Expert: Marilyn - 4/20/2007

Question
my life is so unblanced can't keep familey together future uncertain I am unhappy and I always mess everything up

Answer
Hello Rebecca;

If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then there is help for you from God.

1)     You cannot change anyone but yourself.  However, changing yourself can be powerful because it changes the dynamics between you and others.  

(My first husband was killed asleep at the wheel.) When my second husband started coming in at 4 in the morning, I thought I had every right to throw a fit.  I thought he should be home at a decent hour, play with the kids, get some sleep and be ready for work instead of sleeping in and missing work!  Well, yeah, that’s true, but when I threw a fit all I did was give him an excuse for being a rat.  He’d say to himself, “Who wants to go home to that witch?”  Once God showed me what I was doing wasn’t working, it took all my self-control and a lot of prayer, but I stopped throwing fits when he came in late and suddenly he didn’t have an excuse anymore.  I had to realize I couldn’t change him; I could only change myself.  

2)     Change your expectations.  Instead of expecting my husband to come home at a decent hour, I decided I might as well expect him at 4 a.m.  At first, I lay awake and pretended to sleep, but soon I learned to just go to sleep.  I finally realized it was dumb of me to lie awake waiting, it exhausted me and made my day go bad.  I finally realized, why should I ruin my day because he’s ruining his?  Your husband doesn’t pick up his socks, well, if it bothers you, you pick them up, but don’t expect him to do it.  Your husband sits around getting drunk.  Let him.  He’s a grown man, he can make his own decisions.  Your brother talks constantly. Be polite, try to listen for a reasonable amount of time, but don’t expect him to quit.  Your idea may be that he shouldn’t go on endlessly about video games, but to him they’re the most important things in the world.  Change your expectations.  He’s going to talk about them, don’t expect him to quit.  You might say, “You know, I’d like to keep listening, but right now I have homework.”  And just do your best to focus on your homework, even if you’re not actually getting anywhere with it.  Eventually, he’ll get the idea that you’re not listening and hush.

3)     Pray about everything.  Obviously, it wasn’t good for my second husband to be out until 4 a.m. looking at hookers, smoking pot and doing speed.  Obviously, it’s not good if your husband sits around getting drunk, or whatever it is he does.  Obviously, your brother needs to get a life!  But you’re not the person who can change him, only God can!  Start praying for your loved ones whose lives are a mess and who irritate and disappoint you.  Ask God to do His will in their lives.  Ask Him to transform them into His Image.

4)     LET GOD WORRY, you don’t worry about anything.  If you have to ask Him every ten seconds to deal with your relatives or whatever else it is you worry about, then do it, but try not to worry about those things yourself.  Worrying about things is God’s job, not yours!  If worry is a problem for you, it will take persistent training to quit.  Keep at it, keep casting the care of things on the Lord—don’t you carry it!

There’s a mentality that somehow a person who worries is more loving or more concerned for others, it’s lie.  Worry doesn’t change a thing, it only ruins your day.  Work on quitting.  Keep casting everything on the Lord.  

“Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6 & 7.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you,” I Peter 5:7.

Jesus said, “...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father know that you need them.  BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL..  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own,” Matthew 6:25-34.  

Note:  Jesus said “seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness,” that’s a principle you need to remember.  Put God first and everything else will fall into place.

5)     “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart,” Psalm 37:4.

6)     Pray for something God can do.  This is one facet of prayer that many Christians don’t get.  They’re praying hard, they’re praying earnestly, but they’re asking God to do things He can’t do!  For instance, “Lord, let me do well on my test.”  Ok, what are you asking for exactly?  “Let me do well on my test?”  God isn’t stopping you from doing well on your test now, He’s never been involved in stopping you from doing well on your test—He’s ALWAYS “let” you do well.  Instead, how about, “Lord, help me remember what I’ve studied and call to my mind the things I need to know.”  Ok, now, that’s something God can do!   James 1:5

God can’t force people to do things.  You can’t ask God, “Lord make my husband stop drinking,” but you can ask Him to transform your husband into His Image, I Thessalonians 4:3, “It is God’s will that you should be holy...”  

The Holy Spirit can nag your husband or your brother or whoever you’re praying for much better than you ever can—so let Him do it!  The Holy Spirit can wake the person up at night and nag him, He can bug him while he’s in the shower—the Holy Spirit can reach your loved one at exactly the right moment to do the most good, you cannot.  Therefore, don’t nag, don’t whine, but turn everything over to God.  He loves you and He has ways to get things done!

7)     Pray using God’s Word.  When I read I Peter 3, the Lord suddenly gave me a revelation on how I could help change my husband.  I Peter 3:1 & 2 says, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the Word, they may be won over WITHOUT TALK by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence in your lives.”  

