God Hears My Prayers!
"When God is silent and we don't know. The way before us that we ought to go; When we've attempted to do His will, And yet His silence continues still: Then it's time to trust! Yes, it's time to remember that the Lord is faithful to His own. If we hope, we shall yet be praising once again; For His silence never means that we're alone!"
I testify that yes, it is indeed time to trust when God remains silence. Even though how we have attempted to do God's will, His silence continues still. I have experiecnced that, and I was really at my moment of not despair but really coming before Him pleading for Him to hear me. Yet, I've realised now finally, do not doubt that our prayers arent heard! Simply, wait on Him and trust Him that His Word fail not! He has promised that He hears us and will answer that. And assuredly, God will perform what He has promised! Please keep this in mind. God, really hears our prayers and He will surely answer us! As the Psalmist said, Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage. And He shall strengthen then your heart; Wait I say, on the LORD! in Psalms 27:14. To those out there, struggling with anything, leave this place with this truth in your heart, that God is ever faithful to heart and answer our earnest pleas. Be of good courage, for God will strengthen your heart! (To the O level and A level people)
If you had know, there are two things I have been constantly been praying and pleading for.
- That I will be able to go and reach out for Christ
- That God's Word will speak to me, and reveal its truth and power
I thank God that He has, indeed answered two of my deepest prayer and longing, and only to continue doing so, as I continue to lean and trust in Him.
Let me type out a part of what I wrote in my diary yesterday night. Erm, its not a very personal part but I think by showing it, it can shed more light to what and how I was feeling before God actually took and answered the longing of my soul.
"What really is needed of me, so that I can wholeheartedly fully live day by day for God alone, and never stray in thought, word and deed? What is required of me? If I repeatedly tell God that I WANT to surrender my life wholeheartedly to Him, will He honor and help me? I've never really been able to live a day just for God and Him alone. I do not want it to fall back into a cycle, a vicious cycle and never am able to climb out of it. How do we truly obtain fullness of power in our life for Christ? Victory in Christ? Are we able to do it? I do not doubt God to work, nor His way. I simply don't understand why I am not able to fully surrender. I need to be patient. Really. Hold on to Him and never let go. Even when God is silent. Yes, its time to trust! ... I want to be used by God, for His glory. I WANT to burn out for Thee. I want to surrender my life totally to Him. But how? The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. Take away selfish ambitions and commit them earnestly to God again. I'll try. I'll continue to pray, with FAITH, important! This may also be the reason, Lord increase my faith! "
Now, that was just a short extract from my diary yesterday. I was really feeling very very confused and perplexed over what I should do. I constanly daily, prayed to surrender my life to God's use to do His will instead of mine, and to really comform myself to His image, but what is wrong? Why does God seem silent even though I desire so much to do His will? I find myself falling back everyday, and straying from God in thought, word and deed. What really is needed of me to climb out of this vicious cycle that happens daily, and claim POWER and VICTORY in our life for Christ. I was questioning. Im reading this book called "I must tell" by a boy-preached who started to preach Christ from 14! I'm really quite impressed and inspired by His fevour. I find myself not able to be like him, why do we christians now lack this power and this fervour for our Lord? I plead with God, continually before? What really is wrong with me? Why do I keep praying to share God's word with others yet, not being able to? Why doesnt God want to use me even though I so willingly give my life up to Him? These thoughts filled my head yesterday night even many nights and days before. What is wrong with me Lord?
God has worked and shown great things. Marvelous things that my tongue cannot speak of. The joy I felt, the blessedness, the excitment I felt yesterday night was not to be easily penned down with words. It was a feeling like never before, a thrill within me to see how God finally came and answered my prayer, "Here am I, send me! Use me Lord!" It was truly an unforgetable experience with God, and really see God's mighty hand move and work. Incredible! The miracle that God did, could not be explained by me, I do not know how things happened, I do not know why. One thing I know, God is good, God is faithful!
I was sitting at my boarding lounge studying the bible, looking for verses to pick out to write them in my memory verse book. Before a friend called Hongda came by. He is a christian. Yupp. It was unexpected of me to simply strike a conversation with him because I would simply carry on with what I was doing, in the past. However, this time, I suddenly had an urge to stop what I was doing and spoke to him and got to know him better. Then came another friend called Ziqiao. He started by asking me what the bible teaches, whether it inspires me and what does it do. So I didnt know entirely what I was doing. Well, I do not know where the strength and courage came from. I told him that the Bible is the Word of God. And before I know it, he started to ask me many questions and leading me to sharing the gospel with him and also answering many of his questions. So a discussion was started between us. After explaining many things and sharing the gospel of my Lord Jesus Christ coming to die for our sins, I tried to understand what he feels about life, how life was created what are we created for and things like that. And I could not remember exactly the things that we talked about, there were many things ranging from the bible to how everything was formed. I realised, as we talked that I never had such confidence and boldness in sharing with anyone ever before! And really, I wasnt thinking about this I was simply thinking how I can continue to reach out to him. Not long after, others joined in the discussion and one by one infront of me suddenly became a group of people. It was about 5 to 6 people. And I just kept sharing as they kept asking questions. And I wasnt thinking at that moment about how I found that strength and confidence, I was just thinking of what else I needed to tell them. So really, we talked and discuss and before long I realised that we at least talked for about 1 hour and 30mins. Wow! I do not know what made up the time. It was from 10pm all the way till 1130. Amazing! The people who made up the crowd were Ziqiao, Shane, Shentong, Lincoln, Qiyu, Leslie, Yuxuan. Pls pls pray for them. If I have time, I will really like to share on who they are and how they are like but in the meanwhile please pray for the salvation of their souls. I know that the gospel seeds are planted and I cannot simply keep pressing and pushing foward my belief. I know that there comes to a point what God wants me to do is completed and the rest really is to leave to God. I kept reminding myself as I spoke, not to undermine the power of God to save these souls. I understood that though they were all listening and understanding, however these people really are not the type who will lose and break thier pride so easily and confess before God. They are people who will not buy such a simple step to take to earn salvation. They are people who believe in science but not in God. But I kept reminding myself, give the Word and let God do the rest. SO, really I know the gospel seeds are planted. Pls pray that God will water and bear fruit.
