Loyal, OK

 
Pastor Leon Seaton

Stop, Look, Listen, and Feel

        What would you do if you found someone down in a street? Would you look the other way, or would you check on them? What would you do if the person was not breathing and turning blue – and no one was around?

Hopefully you would quickly scan the area to make sure there is no immediate danger to the person or yourself. Then you would quickly kneel at the person’s side and STOP, LOOKing for the chest to rise and fall. Not seeing that, you would LISTEN for the respirations to see if the head needs straightening; finally before taking action, you would put your cheek near the victim’s mouth to see if you can FEEL his breath. If there is none, you would call for help and begin CPR.

This same principle applies to prayer. When we see a situation where there is a need for God to intervene we need to stop, look, listen and feel!

Stop what you are doing. The scripture tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.” Ask God what He wants done.

No matter the outcome we have some responsibility. In a small mid-western conservative town, a bar and dance hall was being built. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers.

The work continued; however the week before opening, a lightning strike hit the bar and it burned to the ground.

The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means.

The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the buildings demise in its reply to the court.

As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner that believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn't.” 

And then again, perhaps it was not a faith issue, but a willingness to accept responsibility.

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the religious leaders were afraid to accept responsibility for an injured man. We often hear of such situations in the USA. Earlier this year a woman died in a Hospital Emergency Room waiting area because the staff refused to take time to look at someone lying on the floor!

The Secret to Answered Prayer

STOP

Whispered prayers are powerful, and God has no problems answering them. He invites us to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV) The NIV says, “Pray continually.” However, if we do not quiet our hearts, our prayers may not have enough faith to make a difference in heaven. God responds to faith, not need, to faith, not fear.

LOOK

When you pray about a need that seems bigger than life, it helps to remind ourselves of past successes in prayer. Look back at what God has done, look at what God is doing, and look at what God promises to do.

 LISTEN

          Although I have met many people that do not believe God speaks to us, I think everyone in this congregation believes that God speaks to His people. However, believing He speaks to us does not always mean that we listen to Him. Oh, we hear His words, but do we respond in obedience.

            In April I asked a friend if he would make a special timing light for our Toastmaster’s Club. He said he would and I told him I would send a check the next day. Unfortunately I forgot to send the check. Six weeks later I saw him at a meeting and apologized. He said, “Didn’t I send the light to you? I thought you had already paid me.”

            So we made arrangements again – I would send the money, he would send the light. Yesterday I met him at a training session in Enid for my role as the Lions Club President. I mentioned that we still had not made connections on the light. He was puzzled. “I thought that was a done deal,” he said.

            We solved the problem. I handed him the money, he went to his house, got the light and brought it to the meeting.

            We were talking and making plans, but no action was taken.

             Prayer is more than giving God instructions – it may be asking for instructions!

 Be willing to pray boldly

            Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to Zaire, told the following story. "A mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. We asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister.

“One of the girls responded. 'Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won't feel so lonely.'

“That afternoon a large package arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it. Much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle! Immediately the girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming, 'If God sent that, I'm sure He also sent a doll!'

“And she was right! The heavenly Father knew in advance of that child's sincere requests, and 5 months earlier He had led a ladies' group to include both of those specific articles." Source Unknown; found at www.sermonillustrations.com

Be willing to obey

          Romans 1:5: “Through Him and for His name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”

            Thus we see that obedience comes from faith – and true faith will cause obedience. Therefore to disobey is a lack of faith!

Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.”  That is a powerful verse! If we walk in fear then God is not our refuge and strength.  Samuel told King Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice.”  1 Samuel 15:22

If we want to enjoy all of the fullness of God, we must be committed to obedience.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and FEEL: What does God have in mind?

1. Know that God loves you totally and completely
2. Know that God will never ask you to do something He does not plan to help you accomplish.
3. Know that through Christ’s anointing you can do ALL THINGS. (Philippians 4:13)
4. Stop to see what needs to be done and what God is calling you to do.
5. Look for leadership from God – the Holy Spirit will instruct and guide you.
6. Listen to the Holy Spirit – and the cry for help from others
7. Feel the presence of God. When we become still before God – when we wait for Him to reveal Himself to us, we will always feel His presence. NEVER depend on feelings, and never seek feelings because that opens us up to satanic deception.

       Sometimes when my wife and I are traveling in our car she is busy doing things – or dozing, I'll start to feel very lonely and lost in my thoughts. Yet when we take a moment to just hold hands, everything changes. It’s almost like the first date when we held hands, knowing that we were meant for each other.

Reach out for the Lord’s hand when you feel sad and lonely. He is anxious to help each of us!