Day of Praise

We, 10/01/14, "Day of Praise"

"So Saul asked God, 'Shall I go down and pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel's hand?' But God did not answer him that day." - 1 Samuel 14:37

Have you ever asked God a question, and God did not answer?

You're not alone.

Job didn't get an answer from God. In Job 30:20, he says, "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me."

The Psalmist didn't get an answer from God. In Psalm 22:2, he says, "My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest."

But, even when God seems silent, there is a promise for us to hold.

Through Zechariah the prophet, in Zechariah 10:6, God has promised us this, "I will strengthen...and save...I will restore...because I have compassion...I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them."

God's promise to answer is given to those who trust the LORD. Jesus puts it this way in John 8:47, "Whoever belongs to God hears what God says."

And those who belong to God are those who believe what Jesus said earlier in John 8:33-34. He says that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. In other words, we must be redeemed, bought back, from the power of sin. Jesus also says there that it's only through faith in his redeeming work that we're set free from sin so we can know the truth of God.

So then recognizing your need, believing in Jesus, and believing in his redeeming work for you on the cross, you are given a promise to hold while you wait for God to answer your prayer. In 2 Kings 20:5, "This is what the LORD...says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you."

So, where does that leave us? Try this on for size. The original question we asked today was this, "Have you ever asked God a question, and God did not answer?"

And what God's word teaches us is this: For those who trust in the LORD, though we may still be waiting for a specific answer, there's a definite promise for us to hold, "I am the LORD and I will answer. I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you."

Let us be found believing!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson