Psalm 116:2

Psalm 116:2
Because he bends down to listen,I will pray as long as I have breath!

Have you ever had those times when it seemed like praying must be such a burden to God and you wondered if He really even hears you? Sometimes when we pray the circumstances needed to be in place to answer the prayer take a while to fit together and we don't hear from Him a yes or a no...it's those times when this verse comes to mind. Those times when we wonder if He really hears us. This verse tells us that we NEED to keep praying! Keep talking to "the Father" as a friend of mine calls our incredible God. He hears us! I love the action...not only does he turn an ear toward us and hear in His omnipotent power, but He bends down to listen! What a glorious and amazing God He is! Put it to practice...He's bending down; He's listening; start talking!

Hebrews 12:3

"Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" Hebrews 12:3

If you hadn't noticed (who couldn't) Christmas is on it's way! What a season of hope and anticipation this Advent time brings to the world. People who wouldn't normally give Jesus Christ a second thought shout out, "Merry Christmas" and plan to attend church...because that's what you're supposed to do on Christmas, right?

However, as Christians we know that on this side of the story, the baby we are celebrating came to bring more than hope. He came to save us. We look at the manger and see a cross. We see the hay and we see the road that lead to our celebration... knowing that baby would be ridiculed, persecuted, lied about, falsely accused, rejected and scorned because of what He professed to believe and be. It sounds familiar, doesn't it? There are days when being a Christian is just plain lonely. However, in this verse we have our main reason for continuing on...He took all of it so we could know the strength available to us and keep on keeping on. We may be alone in our stand here on earth, but our party's waiting...