Matthew 21:22 - "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"

These words were in my mind every time I was awake during the night...

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
    “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Yes! His faithfulness is what gets me through every day. The love He shows me through His faithfulness is overwhelming at times. It is so great to know no matter what happens in this world He is faithful. People may fail me but God never does. He knows all. What I have to do is live by faith in allowing Him to have control of my life so His will is what I walk in. The last verse goes...

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Wow, God! Peace is realized in His presence. I often say that does not mean God will take away whatever we are going through. It means He will empower us with the Holy Spirit to walk through tough times in the manner He desires. His strength will be our strength. Yesterday I was praying with an older lady with dementia issues. I prayed for God to give her physical and mental strength. I did not even think about how I was praying, I just was allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through me. After I finished, she made a comment that she sure does need mental strength. She chuckled and I told her I pray the same for myself every day. I blame my cognitive issues due on MS but I also know life can become so crazy busy that we forget things or say the wrong thing. I have come to realize that's OK. But I also have come to realize I need to pray for my whole being when I pray. I need to pray for my physical, mental, emotional, financial, and most of all my spiritual being. I remember dear Lenore praying like this only she also prayed for people 'professionally' who were in the workplace. Oh how I miss that dear lady. I was thinking the other day about her when Doc used her favorite scripture in his sermon. Matthew 21:22 tells us we need to believe and then our prayers will be answered. How can that be? It is only through His faithfulness. Are they answered in the manner we desire? Not unless we are praying for His will. Are they answered in the timing we desire? Not necessarily but they are always answered. Oh how Lenore believed and lived that out. I think about the story of the fig tree in which Jesus told us this way of living. The fig tree was cursed by Jesus when it did not have any fruit for Him to eat. This tells us, as believers, we need to have fruit from our lives. If we do not have fruit showing from our lives, we are not living as He desires. Our soul will wither away without fruit. We will become dead in our spirit if we are not sharing Christ with others. We need to be alive. We need to show others His love and faithfulness. We cannot mope around being crabby butts if we want people to come into relationship with Him. Instead we need to be joyful and loving with His love. It will be then we will realize His love and faithfulness to a greater degree. He will bless us more as we are faithful. His love will show through us more as we depend upon His strength to get through the tough days. He will give "bright hope for tomorrow" as we draw deeper in our faith and trust Him with our whole being.c
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for Your faithfulness! Thank You for the way You encourage me so greatly! Thank You for the promise of "bright hope for tomorrow" with situations that seem hopeless! Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. Empower me to be who You desire of me throughout this day. I pray You will not allow any opportunity to go by me today that I do not seize. Lord, this morning as I thought about my dear prayer partner Lenore I thought of her family. I pray they have or will get into relationship with You. Her family was such a burden on her heart. Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, I pray they will feel a tug on their heart. I know they knew how she prayed for them. Even though she has already left this earth, may her prayers finally be answered for their souls. Thank You Father for being My Faithfulness. Amen.