Helenmm

God has created us and given us an abundance of time and energy to spend. We spend them on the things we love. Our greatest love is the Father who created us, His Son Jesus who redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit who lives in us and annoints our lives. Our Time and energy are spent appreciating this great fact, putting God in His rightful place on this earth. The worship of God gets the balance of things right I might as well go to school without a pencil (without which I could not function at all well) as run my life without the worship of God taking centre stage in my life. I might as well go to a concert with my earplugs in as live without the worship of God. In fact I might as well leave my food and die as not exalt the Lord my God, for I would be a dead man walking! My printer might as well go without its ink and my car without its petrol. My praise simply establishes the truth about God and me in my life. It sets the foundations right. It connects me with my source (like the landline for my phone). Jesus is the cornerstone of the foundation of the house of my life. Without the worship (in spirit and in truth) my house will tumble down in the first rain. God Himself cannot be moved or changed by our exaltation, but in exaltation we embrace Him and in His presence is Life, rejuvenation, breath, truth, glory, peace, blessing, love, joy, hope, honour, wisdom, strength ....................... True exaltation of Elohim changes us dramatically from a temporary misfit into an eternal child of God, one who knows wisdom, who feeds on the flesh and blood of Jesus and becomes like Him, projects us like and arrow of light into the darkness of this world and changes the world. The true exaltation of God says about us, "See how they love one another!"

Generally speaking, if we are delighted to meet someone we smile at them and engage in sociable conversations well before we get to the current reason for contacting them. I once taught a class in English as a second language about greeting people and inviting them to come in for coffee. I was amazed that they could not do this before they had asked after the health and well being of every member of the visitors family. It also delighted me that this tradition was theirs. It showed the deep level of concern they had for a guest. So it needs must be between us and God. Our prayers need to reflect our delight in God, in having access to Him through Jesus, in His mighty power and sweet presence. The pearl without price is the relationship He has made possible for us through Jesus, not the shopping list of things we canask for - although that is part of the deal. God actually longs for relationship with us. Isn't that amazing grace! We can bless Him with our love, even as He blesses us with His. Even my cat purrs when he is allowed to sit on my knee and receive loving attention. God is not less than His creatures, but more! The intensity of His response to our love is unimaginably exponential. He in His holiness is capable of so much more feeling that we in our sin, and of so much greater response to our worshiip and proclaimed esteem. He created us for love because He wanted to multiply love, and our love is joy to Him. It blesses Him. Prayers that don't include blessing God are like that blankfaced stare you might get from a policeman come to arrest you. I'm sure the hypocritical pharisees of Jesus day met him with those blank faces when they were abour to crucify Him. Poor Father, that prayers come like that to Him who so loved the world that He gave us His Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

David's heart was broken when he understood clearly that he had broken faith with God who had put so much faith in him. therefore the relationship they had was gone. Somehow he had to make amends and try to win restoration of that relationship that was essential to him, and imperative in his llife, actually meant more to him that anything in this world including his new wife and baby. Life would be meaningless without this relationship he was used to enjoying with his Creator. What could he do but demonstrate by his words and actions how important it was to him that this relationship be restored? Without it his llife would cease to have meaning and would be unbearable. The fault was his and his alone, and the work of repenting was up to him. None could do it for him. His wrongdoing rode very heavily on his heart and could cost him everything. He was witness to the fact that King Saul had the Lord's Spirit removed from him, and the madness that ensued. There was nothing he could do. It (his sin) could not be undone. The trust between him and God had gone. He had done what he knew perfectly well was offensive to his beloved Yahweh. He had no peace until the matter was mended. Realisation and acknowledgment of the part we play in our relationships with God and others is essential. Only Truth in relationships can build them strongly. This is a sacrifice because in this relationship that it possible to have with our Father in Heaven, we have to put our all on the altar just as he did (He put Jesus on the altar as his commitment to us). There is no half measure possible. However it is a sacrifice that anyone who understands God in His great love is only too keen to make. It is the pearl without price for which we will sell everything to acquire. Intimacy with God (and all the miracles that that involves) is the great pearl of the earth and nothing compares to it. Pride may create resistance in us, or ignorance. Either we do not want to acknowledge another as Lord and King, or we are in great ignorance of the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Is anything impossible with God? So it is possible to have a pure heart (in the instant) and even to maintain a pure, childlike heart. God gives us His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to be our consellor and teacher. Our growing love for Him will increasingly hate to offend His Pure and Holy Spirit of Truth, and be unable to stand the separation that comes with sin. Our part in this is to grow our love for God by spending time with Him daily, seeking Him constantly, asking for all that we need including wisdom, understanding, prophecy and spiritual gifts, feeding on His Word, praying without ceasing, worshipping and adoring Him, thanking Him for the Blood, appreciating everything He has provided for us, obeying everything He shows un in scripture, personally etc, jumping at opportunities to serve as He shows them, laughing with joy and sharing our faith at every chance we get. Above all we are to love one another and set ourselves up as each others servants, in obedience to His commandment.

