Study in Prayer - January 31 - Your Giving Get's God's Attention

Scripture of the Day:   

Acts 10:4

“Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”

Your Giving Captures God’s Attention

Cornelius had been praying. Scripture tells us he was a believer in the God of the Hebrews. He was doing his best to help the Jewish nation and the people he was in charge of.

As a Centurion, he had control, militarily, over that region.

But, he was also a person who believed in prayer. And he was praying to the God of Heaven. Amen!

As part of his prayer life, he would give financially to the support of the local synagogue. And he was not a cheap giver either. He wasn’t just giving a pocket full of quarters in the Salvation Army bucket at Christmas time.

No, he was KNOWN for being a giver. That is why, later, when the people he had sent to get Peter to come back to his home, they testified to his Faith and how much money and support he had already provided to the Jews. They were saying, basically, “This guy is for real.”

But here, I want you to notice, the angel said, “Your PRAYERS have come up as a memorial before God.” (Yes, I know, I misquoted – but stick with me here, I’m making a point).

Cornelius was a praying man. This is what God’s attention. Does God ONLY hear the prayers of the righteous? No. He hears everyone’s prayers!

“Wait a minute Brother Bob, God hears everyone’s prayers?”  YES – absolutely!

He heard your prayer when you prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior, didn’t He?  

“Well, yes. Of course.” 

Well, before you prayed that prayer; before you received Jesus as your Savior, were you righteous or unrighteous?  Were you still in your sin when you prayed to God? Of course!

So that is proof, right there, as well as other scriptures, that says God hears the prayers of the righteous and the unrighteous.

So, first and foremost, Cornelius was a man of prayer. THAT is what caught God’s attention.

But, Cornelius went one step further than simply praying. He put money where his mouth was, so to speak.

He became such a giver, that his GIVING also caught God’s attention. 

There is a difference between someone who prays because they know they need to pray – and someone who prays and then GIVES SACRIFICIALLY because of the prayers. In addition to the prayers. Who puts FAITH to work by sowing sacrificially into the works of God. Amen!

If you want to get God’s attention, it really requires you to do THREE THINGS.

“Three things, brother Bob? I thought you were talking about prayer and giving here?”

YES…but what needs to come first, as I’ve been teaching for about a month now on this program, is this…

You need to spend time in God’s WORD on a daily basis. For yourself! Not relying on someone else to read the Word for you and tell you what it say (hello! Like so many of you do when you fail to read the Bible or even take the Bible with you to church and only rely on your pastor to tell you what it says… Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good!)

When you spend time with God – IN HIS WORD – and then spend time TALKING TO GOD in prayer and then you back up all of that with sacrificial FINANCIAL GIVING – with your prayers over the seed you are sowing – you can’t help but GET GOD’s ATTENTION! 

Amen!  

And we see that is what happened right here with Cornelius. 

What was the result?  The first gentile convert to Christianity! Praise God!

And it did not just bless Cornelius and him alone. It says his “whole house, family, friends and servants” were Baptized in the Holy Spirit. AMEN!

The study of the Word of God doesn’t only impact you…

Praying on a continuous, daily – all-day long basis, doesn’t impact only you…

Giving, financially and sacrificially to God’s work – doesn’t impact only you…

IT IMPACTS OTHERS ALL AROUND YOU! 

So, what do you need to do today?

I’m so glad you asked..

First – Get out your Bible on a daily basis and read at least one chapter per day. Preferably read for at least 15-20 minutes each day. That may be one chapter (if it’s a long one) or it may three or four chapters. But you need to be in the Bible each and every day.

Next, PRAY. We’ve been teaching all month on praying on a continuous basis, all day long, about the little things in life as well as the big things.  

Finally, GIVE into the Kingdom of God. Amen! 

I’m not saying you have to give to our ministry. It would be nice and it would be appreciated to help us to continue to GET THE WORD OUT, but just GIVE to the Kingdom of God. Amen

If you would like to sow into our ministry, you can go to FTFM.org and use the donate tab. 

Or EvangelismRadio.com and the giving tab is right there...

But, the point I’m trying to leave you with is this.  Study the Bible, Pray daily and continually, and GIVE. 

When you do those three things consistently – you WILL get God’s attention and bring HIS BLESSING into your life.

Amen!

Until next time, this is Pastor Bob Thibodeau reminding you from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 in the Living Bible to “Always Keep on Praying!”  Be blessed in all that you do!

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You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2