╨╧рб▒с>■  ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ¤   ■   ■      !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;■   ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Root Entry        ▓Zд Ю╤д└O╣2║рR.0ї╟<└CONTENTS     rCompObj            VSPELLING            ■   ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        & It s huge topic and I can t cover much in a short time & I don t claim to be an expert& and I will only be skimming the surface & & ..just felt that God wanted me to share my journey with the church& So it s MORE OF A TESTIMONY RATHER THAN A SERMON& .because everyone can relate to having an unanswered prayer at one time or another or even now. For more in depth information I strongly encourage you to read this book& ..GOD ON MUTE by Pete Grieg. Anyway months of praying for Angela down the pan& .wasted& .I know sometimes we are guilty of using God as a slot prayer answering machine& ..and we can prayer for stuff which on the scale of things aren t major issues& .for instance & . Common sense prayers & please let me find the remote control& & & .please don t let me run our of petrol& .When really these are inconsequential prayers especially when they can easily be resolved and don t effect us spiritually. Or contradictory prayers& .please let it be sunny for my wedding& whilst farmers are praying for rain& OR& .a person prays for the train to leave on time to meet a friend& & whilst another guy prays for the train delayed because he s running late for Job interview& . Is this fair on all those waiting at the others stations? & .WHO does God answer or does he simply leave it to the companies to run the rail network.. Should we prayer for such things? well I believe we should because we can. Simple! What of those complex prayer of earthquakes and storms& . Difficult one but& . storms are the earth air con& .to maintain the climate and eco system& without storms the tropics would heat up becoming desserts & & & & the artic far colder and lighting trapped in the clouds making air travel almost impossible. So can I get my head around those kind of issues& & .& BUT WHAT OF tCHNKWKS r°pTEXTTEXTвVFDPPFDPPZFDPPFDPP\FDPCFDPC^FDPCFDPC`FDPCFDPCbFDPCFDPCdFDPCFDPCfFDPCFDPChFDPCFDPCjSTSHSTSHl2STSHSTSH2l╚SYIDSYID·lSGP SGP mINK INK mBTEPPLC m BTECPLC 6mHFONTFONT~mXTOKNPLC ╓m4UNANSWERED PRAYER Jason Johnson Sept 2007 I would like to start with a true story about someone o knew. This is Angela s story Angela s was told her mother had cancer& and only had a few months to live& problem was Angela born in overseas was unable to return home because the home office was taking years to sort out immigration and held her passport. I prayer for a Miracle & & that the papers would come through in time for her to be with her dying mother& & .time passed & .no answer& .phone call from mother become more frequent saying how much she loved her daughter.& .. Angela hadn t heard her mother say this since she was little Girl I prayed harder everyday& prayed earnestly & I had faith and it is no major task for God& I came into work one morning there was Angela & .any news I asked& .she broke down& . i cant believe she said & & .My mother died last night& close to tears myself I hugged her 1. For Comfort & .2. To hide my own emotions& & 3. Didn t know what else to do or say She said I m such a terrible daughter I could not be with her & comfort her& look into her eyes and tell her how much I love her. At this point I did cry & .overwhelmed by sadness & grief but also great disappointment& & .. WHY did God not answer my prayer? I ran through a checklist:& . Was my faith insufficient?& should I have fasted& . Had I unresolved sin& ..omitted  the name of Jesus But surely God would not have answered my prayer on a technicality. I believe that God did hear my prayer but he simply did not answer it, but I felt he was ignoring me& & & .WHAT happened (matt 7 v8) seek and ye shall find& . ask and it will be given & why didn t he understand mine and Angela s pain???& .. =========================================== The aim of this talk & ..to explore unanswered prayerhose BIG PRAYERS& & & those who need healing from cancer & those trying to have children & .those who prayer for their friend or family member to know Jesus. SURELY THEY RE JUSTIFED. AND WHAT about MY prayer& & To say I was angry& .. Frustrated& ..and disillusioned with God was an understatement.& but it okay to let him know and cry out to him. Celia who lost twin boys at 22 week on first IVF cycle, grieving the loss of her babies she was advised to try telling God how she felt& & . she writes & .page 95 Ever since you took the boys& & .I.ve been on emotional lockdown& .why should I let you back into my heart when you treated me so badly& ..abandoned me& if you were standing here now I d hit you& I d tell you to leave me alone& & In truth I d beg you to stay& & .because even with my beloved standing with me& & my amazing friends and support group - I ve never felt so **** alone& so stay here you ***& ...stay and make this better& because it hurts so **** much.. I was touched Celia and her honesty& & and I know that Jesus can relate and feel her pain and mine& & .that he understands such turmoil& .anxiety& ..for instance when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane & Luke chapt 22v44  In anguish he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood failing to the ground. This is an actual medical condition called heamatidrosis & a rare physiological condition which under great stress causes the capillaries to rupture through sweat glands& so I guess no one can say that Jesus doesn t understand their trauma. Like celia he was experiencing pain& mental and emotional & & he prayed