March 26
God is able to hear any prayer—His eye is ever upon the godly and the ungodly, yet it is not His practice to grant the petitions of sinners (see John 9:31). This rationale was among those bantered about among the Pharisees when they were trying to come to grips with who Jesus is.
They could not deny that He performed miracles and their common sense told them that He must be of God, but some of them rejected that obvious conclusion and sought about to discredit Him. There are many people today who persist in that endeavor. Despite the testimony of eye-witnesses who faithfully recorded many of His mighty works, they maintain their unbelief.
In spite of the on-going faithfulness of the Lord to hear the prayers of His people as affirmed in I Peter 3:12 which says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayers,” they persist in their unbelief. But those who have met Him, those who have given Him the opportunity to reveal Himself to them, will never, according to Psalm 112:6-7 “…be shaken...”
They shall indeed, “…be remembered forever…have no fear of bad news, for they will be steadfast in heart, trusting the Lord.” When people of faith fully trust the One who has promised, they shall not be silent! They shall, “…utter wisdom…speak of what is just. The law of God is within them and their feet do not slip” Psalm 37:30, 31 as they share Christ’s message of salvation with others.
To know Him is to steadfastly maintain faith in Him, even under duress. The coercion unless one's faith is recanted, the persecution the threat of death--death itself!--cannot cause one who has known Jesus to leave His light and return to darkness. Pray for the persecuted church. Pray for the church--that we will truly be His Bride, "without spot or wrinkle." (Ephesians 5:27)
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