We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.  And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.  ~  2 Corinthians 1:10b,11 NLT

Have you ever found yourself or a loved one in such a difficult situation that you could see no way out, but to pray? Perhaps, like I have, you have heard others say, “All I could do was pray.”  We have all been caught in difficult, maybe dangerous, circumstances where we realized there was no way out.  We were helpless, there was nothing we could do, but pray.

That is the situation Paul repeatedly found himself in on his missionary journeys to the Gentiles. Often, he faced certain death, but God rescued him.  In this passage in 2 Corinthians Paul gives us the key to his survival – the prayer of others to release miracles and his rescue.

It may appear that God was cruel in allowing Paul to get into those perilous places.  After all, God sent him into those very locations and to those exact people who tried to kill him.  It was God’s plan, so why the danger?  Perhaps, Paul tells us the answer in 2 Corinthians 1:9, “In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.” 

Paul was learning precious lessons about God and who he could trust God to always be.  Though his circumstances were precarious, Paul learned how to rely on God, how to trust in his power, compassion and ability to rescue his people.  Paul seems to be reasoning here, that if God can raise the dead, then even death could not keep Paul from being in God’s perfect will.  Paul learned this lesson, not just once, but repeatedly, so that he could comfort and encourage his dearly loved Christian brothers and sisters, as in verse 1:10, “We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.”

Paul is speaking through the ages to us, too.  When we learn to rely only on God, and not on our own or others’ resources and abilities, God can use us to witness to his presence, power and grace, and to give the Lord the glory.  In the process, we learn to face impossible circumstances in perfect peace, and receive the Lord’s comfort.  Importantly, a spiritual victory is won for Jesus as we and others learn to rise above what the Enemy has planned and call down Heaven to earth.

But please, don’t miss this: your prayers for yourself and others are crucial.  Prayer matters.  When you pray you open doors to salvation, healing and peace for others.  We are all called to be “prayer warriors”.  The battles will be waiting for you and your loved ones, but, like Paul, you can rely on God to rescue you when you call on others to pray for you.

Let’s surround ourselves with Christ followers who take prayer seriously, and know the power that they can unleash, and the glory that it brings to our gracious, compassionate Lord.

Dear friends, be blessed as you commit to pray for yourself and others.  Learn with Paul to rely only on God in every circumstance you and your loved ones face.  Be blessed as you see battles won through prayer and grow in your trust of what God and prayers to him can do. Amen.

Mary Sumner ~ April 20, 2023

May God give you more and more grace and peace
 as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
2 Peter 1:2 NLT

Recently I was listening to David Jeremiah and heard him say, “We can only worship a God we love. We can only love a God we know.” That truth reverberated through my heart.

This morning, as I pondered that, a distant memory of when I was in sixth grade and we girls sat on our school bus and sang with all our hearts the popular song of the moment, “To Know Him Is to Love Him.” As I recall I was thinking of Freddy! How fickle young girls can be!

I had no idea what Freddy thought of me in that moment.  However, if today I would sing that song about my Lord and Savior, the God through whom and for whom all things were made (Col.1:16), I would know what he thinks of me. The Bible is absolutely clear on that fact.  God has known and loved you and me before the creation of the world.  The Cross, Jesus’ death and resurrection, are proof of our God’s love for us. 

1 John 4:10 says, “This is real love – not that we loved God, but the he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” And 1 John 4:19, “We love each other because he loved us first.”

When Dr. Jeremiah spoke of us knowing God, he was not referring to us knowing about God.  That is, knowing what the Bible says or others say about him. Much more than that, we are invited to really know God, for example, as a wife knows her husband, intimately and personally. What if I knew all the important facts about my husband, where he lives, what he likes, his personality and plans, but had never, or rarely, talked with him face to face, or shared my deepest fears and desires with him?  In the same way, that kind of long distance relationship is not what our Lord wants with us. 

You and I were created to have a close, personal relationship with God.  One of the benefits of that kind of personal relationship is enjoying real trust, love, peace and joy.  As amazing as it may sound, if we declare Christ as our God and surrender our lives to him, the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are waiting daily to reveal more of who they are and continually share their real, eternal love with us.

How do we know Jesus wants a loving relationship with us?  He died to make it possible. Let’s all be able to say, “I worship God because I love him.  I love him because I know him.”

Dear friends, be blessed as you commit to grow in your personal knowledge of God, and choose to receive God’s love and learn to love and worship him in return.  Let the Holy Spirit fill your heart with God’s love. (Rom.5:5) Then, rejoice and celebrate the great news of Easter that makes it all possible! Amen.

Mary Sumner ~April 4, 2023