Pray And Don't Lose Heart!

It was another foggy drive to church for those of us who gathered at FBC, but we were clear about our intention to worship and praise God as we joined our hearts and voices in congregational song to begin our service.  The choir, orchestra and our other faithful accompanists presented a new setting of a beloved hymn, which was entitled "Glorious Name" before Pastor Wes took us into Luke 18:1-8, to teach us more about prayer and how we should approach it.  Last week, we learned that we should pray at all times and in every situation for God's will to be done, we should petition Him for our daily needs and for the needs of others we see around us, but there are a few things that we should be aware of.  God is not a vending machine that we drop our prayers into and immediately receive the requested item, but God is also not like the bad judge in the parable that Jesus told his disciples about in Luke 18 who feared neither God nor man, but cared only for himself.  A widow, living in the same city came to that judge again and again asking for justice.  At first, he was not inclined to do as she asked, but because she kept asking, she finally wore him down and just to get her to leave him in peace, he finally gave her the justice she asked for.  God is not like that judge who cared only for himself.  God is our loving Father, if we have trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord, and He  wants to give us what is best for us at the right time for us. but He sees the total picture  while we see only a tiny part.  God will hear and respond to the prayers of His children when we pray persistently for His will to be done, for His kingdom and for His glory with absolute confidence in the character of God and His sure return.  Pastor Wes had much more to say about this and explains it much more clearly than I can on the live-stream which is well worth your time to watch......