What God
Has Done
INTRODUCTION
God answers prayers.
But God does not answer all prayers.
The prayers God answers are those that
are based on faith in Him.
Yet while experiencing difficulties it
can be challenging to have faith in God.
Often prayers lack faith but instead are
seasoned with doubt and unbelief.
During times of prayer and intercession
it is essential to look by faith to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is always full of love,
kindness, grace and mercy.
Fortunately there are ways to increase
and rekindle faith.
Faith can arise by knowing that Jesus
is the same yesterday, today and forever.
God cannot and will not change.
God is eternal.
God is faithful.
God always keeps His biblical promises.
Answers come to those who believe and
expect results.
Fortunately faith can arise by knowing what
He has done.
Trust He will express His loving-kindness
in real ways again.
NOTICE
Notice when the children of Israel were
in crisis.
God used His spokespersons to remind
them of what He had done.
He had parted the Red Sea.
He had fed them manna in the
wilderness.
He had given them victory over armies
that were much larger.
King David faced all kinds of
difficulties.
In some of the psalms it is recorded
that he rekindled his faith.
First he poured out his heart and
lamented his woes.
Then he recalled the great things God
had done.
That restored his faith.
At the end of the psalm he was back to trusting
God and resting in Him.
Notice that the feasts of Israel were
based on remembering.
They were commanded to set aside a certain
time to recall what God did.
There are seven feasts each year.
This included the Passover that recalled
when the angel of death passed over.
Later Passover became our Holy Communion.
When we partake of the Bread and Wine
we are to recall what Christ did for us.
One time Jesus Christ shed His blood on
the Cross and His body was broken.
Yet we are to look back to that event
to refuel our faith and trust him going forward.
When a new believer is immersed during
water baptism, then that is a reminder.
That is a reminder that Jesus Christ
raised from the dead.
God did that for His only Son and the
new believer is entering into that spiritually.
In the psalms and many parts of the Bible
God is praised for what He did and who He is.
There are hymns that have survived for
centuries that focus on what God has done.
The deeds of God are perfect
reflections of His divine character.
Unlike humans God cannot fake it.
His actions that can be observed came
from the depths of his integrity that is invisible.
When Jesus ministered to the people it
was the heart of God made manifest.
The visible words and works of Christ
were an expression of the invisible God the Father.
HIS TRACK RECORD
This article is a simple summary just some
of the things God has done.
The format is addressed to God as a
prayer or psalm.
This is like a brief review of the
amazing track record of God through the ages.
Consider that an employer examines a
resume and does an interview.
The employer is seeking a person to
fulfill a role.
One of the considerations in the
interview is previous accomplishments.
If the candidate did something before
then they can do it again.
Obviously God is not going to become an
employee.
But the central consideration is can
God be trusted?
Does God love me and will God take care
of those I pray for?
Can I be confident that God will be
there for me after I leave this mortal life?
Can I let go to God of my fears,
worries and upsets?
If I let go of my internal junk then can
I let God take care of me and those I love?
PSALM
God You created the heavens and the earth.
According to Your Word You were intimately
involved in the entire process.
It is no surprise that humans often are
awestruck when observing the majesty of nature.
God you can show off in the beauty of
sunrises, sunsets, mountain tops, wild animals, etc.
Baby animals and infant humans inspire
awe as innocent expressions of Your creation.
God when we mortals seek inspiration
online we often view scenes from Your creation.
You reveal the genius of Your orderliness
and creativity in the natural world
You granted us the use of five
wonderful senses to experience this world and each other.
You sovereignly bestowed on each of use
the privilege of free will.
We have the right to make choices.
Then we have the responsibility to live
with the consequences.
All of us make poor choices at some
times.
We all get into jams.
But You have more than enough grace and
mercy for any condition.
We all experience storms of life.
There are troubles in relationships,
health, finances, employment and more.
You are there all the time and just a
prayer away.
You provided Your people with the Bible
that is the reliable Word of God.
From those 66 books in the Scriptures
we can know You and make You known.
In the pages of that sacred text we can
witness how You spoke to Your people.
You used the patriarchs, prophets and other
writers to present Your grand story.
Your grand story includes bedtime Bible
stories for children.
In most of those bedtime stories You
moved in mighty ways to help Your people.
You came to their aid when no human could
do what you did.
You closed the mouth of the lions in
the den with Daniel.
You kept your servants from being
burned alive in the furnace.