David neither seeks to dramatise (maximise) his sins, nor to discount (minimise) them. To do so would be to re-offend the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. All sins will be forgiven, except those that offend the Holy Spirit. Reconciliation with God is a very fine line of Truth (the sword that divides between bone and marrow, the truth and the lie). This is why so few will actually enter the Kingdom. David is fully aware of the need to again become fine-tuned to the Holy Spirit (Yahweh). He cannot bear his own sin and the separation it has caused. It is the Truth that sets us free, and there is no freedom without it. Truth is undramatised, unwavering, unvarnished, ungarnished, eternal, holy, unchangeable, Life, Light. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. Let us not imagine that we can kid God! What foolishness that would be! Our God is longsuffering with us and waits eagerly,patiently until we get to the truth. But He will not wait forever. There comes a time of reckoning. But the angels in Heaven rejoice over one sinner that repents! How passionate is our God in the waiting!

Wow Pastor Ralph, your questions are testing! If you need something then you must believe it is possible to have it. Otherwise there is no value in pursuing the goal. If you need pardon, then you must have faith that that is possible and worth pursuing. Needing pardon means that a relationship has broken down and therefore you must believe that it can be renewed. This depends on the attitude of the One offended. Therefore you must have faith that that person will be willing to renegotiate the relationship in a way that over-rides the offence. Therefore a prayer for pardon demonstrates great faith in the other party to the offence, or in righteousness as such (if the other party does not wish to reconcile but remains offended). That faith is based on the other party actually also wanting to revive or restore the original relationship that has been broken. In David's case the offended party is Almighty God, who is known to be compassionate and full of mercy. This, however, does not lessen the horrendous nature of the sin. David's faith is based on much past experience and knowledge of God and His compassionate, forgiving nature. It is based in hope that his prayer willl be accepted. It is based in the truth about what has happened to cause the rift, and what that has cost the relationship. It is based on David's taking full responsibility for what has happened and not trying to pass it on (eg to the woman who "tempted" him. (Adam tried this is the Garden of Eden, but God said that he was responsible himself). Only Truth can set you free. A person can gain this faith the same way David did, by spending time getting to know God, developing that intimacy with God, applying God's word in life and seeing the results. David spent hours daily during his childhood, alone with God, singing praises to Him, appreciating Him, enjoying him. As a shepherd he probably delighted immensely in God's creation and desired relationship with the creator. He was nurtured on the stories of God's intervention with the people of Israel and he believed all he heard in his heart, acting upon it in his desire for God. He learned through trouble (the appearance of lions and bears among his flock) to depend on God's strength, and not to be frightened. He learned to get past the derision of his older brothers because his picture (assessment, self-esteem etc) of himself was not from them but from God. His picture of himself was also not based in his feelings (soul) but on the commandments and nurture of God. All this takes time. Time before the living God is the investment. It's the only way.

