What God Has Done

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.