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 The
Power of Prayer Bubba Garner
I had a car accident. It was minor, but it was my fault. It
wrecked my whole week. It was all I could think about. Until my
daughter had to get three stitches in her upper lip after a close
encounter with a see-saw. She became my world at that moment. Until
the next morning when we got the call about Teena Harris. Her
father, Glenn, had just finished teaching a class on the Miracles of
Jesus. “We could use one right now,” he said in the somber, subdued
waiting room.
Life has a way of reminding you of what is truly important. Just
when you have fretted over the fact that your team didn’t win the
big game or your car is not working right or one of the appliances
needs to be replaced, you are shocked out of selfishness by
something that has real value. In a moment, all of the trivial
things that seemed important at the time are thrown aside so that
your mind and heart can give full attention to the matter at hand.
Since life is so uncertain and can change so quickly, it is also a
subtle reminder that you have little control over what happens.
Staying in touch with people is critical when critical times come.
We keep them informed, we update them on any progress, we let them
know what we are feeling. But we must not forget the superior form
of communication, one where there is no limit on the number of
minutes used, no access fees or connections charges. It is a free
access to God that man has enjoyed from the beginning. Long before
there were cell phones, email, and the combination thereof, there
was prayer.
What is it about prayer that it can lift the heaviest of loads?
Prayer reassures us that the Lord is listening. David prayed, “Hear
the voice of my supplications when I cry to Thee for help, when I
lift up my hands toward Thy holy sanctuary” (Psa. 28:2). Like a
little child who raises his hands to be picked up by his father,
David was certain that the petitions he was raising were being heard
by his Father in heaven. But David was not the only one who had the
ear of God.
The Father was listening to all the prayers offered in all the
assemblies of His children today. He was listening to all of the
families who bowed and “returned thanks” around their dinner tables.
He heard every cry from every waiting room, emergency room, and back
bedroom. How incredible to think that He who created all the world
cares about what’s going on in mine. Our Lord listens.
Prayer reminds us that God can handle what is out of our hands.
Psalm 28 was David’s call for help. But he did not strap on his
armor and attempt to fight his enemies on his own. The Lord had
delivered him from the paw of the lion and bear that threatened his
sheep. The Lord brought him a victory over Goliath. The Lord’s power
would prevail over the enemies of His anointed. “The Lord is my
strength and my shield,” David confessed (Psa. 28:7). No other
weaponry was necessary.
There will be occasions when our safety is threatened by the
seemingly impossible, a situation that makes us admit, “I can’t do
anything about it.” But God can. No matter how scary the lion or
bear, no matter how tall the giant, no matter how many the enemy, no
matter how bleak the diagnosis, no matter how great the difficulty.
This is still our Father’s world. Trust in His strength to control
what you cannot.
Prayer enables our hearts to hold nothing back. In his cry for
deliverance from his enemies, David pleaded for the Lord to “requite
them according to their work and according to the evil of their
practices” and “according to the deeds of their hands” (Psa. 28:4).
He was not calling for personal vengeance, but for the Lord to
punish those who did not honor His work or His will. In any case,
David did not hide the most intimate feelings of his heart.
God wants to hear from His people, but He is not interested in the
mere repetition of meaningless phrases that do not originate from
the heart. He wants us to pour out our cares before His throne, to
make all our “wants and wishes known.” He will never betray our
confidence; our faith in Him will never be disappointed. When David
did that, he could boast, “my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped”
(28:7). Perhaps our help has not come because we are still
withholding from Him from Whom nothing is hidden.
I never know what to say to someone in the wake of a disaster. But
I’ve learned that it’s not as important what you say at those times,
but Who you say them to. ~
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 What
About All Those Mistakes in the Bible?
Jon Quinn
It is quite amazing to me that a common complaint made about the
Bible is that it has so many contradictions and mistakes. It is not
surprising that such a charge would be made by some unbelieving
scholar who will investigate the Bible's pages and turn logic on its
ear in order to force a mistake into it here and there. The
surprising part is that so many will use such alleged mistakes as an
excuse not to obey its teachings, but when asked for an example
simply do not have a single one.
Most want you to think that they have made a careful examination,
and only after months of painstaking search have reluctantly come to
the conclusion that the Bible is not reliable because of all the
mistakes they have found. But when asked to show one, it is quickly
apparent that no such examination has taken place, no specific error
is in mind, and it is all an excuse. "Oh, I just heard that mistakes
are in there...."
But what of the "scholar" who has investigated and does have a list
of contradictions? Well, each alleged mistake has to be treated
individually. We have to consider whether it has merit, or is just
an unfair attack on the Bible by an unbeliever who is either
ignorant or malicious.
I have several books in my library that deal with such matters. If
it were not so serious a matter, some of these "mistakes" would be
funny. For example, a passage which says God dwells in heaven (Psalm
123:1) and another which says He dwells in Zion (the mount upon
which the temple was built in Jerusalem) (Psalm 9:11). He can't
dwell at both places, can He? Contradiction! But only if one ignores
the omnipresence of God, a characteristic that is taught throughout
the Bible. "'Do I not fill the heaven and earth?' Saith the Lord"
(Jeremiah 23:24). Yes, God can dwell in both places, and many more.
Concerning the execution of Christ, John records the words of Jesus'
enemies. In one passage, they say, "We have a law, and by our law he
ought to die" (John 19:7). But just a bit earlier, they are recorded
as saying, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death" (John
18:31). Another contradiction! How could the same people say both
things? They could easily do so if they were talking about two
different laws, which they were. The first law they are referring to
is the law of Moses. They considered Jesus a blasphemer which was a
sin for which the Law of Moses prescribed death. However, Judah was
not an independent nation at the time Jesus was crucified. By Roman
law, the Chief Priests did not have the authority to execute those
they deemed as criminals. For this reason, they had to secure the
Roman governor's permission, which they did. Once Pilate granted the
permission, the roadblock of civil law was overcome and Jesus was
crucified.
There are others, but you get the picture. Rather flimsy, weren't
they? How sad that so many have heard that there are some
"discrepancies" in the Bible, and use that as an excuse not to
believe, but never take the time to investigate the charge. One must
not let Satan win the victory so easily. Examine the Scriptures
daily! (Acts 17:11) ~
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