How Can We Live our Lives and Be True to God?

How Can We Live our Lives and Be True to God?

by T. L. Wiens

 

I was approached by a young man who was in great distress. He’d prayed and prayed for a friend but nothing changed. I asked a few questions and soon had a more complete picture of the situation. He was sleeping with this friend who also happened to be married. His prayer—she’d leave her husband and choose him.

I know the young man was well intentioned or at least justified his choices in his mind.

But you can’t expect God to honour your prayers
when you refuse to respect Him.

Look at:

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, KJV).

Thankfully, this young man realized he was in sin and broke up with this lady. Now, he has a mountain of guilt to overcome.

Sadly, few Christians read the Bible and take its instruction to heart. My sister left her husband and moved in with another man. We talked and then she sent me a long letter justifying herself with the Bible. I love my sister and knew I had to be obedient to God’s word to show that love.

Scripture explains how to handle a situation of this nature. In verse 11 it says:

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat (1 Corinthians 5:11, KJV).

I took that verse along with the rest of the chapter and applied it. I was accused by many followers of Christ of being mean and hateful. I showed them this passage again and again but they leaned on their own understanding—a loving God would never do this.

For several years, I didn’t talk to my sister and lived with the condemnation of friends and family for this action.

Then, I got a letter from my sister. She thanked me for truly loving her. The man was out of her life and she was rebuilding her relationship with Christ. She also wrote about realizing how many of those around her couldn’t possibly have loved her.

She’d read:

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments (1 John 5:2, KJV).

When prayers seem to fall on deaf ears, I don’t blame God. I search my life and usually it doesn’t take long to find the break in the line of communication.

Tweetable:

You can’t expect God to honour your prayers when you don’t respect Him. (tweet this)

 

Tammy Wiens

Tammy lives in Saskatchewan with her husband. They have four children. She enjoys gardening, walks along the beach and being on the farm. She has a passion for her faith, studying the Bible and prayer.

She has published two books; Where a Little Rain Comes Down and Making the Bitter Sweet. A short story, “May’s First Christmas” appeared in Christmas Chaos, a collection of stories about Christmas experiences that don’t make the fronts of Christmas cards. “Careful What You Whisper” is another short story about Tammy’s experiences after breaking her back. It can be found in A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider. Visit T. L. Wiens for more information about Tammy’s books and workshops.