My July MAP
Posted on Monday 17 August 2009 by Stacey @ 10:20 am
Filed under: MAP
On occasion, well, if I am honest every day, I will work at a Starbucks in my area. Not only have I been given opportunities to share my faith while I am there, but it also has presented an opportunity for me to mobilize a Christian teenager. I have had the privilege of meeting Kyle. Kyle is a teen after God’s own heart. I have been able to pass along some of my sermons to him. He is studying them and learning himself how to communicate a clear Gospel of grace.
Jared Echelberger Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I don’t know the scriptures off hand but God says he will never leave us or forsake us. He also said he is always there to hear our prayers and will not shut them out. Just because our prayers are not answered doesn’t mean he didn’t hear them. Just cause things don’t always go our way doesn’t mean he isn’t there. Bad things happen in life. It reins on the just and the unjust. It’s sad but true. Just pray for them and I’ll do the same. I pray that their eyes will be opened and the strong holds that Satan has over them will be brought down. I ask that we will be given wisdom and be used to show these kids our God. I ask that they will realize their God is real and build a personal relationship with him. I ask that they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and be given spiritual gifts like I have been given. We thank you Lord for always listening to our prayers. You are worthy of all praise Jesus! Amen
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Kyle J. Howard Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Jared, I think what you said holds lot of truth. Something I always have to remind myself is that when I pray, a lot of the time the answer is, “Wait” or “I have better plans for you.” Thankfully, God doesn’t work like a genie, in an important way. That way being whatever we pray for, we get. I have a dear friend who believes that whatever we pray for, even bad things, we’ll receive. I personally don’t believe this.
One of my personal favorite verses to jump to is this:
2 Chronicles 7:14 (New International Version)
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Something that your friends might be looking at is this: They are praying for selfish things that are for pure personal gain (Money, expensive cars, gifts, popularity, God to take tests for them by making them have to study less and remember more, or even the crazy like someone to die…etc).
Example:
Maybe I’m struggling to pay my bills, and I pray, and pray, and pray, but nothing happens. The normal selfish reaction to that would be blaming God for not giving me what I wanted, and am blindly missing the bigger picture of him giving me what I needed – or setting me up for it. A great example to think of is to simply picture a wall. The wall is, let’s say, 20 feet high and 20 feet wide. You’re at the bottom with your chin on the wall, and God is at the top looking down (Actually try this). Who can see more? A lot of times we miss the big picture. My Dad has to move out of his house because he can’t afford his bills, or get a job, because this economy is horrible. I have prayed, and prayed, and prayed, but he didn’t get a job that could keep him where he was, and instead is having to move. His current environment is horrible, bad food, bad company; it’s a sin-sludge-pit. However, because he has to move in with his mom, he will be eating right, able to save money, getting spiritual guidance (Most importantly – 24/7 Christian examples of life), and love.
Something to remember, Leyanet, is knowing that we cannot understand God fully, or his ways. He will always surprise us. Many people don’t understand or believe in the power of prayer until they experience a huge event such as Dare2Share (hehe that rhymed). Thousands upon thousands of Christians acting like they should for even a small moment, is powerful. Never stop praying for your friends, it may seem like nothing’s happening, but it is, you just can’t see it yet.
You’re question of “They think Jesus is not real…Because God does not answer their prayers…. How can I get them to realize that Jesus is real?†is a fantastic question. I personally read a lot of books. My favorites are the “Case for ____†(Christ, Faith, A Creator, The Real Jesus). Lee Stroble does an amazing job at proposing a strong “case†for all of these things, even the existence of God for a non-believer. Did Jesus walk the earth? Did he heal? Did he teach? Did he claim to be God? Did he die? Did he rise from the dead? Did people see him after he rose? Is it recorded in history? Is He Lord, Liar, or a lunatic? The answer to them all is: yes – and Lord. The books are inexpensive, easy reading (Case for A Creator is a bit… or a lot… more in depth), and they answer all those questions and way, way, more. My style of sharing things is through basic apologetics: (fancy word for proving the Bible to be true by using the following ways, and much more, to defend Christianity) facts, history, science (Cosmology, Physics, biology..etc), archeology, etc. In some instances, I’ve seen people flip when the realize Jesus isn’t just a guy in the Bible, He’s real, He’s alive, He’s rooted in history and culture too. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer yourself; only God can work on the inside of a person. Always be kind, full of grace, loving, speak with a prayerful heart, and Christ will always help you!
I understand my reply was long, but I hope it helped in some way or another. If you’d like to get in contact more, or things weren’t clear and you have more questions, feel free to either click on my name, or go to my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/jesusdisciple
God’s grace to you both!
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