You delivered Joseph from the prison
and placed him to serve Your people.
Billions of people have read, studied,
memorized and meditated on Your Word
Your holy Word brings spiritual light and
life to the soul.
Your Word is alive with meaning, truth,
comfort, challenge and inspiration.
You made a way for Your holy Word to
become translated into many languages.
There was fierce opposition at key
points along this path of translation.
Many martyrs were persecuted, assaulted
and even killed so Your Word would be translated.
You made it possible for Your Word to become
uncloaked.
The grace and truth of Your Word was no
longer hidden in Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
You led brave people to translate,
publish and distribute it in German and English.
Then over the centuries You made a way
for translations into other languages
Today there are hundreds of
translations and more added each year.
Large ministries have lots of dedicated
workers to continue the translation work.
There are still a few thousand languages
remaining.
And You will be faithful to oversee and
bless that work unto the very end.
You made a way for the Bible to be preserved
through the centuries.
You protected the Word of God from
attacks by tyrants and deceivers.
There were countless attempts to
destroy or distort Your Word.
But You used nameless and faceless
scribes, monks and others to preserve Your Word.
You used brave people to smuggle Your
Word into countries that had banned it.
You called out and raised up spiritually
gifted teachers and preachers.
You used specialized experts and lots
of ordinary helpers to keep your message alive.
You guided and provided for the creation
and distribution of books, sermons and videos.
The works of others we could never meet
in person have come to us.
Some messages come to us over the Internet
from hundreds of miles away.
Some messages come from writers of books
that died long ago.
You have blessed us with Bible atlases
so can understand the geography centuries ago.
You have guided the production of Bible
dictionaries so we understand the tough words.
You have helped archaeologists to uncover
artifacts and places to help verify the biblical record.
Over the course of centuries You gave
clues about the coming of the Messiah.
These clues were recorded in the
Scriptures.
There are hundreds of prophecies that
predicted the coming Messiah.
Then in the fullness of time you sent
the Messiah.
Jesus Christ fulfilled all messianic prophecies
in exact detail.
Centuries before it happened You
predicted His birth, ministry, death and resurrection.
Your precious Son was born of the
virgin just like you had predicted.
His genealogy from His mother and
father fulfilled all key Bible verses exactly right.
He lived a sinless life while in this
sinful world.
He never sinned while under much
persecution from religious leaders.
You made a way for the four gospel writers
to record His deeds and words.
You had them to accurately record His
many healings and miracles.
These incidents were signs that Your
Son was more than a human but actually divine.
You made it possible for Jesus Christ
to somehow be both totally human and fully divine.
You recorded in Your Word that Jesus
Christ is called Immanuel, God with us.
You made it a reality that when two or
more are gathered in Your name You are there.
Your dear Son was the master Teacher.
He masterfully used parables and other
devices.
The red letter editions of the Bible have
His words in red print.
Those relatively few words have been
used to inspire, instruct and guide for centuries.
There is a divine economy in the
brevity, simplicity and profound nature of His words.
Jesus Christ brought Your light and
insight to the Old Testament verses.
Those that were familiar with the
ancient Scriptures were amazed at His interpretations.
He was the Word made flesh who dwelt among
us full of grace and truth.
Jesus Christ was and is far more than
just a teacher, healer and miracle worker.
Your Son lived a life of complete trust
and obedience.
He did as you had commanded Him to the
very end.
He willingly laid down His life.
He said not my will but Your will be
done.
Your only Son, Jesus Christ, was the
Lamb of God.
The Son of God bore the sins of the
world in His body on the Cross.
You ordained that His shed blood was
the only righteous atonement for sins.
There He died as the substitutionary
sacrifice.
It is to Your glory that Your Son was obedient
unto death on the Cross.
Then on the third day He rose from the grave
just has He said that He would.
Then You made a way that there are many
witnesses to His resurrection body.
In Your infinite wisdom You used His
death and resurrection to conquer death, hell and Satan.
You made a way for Jesus Christ to
fulfill all the qualifications and become the Savior.
You rose Him from the dead and He is
seated at Your right hand.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
You wonderfully blended Your grace and
mercy in the simple gospel message.
You crafted the plan of salvation that
expresses your great love and liberating truth.
Your gospel message is so simple that a
child can enter the kingdom of God.
You gave us the book of Acts where we
witness the power of the gospel.
The study of the book of Acts woven
with the epistles reveals Your mighty hand at work.
