John 15:4 & 5 (ESV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

We begin and end meetings with prayer for a reason. When we are in tune with God, we begin and end our day in prayer for good reason. Prayer is an expression of our dependency upon God. When we live in utter dependence upon Him, we tend to not only expect great things from Him but notice the little things He is doing in our lives. Hence prayer with thanksgiving comes from our lips.

1 Peter 5:6 & 7 (ESV) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

We all struggle with the yo-yo principle of casting our burdens upon the Lord then taking them right back and worrying about them.  But when we consider the lessons Jesus taught us from the flowers and the birds who live in total dependency upon their creator, then about what do we have to worry?

Luke 12:23–28 (ESV) For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

The point is we don’t have to worry when we consider who we are trusting. We are trusting God who Jesus described as our Shepherd, our Father, our King, the One who takes pleasure in us, and the One who delights in giving to us.

Luke 12:30–32 (ESV) For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

God is not an ogre who wants to destroy us or to make us as miserable as possible. He is our Shepherd—the same one David described in Psalm 23. God is our Father who cares for us as His children—adopted and precious in His sight as He chose us before the foundation of the world (unconditionally). The King is the only one who can bestow anything to do with the Kingdom and your King is most gracious, as the shorter catechism says, “in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Number 26) God takes delight in us as His children, not to deny us of what we need because He has given us the very best in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:31 & 32 (ESV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

The next time we begin to worry, we need to realize we are worrying because we haven’t prayed or we need to pray. If prayer is living in dependency upon God, worry is a similar expression of living independent of God. Prayer is drawing from God as a branch does from the vine. As a branch that does not draw from the vine withers and dies, so many Christians today are drying up because they do not depend totally upon God. The answer is PRAYER. Begin your day, begin your work, begin your family time, begin everything with prayer but don’t stop there. Reflect upon God’s grace and give thanks once the day, the work, and even the meal has ended. It was once a tradition in Christian circles to give thanks to God at the beginning of the meal for what He has provided, and then give thanks to God at the end of the meal for the enjoyment of His provision.

God lets us know that any lack is not a lack on God’s part in that He is holding back from us, rather any lack is Him letting us know or developing a greater awareness in our lives of the need for total dependency upon Him and that dependency is expressed in prayer.

As we consider the need for revival in our church, our community, and our nation, let us be quick and constant in our expressions of total dependency upon God and see what He will do as He responds to His promise:

Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Godspeed,
Pastor Bob
727-539-1434 (home) or 727-612-3976 (cell) or email: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it