Luke 6:12 -13 12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
Christ spent the night praying, and I would think that is anyone had the ear of God that night, His Son did. Christ did not just pray a little, He spent the night praying. Anyone that has taken part in a prayer vigil knows praying all night take some focus, it takes commitment, and it takes determination. After a night of prayer, Christ goes out and chose twelve men to be His apostles. Not ten, not eleven, but twelve, and one of those twelve was who? Judas. The man that would betray Jesus, was handpicked the morning after a night of prayer. If that is not proof positive that we will have difficult people in our lives I do not know what is!
We can read where that Jesus experienced all things human. It is one of the aspects that makes Him able to identify with us so well. I would think that this must have been one of the harder things to experience. Not just betrayal, but betrayal at the hands of one you love. It is a stark reminder that God’s plan does not always mean “our plan” , we can pray for protection, we can pray for an easy life, we can pray for smooth waters, we can pray night and day endlessly, but that will not change the fact that we will be hurt, we will be betrayed, the waters will get rough. So am I saying that we should not pray? Of course not! Prayer is vital in our relationship with the Lord. Christ Knew what was in store for Him, and He did not falter in His praying! What we must understand is, that sometimes prayers are answered in the middle of our pain. The sweet healing power of the Love of Christ might just show up in the middle of a torrential downpour. An entire world was set free at the pinnacle of one Man’s pain. Your prayers are always answered, but sometimes we have to struggle through the pain to get to the blessing. This is our “big game” the world cup, the world series, the super bowl, and the masters all rolled into one. We pray for a win, but honestly we pray for strength. We pray for the fortitude to endure the challenges that we are to face.
What have you obtained in this life that yourself or someone else did not have to sacrifice for? If it was easy to get, was it satisfying to obtain? Your job, your family, your friends, even your hobbies, are they any sweeter when they come without struggle? Why would we want or expect our relationship with Christ to be any different? For every step you take in prayer, you can bet the devil will be there to try and knock you back. Praying does not guarantee us a life of ease. It guarantees us an open line of communication with God. It allows us to cry out and let the Lord know that we cannot do it on our own. God is God, not Santa Clause (although some pictures it is hard to tell the difference) His plan might take us through dark storms, disappointing outcomes, and less than satisfying relationships, but I want you to remember something. God works for the good in the lives of the people that love Him, and have been called to His purpose. It might not seem like it right now, but know this; If it is not good right now, that just means that God is not done. Do not slack on your praying, increase it. Just because you find that you have a traitor in your midst does not mean that your prayers have not been answered, it might just be that God is about to do something huge in your life. Life is tough, and at times it might seem unfair, but know that God is a just God, He is faithful, and He is moving right now to change your life, and you know what….He is going to work in that traitors life as well. It might just be that traitor is doing some praying himself, that might just be what brought them to you. Remember that light at the end of the tunnel……it might be you.
God Bless,
Brian Thetford
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