According to the Bible, during the
lifetime of Paul many came to faith in Christ.
New churches were planted in various
locations.
Your love and truth transformed the
lives of many individuals and lots of communities.
Your Word gives us all the information
we will need to become born again.
Your Word provides guidance in how to
live a Christ-like life to please You.
The gifts of Your Word and Your Son are
more than enough for any human.
Then You went the extra measure by
sending Your Holy Spirit to indwell believers.
What a privilege to have one member of
the holy Trinity dwelling in us as Christians.
Your Holy Spirit makes alive the Word
of God and points us to Your Son.
Your Holy Spirit prompts us unto
righteous thoughts, words and deeds.
Your Holy Spirit living in us calls You
our heavenly Father also known as Abba.
Jesus gave us the most popular prayer
that starts Our Father.
Jesus declared that You are His Father
and Our Father.
You have bountifully and abundantly
blessed us that we can call you Our Father.
Jesus said in Your Word that His
disciples could call Him Friend.
You made it possible to call Your Son
our Friend.
To call the Jesus Christ my friend is
staggeringly marvelous.
Your precious Word reveals that Jesus
Christ is the Good Shepherd.
We can confidently trust and obey Him
just as a sheep relates with a shepherd.
That discloses Your genuine concern,
protection and provision for us.
As we relate with Jesus Christ we are
relating with You.
You are in complete and total union and
unity as the Trinity all the time.
You draw people to Yourself.
People come to You due to Your irresistible
grace.
You use all kinds of circumstances,
relationships and events.
You use divine appointments, sermons,
books, videos, crises and more.
You demonstrate Your loving-kindness
when you woo a person to faith in Christ.
You demonstrate Your longsuffering when
a person is rebellious and stubborn.
You are good all the time.
You do not force humans to obey or worship You.
You allow us Your adopted children to
learn from our mistakes.
We can never begin to understand all of
You.
Yet you condescended to reveal snap
shots of Yourself in Your Word and in Your Son.
CONCLUSION
That was a small sampling of the
billions of great deeds God has done.
The point of these is to persuade you,
the reader, that God is alive and well.
God is not dead, asleep, deaf, forgetful,
senile, negligent, cruel, etc.
Here are the facts:
God knows everything, so He is called
omniscient.
God is everywhere, so He is called
omnipresent.
God has all power, so he is called
omnipotent.
In order to have accomplished all the
deeds mentioned before He used all three.
God is concerned and actively involved
in the affairs of humans.
His primary agenda is a spiritual one
that relates to eternity.
That means that becoming born again and
growing in Christ are His top priorities.
God knows about the temporal concerns
of everyday life.
He knows about relationships, health,
employment, money and all other matters.
The emphasis of this psalm is on what
God has done related to salvation.
Plus all God did to preserve His Word
and His gospel message.
Each of those deeds was amazing and
together they are trillions of times amazing.
That same God is the one you pray to
for ordinary needs and wants.
That same God has that kind of love,
power and grace.
Lift up your heart and know God is
great and good when you pray to Him.
Let His long and sparkling track record
remind you that He can deal with your requests.
God is ready, willing and able to
assist through answering prayers.
The Bible commands and teaches us to
pray.
God could conceivably accomplish
anything apart from prayer.
But for His own reasons He wants us to
pray.
We are to ask, seek and knock.
After more than 30 years as a Christian
I have witnessed thousands of answered prayers.
I have actively requested prayers from
the best intercessors I could find.
And I have prayed earnestly myself.
I have noticed patterns of those
prayers that were answered versus not answered.
God does not answer prayers based on
need, pain or sincerity.
If that was the reality then most prayers
would be answered.
According to the Bible without faith it
is impossible to please God.
The faith comes from the Word of God.
The object of the faith in prayer needs
to be Jesus Christ.
It is good to pray to the Father or the
Son.
But let the prayers be humble, earnest,
childlike, honest, trusting and with thanks.
This article began as a prayer of
thanks.
I wrote at the top of the page “God
Thank You for …”.
What came to my mind were some of the
items in the psalm.
I suggest that you get a blank piece of
paper or blank word processing document.
Write at the top “God Thank You for …”.
On that document you can include
personal items.
These are unique to your relationship
with God.
And you can include some of the items
in the psalm that resonate with you.
And you are invited to often thank God
for personal and universal things.
May your understanding, appreciation
and respect for God continue to improve.
