Chicago During Covid-19 #23

Observe how the lilies of the field grow . . . not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these . . . So do not worry (Matthew 6:28-34).

So do not worry. Pray.

Stephen’s Last Prayer

“As they stoned him, Steven prayed . . . ‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’ and with that he died. Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen (Acts 7:59-8:1).”

Soon after Stephen’s death, Saul, renamed Paul, believed and preached that through Jesus “there is forgiveness for your sins (Acts 13:39).”

The Lord answered Stephen’s last prayer.

Habakkuk’s Prayers – 1

Habakkuk foresaw impending doom. So he prayed. “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? . . . Why must I watch all this misery?”

The Lord’s reply gives us courage and hope as we live through these dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, “I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it (from Habakkuk 1:2-5).”

Be Willing to Wait

Friends gave us a book. Twenty-one years ago. I just started reading it.

Perhaps a gift you’ve given is sitting on a shelf. Perhaps your prayers are yet unanswered.

“And Patience was willing to wait.”*

*L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, p.339.

Answered!

Our youngest 14 month old grandson had surgery (ear tubes) last week. We were concerned that he’d cry (well scream) when they took him from his parents to go to the operating room.

He’s usually more comfortable with men than women, except for his mom, so we prayed that a male would carry him back.

Here’s what my daughter texted while he was in surgery. “They took him back. A male anesthesiologist was holding him and he was happy. Praise the Lord!”

When I prayed to my God for help

I cried out to the Lord. He heard me and opened the heavens. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him.

He reached down and rescued me because he delights in me (from Psalm 18:6-19).

God’s Kindness

Long ago we caught a monarch caterpillar and watched it become a chrysalis and then a butterfly. Our youngest daughter had been too small to understand, so for years we  looked and prayed that we would find one. We never did.

Then, late one summer, we noticed a monarch chrysalis on our front porch. The day we left for vacation my youngest daughter watched it emerge.

Now, every time I see a monarch butterfly I remember God’s kindness.

Praise the Giver

She prayed for a son and God granted her petition. In her next recorded prayer, Hannah “takes little notice of the particular mercy she was now rejoicing in. She overlooks the gift and praises the giver.”*

Here’s some of what Hannah prayed:
There is none holy like the Lord:
There is no rock like our God.
The Lord is a God of knowledge,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth (from 1 Samuel 2:2-10).

Next time God answers your prayer, praise Him like Hannah did.

*Matthew Henry, The Matthew Henry Commentary, p.283.

 

Greta’s Answer to Prayer

When we “tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done” then they “put their trust in God (Psalm 78:4-7).”

Greta* recently told me, “My stomach hurt so I prayed and my stomach stopped hurting.”

*Greta, our very much loved granddaughter, turns six years old today.

What Jesus Prayed in Gethsemane

Before his arrest, Jesus went to Gethsemane, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as you will (Matthew 26:39).”

We know how God answered that prayer: “It was the will of the Lord to crush him . . . He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:10-12).”

Those who pray “Your will be done” often find the path to joy is through pain.