I’ve been struggling this past year with wanting some answers from the Lord that, so far, haven’t been forthcoming.  I have prayed, fasted, pleaded and cried out for the answers to my questions.  When they have not come, I have sought out godly counsel by talking to pastors, other ministers, friends and other wise folks.  In my search I have bought and read so many books and CD teachings that I can open my own bookstore!  I have become the “Google Queen”, searching online even in the middle of the night for someone somewhere who has asked the same questions before and got the answers.  All this to no avail, leaving me frustrated and wondering.

I’ve been misunderstood by many, ridiculed by some and accused of being impertinent by others! 

There are those who think we should never question God and say I am arrogant to do so.  Huh?  I think I am in good company:  Job, David, Jeremiah and so many others cried out to God in a desperate search for answers to their hearts’ cries. 

• Psalm 13:1  How long, oh Lord, how long will You forget me?  Forever?  How long will You look the other way?

Even Jesus Himself questioned the Father: 

• Matthew 27:46   My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Then there are those who say there are just some things you will never know until you get to heaven, so don’t even bother trying to figure them out.  Hmmm…..that’s not what the Word says: 

• Proverb 25:2   It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
•  Amos 3:7   Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

There are others who tell me that God isn’t answering me in order to teach me a lesson.  Ughh, the good old ’suffering doctrine’ crowd – you gotta love ‘em.  Contrary to what many think, God uses the Word to teach us; He doesn’t make us miserable or put cancer on us to instruct us.

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17   All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Some others say that it is my ‘cross to bear’ and I should pick it up and carry it with no complaint, entering into His sufferings.  Unanswered questions are my cross to bear?  Jesus already bore everything for us on the cross!  The only suffering we are to bear is for the Word’s sake – persecution for doing things His way and resisting temptation.  The rest we have authority over, thanks to Jesus.

• 2 Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

The Greek word for persecution used in the above verse is “dioko” which means: to drive away, to harass, to trouble, to persecute.  Notice, sickness, poverty and unanswered prayer are not part of the definition of persecution!

Persecuted is definitely what I have been feeling listening to some of these people.  Imagine earnestly seeking truth and being told some of this silliness.  I know people mean well, but the wisest counsel has been from the honest ones.  They may not have the answers but they admit it and don’t hand out platitudes and unbiblical stuff.

Anyway, so why haven’t I received the answers I am seeking?  Today I found out why:  I haven’t been persistent enough in “digging my well”.

Let me explain.  A pastor friend of mine, Ben Conway, pastors a church in England.  He recently wrote a book called Rivers and Wells, and I read it today.

In it he talks about the need for us to seek out God for ourselves.  While we are new in the Lord it is okay to seek out answers from others such as pastors, healing ministries, counselors, etc.  But, as we grow up in the Lord, He desires for us to walk closely with Him and commune so deeply with Him that we get filled (our well) so much we can flow out to others (our rivers).

• John 7:38   He who believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
• Proverb 16:22  Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it…

As a not-so-immature Christian, I know how to do that.  I know I must be fed in order to feed others; I do that daily (fill up and then pour out to others).  However, because of frustration in not getting answers to these couple of questions, I’ve pulled a small part of myself away from God, mainly out of a spirit of rejection.  Instead of pulling away, I need to dig my well deeper and seek Him even more!  He has promised if I do, He will be found.

• Jeremiah 29:13   And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

How does one “dig deeper”?  One dedicates more time to the Lord.  One becomes “bulldog” tenacious – not giving up!  One values what they are seeking more than anything else (more than TV, internet, work, relaxation, shopping, etc).

• Luke 15:8   “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?”

There is a story in the Word about a widow who went to an unjust judge begging for justice.  She kept hounding him and he wouldn’t answer her….yet she never gave up.  In the end, he said:

• Luke 18:5 (NLT) “….but this woman is driving me crazy.  I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!”

The scripture goes on to say what more we can expect from God who is a just judge!

I encourage you to dig in!  Don’t give up!  Keep on believing God is good and He hears you when you cry!

Keep the faith!

I am very grateful to Ben for his obedience to write this book, and I highly recommend you read it, too.    You can download a copy or buy a paperback version of Rivers and Wells here:  Rivers and Wells

Years ago I learned about praying specifically.  There are times I forget about it and just throw up mostly impotent “help me, Lord” prayers.  Yet, if Jesus came to my door today and said “What can I do for You?” would I say, “Just help me!”?  NO!  I would tell Him specifically what I need.  Another thing I would do if He was at my door is:  I would believe with no doubt that He would answer me!

Dave and I found a specific prayer list we did up back in 2003.  It was encouraging to see that over 85% of that prayer list had been answered – most were answered over and above what we had prayed!  That encouraged us to recently pray specifically again.  We are already seeing answered prayer.