Abraham found that he had favour with God to make a request for his nephew Lot. This gave him courage to keep on until he was sure that enough righteous people could be found to save Sodom, and his own family. He did not perceive that God was seeing something else. God saw Abraham's heart to save his nephew from the fire of Sodom. He answered Abraham's heart, not his stated prayer to save the city for the few righteous. He didn't actually answer Abraham's prayer in the form that he prayed it, yet he fully answered that prayer and saved the righteous from death. But Abraham persisted in prayer until he felt that his nephew was safe. We too must persist in prayer until we have knowledge of God's answers. Then we can give Him the glory. Probably the best experience of praying through I have had was when I bought my home and recognised instantly when I'd found it. It was very peaceful - I felt utter peace! When I finally moved in and found that I had wonderful neighbours as well as the right house I knew that God was taking great care of me.

God was delighted with Abraham already. His hospitality to God and the two angels demonstrated his own delight in God, and the deep relationship between the two of them. Already Abraham had believed God s promise of a son within a year. Things were already strong and intimate between them. They loved one another, despite the differences in stature. Of all the people on the earth, Abraham delightd God because he was the only one with whom God could be intimate in relationship, who "knew" God. Abraham was well aware of the difference in stature, but also well aware of the nature of their friendship, and that God had told him what He was proposing to do because of that friendship. It was because Abraham was clinging to God by travelling with Him along the road to Sodom, that God, seeing the depth of Abrham's love, opened up to Him about the plan for Sodom. Our dear Father wants interactive relationship with His children, and He had it with Abraham, so He received Abraham's boldness with joy, because the request accorded with God's loving nature anyway. It was as if God wanted to see whether Abraham would remember his nephew in that dire situation, and Abraham passed the test, remembering and looking for his welfare. God is LOVE and loves to see love exhibited. I think Abraham won his heart evenmore! If I delight to find God as Abraham did, and my priorities welcome God as Abraham's did (because he set aside his whole attention for God on the day He visited), and God can see that I cling tohim as Abraham did (in prayer times and in seeking His presence in every way), then God's promise to me is that He hears my prayers, and whatsoever I ask, I have. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. God wants us to watch out for His chidren and intercede for them as Abraham did for Lot. His mercy is very generous. If our lives, like Abraham's are open to God's presence to the extent that our prayers for each other accord with His will, we too shall receive His grace.

Aabraham pleaded that, though the wicked deserved destruction, that there were some righteous in that city who did not deserve destruction, and that the city should be saved for their sakes. This argument assumes that God is fair and treats men according to their deeds - righteous or otherwise. It is based on Abraham's personal knowledge of God as a righteous God.

This is not a difficult question. God planned for an interactive relationship with His children because He longs for relationship with us. His values are totally immutable, but He is not unapproachable. The most immutable value of all is love which is an interactive value. Praise His holy and glorious Name! He does hear us and rejoices when we are "talking His language".

Jesus has taught us to pray to "Our Father......", including, among other things our requests . He demonstratd many times in His own relatinship with God that He could ask and receive anything, including deliverance from the terrible death that He had come to undergo. He said that God would send legions of angels if He asked for it, and indeed they did come to minister to Him in the garden of Gethsemane. I presume here that He was not lying! In other words His prayers did receive their needed response from His Father. We too, by grace, are able to change the path of things with our prayers to God. Yes, there will be a wonderful Christian family, raptured or raised from the dead, because this is what God has ordained from the beginning. But I can pray for people, that they should be included in this family, and know that Father hears and honours my prayers that accord with His will that "not one should perish". Obviously there are those who will perish, and whose fate is already sealed in that manner, even though it was not God's will. Yet His overall will to have a family in Heaven will be achieved, and there is no changing that. Therefore a belief that our prayers make no difference to God's response is a belief in a lie. It is simply not the Truth. It is inconsistent with scripture that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. The evidence is there many times over that God hears and answers prayers, eg when Peter was prayed out of prison. Afterthought: Perhaps God has made the world with a predetermined outcome, but He has also made us in His own image, so that we, like Him, have some individual and personal part in the determination of that ourcome. Our God is the most amazing! Please, somebody, comment on this thought! I'll look again at this forum tomorrow to see your comment. pps: God can use gutsy people, gutsy pray-ers.

