HELP ME GOD! – Ps Craig Clark
The Bible declares that God is our Helper. He is the one who can truly help us in our greatest need. Often people can think of God as not being present in our personal lives, rather thinking that he is removed and far off, having left us to work things out for ourselves. Or, if God does help at all, ‘He looks to help those who help themselves’. Even for Christians, sometimes it can be a temptation to believe that God does not help us all that much, or that we need to earn His help.
Deism is the belief that God made the universe and then left it alone to function and take care of itself, without His intervention. While we as Christians are not deists, this kind of wrong thinking can be subtle and influence us from time to time. Have thoughts ever crossed your mind like this; ‘God, surely if you were listening you would have done something by now’, ‘Surely if God cared he wouldn’t allow all of this hurt’.
Yet, the scriptures are clear that God is close and intimately involved with our lives. He loves us and is concerned with all that affects us. Notice what David says in Psalm 54:4 ‘Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.’
Many of David’s writings follow a pattern found in this verse – a transition from prayer to praise. David was not afraid to come to God and express his need for help and needs. Doing this lifted David’s spirit, and he praised God, his helper.
This is the supernatural power of prayer and praise, that when we lift out needs and request to God, His Spirit lifts our spirit, and our prayers turn into praise!
- How have you seen or experienced the influence of Deism in your own life or in today’s culture? Have you found yourself thinking that God is far off or that you need to earn His help? How can you challenge that thinking in the future?
- How often do we say, ‘Help Me God’? Do we take our needs to God and experience like David did, prayers turning to praise? Or can we try work everything out on our own or take our needs to others instead. Speaking to others is great, but it can only take us so far. Our first response needs to be ‘Help Me God’! Share with each other what your prayer and praise habits are…or aren’t (and how we can make needed changes!).
- Share areas that you are needing God’s help. Pray for each other throughout the week, for those that are struggling to believe that God is close and that He is our helper.
SCRIPTURE Mathew 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Ask. Seek. Knock. Jesus teaches us to persist in pursuing God. We can often give up too easily, or not even ask at all. But knowing God takes faith, focus, and follow through, and Jesus assures us that we will be rewarded. Jesus is saying – don’t give up on your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love and understanding. He will give them to us, this is our reward and our promise!
It will be given you. You will find. It will be opened to you. The asker receives. The seeker finds. Your Father will give you good things. Be encouraged to come. Pray to him. He answers.
Pray often, pray regularly, pray confidently.
The teaching continues to say, Mathew 7:9, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, even though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Jesus encourages us to pray by showing us that our heavenly Father is better than our earthly father and will give good things to us. There is no evil in our heavenly Father like there is in our earthly father. Jesus is very blunt here. This is a clear statement about the sinfulness of human beings. Jesus assumes that his disciples are all evil (ouch!) — He doesn’t choose a nicer word like sinful, or weak. He simply says that his disciples are evil (original Greek translation is – ponēroi.).
Ponēroi | πονηρός | Evil
Pronunciation /po.nɛː.rós/ → /po.niˈros/ → /po.niˈros/
- Meaning – oppressed, cunning, painful
We must never, ever limit our understanding of the fatherhood of God to our experience of our own father (or human being experiences). Rather, we can know that God has none of the sins or limitations or weaknesses of our father/human beings.
And the point Jesus makes is this; Even fallen, sinful fathers usually have enough good in their heart to give good things to their children. But God is always better. In him there is no evil. Therefore, the argument is strong: if your earthly father gave you good things (or even if he didn’t!), how much more will your heavenly Father give good things — always good things to those who ask.
What an incredible promise. God is good and He works all things together for the good of those who love Him REF Romans 8:28! We can’t lose! God has set us up for a win, no matter what we are facing!
- God will never, never give us anything that is bad for us. Do you have things in your life that you think are bad? That ‘it’s just the cards I’ve been dealt.’ What if we were to challenge that thinking, and instead look at areas of challenge as a gift that push us to ask more and seek more of the good that God wants to reveal to us (like his wisdom, patience etc..). Have a moment to consider how this applies to a challenge you are currently facing. Maybe it’s our mindsets, relationships, health, finance, or past hurts.
- Ask. Seek. Knock. Ask – prayer, Seek – learning God’s ways, Knock – persist. At times we can ask and receive immediately, other times we need to dig deeper and study God’s word to find out what he has to say; and always – we need to keep persisting, keep faith, never giving up! How do these 3 areas look for you? Are there areas you find easier than others? E.g., Some can go to God often and easily, but not read the word…others could have faith for something but not go to prayer about it. Imagine if we were consistent in all three! If not, think on how you can include Ask. Seek and Knock, into your life.
- What do think of when you read ‘God your father’? Maybe for some who have experienced hurtful relationships with a father or person, we can paint God with the same brush. Scripture teaches us that God has no evil, sin, weakness, or badness in Him. None. Zero. That He only has love and only intends good things for us. Have time of prayer and ask that the Holy Spirit would give us fresh revelation of God as our good and loving Father.
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