King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2019
Chapters: Psalms 81, 88, 92-93
Message: Diligently Seek God By Faith
Hello My Friend,
How often do we go to God in prayer with faith by sight, we see it therefore, we know we will receive it? Faith by sight is not what gets God’s attention, while He hears every prayer, we must understand that God is a sight by faith God, He wants us to have faith believing that we will receive it, even when we do not see it. God wants us to envision the very things that we are asking for, trusting that He is able to supply our every need. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:1,6.
“for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,” None of us have a problem with believing in the Almighty God, but if we are honest with ourselves we will admit that our prayer time is something of a bore. Oh, I admit whenever someone asks me to pray for them I do at that time so it does not slip my mind, and I will say my morning prayer, and if I am still awake enough when I lay down to sleep I will say my evening prayer as I tend to fall asleep right after saying His name. Then I will realize I am lacking in prayer, start a new list, start praying faithfully for about a week, then right back to my normal routine. Sound familiar? It is not like we do this intentionally, it is just that we are tired, tried, weak, weary, and so busy that we stop seeking Him diligently all the time. When we diligently seek God, He will reveal things to us well before we even ask Him, and often He is trying to get us to listen to what He is saying to us before He grants things. God is not like a genie in a lamp, He is the Almighty Living God, and if you want Him to answer you, listen to Him first. The Psalms do more than teach us to pray and have faith in what we are praying for, they also reveal God, and what He wants from us.
“To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.” – Psalm 81:1,7-14.
“Oh that my people had hearkened unto me,” We would be so much more blessed if we would just listen to God more often, and also save ourselves from having to do things over again. It is not that we are living in sin, it is that we are not diligently seeking Him for everything. Remember, what I said yesterday, “We have so much power in us, and yet we use very little of it, and therefore, we do limit God’s power and blessings. I admit there are two reasons why I have limited God’s power, one, I concluded that I have sinned, and must suffer through the consequence myself. And two, I believe I am not faithful enough to receive His blessings.” Sometimes God does not answer us because we limit Him as we talk ourselves into believing He will answer everyone else, but us. So, we stop praying for it all together, and before you know it affliction comes, and we are on our knees, day and night, and it seems as though God does not hear anything we are saying.
“O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.” – Psalm 88:1-3,11-15.
“while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.” Affliction has a way of distracting us from what is really going on, we cannot just diligently seek Him in times of trouble, we cannot just diligently seek Him until we receive the one thing we are asking, and we cannot just diligently seek Him without having faith in Him. In fact, diligently praying without faith is worse than not praying at all. Remember, we must come to Him diligently believing that He will do this very thing we are asking. And keep in mind of what we are asking, many times He will answer us and give us a different outcome than what we are expecting. Praying for a job may lead you to another job, or praying for a spouse may lead you to another person, or praying for a child may lead you to a child who needs you. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – I John 5:14-15.
“And this is the confidence that we have in him,” Our Confidence in diligently seeking Him, that is what gets His attention. If we have confidence in what we are asking, diligently seeking it, by faith, and knowing that we are in His will He will grant us what we are asking for. Instead of letting the devil convince you that God will never hear you, start reminding yourself that you are His, and hears you when you are coming to Him sincerely, and do not forget to thank Him and praise Him for what He has already done for you.
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” – Psalm 92:1-5,12-15.
“I will triumph in the works of thy hands.” Whenever you feel like God is not hearing you, even though you have been diligently seeking Him, keep reminding yourself that God is working something great in your life, and with faith, trust, and some patience, He will reveal it to you. Charles Spurgeon said something that brought tears to my eyes as I read it this morning, “Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise-“He giveth power to the faint.” When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and ask him to fulfil his own word….Take that promise to the throne continually; do not plead anything else, but go to God over and over again with this-“Lord, thou hast said it, do as thou hast said.”” And this is where he got it from. “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31.
“there is no searching of his understanding.” Time and time again, we have read in His Word of those who reminded God of what He had done, what He says He will do, and asking Him to do it for them, and He did it. God is no different today than He was then, go to God, remind Him of His promises, of what He has done for others, and ask Him to do if for you, diligently, not sporadically, but continuously. We have this assumption that we cannot remind God of what He has done, or ask Him to do the same for us, as it seems we are tempting Him. We are not tempting God at all, we are merely showing Him that we know what He is capable of, and since He did it for them, He can do the same for us. We do not have to try to understand His ways, just know that by our diligently seeking Him by faith He will give us the strength to run, and not be weary, to walk, and not faint as we wait for Him to grant our petitions. Amen! “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.” – Psalm 93:1.
Today’s Prayer: God, You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and You gladly hearken to those who come to You diligently by faith. Thank You Lord, for your mercies and grace, and for all that You have done for me, if I were to write everything down, there would not be enough paper, and yet, time and time again I find myself weary and weak in my faith, and doubting that what I am asking of You will be granted because I know I am, but a sinner saved by Your grace. You have proved Yourself over and over again, from Your Word, and even in my own life, that You answer those who diligently seek You by faith, resting on Your promises, and even giving You reminders of what You have done for others. Lord, teach me to be diligent in my walk with You, show me how to manage my time so that I am seeking You diligently, and by faith, in all that I do, whether it is praying, ministering, working, or playing. I know that with a little faith, some diligence, trust, and patience, that You will grant my petitions. In Your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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