“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1, NASB

Lord, we’re desperate for you. We’re bunched up in confusion, moving by impulse and fear, flitting here and there like a frenzied flock caught in the wilderness of the far country.
We are here! We are here! And we know you hear. You’ve heard us before; you’ve swept in and saved us from our hopeless paralysis.

Do it again, O, Holy One; how long must we wait?

And we hear you say, “Yes, how long? How long must I wait while you wear my grace and peace like a cheap cloak from a secondhand store?”

Oh God, I hear your heart. You set me apart; yet, I joined the crowd – like birds of a feather.
From now on, Abba, when the swirl and twirl shoves at me, instead of taking to panicked wings; I’ll let you quiet my soul.

“I am ready now; I am willing now to be swept under the safety of your wings, as a hen gathers her chicks.” (Matthew 23:37, NKJV)

Question: Does this prayer sound like one you’ve prayed recently? What about sometime in the past?

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“They all met together continually for prayer.” (Acts 1:14, NLT)

Mark uses the same Greek word here translated “continually” to describe a boat floating in the water, waiting on Jesus. The Master, speaking on the beach of Galilee, told the disciples to have a boat ready and waiting (Mark 3:9). The boat was “continually” in the presence of Christ. So are the Upper Room disciples. One day passes. Then two. Then a week. For all they know a hundred more will come and go. But they aren’t leaving. They persist in the presence of Christ.

The followers were willing to do one thing: wait in the right place for power.

We’re so reluctant to do what they did. Who has time to wait? We groan at such a thought. But waiting doesn’t mean inactivity—rather inHIMactivity. Waiting means watching for him. If you are waiting on a bus, you are watching for the bus. If you are waiting on God, you are watching for God, searching for God, hoping in God. Great promises come to those who do. “But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

To those who still struggle, God says, “Wait on me.” And wait in the right place. Jesus doesn’t tell us to stay in Jerusalem, but he does tell us to stay honest, stay faithful, stay true.

Desire power for your life?

It will come as you pray. For ten days the disciples prayed. Ten days of prayer plus a few minutes of preaching led to three thousand saved souls. Perhaps we invert the numbers. We’re prone to pray for a few minutes and preach for ten days. Not the apostles. Like the boat waiting for Christ, they lingered in his presence. They never left the place of prayer.

From Come Thirsty
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006), Max Lucado
Used by permission

Question: Do you pray only for the “big things”? Do you think God cares about the “small things” too?

But have you ever noticed it’s hidden message? If you’ve seen it before, it’ll be easy to spot. If not, it’ll be tougher! Take a closer look:

Did you spot it? Click on the FedEx logo image above (or here) to reveal it’s secret!

Sometimes things can be hidden in plain sight. It’s not like the symbol sudden appeared when you first realized it’s there; it was there all along. And it’s not there by accident, either. The designer consciously chose to put it there. In fact, he needed to design a new font in order to clearly convey his vision for the design. He intended it to convey information, even if not everyone sees it right away: It was meant to symbolize speed and efficiency.

Similarly, a recent article on our site, “Is it Possible?“ asks the question: Is it possible that you’ve been missing things in your life? Things that are “in plain sight” but have remained elusive, if only because you have never realized they are there? It’s a question worth asking! Take a look at the article, consider exploring the next steps listed, and let us know what you think.

Far more people in Canada used the Internet for “personal interactions” last year than those who didn’t.

What are people doing online? “The most common household internet use was email, while health information was the topic most frequently searched.” Although Facebook and other social networking sites have become increasingly popular, email remains (for the moment) the most frequent activity.

I wonder how they determined that “health information” was the most popular search topic? What does that topic encompass? According to Google’s Keyword Suggestion Tool, keywords like “so lonely” and “I’m alone” are searched hundreds of thousands of times per month, while “loneliness” and “sadness” are searched a million times or more.

People are reaching out for help online, perhaps because of the wealth of information available, but also because anonymity offers an opportunity for honesty that might not be an option in face-to-face conversations. For many who are going through difficult personal matters, confidential online mentoring is an attractive option for personalized one-on-one conversations.

What are you searching for online? If lately you’ve been searching for something a little deeper than the latest Justin Bieber gossip, check out one of our popular videos, “Do you crave meaning? (Part 1 of 2)“

“Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness” (Psalm 37:3).

Throughout the scriptures, we read that God pleaded for His people to “remember” Him and how He proved His faithfulness to them.  God, the Father, wanted His children, to remind themselves of how He proved Himself time and time again in their lives.

In his book A Room Called Remember, Friedrich Buechner describes remembering as “a searching and finding”.  Sometimes it takes a searching our past that we find examples of God’s faithfulness to us which brings hope and an assurance that God will continue to be loving and gracious in our lives.

God delights in showing Himself to us.  He truly takes pleasure in revealing His faithful acts towards His people.

There is so much significance in the aspect of remembering God’s faithfulness, which is vital, and key to growing and deepening our faith.  But, too often, we forget how God has provided for us in the past.   It is in remembering what He has already done for us that will draw us into trusting Him when things around us become dark and we become unaware of His presence in our lives.

One of the ways God would share with His people on how to remember His faithfulness, was in commanding them to set up memorials, literal structures and figures.  When the people would see them, they would be reminded of what God did which would cause them to rise up in hope and propel them forward with cc and boldness for their next task.   These memorials would serve as great visuals so that every time they looked at them, they reflected on God’s faithfulness and would be immediately brought into a place of rest in God knowing that as He provided He will continue to.

In my own personal life, I have set up “memorials” to remind myself of all that God has done in my life so that I will never forget His goodness towards me.  Some of these memorials are photos in frames, and others are objects I’ve bought at certain places that remind me of what God did specifically in that particular time of my life.  Remembering has brought me to a greater faith and expectant that God will come through.

Nurture yourself with the faithfulness of God.  His faithfulness is our food.  He is what we must feed ourselves upon daily.  Identify and meditate on the ways that God has been faithful to you and then share with others, and teach your children so that His good works would be remembered from generation to generation.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your goodness and kindness towards me.  Help me to always remember how You have been faithful in my life.  I am so grateful that I can trust You, knowing that You are my hope and my portion,  my deliverer and strength.  I love you and will never forget that Your hand is upon my life and that you have ordained my very steps.

Questions: Are you at a place where you feel God does not care about your situation? What could you do to help you know that God does care ad that He is available? Can you remember a time when God performed a miracle for you?

About the Author Brigitte Straub

If I’m really honest, I think God tries to get my attention everyday. I can be fiercely independent, but then I have this sense that I’m not alone and as I turn to God I realize he truly wants to walk the road with me.   His way of getting my attention is that of a caring friend who is with me guides me through each day.  I need to become more sensitive and in tune with him.

If you have questions, we’d love to hear from you.  Use this form to  be matched with one of our mentors. Mentors are trained volunteers with real life experience.  They can answer questions, point you to other resources or just listen when you have something to say.

Your mentor will email you using our secure system, The Mentor Center (TMC).  TMC ensures your privacy by protecting your information.  If you want to keep talking, just hit reply.  The conversation is free, confidential and non-judgmental.   You can keep talking to your mentor as long as you like and there is never a fee.   If you’re curious, start a conversation.  We’re ready when you are.

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