
05/02/2018
Encouraging Faith
For nothing will be impossible with God.
— Luke 1:37
“I’ll pray for you.” We speak those words to friends facing cancer, lost jobs and marriages on life support. We’re quick to suggest going to God in prayer and asking for what we need. But what about when it’s impossible, when the doctor says there’s no hope, when the door has closed? Do we have faith that God will be faithful even then?
Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, the author of the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” had terrible health. He tried to enter the ministry, but he couldn’t sustain the effort it took. So how could a man forced to give up what he truly wanted to do, still call God faithful? With God’s help, he lived to be 94 and penned 800 published poems. He wrote poetry that stayed true to the Word and touched hearts. And through it all, God was faithful to provide a new, unexpected outlet to serve Him.
And Chisholm wasn’t the only one to experience God’s faithfulness in the midst of impossible circumstance. When Mary was still a very young woman, an angel told her she would have a son. But how could that be since she was still a virgin? In response to Mary’s query, the angel responded that it would be through the work of the Holy Spirit and that nothing will be impossible for God. Nothing.
Let’s look at our prayer lists with fresh eyes. Those things that seem too big for us to handle? God can. Those stresses too much for us to bear? God can. That healing no doctor can promise? God can.
His abilities are beyond anything we can imagine. And they’re equaled by His love for His children. When you pray, you’re speaking to the God of the universe. There’s nothing He can’t do.
Today’s One Thing
Acknowledge one answer to prayer and pray with faith for one not yet answered.