Hello Bricksee

Word Of Enc…Mike Dickson

I have often wondered what would happen if that prayer had I uttered to God so many years ago came to past. What I am referring to is the prayer that went unanswered, but during the course of time I learned to get along with out the prayer being answered. During the period of several years going by I placed the prayer of my youth on the shelf of unanswered request made to God. Sometimes when you think about unanswered prayers and when years have pasted it easy to think that perhaps God never intended to grant that desire which burned in your heart so many years ago.
Now just imagine what happen if after the passage of several years, God would let you know He has heard your prayer and will answer it? However after several years of prayer being for unanswered, disbelief can set in without your knowledge.
After taking several weeks of looking in the Book of Acts, I just want to look at the book of Luke and look at the birth of John the Baptist. Christmas is coming up and for some of us this will be a great time. However for some of us this period is tremendous times of emotional pain because it reminds us loved ones gone out of our lives. Luke however gives us information about a forgotten prayer and how God wants us to live with hope no matter what our circumstances are.
Luke 1:13-14 tells us “But the angel said to him “Do not be afraid, Zacharias for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth”. Now when Zacharias heard this from the angel he asked a question “How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years”.
Zacharias had a prayer that was put on the shelf of unanswered hope and with out knowing it disbelief had slipped in. Zacharias is looked upon as a man by several people as a person that did not have faith; however I believe he really represents our hearts. You may ask how this is possible, because to your knowledge you have never doubted God. Zacharias did what we all do from time to time and that is he focused on the process and not the results. By focusing on the process of having a child he did not rejoice in the answer to prayer which is the result of the process.
You see all of us may have at one time or another had unanswered prayers and as the years went by we placed them on shelf of unanswered hope. Even when the answer would come to us we look at it with disbelief because of years that gone by. I could only imagine that when Zacharias and his wife were married they knew they would be just like every other young couple on the block. They anticipated having children running throughout their home and in the mist of their young marriage they trusted God. Zacharias also prayed and had unwavering faith before God about having children. However after years of trying to have children proved unproductive, their unwavering faith slipped away. Elizabeth recognized that she was barren and that children just were not a part of their marriage. They become content with a life without children and accepted the unanswered prayer in this area as way of life. However without knowing it, Zacharias’ prayer did not go unanswered, because for God heard his request. God wanted address to Zacharias and Elizabeth answers to a barren situation, so that they could experience hope in the mist of their emptiness. When unanswered prayer has occurred in our lives it is easy to abandon our desires and place that desire on the shelf of unanswered hope. However Luke gives us insight into another way to look at unanswered prayer. God hears our prayers and does not want us focus on the process to answer prayer. In other words, God does not want us to get caught up in how God will answer the prayer. Rather God wants us to praise Him for answering prayers, despite our circumstances.
During this Christmas season it is so easy to get caught up in trying to get presents. It is easy to get caught in feeling bad because you may not have the money to buy presents. As our world is facing financial problems and people feel the squeeze of not having enough money. Perhaps this year could be the greatest year to get caught up in praising God for hearing our prayers. Just like Zacharias, God has heard your prayers and this is your opportunity to praise God for His answer. Have a great week and do not stop praising God, just remember He did not forget about you. God hears your prayer.

Words of Encouragement

Word Of Enc…Mike Dickson

Have you ever been in a struggle and cried out to God for help only to find out your prayers went unanswered? I remember years ago a pastor told me to cry out to God in the midnight hour of my crisis and He would answer my prayer. He told me God is always on time and He would never let you down no matter what you’re facing. That quote has stuck with me over the years and I remember one period of my life I came into a crisis and I was in the mid night hour. I cried out to God as my good pastor friend had instructed. Well friends the mid night hour came and past with out assistance from God. I thought that God had forgotten all about me and the crisis overwhelmed me. My faith was shattered and a bitterness grew in my spirit, because my mid night hour request to God went without being answered. I felt that in the mist my pain and crying out to God for help He let the crisis overwhelm me. The bitterness began to come out in my attitude toward others and it crept into other relationships. I was becoming a bitter man that began to have the belief that God had abandoned me. As the bitterness set in, so did emptiness in my spirit and believe it or not I was out there performing puppet shows in the name of our Lord.
Looking back on that period, I have to admit that God answered my prayers and heard my crying out to Him. What I failed to understand was that God wanted to answer my prayer by transforming my attitude.
In Luke chapter one and verse 24 Elizabeth states “The Lord has done this for me, she said, In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people”. Now to put things in perspective, Elizabeth wanted to have children, but could not because she because she was barren. Elizabeth and her husband prayed for children so they could be like every one else in the community. No matter how much they tried Elizabeth would not get pregnant and now she was beyond the years of bearing children. Elizabeth praised God and thanked him for removing the shame she felt because she was not able to have children. In the mist of her youth God choose not to answer her prayer and give her a child in her later years. Her ability to have children had diminished because of her age, and she went about serving God while seeing her deepest desire go unanswered.
God heard her prayer and answered it in His own time but more importantly for His divine purpose. When we cry out to God no matter what is, He has a divine purpose to address that cry.
In the mist of a crisis we want answers right away and if we are not careful we can find our selves holding God to a mid night resolution. God taught me a lesson through my crisis and it was simply this to praise Him for the results and not get caught up in the process. The process of how God will work out the situation that is in his hands. My crisis taught me also, God concern is not about the crisis, it is about your own state of affairs. God is really concerned where we are spiritually, emotionally, and that we have the ability to wait on him with praise on our lips. Unanswered prayers hope and desires are in the hands of a loving God. I also learned when we are in darkest hour God is hard at work resolving the crisis.
During my crisis, God concern was that I had to be transformed, and the prayer I was seeking an answer for could be put on hold. As I look back on it now, God had some great plans for my life and my attitude had to adjust so I could receive what He had for me. God wanted to pour so much into my life, that the very thing I was praying was small compared to how He answered my prayer.
This Christmas season you might be going through a crisis like so many people around the world. However through it all remember this Bible verse which is found in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” God knows what you are going through, and His eyes are fixed on your situation. God wants to answer your prayers with a divine purpose that will transform you, your family, community, and city. His plan is not only to bring you out of the crisis but just like with Elizabeth, God wants to grant you that long heart felt desire. When we are caught up in praise, then it is easy to move by faith, because as it states in Hebrews 11 and verse 1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. God is answering your prayer right now and just like Elizabeth, you will be praising God when answer your request manifest itself. Just remember this week, God care more about you than the crisis you are facing at this time. Have a great week.
Mike