Moses great appeal to God was to His mercy and love. He reminded God of the promises He had made to His people, to lead them to the promised land, and how the Egyptians knew of this and would witness God's inefficacy if that did not happen, and speak ill of Him. He prayed within God's stated purpose, to bring the people through to the new country. He longed to see God glorified as His plan was fulfilled. We too need to pray within God's stated will (scripture), for His glory, (reputation in the eyes of non-believers), stating our dependence on and trust in His mercy, submitting our interests before the interests of our community. Moses' prayer is all logically based on the above grounds. The promises of God are clearly stated in Scripture and there are many of them. Scripture is the work of the Holy Spirit, and as we state scripture we are connecting with the Holy Spirit, meaning that our prayers have His power behind them. These are the things we can legally ask for and expect God to respond positively. Even more, these are the things God wants to hear about when we come before Him, because they are the "bones" of Life. By praying the promises of God we are in alignment with His holy Spirit and He can respond. Outside of scripture we have no basis for approaching the throne of grace anyway! The Bible helps us get our prayers answered in every possible way. It shows us what pleases God and how we may approach Him, even giving us the very words we may use. The better we know it the better we canuse His Word in our prayers, and the more we'll prosper. Praying scripture ensures that we are in line with God's word and that He will hear us.

The people had made the golden calf, to worship it. The people were declaring that the golden calf which they had just made had brought them out of Egypt. This was impossibly out of line with truth - or sense for that matter. God had shown Himself in signs and wonders to the people of Israel, and had personally oversighted their deliverance out of Egypt. Anger was the appropriate emotional recognition of this injustice. God's response to destroy Israel and raise a new nation through Moses was entirely justified. It is His creation and He can do what He likes with it, including destroy it if it doesn't please Him

We continually sin. Therefore we should continually ask forgiveness. We are made in the image of God who forgives. It is His nature and part of our new nature. In effect, not to forgive is to deny God - as is not to love, not to believe. All of these cause a division between us and God that is final, short of our real repentance and return to obedience. God is unable to bless us in this mode because we have blocked His nature in us. Seeing tht unforgiveness causes an indissolvable barrier between us and God, there is no way that we can receive His forgiveness.

1. I think we have a fear of being let down by those of whom we ask help. We feel emotionally safer if we can take care of everything ourselves. In Australia we have traditionally learned independence from early days, and it's a hard habit to break. However, scripture teaches us to take care of one another. Other cultures do this to a much greater degree. A Greek friend of mine said his uncle would be enraged if he werenot asked to help with the building of a new shed. He would feel leftout of family affairs. I love this idea of family among Christians and long to see it operating - or rather I get excited when I do see it operating. We were never intended to live separate lives, but to love one another, and to be loved. 2. Seeking independence of God is partly a cultural thing and largely rebellion and witchcraft. Father is our creator and sustainer, and has given us the ability prosper within His creation. Independence of Him is a ridiculously impossible thought. Rather let us embrace the relationshp He longs to have with us, His creation, through the saving blood of His Son, Yeshua. He calls us "friend" as He called Abraham. Oh yes Lord, I never want to be separated from You, neither do I have to be. I never have to be alone or without resources (for everything is Father's). I praise and worship You from the bottom of my heart, and cry out for your love. Your love satisfies the longings of my tender heart. 3.Yes, Father has given us all the resourcefulness we need to prosper and satisfy our needs and the needs of less fortunate people (who are included in the "us"). He has a much larger vision of life than we tend to have, but we can reach up to Him and gain a greater vision of our function in life. Life is not all about "me". It is about "us". Yes, we are individuals and have personal needs, which our Father is able to meet. And then there is everybody else who is also part of me, especially within the household of faith, whose needs are every bit as important as mine. Let me not be selfish, but think in terms of the great "us", and get my mind operating in a greater sphere, more like the Father's. As Donnakds said, Solomon asked for wisdom. He needed it to take care of the whole Jewish nation. His request complied wonderfully with the instruction to ask God "Give US this day our daily bread". No wonder God loved him! All th blessings he poured out on Solomon blessed the whole Jewish nation, because Solomon was an "us" thinker!

