There are many who loose heart and strength when their prayers seem to go no where and do not appear to get an ready answer. Oh, they use the pattern shown them by their church, pastor and some leader or they may have read something in a devotional magazine or other such thing. They make use of the name of Jesus as a form of habit because of the worlds churches habit of usage and still no answer comes. They memorize and repeat again and again the same pattern but with no results. And they like myself may even ask why not? For me the answer came by chance if you can believe that. I was reading in the Corinthians letters and I stumbled upon a passage dealing with the LORDS last supper where it says to examine one own heart and self. I ponder this for what seemed to be days and days. Then answer came to me, what was my own spiritual state and what was its condition? Now turning our attention to Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace. And then I will take a look at Prayers Promise to be Answered, making use of the ESV translation.
"The Grace of God and the Holy Spirit"
"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" (Zechariah 4:6-7)
"The scriptures reveal a profound connection between GOD's Grace and HIS Holy Spirit. Living by the Grace of GOD and walking according to the Spirit are two different perspectives on the same reality. As we consider what walking in the Spirit comprises, we are also gaining insight regarding living day by day by Grace.
Our passage from Zechariah confirms this correlation between Grace and the Spirit. Here, the LORD gives a message to Zerubbabel, telling him how service is rendered unto GOD. "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," Human might and power will never be a sufficient resource for living life as GOD intended. Rather, the Holy Spirit must supply what we need for a Life of Service to the LORD and to our fellow man.
In the next verse, this same Truth is restated, using different terms. Now, the LORD is addressing the mountain of impossibility that stood before Zerubbabel. "Who are you, O great mountain? " This leader of Israel was given the challenging mission of reestablishing the testimony / witness of GOD in Jerusalem, as the people returned from captivity. The obstacles had the appearance of being a "great mountain." Nevertheless, GOD declares that this mountain of obstructions would become a highway for advancement. "Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!" Then, as GOD's man attended to GOD's assignment by the empowering of the Spirit, he would eventually place the final stone with an intriguing exclamation. "And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it! " This summary testimony would declare that GOD's Grace was the explanation for the completion of the task. The relationship between Grace and the Spirit is clear: "by My Spirit . . . Grace, grace to it!" When we depend upon the Spirit, He works GOD's Grace within our lives.
The early church also illustrated this "Grace-Spirit" association. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of GOD with Boldness . . . And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And Great Grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:31, 33). The former statement indicates that their boldness came from the Holy Spirit. The latter statement, two verses later, reveals their boldness was a result of Grace impacting them."
Promises of Answer:
Psalm 91:14-16 and Isaiah 41:17 "Because he holds fast to Me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows My name. When he calls to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation."
Isaiah 41:17-20 "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the GOD of Israel Will not forsake them. I Will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I Will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I Will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I Will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it."
Isaiah 58:6-7, 8-12 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD Will answer; you shall cry, and HE Will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD Will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in."
Isaiah 65:17-25 and Jeremiah 33:3 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I Will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of My people be, and My chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. Before they call I Will answer; while they are yet speaking I Will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain," says the LORD."
Jeremiah 33:1-11 "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: "Thus says the LORD Who made the earth, the LORD Who formed it to establish it—the LORD is His name: Call to Me and I Will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defense against the siege mounds and against the sword: They are coming in to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down in My anger and My wrath, for I have hidden My face from this city because of all their evil. Behold, I Will bring to it health and healing, and I Will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. I Will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I Will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against ME, and I Will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against ME. And this city shall be to ME a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. "Thus says the LORD: In this place of which you say, 'It is a waste without man or beast,' in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD: "'Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good, for HIS steadfast Love endures forever!' For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the LORD."
Zechariah 13:7-9 "Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, against the man who stands next to ME," declares the LORD of Hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn MY hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My name, and I Will answer them. I Will say, 'They are MY people'; and they will say, 'The (selfless) LORD is my GOD.'"Luke 11:9-13 and John 14:14 (Jesus is speaking) "I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask HIM!""
John 14:8-14 "Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know ME, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father Who dwells in Me does HIS (selfless) works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the (selfless) works themselves. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this I Will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask ME anything in My name, I Will do it."
John 15:1-11 and 1John 3:27 (Jesus is speaking) "I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit HE takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit HE prunes, that it may bear more (selfless) fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in ME, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in ME. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in ME and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from ME you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in ME he is thrown away (as he is not selfless) like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in ME, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it Will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My Love. If you keep My commandments, you Will abide in My Love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in HIS Love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
1John 3:11-22, 23-24 "For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we Love (selflessly) the brothers. Whoever does not Love in this way abides (remains) in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has Eternal (Light and Love) Life abiding in him. By this we know Love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives (selflessly) for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does GOD's (selfless) Love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in Truth (the LORD is Truth and Selfless Love). By this we shall know that we are of the Truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, GOD is greater than our heart, and HE knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before GOD; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And this is HIS commandment, that we believe in the name of HIS Son Jesus Christ and Love one another, just as HE has commanded us. Whoever keeps HIS commandment (of selfless Love) abides in GOD, and GOD in him. And by this we know that HE (Light, selfless Love and Eternal Life) abides in us, by the Spirit Whom HE has given us."
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