How Quickly Does God Work?

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:2

How Quickly Does God Work?

by Robert T. Cooper

There is a saying that God can accomplish more in a short time than we can accomplish in months and years. Plus we know that unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain.

We all have heard of musical sensations who suddenly burst on the scene. What no one ever talks about is the years and years those “sensations” labored at their craft, developing and honing their skills, learning their crafts, paying their dues. It happens all the time.

In the spiritual realm, we have all been sensitive to the times we prayed and prayed, and God didn’t seem to hear or to answer for years or even decades. Some didn’t see the answers in their lifetimes, though the answers eventually came. It reminds me of the verse that begins, “When the time had fully come, God….”

Jesus talked about it being like yeast slowly growing until the entire lump of dough is leavened. He talked about it being like a seed that slowly grows into a huge plant or bush.

Jesus had taught about the coming of the Holy Spirit during his 3½ year ministry. During the 10 days following the Ascension, at least 120 believers had participated in a 24/7 prayer meeting, waiting on the coming of the Spirit.

But then on the Day of Pentecost, “Suddenly” the answer to the promise and the prayer came. God moved and acted in mere moments.

Wind of the Spirit

Jenifer Jones

I have known of people who prayed and prayed for a godly spouse, only to finally give up the search. They decided they must be amongst those who never get married, and they began seeking to be content in their single status. Only then did the Lord bring into their lives the one He had all along intended to be the answer to their prayers. Was it sudden, or was it a long-term process?

Of course, God lives outside of time. For Him to work into one moment of time is no different to Him than to work into any other moment of time. But from our perspective there is both process and suddenness.

Please share in the comments section about times God’s work seemed to be a long-term process and times His work seemed to be a sudden happening.

One Key to Answered Prayer

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:14

One Key to Answered Prayer

by Robert T. Cooper

There was this person in the community. His whole attitude toward God had to do with God being there for him. There was this woman who felt like she just couldn’t get God to give her answers to her prayers. Then there was this other fellow on social media who was upset with God because God didn’t ever do what he wanted; he felt that God was never there for him. There are lots of people like these I have mentioned.

Perhaps you can identify with these acquaintances of mine. Yet do you realize there are some keys to answered prayer? If you applied these keys to your prayer life, you just might find you had more answers to prayer. Even when your prayers seemed to be unanswered, use of these keys would perhaps allow you to better understand what was going on and why things were the way they seemed.

So, what can we learn from Acts 1:14?

The verse begins with the word “they”. The people who were praying in this verse were disciples of Jesus. They had been following Jesus for as long as 3½ years. And it wasn’t casual following. These were people who were known by the fact that if Jesus told them to do something, they did it. Lesson for us: To have your prayers answered, you must be a long-term committed follower of Christ who will do whatever He says, even when you don’t understand, even when no one understands.

The next word in the verse is “all”. We aren’t talking about one person praying. We are talking about a group of people praying. Lesson for us: Find you a dozen or more people who are praying people. Be part of a group like that.

The verse says they were joined together. The notes say that a literal rendition would be that they were continuing with one mind. This group of praying committed followers of Christ had agreed as to what they should pray and they stuck with their agreement. That way everyone in the group was praying the same thing, not necessarily with the same words, but essentially the same request. And this agreement as to what to pray went on over an extended period of time. Lesson for us: Get with your prayer group; agree what everyone in the group is going to pray; then stick with that agreement for an extended period of time.

The verse says they were constantly in prayer. Most people pray a little here and a little there. Not this group of committed Christ followers. They were together frequently and often. In this case, the prayer meeting was 24/7 for 10 days. They had to sacrifice certain other things in order to pray like that, but they were intent on getting an answer from the Lord. Lesson for us: Be with your prayer group as frequently and often as you can. Pray in such a way that your group prayer would be termed “constant” by an outsider.

Leave a comment now about which of these “Lessons for us” you are already employing and which you intend to adopt. If you also want to share your object of prayer, feel free.

Come back in a few days and share what has resulted from your change in prayer strategy. Remember, prayer doesn’t work; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ works. He is the One Who answers prayer.

Ways to Show Your Love for God

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                              Acts 1:1

Ways to Show Your Love for God

by Robert T. Cooper

It’s in just about every movie. The couple find themselves very close to one another. They lock eyes. The background music becomes romantic strings. The couple’s lips touch ever so briefly. Suddenly they are locked in a passionate embrace. From there everything goes X-rated. That is what Hollywood calls love. It is that sort of dysfunctional schlock that fills everything from children’s movies to chick flicks. It is also the subject matter of, oh say, 98% of all pop/rock/country songs. But it isn’t really love. And it isn’t going to help you know how to show your love for God.

The book of Acts is dedicated to Theophilus. This name means “Lover of God.” The Gospel of Luke was also dedicated to Theophilus. Since in Bible days names and nicknames were given to describe the character (or at least to hopefully influence the developing character) of the person. I’ve always wished we knew a little more about Theophilus in addition to the name. All we can do is guess. There aren’t even any useful traditions.

On the other hand, we can fruitfully think about us. If you or I were to earn the nickname, “Lover of God,” the people around us would need to see certain actions in our lives. They would need to see more than that we had strong feelings about God. They would need to see us living out our devotion to God. Let me suggest three ways to show your love for God.

1.      People who are in love devote time to the One they love. They want to listen to the voice of their Beloved for hours on end. They want to read the love letters of their Beloved for hours on end. They want to write love letters to their Beloved. They simply sit and stare, contemplating the features of their Beloved. They whisper in the ear of their Beloved sweet nothings, mostly words of praise for the beauty and the character and the remarkable accomplishments of their Beloved.

2.      People who are in love sacrifice their own agendas in order to do what their Beloved wants to do. They go where their Beloved wants to go. They learn to be interested in the things that interest their Beloved and give up those things that do not interest their Beloved. They sacrifice time with old friends in order to be with the Beloved and the Beloved’s friends.

3.      People who are in love sacrifice expenditures on themselves in order to lavish gifts on the Beloved, tokens of affection, things that will please and honor the Beloved. And should the Beloved present a token in return, that token is received with pride; if it can be worn, it is worn with pride for all to see what the Beloved has done.

I get up early to spend time with the Lord. I’m not very good at journaling, but I try to do some. I go through phases when I am better at meditating for awhile, and then not as good for awhile; but I keep surrounding myself with books and music that will influence me in that direction.

That’s a little about me. Would you share a little about you?