Tavern Owner or Church Goer?
1 John 5:14-15 (GNB): "We
have courage in God's presence, because we are sure that he
hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his
will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know
this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from
him." [1]
Do you believe these verses? If you believe that the bible
is the true Word of God, then these have to be true. God the
Father wants to give good gifts to his children. The
psalmist did give us one warning, though:
Psalm 66:18 (GNB) "If I had ignored my sins, the Lord
would not have listened to me."
If you are in a right relationship with Jesus Christ and are
trying to live in his will then god will answer your
prayers. They may not be answered in the way you think they
should but they will be answered the way god knows they
should. He knows everything and everybody. He knows what is
best. It is up to you to pray and release it. Then God can
work things out his way.
A tale is told about a small town that had historically been
'dry,' but then a local businessman decided to build a
tavern. The congregation from a local church was concerned
and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to
intervene.
It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck
the bar and it burned to the ground.
The owner of the bar sued the church, claiming the prayers
of the congregation were responsible, but the church hired a
lawyer to argue in court that they were certainly not
responsible.
The presiding judge, a man wiser than most, after his
initial review of the case, stated that "No matter how this
case comes out, one thing is obvious."
When asked what that was, the judge said that "It is evident
that the tavern owner believes in prayer and the
church-goers do not.
Source Unknown
Are you like the tavern owner or one of the church goers?
By Dean W. Masters
Unedited redistribution approved.