SPIRITUAL DIARY
Date:
09-19-04
My Worship Time Focus: Love keeps me in God’s will
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: 1John 3:21-22
Message of
the verse: 21 And if, dear friends of
mine, our conscience no longer accuses us, we may have the utmost confidence in
God’s presence.
22 We receive whatever we ask for, because we are obeying
his orders and following his wishes.
(Philips) 21 Beloved, if our
heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we
ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things
that are pleasing in His sight. (NAS95)
When
believers have love for the brethren then their lives are pleasing to the Lord,
and they are obeying His commandments.
If a believer does not love the brethren and has a problem with one of
them then this can affect their prayer lives and they may not receive answers
to their prayers. Psalm 66:18 speaks to
this issue when is says that if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not
hear me.
There are
other references in the Bible that have to do with answered prayers, and it is
important to understand them too, for it is not good to take one section of
verse and not look at others or it could cause much disappointment in a
believer’s prayer life.
If a
believer loves his brothers and the Lord out of fear then it is not truly
Biblical love, and the story of the prodigal son’s brother illustrates this
point. Another thing to keep in mind
when it comes to the subject of have one’s prayers answered is that God truly
has a plan for all believers and He also has a plan for this entire world and
there are many times that believers do not understand the Lord’s plans for them
or for the world and therefore this can cause them to get upset when things do
not go the way that they think things should go. Psalm 37:4 give a little insight into what is
being discussed here, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee
the desires of thine heart.” This verse
says that if we are delighting in the Lord then God will cause the desires of
our hearts to be the desires that He has for the believer.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There
are far too many times in my life that I am not loving others as I should and
not having patience with others that I should and therefore can miss out on
having my prayers answered. Life is a
journey and there are far too many times when this journey is not pleasing to
the Lord, but I do believe that I am not to give up and that I am to continue
to seek the Lord’s will for my life and not be so upset when upsetting things
happen to me, but realize that they are bumps in my path that I can climb onto
to get me where the Lord wants me to be.
The Word of God was convicting and at the same time
refreshing to me as I read and studied it this morning.
My Steps of Faith
Today: Trust in the Lord with all of
my heart and lean not upon my own understanding, in all of my ways acknowledge
Him, and He shall direct my path.
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