I'm sorry for not posting in over a week. I have been babysitting a 12 month old baby girl on Mondays and Wednesdays and my dh works from home on Tuesdays and Fridays. So, I really am only having time to post on Wednesdays or weekends for now unless they're all napping at the same time. Yeah right, that doesn't happen . But anyway, I have been thinking all week on the sermon our pastor gave last Sunday. I often miss most sermons because I'm in the nursery but I was so thankful to hear this one!

He read from Deuteronomy 9 about how Moses spent 40 days praying for the Israelites and even for his brother Aaron who had all strayed from God and chose to fufill their selfish and sinful desires. Moses grieved for their sins and it them upon himself to ask for their forgiveness because if he didn't, God would have destroyed them all.

I've often thought of the Israelites and how they saw so many amazing miracles and how many times the Lord delivered them from peril but yet they constantly wandered and frankly just outright disobeyed the Lord despite the blessings God has bestowed upon them. I believe we are no different from them. Maybe our miracles and blessings do not seem quite as momentous as theirs but we too receive bountiful, undeserved blessings from the Lord every day and yet we persristently fall back, look away, forget just as they did.

But God listened to Moses and answered his prayers. Have you ever wondered if God is hearing you? We cannot come to the Lord with unbelief. Come to the Lord believing. If we are "wandering" as the Israelites were and living in our sin and not repentant and not willing to change our heart I am not sure the Lord wants to hear our prayers. But if we are repentant and lay our burdens down and daily take up our cross and surrender to Jesus our will then ask, believe, and wait for your answer. He will answer!

Matthew 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

Matthew 17:20 "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Seek the Lord's will and not your own. Begin every day praying this verse to the Lord. Seek repentance each day and lay your burdens down. Ask with a clean heart and be as close to the Lord as you can.

 Psalm 139:23,24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Think if you had a friend you rarely every saw or spoke to and they called you out of the blue wanting something that you weren't sure you wanted to give them because they only called when they needed something. Now think if you had a friend you loved and whom you saw often. If they called needing something wouldn't you be ready to help them out and give them what they needed if it was truly beneficial to them? That is the way it is with the Lord. Let's be as close to Him as possible so He doesn't feel used by us. He isn't there to only help when we think we need Him. He is there to be close to us every day.

Thank you to my Pastor and Jesus Christ for delivering this powerful message to my heart!