prayer

Today I received an e-mail message from a former student of mine. It means a lot to me when my students from the past take the time to reconnect with me. This particular student has had nothing but bad luck. He was an outstanding student, with an unusual amount of creativity and motivation. But, his people skills are terrible, and have run him into trouble at every turn.


I feel like this person needs a lot of prayer. God gave him his special skills for a reason, and he just needs to find the right situation in which patient and caring people can mentor him in the social skills, and provide a shield for him when he makes mistakes.

From the Bible, we know that God wants us to pray, and we know that God wants to answer prayer and give us good things.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" -Matthew 7:7-11

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." -James 5:16-18

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." -Philippians 4:6

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." -Ephesians 6:18

God has promised to answer prayers and he has the power to do so. Please pray with me for this young man, and let's watch the results of God's power and mercy!

While I am talking about prayer, I want to give God praise for two recently answered prayers:

A young lady I worked with gave birth to twins recently, but one was born with a serious heart defect. He needed a heart transplant. After many prayers, God provided a heart for this little one, and his body has accepted the heart and it is functioning well!

A friend of mine for 37 years runs a mortgage business here in town. He worked very hard to build this business up, and then lost almost everything in a divorce, in which he was dealt with unfairly by the legal system. Then the housing crisis hit, and his business, which I understand supports five families, was in danger of going under. But, recently, business has picked up, and I happy to say he is having to stay in his office until late in the evening to get his work done!

Isn't God good!

fresh starts

It just crossed my mind that there are a lot of fresh starts/new beginnings this time of year:

January 1, New Year's Day, the start of a new year,

School is starting back after Christmas break for a large number of students and teachers - tomorrow is the start of the spring semester at the university where I teach,

January 20 is the day the next U. S. President takes office and begins a possible new direction for our nation,

And, hopefully it won't be TOO long until spring starts and then baseball season begins!

These things make me think of the well-known passage in the gospel of John:

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, 'Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.' In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again....For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.' " -John 3:1-3, 16-17

God gives us a new beginning through baptism - we are born again. Our sins are wiped clean, and we have a fresh start.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - II Corinthians 5:17

"...everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Acts 10:43b

I remember a student of mine once telling me that she had a debt that she needed to pay. She had worried about this debt for a long time, but did not have the means to pay it off. When she finally had collected enough money to pay it back, she was told that she no longer owed the money! She told me that at that point, she really understood what Jesus has done for us - he has wiped the slate completely clean for us, and has given us a fresh start, a chance to be a new person dedicated to the Lord!