BBD 03.03.09 Leave God a Message

#1 · March 3, 2009, 11:56 am

Quote from Forum Archives on March 3, 2009, 11:56 am
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 150 countries.
Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

Join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up
of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer
requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 247 new subscribers since January 1, 2009!!

03.03.09

Leave God a Message

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:15-16.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of
Him. - 1 John 5:14-15.

Johan van der Dong who is an artist in the Netherlands wants people to leave
messages for God. Johan has set up a telephone number with an answering
machine to allow everyone that wants to do so to leave God a message. He
thinks that it is a way for us to organize our thoughts and to have some
contemplation. When you call the number you will hear the following message
(In Dutch, I listened to this on Fox News this morning.) "Hi, you are
speaking to God. I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep."
Wouldn't that be wonderful? It would be wonderful if we could leave a
message, a prayer, that God would actually listen to and hopefully respond
to at some point in time.

The truth is that you do not have to record a message on an answering
machine in order to communicate with God. God had a better idea. God's idea
and plan that He has implemented means that you can bypass the answering
machine mode or any other intermediary and communicate directly with God.
Now that is a great idea, a wonderful idea, a fantastic idea; no, it is not
an idea - it is the spiritual reality. Not only that we have the ability to
talk directly to God, but we can do so "boldly."

If someone were to watch us praying in private they might possibly think
that we are talking to ourselves. Even if they knew that you were praying,
some would say that you are wasting your time that God cannot actually hear
you. However, the Bible makes it clear that we can pray with confidence
knowing "that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Not
only does He hear us, but He answers us giving us what we have asked for
according to His will.

Not only does God hear us and respond to our prayers, but sometimes He also
speaks to us in answer to those prayers. Have you ever heard God speaking to
you? In an Abnormal Psychology class that I once took the professor said
that to say that you can hear the voice of God is a symptom of mental
illness. However, then he said that most Baptist deacons would say that they
can hear God speaking to them. Jesus says this, "My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me (John 10:27)." In 1 Kings 19 we are told
about Elijah being very despondent and this great prophet was hiding in a
cave fearing for his life. God spoke to Elijah and said, "'Go out, and stand
on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a
great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces
before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake
a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small
voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice
came to him, and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

Have you been hiding in a cave thinking that no one cares and that God doesn't
care about what you are going through in your life? Listen. Listen for that
still small voice. God is speaking and if you've been hiding in a cave or
someplace else because of the circumstances you are in - God is speaking,
and He is saying, "What are you doing here?" What are you doing there when
you can go boldly to the throne of the Creator of the universe and ask
whatever it is that you need, and He promises to hear?

Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi, Cody, and Mica who are young boys
with cancer. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the
Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they
will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always
in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The
devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can
leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks
designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach
those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me
reach out to them.

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube at:
www.godtube.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist
Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST
www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 150 countries.
Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

Join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up
of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer
requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 247 new subscribers since January 1, 2009!!

03.03.09

Leave God a Message

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:15-16.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of
Him. - 1 John 5:14-15.

Johan van der Dong who is an artist in the Netherlands wants people to leave
messages for God. Johan has set up a telephone number with an answering
machine to allow everyone that wants to do so to leave God a message. He
thinks that it is a way for us to organize our thoughts and to have some
contemplation. When you call the number you will hear the following message
(In Dutch, I listened to this on Fox News this morning.) "Hi, you are
speaking to God. I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep."
Wouldn't that be wonderful? It would be wonderful if we could leave a
message, a prayer, that God would actually listen to and hopefully respond
to at some point in time.

The truth is that you do not have to record a message on an answering
machine in order to communicate with God. God had a better idea. God's idea
and plan that He has implemented means that you can bypass the answering
machine mode or any other intermediary and communicate directly with God.
Now that is a great idea, a wonderful idea, a fantastic idea; no, it is not
an idea - it is the spiritual reality. Not only that we have the ability to
talk directly to God, but we can do so "boldly."

If someone were to watch us praying in private they might possibly think
that we are talking to ourselves. Even if they knew that you were praying,
some would say that you are wasting your time that God cannot actually hear
you. However, the Bible makes it clear that we can pray with confidence
knowing "that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Not
only does He hear us, but He answers us giving us what we have asked for
according to His will.

Not only does God hear us and respond to our prayers, but sometimes He also
speaks to us in answer to those prayers. Have you ever heard God speaking to
you? In an Abnormal Psychology class that I once took the professor said
that to say that you can hear the voice of God is a symptom of mental
illness. However, then he said that most Baptist deacons would say that they
can hear God speaking to them. Jesus says this, "My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me (John 10:27)." In 1 Kings 19 we are told
about Elijah being very despondent and this great prophet was hiding in a
cave fearing for his life. God spoke to Elijah and said, "'Go out, and stand
on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a
great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces
before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake
a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small
voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice
came to him, and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

Have you been hiding in a cave thinking that no one cares and that God doesn't
care about what you are going through in your life? Listen. Listen for that
still small voice. God is speaking and if you've been hiding in a cave or
someplace else because of the circumstances you are in - God is speaking,
and He is saying, "What are you doing here?" What are you doing there when
you can go boldly to the throne of the Creator of the universe and ask
whatever it is that you need, and He promises to hear?

Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi, Cody, and Mica who are young boys
with cancer. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the
Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they
will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always
in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The
devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can
leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks
designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach
those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me
reach out to them.

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube at:
http://www.godtube.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist
Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST
http://www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.