Ok, I CAN change my husband, but not through nagging, throwing fits, whining, guilt trips etc. etc.  I CAN change my husband by becoming more like Jesus.  Of course, God doesn’t want you to submit to your husband to the point you break His Laws or man’s laws, but in every other way “be submissive.”  What exactly does that mean?  Sometimes it means change your expectations.  Sometimes it means go ahead and cook him a nice meal even though he’s been a jerk.  Be more like Jesus.  LOVE him.  Don’t say anything to him about his behavior, remember, you can only change yourself, but if you change yourself, that will change him.  Pray for your loved ones who infuriate you, upset you and depress you.  Pour out your worry regarding them to God and let God change them.  

Remember—don’t interfere with the Holy Spirit Nag Force.  If you have a habit of trying to get others to do what they should be doing, nagging, griping, whining, guilt-tripping, it will take some time to break that habit.  Every time you catch yourself, stop, back up, apologize and go pray about it.  You can yell at God about everything that upsets you.  It’s ok, He can take it!

If you have children, of course, it is your responsibility to see that they do what they’re supposed to do, but yelling has limited effect.  After awhile they just ignore you.  Use your creativity and ask God to show you how to find more effective ways to discipline them.  Maybe if Junior isn’t getting his room clean when he’s supposed to, you can take away his video game controller and tell him he can have it back when he gets it done right.  If Sister is talking too much on the phone, maybe you can suggest she earn more phone time by getting the bathroom cleaned up.  The Lord can drop all kinds of useful hints in your mind if you but ask.  Jeremiah 33:3

8)     Get to know Jesus.  To get a picture of what Jesus is like, read the four Gospels:  Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.  Mark is short enough you can read it in about an hour.  Don’t look at Jesus through the eyes of the same-old, same-old way.  Try to see Him as a Human Being.  He teases the Apostles, He smarts-off to His mother, He throws a tantrum when He clears out the Temple (but notice, the tantrum doesn’t have anything to do with Him, it has to do with the way the people are treating God and His House), He tells the lowest, sorriest people (the woman at the well who was not only a whore, but also a half-breed) the biggest news...Try to see Him in a new way.  He’s very masculine, He’s very loving, He’s awesome.  He’s our example.

At the bottom of this letter I’ll list some promises of God that I’ve used.  God’s Word is powerful and it will do what God has sent it to do, Isaiah 54:10 & 11.  If you pray according to God’s Word, He has to get behind it and do it!  

9)     Watch what comes out of your mouth.  

In Romans 10:8-10, Paul explains the principle of speaking and receiving.  “...confess with your mouth...and believe in your heart...For it is with your heart that you believe...and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”  

In the passage Paul is specifically talking about how to be saved, but the principle applies to everything having to do with what you believe and what you speak.  

For example, you read I Peter 2:24, “...by His wounds you have been healed.”  And lets say, you suddenly have a revelation that Peter is telling you that your healing is already finished in God’s eyes because of Jesus’ sacrifice when He was beaten, which incidentally is exactly what it says.  Now, you believe in your heart that God can heal you.  So you say, “Lord, according to Your Word here in I Peter, I believe I HAVE BEEN healed.”  

Ok, that’s good, you’ve believed in your heart and you’ve confessed with your mouth and it’s done.  But let’s say you go to work and you’re still feeling the runny nose, the achy throat, etc. and you turn to a co-worker and you say, “Man, I am SO sick!”  

O Oops!  What did you just do?  You just canceled your prayer for healing and now you’re confessing that you’re sick!  Which do you want?  Healing or sickness?  James 1:6-8, “...when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”   Instead of saying, “Man, I am SO sick,” say, “Thank you Lord for healing me.”  Yeah, you may want to do it under your breath, but say it.  

This principle of speaking what you want applies to everything.  It applies to what you say about your kids and TO your kids; it applies to what you say about your husband and TO your husband; it applies to what you say about your folks, your brothers and sisters and TO them; it applies to everything you say about yourself and TO yourself; it applies to everything you’ve prayed to God asking to receive.  

It’s better to say nothing than to say something that cancels what you have asked God to give you.  

Try to find a positive way to say things, like, for instance, to your kids, instead of, “You’re so lazy, you just sit around on your butt and waste time,” say, “You were wanting to go see Jerry later, you’ll be able to go when you finish cleaning.”  You’ve asked your husband to check the oil and he hasn’t done it.  You remind him politely, don’t say, “You never do anything until I get mad.”  (You don’t really want to him to only do stuff after you get mad, so don’t say that!)  If he doesn’t check the oil after you’ve politely reminded him, either you check it yourself, have someone else you trust check it or forget it.  If the car runs out of oil and the motor seizes up, well, you asked him to check the oil.  He’s a grown man, unless he has memory problems it’s not your job to be his memory.  If he does remember to check the oil, give him a big kiss and thank him.  Even though he’s a grown man, he’s also a little boy who needs those big hugs and kisses when he does his chores.  Look for ways to bless him with your words and your deeds.  It will do more to transform him than you can imagine.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen,” Ephesians 4:29.  

