Category: Christian Living

Hearing and reading the word of God are all good but they are not complete.

Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life.

Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it.

Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their [prayer] closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it.

From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, “I will meditate in Thy precepts.”

Excerpted from Charles H. Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening: Daily Bible Readings

But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” (Matthew 15:23 ESV)

Those who pray wholeheartedly but don’t get answers from God may take comfort from the story of the Canaanite woman. Jesus heard her prayers alright. He knew the urgency of her request. There was no question about the authenticity of her supplication: she was genuine, earnest, intense, and most of all, she had faith.

So why didn’t she get a prompt answer to her prayers?

Honestly, I have no idea. I just know for a fact that there are times when God simply takes His time. Without explanations, without warning, He goes silent. Maybe it is a test of our character. Or maybe because the time is not right.

Whatever the reason, we must remember that it is in moments like these when our souls pass through the fire of God. We wonder why other people seem to get prompt answers to their prayers while we stagger at the silence of God. It just doesn’t make sense.

You could pound the doors of heaven all you want, you could plead that you are earnest and sincere. But sincerity is not the only basis why God answers prayers. In the high heavens, God makes up decisions about our prayers on the basis of His omniscience and sovereignty. It takes faith to feel secure in the fact that the God who holds everything in His hands has your best interests at heart.

The Canaanite woman got her answers after a severe test of faith and wills. Her undaunting faith in the kindness of God prevailed. She knew deep within her heart that God would never turn away anyone who comes to Him.

But enough of the ancient Canaanite woman who’s already had a happy ending. The more relevant question to chew on today is this: Does it seem like God is giving you the cold shoulders? Aren’t your prayers getting answered? Take comfort in the fact that God heard them alright. He could just be taking His time. He’s not deaf, you know.

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing…

Do not doubt the power of God to do something miraculous even in the lives of those who do not believe. King Cyrus of Persia was a heathen king but that did not stop God from stirring him up to issue an edict that eventually favored the small nation of Israel.

Cyrus was the king of the most powerful nation on earth at that time. In comparison, Israel was just a little piece of land in the little known corner of the vast Persian empire. In the world of ancient international politics, Israel was expendable.

But God doesn’t forget. He remembers the old promises that He spoke to the ancestors of the small Jewish nation. He could influence a heathen king and cause him to make a political move to favor His chosen people. He can wriggle through international politics just so He could fulfill an old promise.

Are you stuck in a seemingly impossible situation today? Do not despair. The God that we serve is also the God of the universe and His rule extends over the hearts of unbelieving people. He can cause other people to look upon you with favor and grace. As Don Moen’s old song says, He can “make a way where there seems to be no way.”

Don’t be afraid to ask for the impossible. Our God is never daunted nor shocked with our difficulties. Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you [Matt. 7.7]. Such promise. Such wonderful, wonderful promise.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. –Eph5.1-2

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, the holy image of God imprinted in their hearts was disfigured. Man lost his likeness with God. So from Genesis to Revelation, God put into motion His materplan of restoring that image in our fallen nature.

We are meant to be like Christ. We are meant to live lives that reflect the radiance of the glory of God.

In the verse I quoted above, Paul implored us to be imitators of God. Nowhere in the world it is okay to ask others to imitate an original, to make copies, to replicate. Only here. Only God can do that. Why?

Because the alternative is too ghastly to consider. If our lives are not an imitation of the glory of Christ, we fall to the default darkness of the world, to sin, to immorality, to impurity, to greed, and to all forms of unrighteousness.

We wouldn’t want to be there. God does’t want us to be there.