God Hears Prayer

Day by Day with Jonathan Edwards

Psalm 28:6

Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

"It is indeed a very wonderful thing that so great a God who should be so ready to heard our prayers, though we are so despicable and unworthy. That he should give free access at all times to everyone, should allow us to be importunate without esteeming it an indecent boldness, should be so right in mercy to them that call upon him: that worms of the dust should have such power with God by prayer, that he should do such great things in answer to their prayers, and should show himself, as it were, overcome by them. This is very wonderful, when we consider the distance between God and us, and how we have provoked him by our sins, and how unworthy we are of the least gracious notice. It cannot be form any need that God stands in of us, for our goodness extends not to him. Neither can it be from anything in us to incline the heart of God to us. It cannot be from any worthiness in our prayers, which are in themselves polluted things. but it is because God delights in mercy and condescension. He is herein infinitely distinguished from all other Gods. He is the great fountain of all good, from whom goodness flows as light from the sun."

Imitating God

Day by Day with Jonathan Edwards.

Zephaniah 2:3

Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

"Love to God disposes us to imitate him, and therefore disposes us to such longsuffering as he manifests. Longsuffering is often spoken of as one of the attributes of God. In exodus 34:6, it is said, "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,' etc. And in Romans 2:4, the apostle asks, "despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering?" The longsuffering of God is very wonderfully manifest in his bearing innumerable injuries from me, and injuries that are very great and long-continued. If we consider the wickedness that there is in the world, and then consider how God continues the world in existence, and does not destroy it, but showered upon it innumerable mercies, the bounties of his daily providence and grace, causing his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sending rain alike on the just and on the unjust, and offering his spiritual blessings ceaselessly and to all, we shall perceive how abundant is his longsuffering toward us. And if we consider his longsuffering to some of the great and populous cities of the world, and think how constantly the gifts of his goodness are bestowed on and consumed by them, and then consider how great the wickedness of these very cities is, it will show is how amazingly great is his longsuffering. And the same longsuffering has been manifest to very many particular persons, in all ages of the world. He is longsuffering to the sinners that he spares, and to whom he offers his mercy, even while they are rebelling against him. And he is longsuffering toward his own elect people, many of whom long lived in sin, and despised alike his goodness and his wrath: and yet he bore long with them, even to the end, till they were brought to repentance, and made, through his grace, vessels of mercy and glory."

Finding Comfort in the Goodness of God - Sermon by J Don Jennings

Psalm 31:19

"How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you."

Psalm 23:6

"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, an I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

We are being stalked by the goodness of God. Every moment, day, action and thing is attributable to the goodness of God to us.

Goodness in relationship to God is the summation of all the excellencies of God. Ever aspect of God can be summed up by the word goodness.

We have a good God who is in control and has not forgotten us.

"The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good." -Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest

Psalm 84:11

"No good thing will he withhold from those who live uprightly."

God is good and he will not withhold good from us.

"God is good to all in someways and he is good to some in all ways." -J.I. Packer

Unless we are extremely careful, we will take the goodness of God for granted and we will shift our focus from the provider to the provision and thus forget God.

The Revelation of God's goodness:

We see the goodness of God revealed in nature.

Psalm 33:5

"The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord."

We see the goodness of God revealed in his Son.

Our God is good and is compassionate.

Acts 10:38

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."

Matthew 15:32

"Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

He healed the sick and fed the hungry; he gave sight to the blind and cured the leper - what a compassionate and good God!

We see the goodness of God revealed in the Word.

All throughout scripture it claims the goodness of God.

Psalm 145:9

"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made."

Regardless of anything in our life, God is still good to all.

The Reasons for God's goodness.

Why is God good? God's essence is goodness. God is good because that is his nature, he can be nothing else but good. is the consummate source of all goodness. There is no goodness source besides him. Our goodness is derived goodness, God's goodness is un-derived - it is in himself and he receives it from himself. No goodness can be added to God - it is like adding to the heat of the sun with a candle.

All that God does he does because he is good. Every action of God flows out of his goodness. Everything he allows in our lives he allows because he is good. he has a purpose to accomplish in everything in our lives even though we cannot see why.

How long is his goodness?

Malachi 3:6

"I am the Lord, I change not."

He is going to be eternally good because he does not change. God won't be a better God in heaven than he is on earth. God does not have mood swings- he will always be good to you. God has not changed, ho who has changed? Regardless of our circumstances God is the same as he always was and he is good eternally. His mercy and goodness has followed us all the days of our lives.

Our Response to God's goodness:

We should respond gladly -receive God's goodness and be thankful and glad.

Psalm 34:8

"Taste, and see that the Lord is good!"

Don't stop feeding on the goodness of God.

Romans 2:

"The goodness of God leads you to repentance."

Jesus is the incarnate goodness of God.

We should respond by reflecting the goodness of God. Share the goodness of the Lord with others. Be light and salt in the world.

We ought to live every day of our lives relying in the goodness of God. Wallow in the goodness of God. bask in the goodness of God. We can smile through our tears because God is good, even though we do not feel good. Rely on the goodness of God. Trust in him and rely on his goodness.

We will never enjoy life unless we trust in and rely on the goodness of God. God is good. And he is going to come through for his own. He will see us through because of his goodness.

To rely on God's goodness we must trust him in every life situation. He is good when the plans and the hopes and the dreams you had all come crashing down. He is still good.

God is good.

1 John 3:1-3

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Shelter Me by Bruce Carroll

When I cannot close my eyes
And the nights goes on
Troubles taunt on every side
And my doubt is strong

Shelter me, shelter me
Let the thought of your compassion be my strength
Prince of peace, shelter me
From the tempest of my unbelief
Mighty God who calmed the sea
Come and shelter me

Do your promises still stand?

Does your mercy cease?

By the power of your hand

Grant me my release.

Be Still My Soul from Finlandia

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine

Matthew 11:27-30

All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Com to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 10:29-31

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your father. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Psalm 6

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

Psalm 5:1-3

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my king and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, o men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your heart and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust the Lord. Many are asking. "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their new grain and wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Lamentations 3:19-27

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

Psalm 18:28-31

You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is the Rock except our God?

Lamentations 3:22-26

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Puritan Prayer

"The Saviour"


Thou God of all grace,
Thou has given me a Saviour,
produce in me a faith to live by Him,
to make Him all my desire
all my hope
all my glory.

May I enter Him as my refuge,
build on Him as my foundation,
walk in Him as my way,
follow Him as my guide,
conform to Him as my example,
receive His instruction as my prophet,
rely on His intercession as my high priest,
obey Him as my king.

May I never be ashamed of Him of His words,
but joyfully bear His reproach,
never displease Him to be unholy or imprudent conduct,
never count it a glory if I take it patiently when buffeted for a fault,
never make the multitude my model,
never delay when Thy Word invites to advance.

May the dear Son preserve me from this present evil world,
so that its smiles never allure,
nor its frowns terrify,
nor its vices defile,
nor its errors delude me.

May I feel that I am a stranger and a pilgrim on earth,
declaring plainly that I seek a country,
my title to it becoming daily more clear,
my meetness for it more perfect,
my foretastes of it more abundant,
and whatsoever I do may it be done in the Saviour's name.

Psalm 27:4,8-9

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. My heart says of you, "seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

Psalm 90:1-2,14,17

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, form everlasting to everlasting you are God. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. may the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands.

Greetings

This blog is for the specific use of encouragement through the Word of God, prayers, reflections and music; all of which brings glory and attention to God. I will post whenever I can.

In Christ.

Proverbs 30:7-9

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, 'who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."