01/02/2024
While reading my daily devotional this morning I paused on a passage of scripture taken from Psalms 91 in which God speaks! Here is what I read, and I have included the prior and trailing verses to add context:
“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
Psalms 91:14-16 KJV
Our offering to God is our belief in Him and love for Him. By virtue of our relationship He hears us call out to Him in prayer, and answers us. He sent His son Jesus to provide us with salvation and a way to stand before Him cleansed of our iniquities. In Him we also learn to pray, and to find that all things are possible.
I remember the night that I heard the news that Natalie Cole had passed away. She was 65 years old and this sounded so tragically young to me, but in fact God had helped her deal with the demons that had tormented her, and allowed her time to form a relationship with Him. In an interview with Kristi Watts, recorded on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), she answered a particular question just as I believe that E.M. Bounds would have...
KRISTI WATTS: "How did you know to call on the name of the Lord?"
NATALIE COLE: "Oh please, that’s inborn in all of us to call on God. That’s the first thing we say: ‘Oh God, help me.' Why not? I think that’s a part of what He put in us, and what we do with the rest of it is a choice we make. I think it is something that everybody knows about God. When you have put all your faith in man and continue to be disappointed, don’t you hope there is something out of there that is not of human element?"
Then, as the interview proceeded, and she had spoken of the drugs and other issues in her life she confided:
NATALIE COLE: "God surrounded me with people of faith, people of strong faith, people of power, spiritual power, and I saw little miracles happen in their lives. By it happening in their lives, I started believing it could happen to me."
And then she spoke of her relationship with the Lord beginning:
NATALIE COLE: "God was going to be to me the father that I never had, the father that I didn’t have enough of, enough time with. God was saying, 'I can do that for you if you let Me.' And that’s what He’s been to me. I had to learn to trust that as a father He would be there for me, that He disciplines me, that He encourages me, that He tests me, that He challenges me, that He believes in me, and that He has great things for me. All I have to do is trust and follow. It’s taken me from that time on until this time in my life to see that He has done exactly what He has promised. By the time I got to the point that I was able to really release myself from the drug use, that was a strength that I could really say cemented. Now there were other weaknesses I had to work on. That was the one that could always get me. And once I had conquered that one, I started to really believe 'Gosh, I just might be able to make it.' I have not always been faithful. I have not always been good, certainly not worthy, but the wonderful thing about the Lord is that He knows your heart." – Natalie Cole Interview CBN
So, I guess some people would say that her life was filled with tragedy, but from my perspective it was a life destined for glory... Not the glory of man, but the glory of God. And, it her life turned around when she saw Jesus in the lives of those around her.
I saw in her someone who was humble enough to admit her unworthiness, and I saw a body damaged by her sins, but I also saw a woman who cried out to The Lord and was heard. This morning Bounds said it this way...
"God put no limitation on His ability to save through true praying... There is nothing too hard for God to do." – E.M. Bounds
And I respond... AMEN!
Prayer:
Father thank you for hearing our prayers when we are suffering, in need, or facing trouble. Thank you for including in us an innate need to pray to you, and the understanding that when we do you will respond to us. Thank you for all the various forms of prayer like those of thanksgiving, intercession, and the need for provision or mercy. There is nothing in our lives that is exempt from your attention, nor will go without your attending to our prayers. You are merciful and full of grace Father, and the love you shower upon us is without end. Hear the words we pray, and the moanings and groanings of our spirits as the Holy Spirit prays for us when we are at a loss for words to speak. Let the Spirit lead us in fervent prayer like Jesus when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and like Jesus let us remain obedient to your will as we do so by always asking that your will be done. Great are you father, and greatly to be praised, now, and forevermore, and whenever we pray we strive to do so with great and unwavering expectation.
Rich Forbes