James 5:16b (One verse before this week memory verse)
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
John 14:13-14
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
I have learnt that the secret of soul winning is- by abiding in Jesus Christ! And this is clearly shown in John 15, verse 4 to 5.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Only by abiding in Christ can we win souls and bear fruit. For without Him, we can really do nothing. I truly thank God for miraculously giving such attentive ears and hearts that seek for answers, in which only Christ can satisfy. IT was clearly a miracle and I praise God for that. I thank my Father for how quickly He answered my prayer. God used me in a very special way. Not in a way I would expect myself to be. I hardly am able to speak to one person about Christ, much less a group of 5 to 6 people. God not only gave me the wisdom to speak, He gave my confidence and boldness to preach His Word. I can truly say that,
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. -1 Corinthians 15:10
This experience really changes my direction and seems to be a new start for me in the area of evangelism. God has given me such a victory that I know He will bring greater victories in the future. I'm really looking foward for the things to come. In the end, by trusting in God's grace to sustain and to speak with boldness, is all that is needed. I plead that God will continue to use me, nothing is more important now then to win more souls for Christ. Its time we step out of our comfort zone and start reaching out!! The story of this boy who couldnt hold back His joy and love that he began to tell the love of Christ at the age of 14, really encouraged me. "Let me burn out for Thee, dear Lord" was his prayer and it will be mine. Age is no barrier. Instead how can we let our youth slip past without working for Christ? To come to a point where we cannot hold back the love of Christ in our hearts that we have to proclaim and tell of His love is a where I long to be at.
I remember we were discussing and someone asked a question. "Why do you believe?" I knew I had to share about my testimony of how I got saved. And I should think that my testiomony is unusual. To be honest, when I was young, I feared death alot and alot the thought of going to hell scares me. Thus, I really feared God. I was saved because of my fear for God. I do not know whether it is counted as saved but I trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior. I was, when I was young also a person very easily influenced. I didnot have a mind of my own. ANd I thank God that He first allowed me to be influenced by what He has to say to me. And has rooted me in Him before allowing me to wander and be influenced by many other things. AS I shared, I began to think, what is the thing that makes us believe? Why do we believe what we believe? A question that may seem so easy, yet so often neglected. To be honest, I was stunned for a moment. I didnt know what to say. The question was asked in such a way that I knew it wasnt easy to answer. Do we christians believe because of fear of death and hell? And only the fear of the Lord? If so, why not other religions? But I realised, as I thought, that the reason we believe was because of the love of Christ. I couldnt fully comphrehend what it meant as I shared- the love of Christ. But when all ended, and I was staring at the room ceiling on my bed, I began to comprehend. Yes, we believe because of the LOVE of Christ. His deep, unmeasurable unfailing consuming love. It has indeed captivated me before, and consumed me. Jesus' love is indescribable! And it is the reason for our faith, for our belief! Ultimately, it is God's love, Jesus' love that brings us to Him and convicts us sinners so that we can put our faith in a loving Savior!
Hmmm. I guess what I experience last night was more than this. And really its a pity that I am not able to share fully what had happened. I was so convinced that we will all be encouraged by how God works. But let my testimony of God's work in my life prove one point, God hears our prayer! And I believe my prayers before, were all answered that night and the days to come when God will fulfill his promised zeal and passion to me! An incredible experience that testify many many things. I pray you will be encourage and start to pray to be surrendered to His will, and be used by Him, for His glory!
The second prayer request answered was how I realised that the bible is really so filled with wisdom, knowledge truths that a seeker of God, will definitely find and understand. I resumed what I did before, by taking out verses that to me are useful and beautiful and writing them in a memory verse book. And as I flip through the bible, wow! I'm really amazed that it is filled with such truths that I have not learnt to understand. Every line in the every chapter brought so much meaning to me. I'll like to share a few of them and if I have time then I will share more about them.
Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Psalms 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
A verse for O and A level people whose results are coming out:
Psalms 37:8b
Do not fret--it only causes harm.
Psalm 27:14
Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Hebrews 10 32-39
32But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; 34for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. 35Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37"For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him."
39But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
I pray this verses, esp Hebrews 10-32-39 will spurr us on. For yet a little while and He who is comign will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faitl But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
