Camellia JaponicaThe Scripture reading brought to mind my grandmother, a mature Christian, asking Father God to please bring her into heaven by allowing her to see the second coming of Christ. She wanted to be like Elijah and walk into heaven.
Which brought up a discussion a long time ago with Grandmother about prayer requests – similar to Matthew 13:16-18 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
We pray with great faith and good intensions and God hears us. We prayed with great faith that our infant daughter Isabelle would be granted a complete healing. We prayed that if it wasn’t God’s will, she would be given great mercy and peace from the Lord God Almighty and not the some of the terrible predictions of months of suffering and pain given by some of the doctors.
I am a great fan of English history. Queen Katherine prayed, devotedly, for a son to please Henry VIII. Her concerns included her love for her husband, that he would ruin his faith by wrecking the holy church and committing adultery. She prayed for his soul, the spiritual leadership of his country, for her marriage & for her love to have a child. We know she prayed and was heard by God who loved her.
My long time ago talk with Grandmother included asking her if people prayed for centuries for Jesus Christ, to be born and to see Him in their lifetime, and were not answered with yes; why did she think about asking for the second coming to hurry up and happen to avoid death? She answered me that she understood time was in God’s hands. She wanted to be in God’s plan and path, but had a prayer request. I asked her she had an additional prayer request about her death. Grandmother wanted to drop to the ground like a Camellia. Grandmother was with us until she was 94, she was an interesting person & beautiful christian to the last. She was wearing her wedding band still after being widowed for over 50 years.
I expressed to my mother my great sadness I will not raise my daughter Isabelle on earth and would wait to see her in heaven. My scripture reading lead me to read in James 5: 7 to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord.
We will wait patiently for the Lord. We will work to walk in His plan and His path. We will work to remember with gratitude that Isabelle was asleep in the Lord when we received her. Camellias fall on the ground whole – they do not wither on the stem, but fall on the ground whole, where the gardener gathers them up. Our sweet little daughter was asleep gently in great peace. And our church family gathered to give her a baptism and seal her forever as Christ’s own. Our daughter was given eternity with God, who loves Isabelle so much.
In the "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, he makes a really great comment about our faith diminishing as we are embarrassed by our score card of our prayers not adding up to 100. And some people begin only to pray for "God's Will to be Done." We should always pray for God's will to be done, but God does answer our prayers. They always are an A+, we have to allow God's will to be the answer. There is always a dialog in prayer, not a dictation. The whole of Scripture is about man's journey to be changed by God and, in hope, the ask the hand of God to move in our favor. He hears us lovingly.
James 5
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
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1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
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