his own honest prayer in Matt 26 v 28-9  My soul is overwhelmed by sorrow& to the point of death & & he fell with his face on the ground&  My father if it is possible may this cup be taken from me& yet not as I will ,but as you will Clearly he s wrestling with God to take the pain away& ..yet at this stage he only ACKNOWLEDGES GOD Will not his. -------------------------GOD S WILL NOT OURS------------------------------------------ Floyd McClung & is a huge 6.6ft man a well known Christian missionary and author. One yr speaking at spring harvest he got a devastating phone call from home in America & ..his daughter Misha was in a coma due to complications WHILST giving birth& Floyd listened in shock that although she was breathing again the Doctors said that it was unlikely that she would wake up .. What should have been the happiest day of his life was now the worst& .his only daughter lying unconscious & ..and what of his new beautiful grandchild would he grow up without a mother would he grow up at all& . Next day Floyd spent time walking on the beach praying about this awful news & ..after some time wrestling with God he prayed that God should do whatever would bring him the most glory& That s not to say it was easy& & he d been begging God for his daughters life as any father would & & & .But he knew that he also had to give her back to God& ...he wept as he relinquished his will to the will of God& & .I suspect it was the most painful thing he ever prayed& NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE& & . Thousand of Christians from all over the world prayed for a miracle after several months that miracle happen & . Floyds daughter and grandson made a full recovery& & he wrote this email in response Many people prayed and God intervened because of those prays & ..But God doesn t always answer our prayers the way we want & .every promise He speaks will come to pass if we obey him& ..but some of them are fulfilled in heaven & not on earth& God spared Misha s life for one reason above all& it will bring him more glory to keep her here longer. And could this be why we feel God is silent& & because he not answering our will& .what we want& .Floyd had not only acknowledged God s will he had eventually accepted it& . If we Look at Matt 26 v 42 this time in Jesus 2nd attempt to pray he says  my father if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done Notice that this time Jesus says if it is not possible & & .here he is beginning to accept God will & & and this is the vital key in prayers being answered ---------------------------------------ACCEPTANCE --------------------------------------- This hit me like a brick& & I reflected on my prayers for Angela & I had great intentions but if I m honest I think my prayer was more about me trying to fixed a situation using God & ..which isn t a bad thing & ..but we need to understand that our prayers should be for God s will and glory and not ours& & and once we make this difficult step it possible that we might be more open to hearing him. John 14.v13 says  and I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the son may bring glory to the father& you may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it& . We may have all the good intentions in the world but if it is not for God s glory then the prayer may not be answered as we want, we might not know why& but it makes perfect sense to God So I guess we re left with two options ACCEPT or become bitter and angry turning my back refusing to believe in such a GOD & & & ..and he allows us to do that& & & .Through my journey I learnt that part of my problem is thinking I can understand,& . Know and .predict God& & .. but the fact is I ain t got a clue& and I don t anybody does& & . Do you remember the Celia who lost her twins& & ..months after her ordeal she began attending church again and during tea and coffee she had a conversation with 10 yr girl who was experiencing many difficulties in her life. She writes& .the girl listened carefully, asked lots of questions and seemed to relax a little with each of my answers& ..it was worth every minute of pain and spiritual agony I suffered to spend half an hour helping this girl& .I would never been there to help if I hadn t lost my boys& & A testimony showing remarkable faith and bravery whilst illustrating the bigger picture and how Jesus can use us when we are most vulnerable, weak& stripped bare of confidence and strength& & even when we feel we have nothing to offer& & & & & . feel unable to pray& & & I felt like this in my own situation with Angela I exhausted prayer and felt let down by God& ..all I had left was a simple HUG to offer her some comfort& .. Finally , on writing this sermon I was still wondering why god didn t answer my prayer regarding Angela so I asked him & he said this; I didn t answer your prayer because it was not my will for reasons you don t know so do not worry But you were sent to comfort and to be my presence in Inessa life during her loss. And I d like to conclude by saying that if you are going through a storm in your personal or spiritual life and experiencing God s silence don t let God voice be muted by the hurt, disappointment or preconception about who you think god really is, how he speaks and what you think he will say& Continue with your prayers in the knowledge that things will be answered according to his will and not yours& ..And accepting this is a journey in itself& ..We can also support each other through a stormy times by simply being present& ..be there& . comfort them & love them& support them& .no need for fancy words. Simply be God s presence He will wipe every tear from their eyes . 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