When you read your Bible, you are reading words thousands of years old. They say the very last book was written in 95AD, 1,929 years ago. So much more was written before that last book in 95. Seems strange doesn't it, to hear a year referred to as 95. We might be tempted to fill that 95 in with a 1995. To hear the year 95, it just seems in an odd way, surreal. Yes, it had to exist to get us all the way up to 2024, yet thinking back to 95, well that's a leap of sorts.
Maybe all I just wrote up there is about my own warped sense of things, maybe not. I'm thinking about it because I just read something from 1899 and thought, wow, so long ago. Then I thought if I share this writing from 1899, people will be less inclined to read it if I start out with its date. Way back then, 1899, but it's only a 125 years ago, not 1,929 years ago and we have no problem reading things as mentioned up top, thousands of years old. (No, this 125 year old writing is not the Bible so it does not have its holiness.)
We read our ancient Bibles without a qualm about the dates of its various books. Why? We are seeking God's guidance and enlightenment through the Holy Spirit. We don't blink an eye at how old His word is because it's timeless, truly. His word is for all ages, for all time. I'm not looking for any debates on the Bible's authenticity or anything like that. I just watched a show with my daughter and in it a girl was telling a preacher that the Bible was all wrong and she was fixing it, ripping out pages, making corrections etc. He was incensed at her treatment of his Bible, and he took it from her and the pages she'd ripped out and told her... it doesn't have to make sense (paraphrasing here my memory isn't great) he said it doesn't have to make sense you have to have faith. Faith is what the Bible is teaching.
As I said, I'm not going to get into the debates on the Bible's seeming contradictions to the science world some hold as their god, I believe in it, if you don't, well, that's your choice.
Getting back to this writing from 1899 that started this train on the tracks that is it skipping along on-- the twisting turning road of my thoughts.
The article is fascinating to me because it's about prayer.
We pray so much (a lot of people I know do) and that's a wonderful thing. We need to stop and ask ourselves a question though, are we praying truly for God's will?
When we pray for something shouldn't we be able to go to God's word and find words in the Bible to backup our prayers? I should be able to go to the Bible and find the words that tell me it is God's will for healing of illnesses, right? The words are there. But you know what is there as well? And this is something we tend to lose sight of and it causes us to believe that God might not be hearing or answering our prayers. What is right there in the prayer Jesus taught to His disciples…
'Thy will be done... on earth as it is in heaven.'
Thy will be done.
God tells us a whole lot about Himself in the Bible. We can get a pretty good sense of what God's will is. And because we get a good sense of what it is, we tend to infer that it is always God's will to heal sicknesses etc.
Paul prayed three times for his infirmity to be taken from him, and it wasn't, because God's grace was sufficient for him.
What does that even mean?
It means Paul really, really, really wanted his infirmity healed. He prayed once. No healing. He prayed again; maybe God didn't hear the first prayer. No healing. He prayed a third time. He was just making sure God got his message. No healing. Paul knew God liked to heal people. People even had handkerchiefs of Paul's that they touched to be healed. Here, read it...
Act 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
Act 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Paul knew God loved healing people! But He chose not to heal Paul. Did Paul stomp his feet and reject God after that? Nope. Did Paul go around saying God didn't answer my prayer He must not be real? Nope. Did he say, I must be an awful sinner not deserving healing? Nope. Did he say any of those things we are prone to saying at times when our prayers aren't answered as we'd like?
What Paul did do, is question why he wasn't being healed. He had to have done so because God answered the why, of why he wasn't healing Paul even though Paul was praying to him to be healed over and over.
God SAID to Paul-- My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Read it...
2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
God's strength is made perfect in WEAKNESS. Paul, upon learning that said he would glory in his infirmities (note:plural- infirmities) and why would he glory in them? So the POWER OF CHRIST WOULD REST UPON HIM. That sure doesn't sound like he was eager to give up on God because he wasn't healed while all those around him were being healed.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
He took PLEASURE in his infirmities, in reproaches in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses-- DO you get the picture? In all our problems in life, in all we may face the huge things, the small things, in anything that causes us distress, in our needs, in being reproached and persecuted, in our infirmities whatever they may be... Paul is saying he takes PLEASURE in those awful parts of our existence, and they sure do exist for everyone I know. Why does Paul take pleasure in the BAD things about living? Because they make him recognizing CONSTANTLY his weakness and Christ's strength and therefore his own strength through Christ's strength! A contradiction, you say? You think it'd be much better to be healed and revel in the strength of God? You want to sing praises for the healing, not praises for the sickness.
