This Week With Jesus

Psalm 22 verses 1 and 2  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yesterday we talked about unanswered prayers. Today we go a step further: when we think our prayer has not been answered, in some extreme situations like the death of a loved one, or a serious illness which won't go away, we can feel abandoned by God. But is it really so? Feeling abandoned is not the same thing as being abandoned. So, having made that distinction, do we feel abandoned or are we really abandoned? Or is there some wisdom or logic, beyond oir comprehension? Recently, while researching on the topic of unanswered prayers, we came across a real-life account of a person who felt abandoned. We will not try to reproduce the story, but let you read it yourself. So here it is. https://thecatholicwoman.co/letterstowomen/reckoning-with-grief-and-...

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers" Unanswered Prayers . Songwriters : Garth Brooks / Pat Alger / Larry Bastian I believe that there is no such thing as unanswered prayers. It is more a lack of discernment when we think our prayers have not been answered. We have all, at some point, prayed very hard for something, planned for something we deeply desire. But it does not happen. At that time, we feel let down because things did not turn out the way we had hoped. But, and I have said this before, our disappointment with God is because our will was not done.  So, the very basic principle of the Christian faith, embodied in the Lords prayer, is some thing we don't really believe in. That Gods will is paramount, in line with His plan for us is not acceptable. Deep down in our heart...

Yesterday we talked about our prayers and supplications for help to overcome various life challenges, we often call it a miracle. What is a miracle? A miracle is an act not fully explained by natural forces but attributed to supernatural forces, mainly God. There are many definitions of miracles. But, biblically speaking miracles involve God doing something uncommon and usually awe-inspiring in order to reveal himself to mankind (The shepherd church). When we experience a miracle, small or big, it is divine intervention. We agree to that. But let's think beyond that: that God, whom we know from afar, has actually touched us! What a wonderous fact. If we have experienced a miracle we have actually experienced and felt God! Yet, we need to remember one thing: That  God is as part of our everyday lives as He is for any miracles.  Miracles are always within the grand design of God the Creator and fall within the category of prophetic symbolism intended to draw attention to somethi...

Image ; Poweroflifenow.com 2 Kings 19:19 " Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only". How many times in life are we in a situation from which we see no hope? When all possible doors are closed. And yet we have survived and recovered. It could be a health crisis, financial doom, some natural event (like covid) or some professional problem. When everyone lets us down our final stop is before our God. At the time we pray and hope and beseech God and beg for a rescue. And when that happens, which may not be as we had expected, we seldom look back more than a couple of times. My family and I were saved from being touched by the Covid in such an unexpected way that it was nothing short of a miracle. Yet it had a very negative impact financially. Should I be praising God vociferously for being saved or let that great feeling of a miracle and gratitude be pulled ...