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"But the end of all things is at hand;
therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers."
(1 Peter 4:7)
Following up with what I wrote yesterday, I want to dive a little deeper into 1 Peter 4:7. During this current pandemic that has disrupted the world, there are many wrong ways that we can respond: we can panic, become depressed, worry, question God, or instead, we can bring our cares and concerns to God in prayer.
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One of the ways we can obey these biblical commands to be serious and watchful in our prayers is to apply the principles in Mark Batterson's fine book, The Circle Maker. Form a prayer circle around your request and pray in faith believing that God will answer. He tells the true story of when he was 13 years old, he and his family visited a local church on a Sunday morning. The church sent a prayer team to their home and they asked if they could pray for the Battersons for anything. Mark says he asked them to pray for his asthma, and they did. The next day, he woke up with asthma still, but all the warts on his feet were gone! He said perhaps someone in the world was praying for their warts to be gone, and God healed that person of asthma instead! But the primary lesson he learned from this was how the Holy Spirit spoke to him in his spirit and told him, "I did what I did just so you know that I can." (See pages 75-76.)
In Ray Johnston's book, Hope Quotient, he begins by recounting a time when he was really struggling and could not sleep due to an issue he was worried about. God brought to mind this wonderful passage from 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." He decided to take God at His Word and said in prayer, "God, You have told me to cast my care on You, so that is what I am doing. I am giving it over to You, and I am going to bed!" Great response. Can you imagine how much peace and joy we could have (yes, even in a pandemic) if we really believed God, prayed, and left the matter in His hands?
Be encouraged today. God is able. He is stronger than any pandemic, cancer, bankruptcy, divorce, heart attack, or any other difficulty. Nothing is too hard for God, according to Jeremiah 32:17: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You."
Hear the Lord speak to you today that He is able!
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Help children build a lasting foundation
Point the kids in your life to Jesus with a copy of the Bedtime Devotions with Jesus Bible.
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The PAN in PANDEMIC
Before starting his next teaching series on the podcast, Pastor Danny takes a short break for a couple episodes to talk about how we as Christians should weather hard times, like the COVID-19 pandemic. To make the main points extra memorable, he has created an acronym: PANDEMIC. In today's episode, he discusses the first three points--PAN.
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