We are weak, sickly creatures. Paul an Apostle of Christ, called by Christ, who SAW Christ, talked with Christ-- HE needed to be constantly reminded of the source of any strength he did have, and that was CHRIST.
Our hope is an eternal hope, not a temporary hope. Our hope ultimately has to be solely for the ETERNAL, because if it's not, this life and all its many evils will trip us up trying to get us to focus on this temporary life to the point it blots out the eternal one we must truly be living for-- through Christ and Christ's strength.
Remember- God's will be done, and His will is an eternal will. All He chooses to do for us or NOT do for us, all that He allows in our lives -- is according to His eternal will, His heavenly will. On earth as it is, where? In heaven, isn't that how the prayer goes?
Please note- I'm saying a lot of things as if I'm just talking about us as individuals, but know that when I speak of 'US' not being healed, I'm also talking about our cherished loved ones. All too often we're praying for the healing of others and the same sort of discouragement tries to overcome us. Watching a baby slip away all the while praying desperately for a miracle is a hard, hard, extremely hard thing to do. We are not called to endure only our own infirmities, but the heartbreak of others enduring theirs.
Anyway... as I was saying way back, this article from 1899, it's about praying and faith, a lot different from all I just wrote, so don't think- "Oh, she just told me what it was all about so I really don't have to read that 1899 article she's going on about." Wrong. What I wrote already are my crisscrossing train tracks of tangents from what I read. There is so much more I could write on the actual article, but I've gone up and down a few mountains worth of trains tracks already, time to let you off my train and hopefully put you onto the train of the next article- I guarantee you it's not as twisty turny as the ride I just put you through.
God bless you all! God willing, you'll read the article and be blessed for doing so. All in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ now and forever! Amen!
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering…
February 28, 1899
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Therefore the word of God is the only means of faith.
Therefore, where there is no word of God, there cannot be any faith.
And where the word of God is, faith is, entire dependence upon that word for the accomplishment of what that word says.
From all this, which is the truth, it is perfectly plain that in order for anyone to ask in faith, he must first of all be sure that he has the word of God for what he asks.
Having the word of God for what he asks, he, like David, can find it in his heart to pray with perfect confidence, which is only in perfect faith.
He who thus prays knows that he is asking according to the will of God, for he knows that he has the plain word of God for it.
Therefore he knows that God hears him, and knowing that God hears him, he knows that he has the thing for which he has asked, because the sole basis of his hope for it is the word which has spoken it, and which is the sole basis of his asking.
The Lord tells us thus to pray, and thus he has made provision for the steady, strong, and continuous growth of faith.
Many people pray but do not know whether it is the will of the Lord that they should have what they pray for and so do not know whether they can certainly claim it; and not knowing whether they can claim it, they are all at sea as to whether their prayers are answered or not.
The Lord does not want anybody to move uncertainly. Therefore, He has given His word, which thoroughly furnishes every one unto all good works and by which are given all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
And anyone who seeks in the word of God the things which God has there provided for all and upon that specific word prays for that thing, thus asking according to the plainly expressed will of God, knows that his prayer is heard and that he has the thing for which he prayed.
So doing, the prayers will be always certain, the life will be filled with the direct gifts of God, and the faith will be sure and strong and will be ever increasing in strength.
Many pray the prayer of the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith." This is well. Yet along with this, it must never be forgotten that faith comes only by the word of God. Therefore, as certainly as your faith shall be increased, it can be only by there being in you an increase of the word of God. And the only way that there can be in you an increase of the word of God is by your harkening to that word, praying to the Lord for the thing which that word says, depending wholly upon that word for that thing and thanking him that you have received it. Then and thus that word is received by you and lives in you.
Thus while we can pray, "Lord, increase our faith," at the same time we must remember that we are to build up ourselves on our most holy faith. Jude 20.
Jud 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit
This is how to exercise faith. Faith can be exercised only on the word of God, for where there is no word of God, there cannot be any faith.
And "understanding how to exercise faith, this is the science of the gospel."
A.T. Jones
End Article.
Just a note- as stated in my thoughts above, we are praying for God's will to be done. And it's God will that His Kingdom come. People were all excited for Jesus to heal all their temporary woes (severe to not so severe). People were all happy to be fed by Jesus from seemingly producing food out of thin air. People wanted a Messiah to bring forth the kingdom right there on earth for them to enjoy right then. People were very disappointed when Jesus did not bring forth heaven on earth for them as they expected He was there to do. Jesus was all about the kingdom to come, living for that kingdom, not for the world filled with sin. Our prayers need to truly be about … Thy kingdom come… Thy will be done. Let's never lose sight of the kingdom coming because if we do, we can so easily lose sight of God's will being done.
