From the FoxholeAnyone who has not tried it, may ask, "What does prayer feel like?" If you haven't taken the time to experiment with it, let me describe how it feels to me. Before one can feel God's presence, though, it is necessary to change one's heart (that is, think into it a determination to find Him, desire Him, and love Him, for there is often a large pile of irrelevant nonsense piled in front of the door of our hearts. This is the door that Christ is continually trying to reach us through, but often we don't answer His knock). When I pray, I sometimes feel a good, tingly feeling around the crown of my head. Sometimes I feel God's Spirit moving in my chest, as an assurance and a warm feeling. Sometimes tears course down my cheeks, as God seems to give me ultra-sensitivity to Him and His children. There are times when nothing is "felt" physically, but by faith and by past experiences, as well as answered prayer, I am assured of God's presence and forthcoming answers. Have you ever tried to talk to yourself? None of those feelings occur when we are just jabbering to ourselves. But put in a sincere word to the Father of all life, and a response, physical in nature, will eventually come. Why is that? It is verifiable, too, if you should wish to check it out. What is it like to be dependent upon one's own self for everything? It has been so long since I've experienced that, I can barely remember. What does one do when life gets so tough, we can't bear it any longer? Just kill one's self? Richard Dawkins said in his book that he doesn't believe he will exist after death, nor does he feel he existed before he was born (even as an idea in God's mind). Suicide does seem to be a rather simple way to handle our problems. But God's Word gives us a different answer…
Jer 1:5 Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I consecrated you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations. (MKJV)The above verse in Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, seems to be about someone else, not us, because we aren't necessarily going to be prophets to the nations. But we can make a statement about our lives from that verse. God knew us before we were born. Jesus, Lord God incarnate on earth, in the New Testament, says to come to Him and He will take on our heavy burdens. God does shoulder our problems for us, if we will depend on Him. He will lift our burdens and allow us to walk, free of them, while we merely pray steadfastly and purposefully, and trustfully for His resolution. He is more than happy to answer our prayers, as we storm heaven with them. Life is difficult and there may be times when we would like to do away with ourselves. With the atheistic belief system, it becomes morally easy to do so, for life is not sacred to the one with an atheistic mind-set. According to the godless belief, we have nothing to lose, because we just become nothing again, as non-existent as we were before we were born. Therefore, a suicide seems easy for the atheists to justify, and I suppose they feel those who love them will just have to "get over" the pain a suicide leaves in its wake. Christians, however, believe that once we are created, we are automatically committed to eternal life—one way or another. We believe that just as we have the ability to commit to something and stick to it, so, too, is this trait in God, who created us with qualities of Himself in us. Once He created us, He is committed to us, through thick and thin. As long as there is life in our bodies, we can choose to believe in Him, through His Son, Jesus Christ, just as He has believed us into existence (by His commitment to us which is obvious by the life, or "spark," He gives us.) Although we can choose to lose heart and toss our commitment to God away by killing ourselves, we cannot toss away His commitment to us, which is manifested as our life. From nothing (or dust) we came, but you can rest assured, to someplace, we will go. We journey through many hellish experiences, here on earth. That we will do this, there is no doubt. There is, however, a way to journey through our inevitable fires with peace and joy and that is by knowing and loving our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. The fires and torments will come to us, but we will be so committed to our Savior, we will be able to forgive all who are, like dragons before us, putting us in flames. Jesus lifts burdens and by our commitment to Him, by our allowing Him to be our Lord and run our lives, we walk with a much lighter step, with a deep, inner joy that spills forth, wherever we go. Since God is committed to us even before our creation, it seems that a commitment to Him would be in order. What happens after death will remain speculative to those who are alive. Neither the atheists nor the Christians can confirm beyond any shadow of doubt what happens at death—where that marvelous spark of life our bodies once exhibited, goes. And many fine Christians commit to Jesus just enough to obtain "fire insurance"—that is, they say they give their lives to Jesus, but they continue to dwell deeply in carnal activities. In the Word, Jesus says there will be many who call His name, but He won't know them.
Mat 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. (AMP)In this world, there is either full commitment to Jesus or no commitment. Logistically, it seems, we can rationally determine that we go through enough hell on earth to realize we do not want to go to hell after death. Of what value would that be? Even the secular humanist and atheist claim they have a desire to be "good." Why not choose Jesus Christ as Lord and allow Him to cleanse you of all your sins and walk, fully committed to goodness, as you walk this earth? Surely you are aware that, by your own strength, you fail at being "good" many times. Why not give your all to the Lord and let Him impart His strength to you, thereby giving you success at achieving what you truly desire (goodness) anyway? It can only be your pride that scoffs at the idea. Pride is "bad" when it causes a hard heart, so why not willingly drop that trait? Here is some excellent wisdom from God's Word:
Mat 23:12 Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor. (AMP)I understand the atheist doesn't believe in prayer, but I hope to show its value to all who currently believe in the "godless" way, before this book is completed. When anyone is in deep pain (emotional or physical), deep intercessory prayer is called for. The person experiencing the difficulty may not be able to pray for himself—so there should be prayer warriors who petition heaven for their relief. Atheism is painful, but the atheist has become numb to his pain. The atheist uses the world and all its minutiae as his anesthesia, and he refuses to come out of its sleep. Although I love all atheists (or sincerely want to—see the title of this book) and want to see them reach for Christ, my praying for them to do so with all of my heart, is not simply because I want to see them transformed to Christians. There is another reason that, in a godly way, is more self-centered. Christians need to pray hard for the atheists, because many of us are slumbering as well. In praying for the atheist's release, God will awaken us, too, and share His greater plan for us all. This is a ramification of Matthew 7:2, which says that God will do to us what we do to others. As I said, many Christians are trying to live a life of partial commitment, letting the cares of this life dictate how their time is consumed, rather than seeking God's daily will. God will help us get through any difficulty by way of prayer. I have seen that happen time and time again. There is no need for us to take control of things by committing suicide or by employing any other "take charge" or escapist act. It is best to pray unceasingly, humbly and sincerely, storming heaven for help. Do not miss this golden opportunity to know the Lord more deeply, if you are a Christian, and if you are an atheist, know Him for the first time. The atheist only has himself to depend on and cry to, but the Christian has God, and with a full commitment to Him in prayer (with no thought of the TV programs one might miss, or other temporal things that seem to beg for one's attention) the Christian (and the atheist willing to try this) will reach the throne of Jesus with prayers. God will provide the answer or comfort to the persistent petitioner. Do not give up on this. The Word says to knock and keep on knocking and you will be answered.
Luk 11:9 So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. (AMP)Test this truth and you will come to trust this truth!
Dear Father, please bless us all. You've shown us You love us by sending Your Son, Jesus Christ to earth to die for our sins. We want so to follow Him by loving those who are hard to love, or who are a pain to our sensibilities. Help the atheists of the world love us. Help us love them. Help the creationists love those who believe in "billions and billions" of years and help the evolutionists love those who believe it all began 6000 years ago. It actually all starts now—and without love, everyone is as a noisy gong. Thank you for your faithfulness in us. We love You, God, with all of our hearts. In Jesus mighty name we pray, amen.
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