Prayer moves Mountains!

For Wednesday, April 13, 2022:

Matthew 21:22 NIV: Jesus speaking: “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Knowing that God is on our side gives us hope. God has promised to meet our needs, but not our wants! Don’t pray for anything absurd or ridiculous. Sometimes our prayers are answered in this life, and sometimes in the life after this life. But God hears our prayers, and know that they will be answered!

God’s answers can be “yes,” “no,” and “not just yet!” “Yes” is easy to understand. “No” might mean that your ideas don’t line up with God’s plans. “Not just yet” means your request is premature. God needs to set the stage before granting that request.

But Jesus promised that with enough faith, our prayers can move mountains!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

God is Listening!

For Saturday, August 1, 2020.

Psalm 10:17 CEV – “You, Lord, listen to the longings of those who suffer. You offer them hope, and you pay attention to their cries for help.”

Last night I taught about prayer, and prayer requires two parties. It works like this: We pray, and God listens! Sometimes God answers if the prayer requires an answer.

The answer can be yes or no. Sometimes God answers ‘yes,’ and that needs no explanation. Sometimes God answers ‘no’ because he can see into the future, and he knows it wouldn’t be good for us in the long run.

The most challenging for me is when God answers, “Good idea, but not just yet!” Even if our prayer is for a good thing, sometimes there’s still more work to be done. We might need to tell more people, build a team, acquire resources, find a different venue – a lot might need to change before God can bring our good idea to fruition. God’s timing may be different from our timing, and his ways are not our ways, but God’s ways are always right.

But the point of today’s message is that God is always listening. He has his ears tuned to your prayers, so go ahead – give it a try!

Blessings to everyone today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Wednesday, July 8

For Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

1 John 5:14-15 NLT: “We are confident that Jesus hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

There is a special bond between Jesus and those who know him as their Savior. The Good News is that our sins were wiped clean by the work Jesus did on the cross, so now we appear spotless. And without that burden of sin, we can now enjoy an extremely close relationship with the Son. Through our bond with Jesus, his will becomes our will. Jesus desires nothing but the best for us.

This scripture tells us to have confidence in prayer. There is good reason to pray if we can expect results. We should be specific. Prayer can be pointless if it doesn’t ask for anything. God cares about our entire life, and nothing is too small or too big to pray about. The most powerful prayers in the Bible understand the will and promises of God, and then ask Him to perform it.

Remember to pray, and blessings this week!

Pastor Norton

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Pray Continually

Oct. 14, 2019 Monday Message:

“Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV

Construction workers left our backyard gate open last Friday, and our little Boston Terrier Gracie went missing. This isn’t a good thing – Gracie is an indoor lap dog who has no business sleeping outside, and it was just starting to snow. She has a fur coat, but it’s not very thick. We posted on all the “lost dog” web pages, but no results, so she spent Friday and Saturday nights outdoors.

On Sunday morning I went to church while my wife stayed home to put up “lost dog’ posters. At church I told everyone what had happened, and before the service, as the Worship Team gathered in prayer, a few people prayed that Gracie would come home to us. In a way, it seems kind of silly. Shouldn’t we be praying for new Christians or World Peace or something of significance, not a lost dog? But I appreciated the kind thoughts, and have to admit that I too had prayed for Gracie’s return.

During our church service, the phone in my pocket vibrated – my wife texted that Gracie was home, safe and sound! As my wife finished with the lost dog posters, someone pulled up in front of our house and asked, “Is this your dog?” She wouldn’t come in, and refused the reward money. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not!

I later found out that our grandson Mason, who lives near Mexico City, prayed at breakfast that Gracie would come home to us. Which prayer worked? Perhaps ALL of them!

God has all the time in the world. He can answer big prayers, little prayers and even prayers about seemingly insignificant matters. God just wants you to talk to him – He desires a relationship with you - He wants to be included in your daily life. No detail is too small.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship meets next Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. We welcome the tour from New Hope Center. Guest Speaker Dan Pilla teaches Biblical financial freedom - Parable of the Talents.