An observation: God very rarely answers my prayers in the way I anticipate that they will be answered.
One of the great unspoken sins in my life and, I suspect, in the lives of many believers is the sin of putting God in our box. Our expectations unconsciously become the standard against which we judge the work of God. Not only did God answer our prayer, but did He answer it in the fashion we were expecting?
When I say that, I am not saying that God answers in a way that is contrary to His Word or to His character revealed in His Word. There are certain expectations that we can hold with great certainty because God has revealed Himself in the Bible. When I pray, I can expect that God will be consistent with His good, just, holy, loving character because the Bible tells me He will.
I am talking about the times we pray and in our hearts we not only have the request that we are making but also the manner in which we expect the answer to come. We pray "God provide for my needs" and we check the mail for unexpected cheques. Instead, perhaps God opens the door to a little hard work that will provide an extra income to meet those needs.
In Mark 7 the people come to Jesus and ask Him to "lay hands" on a deaf man in order to heal him. Jesus had often placed his hands on someone in the act of healing. However, on this occasion, Jesus puts his fingers in the man's ears, spits and then touches the man's tongue in order to heal the man. Is Jesus teaching us the new method for healing deaf people?
Was this any less of a healing because Jesus didn't lay hands on the person?
No. It was not laying hands or spitting. It was the power of God.
One of the great unspoken sins in my life and, I suspect, in the lives of many believers is the sin of putting God in our box. Our expectations unconsciously become the standard against which we judge the work of God. Not only did God answer our prayer, but did He answer it in the fashion we were expecting?
When I say that, I am not saying that God answers in a way that is contrary to His Word or to His character revealed in His Word. There are certain expectations that we can hold with great certainty because God has revealed Himself in the Bible. When I pray, I can expect that God will be consistent with His good, just, holy, loving character because the Bible tells me He will.
I am talking about the times we pray and in our hearts we not only have the request that we are making but also the manner in which we expect the answer to come. We pray "God provide for my needs" and we check the mail for unexpected cheques. Instead, perhaps God opens the door to a little hard work that will provide an extra income to meet those needs.
In Mark 7 the people come to Jesus and ask Him to "lay hands" on a deaf man in order to heal him. Jesus had often placed his hands on someone in the act of healing. However, on this occasion, Jesus puts his fingers in the man's ears, spits and then touches the man's tongue in order to heal the man. Is Jesus teaching us the new method for healing deaf people?
Was this any less of a healing because Jesus didn't lay hands on the person?
No. It was not laying hands or spitting. It was the power of God.
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