<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":
</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>The difference between a believer and an
unbeliever is his/her prayer. Unbelievers don’t need to pray; they can
make it on their own. They own the world, everything goes right for
them, “Verily I say unto you, they have their reward,” says Jesus. But
those who “believe” in Jesus have a hard time trying to make it on
their own; they fit right into the category of David who continually
(almost) pours out his heart in prayer in the Psalms. He has all kinds
of “enemies” that he is constantly begging the Lord to defeat for him
(wait a moment: don’t fall for this lie that David is paranoid: from
every prayer session except one [Psalm 88] he emerges joyously
triumphant on top of the world in his confidence in God who has heard
and answered his prayer; that’s not paranoia). That’s why I said that
“believers” have a hard time making it on their own; they know they
can’t, so they rejoice in their faith to believe that they can make it
with the blessing of their Savior. (And they do!)
The Bible is really full of prayer. The lady in Matt. 15:22-28 who is
begging Jesus to heal her daughter “vexed with a devil” is praying; He
tested and stretched her faith before He did it. The man with the son
who was devil possessed in Mark 9:17-24 is praying, “Lord, if Thou
canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Again, Jesus
tested and stretched his faith, almost agonizingly, before He granted
his prayer.
Prayer is meaningless unless you learn to believe (a) that there is a
God who is what He says He is (“merciful and gracious, . . . plenteous
in mercy,” Psalm 103:8), and (b) that He hears and rewards those who
take the trouble to “come” to Him (Heb. 11:6). The “coming” is a
serious, intelligent, well thought out interview with the Sovereign of
the universe who tells you that He is your heavenly Father and you are
His child; He meets you on your own ground, as sober as you are. No
games, please. It’s not my business to guarantee anything on His
behalf; but from some minute personal experience I can testify that He
“receiveth sinners,” even “eats with” them (Luke 15:2; yes, have lunch
with Him!), “forgiveth all our iniquities” (Psalm 103:3), tells us
what is wrong with us and encourages us to believe we’ll get
straightened out (John 16:8-11), gloriously enhances our sense of
self-respect (Gal. 2:20), gives us the intimations of coming
immortality through faith in Christ (Rom. 8:16-19), and lifts the
burden that has been weighing you down for years (Matt. 11:29-30).
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