Lord, Hear My Prayers 8/7/2022

 Good Morning,

This day began with a light rain and according to the forecast it might rain a whole lot more. The dreary weather is making the Door County Vanilla Creme Brulee Coffee taste even better. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee to start the day off.

Psalm 66:17-20 I cried to Him with my mouth and high praise was on my tongue.

18. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, The Lord would not have listened . 19.But truly God has listened . He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20.Blessed be God because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me. 

Before I started to write I sat down and prayed for awhile. Some heavy requests were lifted up on behalf of others and a couple for ourselves. The prayers were for the health of some dear friends and the war in Ukraine as well as for the safety on our streets. Prayer for the politics of the world received some prayer as well as prayer for upcoming elections. You could say that it was a broad band of prayer requests that were sent up to heaven this morning. I prayed for a few folks who are dealing with emotional issues and some who are planning weddings. 

The point I am headed to is this. I am not sure as to how God will answer these prayers. He may or may not grant my petitions. His answer could be yes, no, or "wait with patience". He could grant my requests. But I know this. He heard me and knows the heart that is filled with caring, worry and love for others. I rest in the fact that He knew what I would request before it even left my lips. I only have two jobs to do with the requests. They are for me to have faith that they were heard and the second job is to trust God to answer with His will for the request and that He is God, and He created this world and will answer in a way that He sees fit for the requests. I need to trust in His plan. 

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 

To stay on course while waiting on God and accepting the no answers that do not seem to align with my requests isn't always easy . I would be lying if I did say they were easy. But I have found that the "no" answers are there and I need to accept them when they come. They often draw me in a different direction in my prayers. I ask for strength to carry me through those times and for peace in my heart. I seem to draw closer to God when I need Him to give me peace of heart.

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace, who's mind is stayed on you, because he trusts on you. 

This is a hard message for many of us to swallow, but friends never stop praying. Keep trusting in God to carry you though those days when the answer of no is hard to accept. 

Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Food for thought on a rainy Sunday. Don't be shy when it comes to saying " lord I am weak right now, I need your hand of comfort and strength to carry on today.

Marty