak condition because you will feel a completeness that you just can't get by spending mere moments with God. You'll reach a place where a little is never enough. 1 Corinthians 9:24 say’s Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
The more time we spend learning about our faith, growing our relationship with God and putting into practice what we've learned, the better we'll endure. The world is full of negativity that can easily wear us down. If we are not strong in the Spirit (God's Word) which is Spirit and Truth, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the negativity of this world. When we are strong in the Spirit, we are able to get past the negatives and also encourage others by speaking positives into their lives. This is what the LORD wants us to do.
We are to be the winners of lost souls. In order to do this we need to train like athletes, strengthen ourselves in God's word, and spend time in communion with Him so that we are familiar with his ways and not just our own. In doing this we equip ourselves to not just make it to the end of life's race, but we are then equipped to win. Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.
Please pray this with me
Heavenly Father, I thank you being our source of strength and for being our provider. LORD God, your word tells us to strip off every weight that slows us down. We know that some of these weights can be sin, guilt, oppression and depression. Father I ask for your help in shedding these weights so that the load is lighter and the race is easier to run. Forgive us father for allowing these weights to hinder our forward progress. Forgive us Father for not spending the time with you that you would want us to spend. Father I pray that you would give us all the strength and wisdom that would help us to equip ourselves properly with the things we need, to not only run this race of life on earth, but to run it in such a way that we win the prize which is your pleasure in us.
In Jesus Name I Pray
Amen
God Bless You All
“The Sharpshooter”
There have been countless times that I can think of where someone (including myself) has asked God for a Divine Healing and not received one. But there are also times when a person that never even asked for a Healing, got one. This leads to a lot of confusion and questions such as “Why them and not me”? A deeper understanding of the subject is definitely needed. In the training I am going through to become a minister, this is one of the areas we have covered at length. I now have a much clearer understanding than I had before and hopefully I can impart what I’ve learned to all who read this.
There is no single answer to why believers don't get healed. Only God knows the answer to this and someday when we leave this earth to go into eternity, he may answer our questions at that time, if we still have questions then. Until that time comes, we need to be faithful and trust God's unending wisdom. The primary reasons that our prayers go unanswered are unbelief and/or lack of faith. For example, the disciples of Jesus were unable to heal a boy that was suffering from demonic seizures. Matthew 17:19-20 tells us that the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?" "You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
There could be times when a small trace of doubt will creep into our prayers for healing. If our prayers end with "If it is Your Will God," that's not good. Praying that way exposes any unconscious doubt that God can or will heal you. Honest submission to God will is always right ("Let Your Will Be Done"), but expecting nothing to happen is doubt not submission. Other possible reasons for unanswered prayer for healing might include fear, guilt, willful disobedience, being careless in our health habits, or there might still be lessons that we need to learn before God’s healing can come. Be careful in your prayer at all times. Be steadfast, strong and be sure that your heart is true to Him, because if our hearts sway even a little bit away from God, he may not honor your prayer.
There are people today that are teaching that all sickness is caused by demons. These people then proceed to cast out the demon of arthritis, diabetes, or whatever the affliction may be. Though the New Testament does record times when demons had caused sickness or disease, which can be found in (Matthew 9:32, 17:14-18, Mark 9:20-26 and Luke 13:11-16). There are also instances where there is healing with no mention of demons or evil spirits. There is no demon mentioned in Luke 5:12-13. In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he fell to the ground, face down in the dust, begging to be healed. "Lord," he said, "if you want to, you can make me well again." Jesus reached out and touched the man. "I want to," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
There are also Christians that have been known to do rash things, such as rejecting all medicine and help from doctors. We must never abuse the doctrine of divine healing by having a negative attitude toward medical advances that God has allowed and even guided scientists in discovering. Divine healing should not be placed in opposition to or in competition with the medical profession. Doctors have brought help to many sufferers. Today, God still performs miracles for people that doctors have declared incurable.
If it was wrong to go to doctors, why would God reward disobedience with the miracle of healing, when we go to them? God may allow his children to find health through the means of medicine or through miraculous healing, but we must avoid relying on the skill of doctors as a substitute for seeking God’s help. We should not wait until we have tried all of the doctors before we ask God to heal us. "We Must Ask God First" and then keep asking God for healing as you visit the doctors. Through it all, know that God is the only One who heals, whether through a divine touch or through the skills He has given a doctor.
Divine healing confirms Gods power and love. Its focus is Jesus Christ and the advancement of His kingdom. Jesus wants us to be healthy and free from pain, but more than that He wants us to be like him, to think like Him, and have His desires. God created us so that we might bring glory and joy to him. Until we grasp that truth and make it a practical part of our Christian walk, we run the risk of asking God for things with wrong motives. James 4:3 say’s “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. There is no reason to believe that asking for healing is excluded from this statement of truth. Unless our walk with God is close to His heart and His unselfish love, we may not fully understand our own motives in asking "anything" from God.
Please pray this with me. Father, I thank you for the fact that you still perform miracles even today. Help us Lord to better understand the extensiveness of the ways you perform these miracles, that you don’t just Divinely Heal, but you use people and situations to help us with our problems. We know that to question out of lack of understanding is acceptable Father, but I ask that you would help us Lord God, to stop questioning you out of our own selfishness. I ask your forgiveness for this selfishness and that you would instill in us a better understanding that we are to come to you first in asking for healing God, but that you want for us to seek out the many resources you have given us after we ask for your help, should we not receive a Divine Healing. Lord God, I thank you for the many blessings that you have given to all of us. I pray for your forgiveness for those that don’t recognize your blessings because they don’t know you. Put those of us that know and love you God in a position to introduce you into their lives.
In Jesus name I pray
Amen
God Bless You All
“The Sharpshooter”
