A man wants to supply his family with their needs. When he is faced with injury, or lack of work, loss of home, lack of food; he burdens his conscience with guilt, fear, anger, envy, and hate. In this, where is God? God has been put aside.
Jesus commanded we give up everything to follow him. I started my journey with him this way. But, I didn't do it myself, I was stripped of everything. This was a blessing in the form of worldly sufferance.
Being a true believer comes at the cost of our worldly life. If you cannot put the Father first, and give over control of your life, he will strip you of what stands between you and him. This is a blessing.
Many ask for prayer or assistance when these blessings are upon them. They do not see that their belief in Christ, comes with trials. They instead see salvation as something they can achieve on their own terms. They see prayer as a means to gain, or maintain what they desire.
If you or someone you know, is facing what has been described here, I would ask you to consider what is being said.
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Luke 5:18-20
18
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
19
When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
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My heart is heavy, relating to the suffering of a man who has lost the ability to fulfill his worldly responsibilities to his family. So I take to prayer, petitioning for the man's restoration, or at least that doors of opportunity are opened for him. I am just like the men who tore the roof off to lower their friend in. If am concerned for the salvation of this man's soul, I am instead putting his worldly responsibilities in Jesus' lap. I am doing this because I am relating to my friend in worldly terms.
What did Jesus do? He told the paralized man his sins were forgiven. The friends were approaching Christ on their terms. They tore open the roof not to do the will of God, but from desperation, and their belief in Christ's authority. Christ did not heal him, he forgave the paralized man's sins. This to firstly show his authority to forgive all sin. Then, he healed the paralized man to glorify the Father.
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Ephesians 6:18
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And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
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When you pray for a man to have his worldliness restored, are you not cursing him? What has been stripped from him was done by God, and as the seasons change, what is restored in the man is also the work of God.
That which stands between a man and his relationship with God is what he honors above God. He might place his family relationships above his relationship with God. He might place his career or worldly authority above his relationship with God. Any vanities, covets, or prides, that stand between us and our relationship with God is us loving God on our terms. So when we pray to have these things restored, we are indeed cursing the one who has been blessed with a sufferance.
Having said this;
1.
We tell the one in suffering that what has happened has happened by Gods hand.
2.
We tell them this is an opportunity to put their relationship with God first above all things.
3.
We tell them we love them, and we then pray for God to see their sincerity, and if it is His will, that He open up new doors, or bring them healing.
Relate to one another first as through God, then by our humanity.
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