We are asking that God's Kingdom come in every sense, first in the Jehovah Shammam sense of His ever abiding presence with us, His people, (including His first place in our hearts), and second in the glorious sense of the second coming of Jesus soon, when He will rule the earth with a rod of iron and all will be put right. The earth was planned and created by the Father for the Father with His Word. It is only in order when the Father's will is being adhered to - otherwise total chaos takes over. We know His love and live daily in His presence, longing for His return in the fulness of time.His will is magnificent to us in every respect, for it manifests His love towards His creation. We know that if His will is complete here on earth, sin will be gone, sickness will be absent, all will be very well with each person. Under His banner of Love and Justice, everyone will flourish. Our living should point the way to this eventuality by Godly living, obedience and care for others as He has cared for us.

Everything in our lives that is holy hallows the Father's Name. This is because other people are constantly watching us to see if we are holy, seeing that we talk so much about God! Everything that smirks of compromise, loss of integrity or purity, or lacks kindness, thoughtfulness and love is a blot on God's holy Name, again because people are watching to see what God's people do. They are longing to see true love in operation because they long for that in their lives. God is love, and anything short of that in us damages His holy Name. When we begin to pray we need first of all to recognise the position and status of the one to whom we pray. Queen Esther did this when she meekly approached her king/husband with a beautifully prepared dinner. She had a request of him, and it was important to re=establlish relations with him seeing that he had not called her for over a month. Our God never leaves us for this or any other amount of time. However, we need to be well aware of His high position with regard to us. This usually takes the form of praise and thanksgiving, various forms of appreciation of His Person and who He is in relation to us. We are in effect setting the stage correctly. Queen Esther prepared her person and body beautifully before approaching her king. So we need to prepare ourselves in holiness and righteousness before our God - for He cannot otherwise respond to our prayers, yet He says "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (He Himself being our righteousness through the blood). All this while at the same time knowing Him intimately as Father. He is the Father we both fear and love! All this takes time, so we need to set apart the requiredtime so that we are not hurrying through, but cherishing each moment spent with Him.

"According to His riches in glory" can be thought of in two ways. Certainly there is no limit to God's riches in the Heavenlies, from which He can supply our need. But I believe we also have a share in this promise, and that is to give him glory in the conduct of our lives. This involves sharing with the poor, making the sweet sacrifices of love that truly please our Father, contributing to mission with a generous heart, making time for the needy person, inviting for hospitality those who cannot return the favour, etc. The more we do these things the more God's providence will bless us. God has given dominion to us from the beginning. He has redeemed dominion for us through His blood (Adam gave it away to satan). We, by obedience or by disobedience, create the parameters of our lives and limit of open God's blessings upon us. God does not llimit the possibilities. He gave us His own Son, will He not with Him freely give us all things? We limit God. But we don't have to. The more we make acceptable sacrifices to God, the more we see the abundance of his providential blessing. The more we give Him glory in the true sense, the more His blessings rain down on us. The promise to me means that there is every resource in Heaven needed for me. All I have to concern myself with is being about my Father's business, and all my needs will be met. This includes the ability to be content in all circumstances, whether in wealth or in poverty, because I can do all things in Christ Jesus who strengthens me.

