Is God Listening

Good Evening Gentlemen, 

Tonight thought is about prayer.  Have you ever wondered as a Christian if God is really listening to every prayer?  I mean you know he is God, but does he really listen to each one?  Let's say for a moment he does hear every prayer; does he answer them?  If we are supposed to come to him in prayer shouldn't he answer them? 

Matthew 21:22 says this: "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." So when I pray, and God does not seem to answer my prayer, does that mean I don't have faith?  Didn't I have enough faith in the first place and that is why I came to him in prayer?  I have faith he could heal a person from cancer.  I have faith I would keep or get a job.  Do you ever feel that you are just interpreting the scriptures wrong? 

Well think about this...

1 John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

This seems sometimes complicated to understand. I believe the key words here is "if we ask anything accordingly to his will he will hear us.  So are we just supposed to pray for His will and not our will be done?  Does this remind you of verse?  Can you think of anyone that has prayed like this before?  As I read this I immediately thought of Jesus Christ when he was praying to His Father.

Going a little farther, in Mathew 26:39, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will it".  Jesus knew he had come to die for the sins of the world.  He did not want to go through the pain and suffering, but He had to do so, so that we could be free in Christ.  What Jesus did for us, no other has ever done before, nor since. 

When we pray, I believe we need to pray that God's will be done.  I believe it is perfectly normally to have a specific prayer request.  God would love to answer every prayer the way we want them answered, but fortunately God is sovereign and truly knows what is best for our lives, and for His purpose.  Have you ever prayed so hard for something and you felt as God had let you down?  Do you still feel that way?  if you do, then I pray that God will give you Peace. 

Philippians 4:7  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God bless,

E. Talk 

Sexual Harassment

Tonight's E. talk: I will be discussing what's been going on with the Men of the business world, and those men who think they can get away with sexual harassment in the work place.  First of all I was wondering, do you know men in your work place that do this, but haven't been reported yet? Have you ever done this?  If so, what prevents you from saying anything?  Why do you think women find it so hard to say anything?

I believe that some women feel these men could ruin their careers if they say something.  I think they even wonder if what they witnessed was really sexual harassment, and therefore start to second guess themselves.  I mean it could be only a slight pinch or pat on the butt.  Well for me if some guy did that to my wife, I would be having a word with him, and would probably be doing my best to get him fired (OK, I may hit him in the nose if I'm being honest)!
 
Jesus warned us, "Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light (Luke 8:17).  He added,  "Whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops" (Luke 12:3).

His warning needs continual prayer because we typically think it doesn't apply to us.  When we are tempted with private immorality, the tempted wants us to believe that such sin will remain private.  That no one will know, or be hurt, as Satan whispers in our ears.  However, while we may not be hurting others, we are hurting God.  I believe as men we have all struggled at one time or another.  We may have whistled, said something flirtatious, or looked at woman and thought to our self it would be nice to be with her.  God says this "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Math 5:28).  We must admit we are sinners, and have fallen short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23) 

I am praying for each man as we continue to grow in the Lord.  I pray that we become stronger in our walk with one another and help hold each other accountable to God's standards, and not our own. 
   
Again, if you have any encouragement, thoughts, or prayers, please let me, or let the group know.  Please feel free to expand the email to other believers as each evening will be a different topic. 

God bless,
E. Talk