There Ain't No Limit!

Posted on March 28, 2015by 
I am always hearing preachers guarantee that our prayers are important. They will shout, “Our God answers every prayer we offer!” I love thinking about that. Our God, our Father, loves to hear our prayers and yes, He will indeed answer our prayers. I believe it is even better than that!  Not only does he answer our prayers, He over-answers our prayers!
Oh I know, you think I am just being cute when I say that. But if you turn over to the fourteenth chapter of Hosea’s book, you will something pretty cool:
O Israel, return to the Lord, your God, for you have been crushed by your sins. 2 Bring your petition. Come to the Lord and say, “O Lord, take away our sins; be gracious to us and receive us, and we will offer you the sacrifice of praise. 3 Assyria cannot save us, nor can our strength in battle; never again will we call the idols we have made ‘our gods’; for in you alone, O Lord, the fatherless find mercy” (Hosea 14:1-3)
I love the way Peterson renders those verses in The Message:
O Israel, come back! Return to your God! You’re down but you’re not out.Prepare your confession and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin, accept our confession. Receive as restitution our repentant prayers.
Assyria won’t save us; horses won’t get us where we want to go.
We will never again say ‘our god’ to something we’ve made or made up.
You are our last hope. Is it not true that in you the orphan finds mercy?” (Hosea 14:1-3)
Wow! I think a great way to sum all that up is to say, “You are backslidden, but you are still God’s people. Just humble yourself and return to your Father.”
Isn’t that Israel’s prayer? All they were asking was for their God to take away their sin and receive them through His Grace. “Lord, have mercy! Cleanse us and receive us back into Your grace.”
Amazingly, not only did Yahweh cleanse them and receive them back graciously, He also added blessings beyond their imagination!
“I will cure them of their unfaithfulness. I will love them freely. I will no longer be angry with them. I will be like dew to the people of Israel.
They will blossom like flowers. They will be firmly rooted like cedars from Lebanon. They will be like growing branches. They will be beautiful like olive trees. They will be fragrant like cedars from Lebanon.
They will live again in God’s shadow. They will grow like grain. They will blossom like grapevines. They will be as famous as the wines from Lebanon. (Hosea 14:4-7).
Wow! Now that sounds exciting! In the fifth verse, where it says, “I will be like dew,” it is actually referring to the very presence of the Lord. You have to realize that up to this point, everything was dying because an extensive period of drought because Yahweh’s favor had been removed. But because of their true and sincere repentance, as well as a heartfelt prayer, their God reached out to them and said that He would cause life to “spring up on all sides.” Not only would he forgive Israel, but He would restore them to being His prized possessions! They would become well-rooted, spread out, and prosper!
Here all they were asking for was mercy, forgiveness and acceptance. And, the Lord opened the windows of heaven and poured on them blessings they didn’t even dare to even hope for! That’s why I say He didn’t merely answer their prayers, He over-answered their prayers! It would be like my son coming to me and asking for a couple of bucks to buy a burger, and I go and purchase the whole restaurant! (Wouldn’t that be cool!)
Friends, our Father has done the same for us! When turned toward Him and repented, all we were asking Him for was a clean heart, forgiveness and peace. Even if He had done that, our lives would have been complete! But He didn’t stop there! Just take a look at how He has over-answered us:
He gave us hearts that hunger for Him — a thirst for more of Him! Jesus said, “This is eternal life means: to know and perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand His Father, the only true and real God! Our Father has given us this. He has protected us from a raging, mad devil and flooded our souls with hope, joy and gladness! Hearts that can celebrate the Life He has imparted to us!
We simply asked to be saved and cleansed, but our Father has poured out blessing on blessing to us! He went way beyond what we have asked for, He has no limit to the gifts He has poured into our spirits!
Nickolas
(I send out messages like this each morning in emails, and if you are interested in receiving them, send me your email address and I will add you to the list: Mail List)
With these Morning Messages, I take you on guided tours to, as Bunyan described, the Celestial City. At times we linger at corners familiar and unseen. And explore the depths of our faith along the way.
The trail is long, but there’s no hurry. Though we do need to stock up on supplies for the way, and that’s where I need your help. If you enjoy these messages, please consider becoming a contributing member of this tour group. It will be very much appreciated.
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