This sign I saw leading into a very short walk. Wishing well woods. I also spoke yesterday about how the water must have calmed me and how perhaps God’s essence is reflected in the water to a small degree. After all nature does point towards Him. But quite a few times people have said how they think wishing doesn’t work. I quite agree with these people. Positive thought goes some way to getting us out of bed each morning, but just wishing are legs to get up will not work.
Prayer on the other hand is another matter. To people who do not believe in a God who is alive and active in our lives, then praying is useless, it would be seen as just closing your eyes and wishing the day away, when you could be doing better things like feeding the poor and clothing the homeless.
Lazarus Raised from the Dead
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.[d] And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
This account of Jesus going to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead always intrigues me. Jesus was told he was sick, but still he did not go to save him, instead he stayed and prayed. After some days he arrived and Lazarus was dead. Some people may have been angry at Jesus for delaying, believing that prayer is only words or thoughts. But this miracle was to show that Jesus has power over death and he was equal and one with God. God glorifying his Son. But he still needed his friends to roll away the stone. He still needed some action.
Sunday I listened to a sermon telling us to act, and to ask what we can do. We are to wait on the Lord and when he says the time is right we are to act.
I then saw these birds and quickly snapped them as they flew past. They are following a leader and they stay together, probably for protection. Prayer works better that way as well. Our own prayers do reach God but Jesus told us;
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
And if we have Jesus with us, and we are praying in the Spirit, then we can expect an answer to our prayers.
Dear God, break down those barriers of unbelief in the world. Help your people to have the courage to actually pray in the Spirit, to be bold and to act on your word to take the stone away, so that we can all be loosed, and let go from our sin and be wondrous doers of good and children of the light.
Amen
365 Exhortations 