He’s Been Faithful

He’s Been Faithful

Today I looked in my God Box for the first time in several years. I guess you’re wondering what a God Box is. It’s a box that I was given years ago as a place to store cards with prayer requests for what I want to see God do in my life. For a few years, I kept the box by my bedside and would write my prayer concerns on a card and date it. Over the past four years, that box has been on my dresser and left untouched. I opened it today as I pondered the notion of God’s faithfulness.

As I reviewed the cards, I realized that there were many answered prayers that I had not acknowledged as having been answered. I looked at the cards and thought about the prayer concerns I had when I wrote them on the cards; and I thought about the prayer requests that had gone unanswered as well as those that had been answered. All-in-all, there were more answered prayers than there were unanswered prayers. My conclusion: He’s been faithful.

Most of my prayer concerns centered around meeting the needs of my children; particularly, their success in school, their safety, and their general physical well-being. Answered! The best places for my children – answered! Transportation concerns – answered! Good health – answered! Strength for the journey – answered! Traveling mercies – answered! Forgiveness – answered! All answered prayers.

There were also prayers that have remained unanswered or that were not answered in the manner in which I had prayed. My mother’s health tops that list. While praying for her healing, divine healing in a perfect body was not what I had in mind, but it was on God’s mind. Other prayer concerns include requests that I am still in preparation to receive. Some of the things that remain unchecked on those cards are concerns that while my mouth indicated that I wanted them, my actions and the meditations of my heart have indicated otherwise. Still, not answering those prayers at an inappropriate time is an act of faithfulness.

All in all, He’s been faithful. He’s been what I needed when I needed it, even when what was happening did not feel good or was not to my liking. And even though there are still things that I do not understand, I know that I can still trust God’s heart to know and do what is best for me. And friends, that’s easier said than done, because I still want what I want when I want it. It still remains a challenge for me to wait on God.

Today, recount God’s faithfulness in your life.

Christians Don’t Need “A” National Day of Prayer

Christians Don’t Need “A” National Day of Prayer

Christians don’t need “A” national day of prayer. For the Christian, those who are committed to a lifestyle of prayer and who are constantly seeking God’s way, every day is a day of prayer. Many Christians who oppose the current presidential administration in this country have taken offense at nothing. Some claim incorrectly that our president is opposed to a national day of prayer, while others find fault with Muslims having had an opportunity to pray at the White House. Both notions are erroneous and demonstrate a lack of faith, acceptance, and understanding. One posits that because the Muslims prayed at the White House, that in some way denounces Christianity by the administration. That is not true. Throughout the history of this country, non-Christians have always visited the White House. And I’m sure that on more than one of those occasions the visitors had the need to pray while at the White House. Likewise, when American Christian presidents have visited other countries that were not Christian, I am sure those presidents also invoked prayer as a source of strength to get them through their visits. So, prayer is a common occurrence, especially for those of us who call upon the name of God.

Prayer for Christians is supposed to be a constant state of being because it challenges us to surrender our thoughts and ideas and submit them to a loving God who has our best interests at heart. The Psalmist David talked about praying evening, morning, and noon in Psalm 55:7. Our prayers should constantly be going forth, not just when someone else tells us we should pray, or when a special day is set aside for prayer, but always.

Christians should always be in prayer. Prayers serve many purposes. Prayers may be given for praise and glorifying God as a form of worship. The Psalmist in Psalm 119:164 says that he praises God seven times a day. In Psalm 34:1, he says that his praise shall continually (always) be in my mouth. Numerous scriptures point Christians to the need to offer praise to God, our Father and Creator out of adoration for who He is. If praise is a form of prayer in which Christians should constantly engage, why do we need a special day for it?

There are prayers of confession. These prayers challenge us to admit to our own wrongdoings whether be by commission or omission. Some sin we choose to deliberately commit, while others are committed because we unintentionally made a mistake or made a poor choice. We are all guilty of doing something wrong each and every day. We are not perfect and can never be perfect in our humanity. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can ever reach perfection in the life to come. Since we are not perfect, there is a daily need for repentance through prayer. Through prayer we confess our role in our sinful nature, repent (turn away from), and seek God’s forgiveness. So yet again, we should be in constant prayer.

Each of us can identify something for which we should be grateful. If you are reading this, you can be thankful for vision, the ability to read, access to technology and the ability to use it, electricity, and a warm and dry place to live, just to name a few reasons why we should be thankful. Giving thanks to God is another form of prayer. We should always give thanks, and even if our life is not what we would consider as ideal, we still have things for which we should be grateful. Prayer is one way of demonstrating our gratitude to God, so we should pray daily and thank Him for His goodness to us.

Finally, we always find room to pray and ask God for things for ourselves and our loved ones. As humans, we are always in need of something and since God is our Father, He has told us to ask Him in prayer for whatever our needs are. This is one form of prayer that few of us ever omit. We always ask for something, and so it is that supplication through prayer is a daily activity for many of us. We ask for blessings in the form of healing, financial blessings, favor with others, success in our jobs and careers, success with schooling, etc. As humans, we all want to the recipients of God’s blessings and so we pray daily and ask for them. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Christians, therefore, do not need a national day of prayer. Prayer is a way of life for us. Daily prayer keeps us focused on the one who is the author and finisher of our faith, the lover of our souls, our way-maker, our strength and shield, our friend, and our creator. For the Christian, every day is a day of thanksgiving, of praise and adoration, and a day of a constant call to repentance. If there was only one day when Christians could or should pray, that would be a sad commentary on the power of God in our lives. Because of God’s blessings on Christians in this country, we can pray every day and do not have to wait for anyone to declare when we can or ought to pray. Every day is a national day of prayer. If you’re praying on the first Thursday in May of each year, it should be because you pray daily as a Christian and not because someone has decided that is the day to pray. As Christians, we are called to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).

II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” If we truly want to see change in our lives and in this country, we should pray daily and not just on “a” national day of prayer. Such a single day is probably for those for whom prayer is not a way of life. When will you pray?

If you are a Christian and are critical of the current presidential administration, read Exodus 22:28, Ecclesiastes 10:20, Acts 23:5, Romans 13:1, and I Peter 2:17. Those scriptures call for us to pray for our leaders and for those in authority over us. Once again, Christians are called to be in constant prayer. The controversy around the National Day of Prayer is a distraction from what we should be doing, praying. And it’s an effort to malign the current presidential administration. Let’s pray today and every day.

Are You a Sheep or a Goat?

My first real encounter with universal health care was in 1977 when I was a student studying in Paris, France. This was foreign to me in many ways. First, I had grown up in a home where you only went to the doctor after a barrage of home remedies had failed to work. There were no annual check-ups or preventive care of any kind. We went to the doctor after the sore throat had advanced to something more serious. There were no dental cleanings and check-ups, so you went to the dentist when a tooth hurt, which usually meant decay beyond saving the tooth.

My mother and aunt worked to support us. They were a part of the working poor who had no health or dental insurance. Fortunately for us as children, we did not know that we were supposed to have preventive health care or dental care. That was life for us and we did not know otherwise. So when the other international students in Paris told me about getting a student identification card, I did not understand that getting that card would also provide health insurance for me. Like other students in Paris, I was issued an identification card, given a check-up, and given immunization updates, including a tuberculosis vaccine. As a student, I wondered back then why such benefits were not available to American students back home. Now, I know why.

The health care debate and bill have caused demons of all kinds to surface as those who have expressed opposition to it have responded in less than civil ways. Their responses have shown us the conditions of their hearts, which for many is not pretty. We have seen folk take to the streets, use racial slurs with regard to President Obama, and most recently, engage in violence toward supporters of the health care bill. Our legislators have been bombarded with phone calls from the “religious right” in staunch opposition to the health care bill, and I have even heard Christians on television say that this health care bill is rooted in Karl Marx’s socialism. They make the stretch that if it’s rooted in socialism, then, it’s anti-Christian because Marx said that “religion is the opium of the masses.” I will not begin to attempt to explain what Marx meant, but I do know that Gandhi said that he might have become a Christian if he had ever met one. That does not bode well for Christians.

For the record, those of us who have enjoyed the benefits of police protection, fire protection, use of public libraries, and bought school lunches have all benefited from socialized services. Yes, if you paid for your child’s school lunch today, you participated in a socialized service. If school children actually paid the full cost of their lunches, more of us would send sack lunches to school with our children. So, although we say we do not want socialism of any kind, we have already been willing and active participants in and recipients of socialized services. Why do we want to draw the line when it comes to health care for all?

Although the world would have us to think that we are supposed to look out for ourselves first, that is not biblical. We are to love God first, our fellow man second, and ourselves third. We are to love others just as we love ourselves. Of those who are in opposition to heath care for all, how many would not want health care for themselves? Probably not many would want to not have health care, if any. We all want to feel, think, and believe that if we have a health concern that we have access to the services and medicines we need in order to make us feel better and prolong our lives. We want to live.

In the parable of “The Sheep and the Goats” found in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells us that when the Son of Man returns in His glory, He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be on the right, because they are the ones who will inherit the kingdom of God. They are the ones who took care of the hungry, thirsty, homeless, needy, sick, and imprisoned. The goats will be on the left and will be sent to the eternal fire because they did not take care of the hungry, thirsty, homeless, needy, sick and imprisoned. Jesus went on to tell the people that if they did not serve “one of the least of these” they did not do it for Him. So, today as we all debate the issues related to health care, are you a sheep or a goat? Choose you this day what you will be, a sheep or a goat. Just understand the consequences of your choice.

This health care bill has the potential to transform health care for many families. Did you know that all children will now be covered, and that they can be covered up to age 26? That is a win-win for families. Did you know that preventive care will be free? Remember the annual check-ups? These are just a couple of the benefits of this health care bill. All of our lives have the potential to change with better health care coverage for all.

For those of you have have the potential to be goats, take the time to take another look at the health care bill.