Maybe all I just wrote up there is about my own warped sense of things, maybe not. I'm thinking about it because I just read something from 1899 and thought, wow, so long ago. Then I thought if I share this writing from 1899, people will be less inclined to read it if I start out with its date. Way back then, 1899, but it's only a 125 years ago, not 1,929 years ago and we have no problem reading things as mentioned up top, thousands of years old. (No, this 125 year old writing is not the Bible so it does not have its holiness.)
We read our ancient Bibles without a qualm about the dates of its various books. Why? We are seeking God's guidance and enlightenment through the Holy Spirit. We don't blink an eye at how old His word is because it's timeless, truly. His word is for all ages, for all time. I'm not looking for any debates on the Bible's authenticity or anything like that. I just watched a show with my daughter and in it a girl was telling a preacher that the Bible was all wrong and she was fixing it, ripping out pages, making corrections etc. He was incensed at her treatment of his Bible, and he took it from her and the pages she'd ripped out and told her... it doesn't have to make sense (paraphrasing here my memory isn't great) he said it doesn't have to make sense you have to have faith. Faith is what the Bible is teaching.
As I said, I'm not going to get into the debates on the Bible's seeming contradictions to the science world some hold as their god, I believe in it, if you don't, well, that's your choice.
Getting back to this writing from 1899 that started this train on the tracks that is it skipping along on-- the twisting turning road of my thoughts.
The article is fascinating to me because it's about prayer.
We pray so much (a lot of people I know do) and that's a wonderful thing. We need to stop and ask ourselves a question though, are we praying truly for God's will?
When we pray for something shouldn't we be able to go to God's word and find words in the Bible to backup our prayers? I should be able to go to the Bible and find the words that tell me it is God's will for healing of illnesses, right? The words are there. But you know what is there as well? And this is something we tend to lose sight of and it causes us to believe that God might not be hearing or answering our prayers. What is right there in the prayer Jesus taught to His disciples…
'Thy will be done... on earth as it is in heaven.'
Thy will be done.
God tells us a whole lot about Himself in the Bible. We can get a pretty good sense of what God's will is. And because we get a good sense of what it is, we tend to infer that it is always God's will to heal sicknesses etc.
Paul prayed three times for his infirmity to be taken from him, and it wasn't, because God's grace was sufficient for him.
What does that even mean?
It means Paul really, really, really wanted his infirmity healed. He prayed once. No healing. He prayed again; maybe God didn't hear the first prayer. No healing. He prayed a third time. He was just making sure God got his message. No healing. Paul knew God liked to heal people. People even had handkerchiefs of Paul's that they touched to be healed. Here, read it...
Act 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
Act 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Paul knew God loved healing people! But He chose not to heal Paul. Did Paul stomp his feet and reject God after that? Nope. Did Paul go around saying God didn't answer my prayer He must not be real? Nope. Did he say, I must be an awful sinner not deserving healing? Nope. Did he say any of those things we are prone to saying at times when our prayers aren't answered as we'd like?
What Paul did do, is question why he wasn't being healed. He had to have done so because God answered the why, of why he wasn't healing Paul even though Paul was praying to him to be healed over and over.
God SAID to Paul-- My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Read it...
2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
God's strength is made perfect in WEAKNESS. Paul, upon learning that said he would glory in his infirmities (note:plural- infirmities) and why would he glory in them? So the POWER OF CHRIST WOULD REST UPON HIM. That sure doesn't sound like he was eager to give up on God because he wasn't healed while all those around him were being healed.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
He took PLEASURE in his infirmities, in reproaches in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses-- DO you get the picture? In all our problems in life, in all we may face the huge things, the small things, in anything that causes us distress, in our needs, in being reproached and persecuted, in our infirmities whatever they may be... Paul is saying he takes PLEASURE in those awful parts of our existence, and they sure do exist for everyone I know. Why does Paul take pleasure in the BAD things about living? Because they make him recognizing CONSTANTLY his weakness and Christ's strength and therefore his own strength through Christ's strength! A contradiction, you say? You think it'd be much better to be healed and revel in the strength of God? You want to sing praises for the healing, not praises for the sickness.
We are weak, sickly creatures. Paul an Apostle of Christ, called by Christ, who SAW Christ, talked with Christ-- HE needed to be constantly reminded of the source of any strength he did have, and that was CHRIST.