Think about that verse when you get ready to open your mouth. Analyze what you’re about to say.  Does what you’re about to say “build someone up?”  We’re not talking about flattery here.  Flattery doesn’t build people up, it puffs them up.  Puff and build are two different things.  Puff will collapse at the first trouble, building lasts.  Does what you’re about to say “benefit” the person who is listening?  

The same rules apply to what you say to yourself about yourself and TO yourself.  Don’t be running yourself down.  Don’t be ugly to yourself.  Don’t tell yourself you’re stupid, or whatever other ugly thing you might normally say!  You don’t want to be stupid do you?  Then don’t tell yourself that you are!  Find something you did right and praise yourself for that.  Tell yourself positive things that will help you succeed.  You need building up too.  

Check out the list of “unwholesome talk” to avoid in verses 25-28 and other things to get rid of in verses 31 & 32 of that same chapter in Ephesians.  You want things to go better, do what God commands.

10)    Know who you are in Jesus.  

When I was little my Dad told me I was good for nothing and I believed him.  Because I believed I was good for nothing, I didn’t believe I deserved to succeed at anything.  When I was in college I was asked to do the cover art for a professor’s book of poetry.  I said, “No,” because I didn’t believe I deserved it.  

My Dad didn’t tell me that because he hated me, he told me that because his mother told him the same thing when he was little and he didn’t know any better.  What I didn’t know when I was a teenager and in college was that if I’d looked to Jesus to tell me who I am, then I could have been healed much sooner.

So who are you in God’s eyes?  If you’ve received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I Peter 2:9 says, “...you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”  

Ok, let’s apply this verse.  Yes, it is referring to all believers and you are one of them.  You are royalty.  You are a Princess in God’s eyes!  Like all princesses, that means you’re precious, you’re adored, you are His beloved!  

In II Corinthians 1:22 it says, God “...set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts...”  

You belong to God, you’re not the devil’s bait or kick-toy!  God has esteemed you so much that He has put His Holy Spirit in your heart!  It’s like He put His Promise Ring on your hand.  Now you belong to Him.  

Romans 8:18, “Now if we are God’s children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ...”  Now wait.  What does that mean?  It means you stand to inherit something.  Exactly what does God own?  Everything.  Exactly what does Jesus have?  He has everything.  You are a child of God, an heir of everything God has!  You are a Princess in His kingdom, rightful owner of everything God has.  

That’s pretty awesome and that’s what God sees when He looks at you.  Start getting your thinking about who you are to line up with the truth in God’s Word.  Start thinking like a Princess.  Start thinking like a person who doesn’t lack anything.  

Now as to whether or not you can use or tap into everything He has, you have to go through training and show you’re ready to handle it.  Same as a teenager who may own a car, but can't drive it until he has finished driver’s ed.  You’re in training right now, from the moment you decide to start applying the things I’m talking about here.  And just like when you are training for a sport, you’re going to have a rough time in the beginning.  You’re going to fail.  You didn’t run the mile very fast the first time you tried, you’re not going to do all this very well the first time you try it either.  You didn’t get discouraged and quit when you were training for track, don’t get discouraged and quit now.  When you start trying, God will start giving you everything you need to succeed.

Meditate and absorb how much God loves you.  He loves you so much that He sent His Son to pay for YOUR sin so that you could become a joint-heir with His Son to everything He owns.  Think about it until it becomes more real to you than the chair you’re sitting on.  When you know that God loves you more than you can comprehend, then you can sit in that bubble of LOVE and bask in it.  When you are in God’s LOVE, can anything hurt you?  No.  Can anyone make you mad?  They shouldn’t be able to even affect you because you’re so surrounded and protected, shielded, a treasured Princess of the King.

“God demonstrated His own Love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:8

“Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who Loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:35-39.

Observe how something tries to come at you, something that used to throw you.  Maybe a friend is offering you a beer and you know it’s a really bad idea.  As a Princess of God, does it matter what that friend thinks?  NO.  Do you think Paris Hilton worries about what anybody thinks?  She thinks she’s a princess, but you’re different—YOU REALLY ARE a princess.  When you realize nobody’s opinion matters except your King’s opinion, then who cares what anybody else thinks!  Just please your King, that’s all you have to do.  The rest of them can talk, do whatever they like.  As a Princess of God, you may suddenly realize you don’t want to be in the places where satan can take shots at you, like at wild parties etc.  You want to be somewhere else, somewhere a Princess should be.