Nothing that we do is un-noticed by Father, be it good or evil. Everything is observed and added into our account book. If we repent of sin it is wiped out of the book, praise God!. This leaves only the credits.Generousity is high on the list of what God approves, and evidences of it are written down immediately. Father is generous to the ultimate, and loves to see His children imitating this. I think there are spiritual laws exactly as there are repeatable physical laws of science. The spiritual laws are explained in the Bible for our benefit. If we, in obedience, fulfil the commandments of our God, loving one another with skill and care and loving Him, we'll flourish in very many ways - in the spiritual and also in the physical, because we are obeying laws that were set up like the physical laws in the very beginning of time. What we sow is what we'll reap. Sow generousity and reap generousity, sow love, reap love, what comes around goes around, let's get excited and sow generously - we are laying the foundations of our future. The Bible says "my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory" If we are willing to give hIm glory in terms of offerings of generous love, He will meet our needs in like manner. He has indeed made us creative beings llike god. We create a life and we reap the same life. His riches in glory are our love for Him. This is what He values most. Our love is expressed in our obedience to Him. When we give Him riches in glory we reap His wonderful response.

Paul's conentment does not depend on his level of luxury.He is content in all situations. His contentment is to do God's work wherever he is, to preach the Gospel and to speak truth to men. His contentment is in his fellowship with God, even if the world punishes him for it. It undermines earthly ambition, if such is present, because they are not compatible. But His ambition to see the gospel preached is ever present and ever alive. His work and his contentment go together - are part of his relationship with Jesus. To achieve this kind of contentment one has to see with God's eyes, put aside the importance of the things of this world, value only the Kingdom of Heaven, and the word of God to show the way.

The basis of Paul's contentment is that whatever circumstances throw at him (including whippings, stonings, shipwrecks...and even periods of luxury) can be dealt with in the strength of Christ. It is not the circumstance that rules, but Christ! His contentment never interfered with His ambitions, which were to follow the directions of the Holy Spirit. He did not seek contentment as such, he just had it! (Learned it!). It was part of his kit! To achieve this kind of contentment we have to have our focus on Jesus and not on ourselves. Our love and life must revolve around His work. We have to be entirely other-focussed. The carnal nature has to be deleted (crucified) so that to live is Christ. We need to be thankful in all situations and give voice to that thanks. We have to be in the mode of pressing on toward the high calling of God, with our treasure in Heaven and a total servant attitude. We need to have the eagle vision of the sons of God in the way we see things - not the eyes of the earthling.

God gives us the ability to prosper. He also gives us the ability to be in want as Paul describes - "I can do all things in Christ Jesus". This "all things" relates to managing in whatever condition we find ourselves while doing God's work. It's a bit different from what prosperity teaching delivers. Some Christians are to prosper and supply the need of the churches. All of us are to tithe and make offerings according to God's Spirit. Whatever we do, we are to do it joyfully. We certainly are to expect the unexpected from God and He is our supplier. We are also to keep in mind those who have so much less than we have, and to give to them. I feel it is good to prefer others before ourselves and pray for them. In so doing, Father will look after our needs. He has done this with me marvellously. As a pensioner I have need of a car, and Father has put it on the heart of one of His men to do all my services and repairs free of charge for his time! Imagine that! I stand amazed at His answers to my prayers of need. The prosperity doctrine can suggest to people that the church is all about money. People can feel ill-at-ease if they have not "prospered" as expected. There are those who are called to forgo careers which would be financially rewarding for the gospel's sake, and go far away to minister. We have great responsibilities to these people as a prosperous church. Of those to whom much is given, much is expected! This is my summary of prosperity teaching. Jesus did teach on financial issues, mostly that people should "give unto Caesar...." (ie respect authority which God has put in place). He also noted beautiful gifts and pointed out the motivation behind them - eg the woman who gave her last coins, and Mary who gave the expensive oil against His burial). These are the motivations He wishes to see. So I do wonder about teachings on giving that emphasise the returns. I don't find many examples of that in Scripture. Did Mary get back 10 times the oil she poured on Jesus feet? Did the widow get back 100 fold on the coins she put in the temple offering. It is not demonstrated that they did. Did they have that in mind? I don't think so. I do think generousity teaching is in order, but I question prosperity teaching. The rich are responsible for improving the lot of the poor. Giving is to be a joyfully generous response of love, either to need or to a ministry. Money is for putting to good use (good stewardship) and tithing is expected of everyone as a first base offering. Requests are to be made known to God. Wealth is a blessing to be enjoyed and shared, and poverty is no virtue! Proper giving in finance draws the open windows of Heaven upon the giver.

