Avoiding disappointment when calling on God for help
What a person must do to be counted among Christ’s chosen ones and, thus, have the right to call and pray to the Father in heaven.
By FELGEM EDWARD J. ELEVADO
WHEN GOING THROUGH hard times, it is natural for a person to ask for help from others-friends, family members, or powerful or influential persons-he thinks might be able to help him. While they might be able to extend some form of assistance, however, the help they can provide, as all people do, is limited. Moreover, there have been instances when people who asked help from their fellow human beings were met with disappointment.
If there is someone whom all should call for help especially in trying times, He is the Lord God Almighty (Gen. 35:11). But how can people expect not to be disappointed in praying to God, but, instead, receive what they pray for? Based on biblical teaching, they should have first the right to call to Him.
The ones who have the right to call
Who have the right to call to God? This was taught by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ:
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16 New King James Version)
Christ guaranteed that His chosen servants will receive the things they ask from the Father in heaven, which only shows that they are the ones who have the right to call to Him. Hence, it is important to belong to Christ’s chosen ones to have the right to pray to God.
However, to merely profess to be a Christian and have faith in Christ do not make one a chosen servant of God and of Christ. Apostle Peter described the chosen ones, thus:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (I Pet. 2:9 Amplified Bible)
God’s chosen people were called out of darkness and brought into His marvelous light. That marvelous light is in the kingdom of the Son into which they were brought and where redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sin, is found (Col. 1:12-14).
The ones whom Christ redeemed or purchased with His blood are the members of the Church Of Christ:
“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation)
Hence, for a person to be counted among Christ’s chosen ones and, thus, have the right to call and pray to the Father in heaven, he must first become a member of the Church Of Christ.
How they will not be disappointed
Besides the right to pray, it is important to have trust in God when calling on Him for help, as the Bible states, thus:
“LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.” (Ps. 84:12 New International Version)
So they will not be disappointed when they pray to Him. God’s chosen are advised to trust Him at all times:
“So always trust the LORD because he is forever our mighty rock.” (Isa. 26:4 Contemporary English Version)
Hence, the chosen ones should use their right to call on God, especially in times of difficulty. But they must trust in Him so He will listen to and grant their prayers.
Furthermore, Apostle James made clear that those who trust God do not doubt for them to surely receive whatever they ask from Him:
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1:6-8 NIV)
However, one cannot prove that he trusts God or that he does not doubt by simply thinking or saying so. A servant of God who truly trusts Him can be recognized by the way he lives:
“For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.” (II Cor. 5:7 AMP)
God’s servants who truly trust Him walk or live by faith. They do not lose their fervor in living in holiness and obeying His commandments. That is why even in times of crisis, such as the current one caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Church Of Christ members continue to conduct their worship services even in their respective homes, share the true faith to others by any appropriate means possible, and perform other duties of theirs as these are commandments of God.
Moreover, God’s chosen people ought not to disobey His will because the prayers of those who are evil are useless:
“They cry for help, but God doesn’t answer, for they are proud and evil. It is useless for them to cry out; Almighty God does not see or hear them.” (Job 35:12-13 Good News Bible)
God will certainly not listen to the supplications of those who are evil. That is why faithful members of the Church Of Christ strive to obey every commandment of God whatever their situation in life is so that when they cry out to Him in their time of need, He will bless them.
What they will receive
Those who will not be disappointed when they ask God for help are truly blessed because they will receive all that He has promised:
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” (Heb. 10:35-36 New Living Translation)
God’s true servants do not throw away their confident trust in Him whatever they encounter in life. They patiently endure the tribulations that they experience for them to continue to do His will. In this way, they will surely receive His promised guidance and protection in this life:
“The LORD guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him. If they fall, they will not stay down, because the LORD will help them up.” (Ps. 37:23-24 GNB)
With the worsening condition of the world today, we all need God’s help, guidance, and protection. In the Church Of Christ, one is assured of these because of his right to call to Him as His chosen one.
