I was reminded of another song the other day. It was written by Richard Mullan and came out in 1954, the year I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. It has been recorded by several artists over the years. “HE can turn the tide and calm the angry sea. HE alone decides who writes the symphony. HE lights every star that makes our darkness bright. HE keeps watch all through each long and lonely night. HE still finds the time to hear a child’s first prayer. Saint or sinner call they’ll always find Him there. Though it makes Him sad to see the way we live, He’ll always say, ‘I forgive.”‘
We must never take for granted our access to God through prayer or His amazing power that is released in response to our prayers. When Jesus died on the cross the heavy curtain in the temple that separated us from the presence of God was torn from top to bottom, symbolically allowing us to come into God’s presence to pray in the name of Jesus.The life; death and resurrection of Jesus bridges the gap between God and mankind. All we have to do is accept God’s gift of salvation and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit within us.
I know I am still here writing my blog because of all of the prayers that were prayed for my survival from Covid and more recently from a urinary track infection that was draining my energy. Never underestimate the power of answered prayer. We are called to love others and help them, but don’t forget to pray for them as well.
My church is beginning 21 days of prayer today through the end of September. Prayer involves much more than presenting a wish list to God for His approval. I have never been comfortable with the second verse of the song above, because it makes God seem like a genie granting wishes. Our prayers should include praise and worship. We must also ask for God’s will and direction in our life. If you don’t take time to listen to God’s plan for you, you are just leaving a message on His voicemail, hoping He will get back to you later. I can tell you from experience that once you know His plans, you will forget all about what you wanted to do with His approval.