God gave us choice which He doesn't remove from us. With choice comes responsibility, accountability, and consequence.Choice operates out of the mind. Originally God told Adam "Don't eat of the Tree...." He expected Adam's will to be functional on his order. Adam is conscious of his choices. This consciousness resides, with his will, in his mind so that he knowingly takes decisions. He has to have control of his mind in order to obey God. We have to have control of our mind or take back control of it in order to make good decisions. Success lies mostly in good decisions. Therefore we need CONTROL of our own minds to be successful. If we are not in control of our minds, then who is? - and that's a frightening question! The same logic applies for mental and spiritual peace. We have controll of our mind, then seeing that we trust God above ourselves or anything/one else, we submit our minds deliberately and consciously to His Word, and there find our spiritual peace. Instead of my anxieties I focus on the needs of other people. There is always someone who needs my attention. This enables me to see that I share an earthly footpath with other sufferes. A sense of community envelopes me together with a sense of Christ. I count my blessings, which I think is one of the great secrets of a sensitive life, pray for others and seek to serve them. Most of all I give thanks for all sorts of things, some of which must make God laugh. At the end of the day it is good to give my anxieties to Father - He has bigger shoulders than I have, and it's such a relief. I can't take responsibility for everything on this earth, but Father truly can! I like to let Him! It all works out pretty well as long as I stick to the game plan.

Making requests is part of a relationship with a father. Sometimes the father says "no", sometimes "wait" (until Christmas!), sometimes, "yes, we'll do that". If it's a good father he will also give understanding about these various answers and build patience and obedience in the child, thus maturing him into a wise man. Relationship and wisdom go very much together, building the power of partnership. This is what Father offers us. How blessed we are! Father has all wisdom, knowledge and Truth. As we come to Him with needs/requests, he builds into us these qualities and makes men and women of us who light the world. In the promise of peace God provides EVERYTHING. All we have to do is believe Him and lock into it with our obedient trust! God gave us a will. He has never removed it. It's a healthy feature of our humanity. He expects us to use it to constantly trust and obey. Then we'll see the glory of God in everything.

The thanksgiving turns our hearts to confidence in the Father who has, many times, heard and answered our prayers. The thanksgiving brings in joy and peace about the situation that concerns us, for our Father is in all things, knowing, loving, and we are applying His Word which will not return to Him void. As above, thanksgiving concerns the times Father has responded to us as His children. He is good, and we know it. Thanksgiving opens our hearts to all the Father has done and is doing in this world of ours. It is powerful in giving us understanding and knowledge of the Almighty. Our intimacy with Him is confirmed in thanksgiving (as indeed it is with any friend whom we appreciate). Thanksgiving and intimacy are not separable. Intimacy cannot exist without thanksgiving (appreciation). Thanksgiving is the key to everything inthe Kingdom of Heaven, and to all our relationships on earth. The first thing we teach our children is "Ta", the abbreviation for thank you. It is the first commonality of relationship. Thanksgiving is the builder of all relationships. Relationship does not exist without appreciation. Thanksgiving builds intimacy, and intimacy with God builds trust, giving us confidence in the God we know.