Not that there is any “magic formula”, but there are steps of order and faith that God honors as long as your heart is right:

• Write down the prayer requests specifically.  (Habakkuk 2:2 – Write the vision and make it plain.)
• Pray over the prayer requests and give thanks to the Lord.  (Phil 4:6 – Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.)
• Sow a seed into good ground as an act of faith, and be about your business.  (Eccles 11:6 – Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all day, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another – or maybe both.)
• Stand in faith and don’t allow the doubt to come in, no matter what it looks like.  (James 1:6 – But let him ask in faith, with no doubting.)

Often, as the Lord leads, I will do communion over the requests.

If you have any prayer requests you’d like to have me come into agreement with you for, please confidentially email me at tina@tinamarino.com

For a very good sermon on praying specifically, please go here  www.jsmi.org and click on: The Prayer of Petition.

Be specific!  Be blessed! 

So many are in turmoil about the upcoming election.  Many are baffled to learn that fellow Christians are aligning with the liberal, socialistic, anti-Christian agenda.  They are also in shock to hear that some Christians have decided not to vote at all because they don’t like the more conservative (though not fully conservative) candidate.  They say things like “I have to vote my conscience”.  Let me ask you, would a true Christian’s conscience tell them to vote for one who blatantly takes ungodly stands, or not to vote at all?  No way!

I have heard many Christians say, “But how are we to pray?”  The answer is easy!

• We must pray that God’s will be done. 
• We must pray that the schemes of the enemy be exposed.
• We must pray that Christians will vote based on the Word, not their own pocketbooks.
• We must pray that the eyes and ears of all people be opened to hear the truth and not be swayed or deluded by worldy charisma and persuasion.
• Pray for God’s people to be doers, not only hearers, of the Word! (James 1:22)

When we don’t know what to pray, we are to pray as the Word tells us in Romans 8:26:

So too, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it as worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.  (NLT)

We must take a stand for all that is godly and not back down.

Please get out and vote according to the Word!  Don’t believe the lie that your opinion doesn’t count!

Remember the old adage:  All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. 

Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121:4

The other day I heard a preacher say “God works the night shift!” and I thought how true that is!

I have not had a full night’s sleep in many months.  It has been frustrating to say the least.  I go to sleep right away, but every night, somewhere between 1am and 3 am, I wake up.  I am awake for at least one hour, though it is usually for two to three hours; finally, sleep comes again about 5am, just about when it’s time to get up!

The thoughts that whirl though my mind in the wee hours run the gamut from my kids to finances to the upcoming election to the eternal.  Sometimes there are some very panicky thoughts:  Where is the money we need going to come from?  What will happen to this country if the liberals win?  Will my husband’s mother ever get better?  Are my kids going to be ok?  When will I be able to close the big sale?  How can we help all the people who come to us in need?  I have found the only way to stop these anxiety-ridden thoughts is to speak out loud and command them to stop.  Seriously.  I say aloud, “Devil, it may be true that I don’t have the answers right now, but God does.  Stop bothering me about it now, go talk to Him!”  Then I pray.  I mostly pray in the Spirit because I don’t always know how to pray, or for whom.  I also make the choice to think on all the troubles and situations God has brought me through before, and that helps me to know He is there helping me through the current batch!

Other times, there are some yucky thoughts spinning in my head:  Why do you procrastinate so much?  When are you ever going to lose some weight, fatso?  How can God love you when you screw up all the time?  You always blow it, when are you going to do it right?  Who do you think you are that anyone would want to read what you write?  You’re already 50, what have you accomplished in this life?  These thoughts are hard to silence and they bring a lot of shame.  I’ve learned that I have to take control over them immediately or else I will slip quickly into a pit of despair.  Again, to stop them I speak out loud, “Devil, in the name of Jesus, I command you to leave me alone.  My Dad loves me and thinks I’m swell, even if I am not perfect.  If you have a problem with me, go talk to Him about it!”   I start thinking on the scriptures that speak of giving our cares to the Lord and about how faithful He is to us.  Praying in the Spirit usually takes me back to sleep.

Some nights I know God has tapped me on the shoulder just to talk to me!  Those are the nights I ask Him, “OK Lord, who do you want me to pray for now?”  Usually, one specific person will come to mind and I will pray over that person; sometimes many people will be brought to my memory and I pray for them all.  Again, because I don’t always know what to pray, I pray in the Spirit.

I keep a notebook, pen and flashlight on my nightstand so I can write down things that come to me during these quiet hours.  Many times God will give me the title for an article, or the solution to a problem I am having, or someone He wants me to talk to, or even a new recipe I can create!  I have found that writing these things down lets me put them out of my mind for the time being, and brings clarity in the morning.  It is easy to forget if I don’t memorialize them.

The best part of not sleeping?  It reminds me that God does not sleep!  He is always on call, always at the ready, to commune with us.  Lately, I must say, I have been asking Him, “But, do we have to do it at 3 am?”  Yet, I know this season will pass.  But while it is here, I am grateful that He cares.