Our hope is an eternal hope, not a temporary hope. Our hope ultimately has to be solely for the ETERNAL, because if it's not, this life and all its many evils will trip us up trying to get us to focus on this temporary life to the point it blots out the eternal one we must truly be living for-- through Christ and Christ's strength.
Remember- God's will be done, and His will is an eternal will. All He chooses to do for us or NOT do for us, all that He allows in our lives -- is according to His eternal will, His heavenly will. On earth as it is, where? In heaven, isn't that how the prayer goes?
Please note- I'm saying a lot of things as if I'm just talking about us as individuals, but know that when I speak of 'US' not being healed, I'm also talking about our cherished loved ones. All too often we're praying for the healing of others and the same sort of discouragement tries to overcome us. Watching a baby slip away all the while praying desperately for a miracle is a hard, hard, extremely hard thing to do. We are not called to endure only our own infirmities, but the heartbreak of others enduring theirs.
Anyway... as I was saying way back, this article from 1899, it's about praying and faith, a lot different from all I just wrote, so don't think- "Oh, she just told me what it was all about so I really don't have to read that 1899 article she's going on about." Wrong. What I wrote already are my crisscrossing train tracks of tangents from what I read. There is so much more I could write on the actual article, but I've gone up and down a few mountains worth of trains tracks already, time to let you off my train and hopefully put you onto the train of the next article- I guarantee you it's not as twisty turny as the ride I just put you through.
God bless you all! God willing, you'll read the article and be blessed for doing so. All in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ now and forever! Amen!
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering…
February 28, 1899
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Therefore the word of God is the only means of faith.
Therefore, where there is no word of God, there cannot be any faith.
And where the word of God is, faith is, entire dependence upon that word for the accomplishment of what that word says.
From all this, which is the truth, it is perfectly plain that in order for anyone to ask in faith, he must first of all be sure that he has the word of God for what he asks.
Having the word of God for what he asks, he, like David, can find it in his heart to pray with perfect confidence, which is only in perfect faith.
He who thus prays knows that he is asking according to the will of God, for he knows that he has the plain word of God for it.
Therefore he knows that God hears him, and knowing that God hears him, he knows that he has the thing for which he has asked, because the sole basis of his hope for it is the word which has spoken it, and which is the sole basis of his asking.
The Lord tells us thus to pray, and thus he has made provision for the steady, strong, and continuous growth of faith.
Many people pray but do not know whether it is the will of the Lord that they should have what they pray for and so do not know whether they can certainly claim it; and not knowing whether they can claim it, they are all at sea as to whether their prayers are answered or not.
The Lord does not want anybody to move uncertainly. Therefore, He has given His word, which thoroughly furnishes every one unto all good works and by which are given all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
And anyone who seeks in the word of God the things which God has there provided for all and upon that specific word prays for that thing, thus asking according to the plainly expressed will of God, knows that his prayer is heard and that he has the thing for which he prayed.
So doing, the prayers will be always certain, the life will be filled with the direct gifts of God, and the faith will be sure and strong and will be ever increasing in strength.
Many pray the prayer of the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith." This is well. Yet along with this, it must never be forgotten that faith comes only by the word of God. Therefore, as certainly as your faith shall be increased, it can be only by there being in you an increase of the word of God. And the only way that there can be in you an increase of the word of God is by your harkening to that word, praying to the Lord for the thing which that word says, depending wholly upon that word for that thing and thanking him that you have received it. Then and thus that word is received by you and lives in you.
Thus while we can pray, "Lord, increase our faith," at the same time we must remember that we are to build up ourselves on our most holy faith. Jude 20.
Jud 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit
This is how to exercise faith. Faith can be exercised only on the word of God, for where there is no word of God, there cannot be any faith.
And "understanding how to exercise faith, this is the science of the gospel."
A.T. Jones
End Article.
Just a note- as stated in my thoughts above, we are praying for God's will to be done. And it's God will that His Kingdom come. People were all excited for Jesus to heal all their temporary woes (severe to not so severe). People were all happy to be fed by Jesus from seemingly producing food out of thin air. People wanted a Messiah to bring forth the kingdom right there on earth for them to enjoy right then. People were very disappointed when Jesus did not bring forth heaven on earth for them as they expected He was there to do. Jesus was all about the kingdom to come, living for that kingdom, not for the world filled with sin. Our prayers need to truly be about … Thy kingdom come… Thy will be done. Let's never lose sight of the kingdom coming because if we do, we can so easily lose sight of God's will being done.