Wow. So today I went to a funeral of an 18 year old girl who was friends with pretty much everyone I know here. The funeral was held at a Catholic church and I don't think I've ever seen so many people crying at one time.
It was really hard, because she wasn't a Christian, and knowing that, I can't celebrate the fact that she's with Jesus, because the fact of the matter is, she's not. Everyone was crying because it IS sad that she's not in a better place, and what's worse is that barely anyone knows that.
John 14:6 says: 'Jesus answered, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me..." '
It makes me incredibly sad how many religions are just religions and not relationships with God; how many people don't realize that putting God higher than anything is the most important thing.
Yesterday I went to a youth event and after we had a little discussion and we watched a video. The man was talking about Luke 11:5 where the disciples ask Jesus how to pray. Luke 11:2 He said: "Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." Now, I know what you're thinking. "Dude, that's wrong. That's not how it goes." The disciples were probably thinking the same thing, "Hey Jesus... you umm, you misquoted the Lord's Prayer." Funny, huh? God never intended the original Lord's Prayer to be memorized and quoted over and over again like how the Catholics use it. He meant it as a template or guidelines on a basic How-To-Pray thing.
"Father, Hallowed by Your name" translates to, "Yo God, You're awesome."
Tell God how amazing He is, He really likes it.
Tell Him, "Your Kingdom is what I ultimately want, Your will for my life, etc... but it'd be awesome if you could give me this....
Forgive us, as we know You will do, and we'll forgive others (just as You forgive us) and keep us away from temptation and evil. Amen."
It comes down to just telling Him how awesome and amazing He is, letting Him know that it's up to Him what He gives you, but then letting Him know what you want. Asking for forgiveness, because everyone sins pretty much every day, as much as we Christians would like to pretend we don't. Even a dirty or judgmental thought is sinful. And finally asking Him to stop the opportunities we get to sin. The end.
It's that simple.
Then the man in the video went on to say that out of ALL the things Jesus could have said, He talks about the fact that most times, we don't think God can hear us.
Luke 11: 5 'Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, "Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him." --Now. This is like your friend coming to you after you're pretty much already sleeping, saying, "Dude, My friend's here, but I have no food for him... can I have some of yours?"--
Verse 7, "Then the one inside answers, "Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up to get you anything." --The video-man explained how in Eastern culture, all the men of the house sleep in one bed and all the women sleep in another. In order for one to get out of bed, it would require everyone to eventually be woken up because the father would probably end up stepping on people and it would be a big mess. So he yells, "No man, go away, I can't get up now!"--
So the parable goes on to say that the man in bed DOES end up getting out of bed but only because the man at the door stands there banging on the door for a very, very long time. So out of pure frustration, now that the knocking has probably woken everyone in the house up, he goes and gives the man what he wants.
So the disciples know about parables; they know that "SOMEONE in the parable is me... and SOMEONE is God... okay. So... I'm probably the man at the door, so that means... God is the grumpy man telling me not to bother him? Wow Jesus, you're not making God look so good here..."
Many people (myself included up till last night) think that you just pray about something once and if God wants you to have it, He'll give it to you and if not, then you don't get it. WRONG. If it's something you REALLY want, ask God over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. KEEP BUGGING HIM ABOUT IT because eventually, He'll be SO honored that you're so perseverant about it, that He'll finally just give you want you want.
When you don't get what you want, it's not that He can't hear you or just plain isn't listening, it's because you haven't proved to Him that you want it THAT BADLY.
HE HEARS YOU.
Keep praying.
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