The Compassion of God

by
Moses & Annette Price

Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts…. I Corinthians 14:1

            As church elders, we are to pray for the sick. We are to join our faith with the congregational members as they believe God for their healing.

 Is any sick among you?  Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord;  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  (James 5:14-15)

             A person’s healing can manifest in various ways.  It can come through anointing with oil and the prayer of faith (James 5:14-15), the gifts of healing and working of miracles (I Corinthians 12:9-10), speaking to the mountain of illness and disease (St. Mark 11:22-23), laying hands on the sick (St. Mark 16:15-18), speaking the Word of God, changing our diet, exercising, medication, surgery or, a combination of any of these. 

            Recently, my husband and I took my mother to the doctor for an appointment.  The following are the thoughts that he shared with me as we waited for her.  I thought that it would be good to share them with the readers of this blog. My prayer is that you will be enlightened, encouraged and edified as you read this excerpt.

"As we set and waited for mom to finish with the doctor, I observed people coming and going from the medical building.  Some walked very slowly. Others walked with assistance from family or friends.  Some were in wheelchairs. One person was even brought in by ambulance.

            But, it was their facial expressions that captured my attention.  I saw tiredness and sadness.  It was not the normal tiredness or sadness that I saw.  It was as if those I was observing had grown weary of fighting whatever disease they were afflicted with. Or, perhaps it was the weariness from the treatment that had exhausted them and drained them of their energy and strength.  Either way, tiredness and weariness was present on their faces.

            My heart was moved with the compassion of God as I sat and watched the people come and go.  I wanted to help them.  I wanted to pray with them. I wanted to ask them if they were aware of any dietary changes that could help strengthen their bodies, giving them the physical energy to continue on in the fight.  I wanted to encourage them to pray and ask God for peace of mind.  But, most of all, I wanted each of them to be whole, disease free and enjoying life. 

            I do not know any of their names.  Chances are I will never see them again. However, the compassion of God moved me to pray for them.  God knows each of their names and their addresses.  He knows what disease or illness that has afflicted each of them.  He knows what would help manifest their healing, causing them to be made whole and disease free."

            As my husband shared his thoughts with me, I could see the effect God’s compassion was having on him.  It was so strong in him that tears were in his eyes as he recounted his experience.

            I had to judge myself.  Was I allowing God’s compassion to move on me to help others, to pray for others, to let God supply their needs through me?  Or, was I so focused on myself that my bowels of compassion needed a laxative, meaning that I needed the Holy Spirit to again reveal the love of God to me? I do know one thing, I want God’s love to move me.  I want Him to use me to manifest Himself to others so that they can know His goodness and His mercy in an even greater way.

            I have decided to follow after love, to be moved by His compassion.  At the end of that flow of love will be God.

Elder Price’s Prayer:

Father God, in the Name of Jesus, I ask that You would manifest each of their healings, from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet.  I pray for them to have peace of mind and peace in their families.  I pray that You would grant any and all medical personnel who have anything to do with their treatment the wisdom to treat them expertly and precisely, in the Name of Jesus.  Amen.

           

            

…I Shall Not Want

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalms 23:1

            A number of years ago the church my husband and I attended at the time was having a special event that we really wanted to attend.  The problem was that I did not have a nice dress to wear.  My husband and I were newly married. At the time he only had a part time job, which did not pay a lot. I was doing volunteer work at our church.  We were not working with a lot of money.

            As the event drew closer by each passing day, I continued to pray that scripture on a daily basis.  Sometimes I would pray it 2-3 times a day. The only thing was, I was not praying it for the dress situation only.  I was praying it for day-to-day survival! We needed groceries and rent had to be paid!

            One day I was talking to a lady at the church and she asked me if I was going to the upcoming dinner.  I responded with a resounding, “Yes, I’m going.  The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Not even for a dress to wear.”  She said, “Wow, Nett, when you said that I could hear your faith.”  Hear my faith?  What was she talking about, I wondered to myself?

            Two days later she called me and said that God told her to take me shopping and buy me a dress to wear to the dinner.  I was amazed! That had never happened to me before.  Of course I went shopping with her.  Not only did she buy me a new dress, she also brought me matching shoes and stockings.  Wow!  I was so excited. God had heard my prayer AND answered it by moving on someone’s heart to buy me a dress with accessories.

            But, I was still wondering what she meant by, “I could hear your faith?”  As I continued on in my spiritual growth and development, many things became clearer to me.  Many of my questions were being answered, including the unspoken question of “how can you hear someone’s faith?”

            The answer was a simple one.  The more you meditate God’s Word into your heart, the more you hear the Word preached, the more you do the Word, the Word becomes alive in you.  This will cause your faith to increase.  When you speak the Word out loud, you are speaking your faith.  God’s blessings to you and yours.

Scripture for meditation: Psalms 23:1

           

Discerning the Thoughts and Intents of the Heart

For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12

           

            Discerning simply means to perceive or recognize something.  God’s Word is alive and it has a lot of power, including the power to discern.  It is so powerful and sharp, in fact, that it is sharper than a two-edged sword.  A two-edged sword is a sword that has been sharpened on both sides. This allows it to be used as a deadly weapon during the time of battle. Using a two-edged sword allows its user to respond quickly to more than one opponent. 

When we have put God’s Word (the Bible) in our hearts through reading it, doing it, meditating on it and speaking it, then it has become alive in us by revelation.  God, by His precious Holy Spirit, reveals His will to us in various areas of our lives.  The revelation comes as we read the Bible, pray, talk to others, hear the Word of God preached, etc.  In other words, revelation (unveiling) can come at any time or in any place.

God’s Word helps us to know, perceive and recognize our own thoughts and motives.  Not only that but, it also helps us to be able to know, perceive and recognize the thoughts and motives of others.  I’m not talking about suspicion, paranoia or being critical.  I’m talking about a spiritual gift from God that does not come through natural means or book learning.  This knowing is from a spiritual revelation from God’s Spirit to our spirit.

A good example of this can be found in the book of Matthew 9:1-8.

And He entered into a boat, and passed over, and came into His own city.

And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed; and Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth.

And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why think ye evil in your hearts?

For which is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

But that ye many know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

And he arose, and departed to his house.

But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, who had given such power unto men.

Jesus discerned the thoughts of the religious leaders who were around Him.  Not only did He discern their thoughts but, He also responded to them as if they had verbally proclaimed them!  He was neither afraid nor hesitant at boldly and courageously exposing the hidden motives and intentions in people’s minds and hearts. 

We are to be the same way.  When God reveals to us the hidden motives of others, we should not shrink back from responding the way He tells us to respond.  If He says to keep silent and pray for that person, then keep silent and pray.  Tell no one. If He says to privately talk to that person, then privately talk to that person. If He says to confront, don’t back down, stand your ground then, confront, don’t back down. Stand your ground.  Whatever He tells you to do, do it. Obey Him.  Just make sure it’s Him and not your own imagination or hidden desires and motives.  You will know it’s Him giving you wisdom by the fact that it will line up with His Word, the Bible.

I would like to encourage you to have a time set aside each day to pray and read your Bible.  As you study His Word, you will learn the voice of that Word.  When you hear that same voice speak to your heart in everyday situations, you will immediately recognize it and obey it. God’s blessings to you and yours.

Scriptures for meditation: St. John 10:1-5  God’s sheep know His voice.