Here’s (Psa 28) a plaintiff cry that we can all identify with. “Hear me Lord! Please!” We’ve all felt desperate and like God was not listening. A common question I receive is how to pray effectively, pray so that God hears and answers. First, you need to be a Christian, a child of God by the New Testament standard. As a child of God you have special place and a special hearing. When you pray in Jesus’ name, you have special mediation, and when words fail us, we’ve the Spirit to intercede (Romans 8:26). Others like Cornelius can be heard, but there are no guarantees. Second, be in obedience to the Lord. Isaiah 59:2 put it plainly that disobedience places a barrier between us and God. Other places in scripture explain it that if we don’t listen God, He won’t listen to us. Third, pray in faith, which is to say, pray and then act as if you’ve received the “yes” you wanted (Mark 11:23,24). Fourth, put legs on your prayers. We ought not pray then sit back to let God do everything from soup to nuts — don’t pray for the salvation of the lost and then just wait for people to come beat down our door to be baptized. Fifth, pray with persistence; the importunate widow parable of Jesus teaches us this and Jesus practiced it. Sixth, pray with right motives (James 4:1-5). And don’t bother trying to camouflage it with promises and rationales you’ll not fulfill — God sees thought that like glass. Lastly, pray according to His will — revealed and in accord with what’s best for us and others.

Psalm 29 speaks to the majesty of the Lord as seen in a storm. Most all oaf us have seen powerful storms and sometimes may have even been in fear for our lives. It’s interesting that storm chasers would refer to a category F5 tornado as the finger of God. The lightning, the thunder, the destruction! Yet the storm is only a bare zillionth of his actual power. Such power, the psalmist observes is on the side of God’s people. No wonder nothing is impossible with God!

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.