12)    Become more like Jesus.  

“...whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” II Corinthians 3:16-18.

What will please your King the most is to become more like His Son.  As Princess of the King, you should reflect Him like a mirror reflects your image.  You do that by absorbing God’s Word, by “eating” it, in effect, by thinking and meditating on Jesus, what He’s like and copying Him.

Your house may not look like a Princess’s house right now.  Your family may not look like a Princess’s family right now, but as you grow in faith and learn to look to your King for everything, you will begin to see Him working to change all of that.  It will take time, but it will happen.  I know, because He is still doing it for me.  I went from a failure married to a drug, pornography and cigarette addicted wife beater to a happily married woman, a leader, respected in my community living in a nice house with my children all doing well instead of in jail and living in a pit.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly Lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows,” James 1:17.

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:19.

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength,” Philippians 4:13.

13)   Get to know God.  

II Peter 2:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”  

Your access to God’s power is directly linked to how well you know Him.  Think about it.  If you know the president of the bank like an old friend, you will have access to everything he knows about money, loans, how banks work, etc.  You can get deals and do stuff other people who don’t know him can’t do.  If you know God, and the more you read the Bible, think about what it says, pray and listen for His Voice, the more power you’ll be able to tap.


14)     Look to Jesus for everything.  

Don’t look to other people to do anything for you.  People will fail.  Haven’t you?  Why should you be disappointed when other people fail, you do.  But Jesus never fails.  

15)     Praise God.  

Get up in the morning praising God.  If you can only think of the fact that you have clean water to drink and you can take a hot shower or bath, then thank Him for that.  There are people in the world who don’t have either of those things.  Get up in the morning thanking Him for everything He’s going to do and has done that you can possibly think of.  Thank Him for prayers He’s answered and prayers He will soon answer.  Thank Him as if the prayers are ALREADY answered.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise...,” Hebrews 13:15.

“Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, the this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” I Thessalonians 5:14

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose,” Romans 8:28.

If you’re not sure how to praise God, read some of the Psalms aloud.  Read the parts that praise God.  But wait, if you love chocolate and someone asked you to describe how much you love chocolate and what you love about chocolate, you could do that.  “O, it’s so creamy in my mouth, I love the texture.  The taste is heavenly....”  You’re praising chocolate.  You can praise God.  “Lord, You are so beautiful.  You bless me so much.  I love Your sunsets and the flowers by the road....”

16)     Have faith and use it.  

Read Mark 11:22-25, “Have faith in God (or have the faith OF God),” Jesus answered.  “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  

Ok, let’s analyze this passage.  Jesus is saying that you can literally command mountains to go throw themselves into the sea—that is, you can move mountains.  These could also be figurative mountains.  Maybe you over-eat and you just can’t stop yourself from binging on that chocolate.  You can move that mountain of lack of self-control right out of you.  Maybe your Dad is verbally abusive, he’s speaking out of his hurt and you can move that mountain of hurt right out of him.  You know God can do anything, so you ask God to move that mountain of hurt out of your Dad, say, "I believe the mountain of hurt in my Dad is gone," and it's done.  It's that principle of confessing Paul was talking about.  Jesus points out that you have to think of the thing as a done deal, even before you see it happening—think of it as finished.  No more need to worry, it’s done.  Now all that’s left is to thank God, and thank Him as if it’s done, finished, nothing left to do.

17)    LOVE

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven.  He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect (mature), therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” Matthew 5:43-48.

Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ Matthew 22:37.

If you’re not sure how to love someone, think, “If I were in their place, how would I want to be loved?”  Sometimes it will mean, “Say, you’ve had enough to drink.  It’s time to quit,” because if someone truly loved you that’s what they’d do if you’d drank too much.  It might mean you hide the car keys, but remember, don't nag.  After you've politely reminded the person they've had enough, you go and pray about it and get the Lord to handle it.  

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law,” Romans 13:8-10.

“...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up,” I Corinthians 8:1

I Corinthians 13

“Do everything in love,” I Corinthians 16:14.

18)    Take care do to what’s right with what you have right now.

Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Luke 16:10-12.

In other words, you have a junk car, take care of it.  Keep it clean, keep it running as best you can.  You have a junk house, take care of it.  Keep it clean, keep it repaired, try to make it look nice.  You have a small amount of money, take care of it, give God His 10% off the top and trust Him to make the rest pay the bills.  Share what you can of what you have.  Be good to your kids and your husband, take care of them, keep them well fed, clean and as well dressed as you possibly can, if you do, God can transform them.  Take care of your body.  It may not be pretty, but it gets the job done.  Feed it properly, exercise it and read God’s Word to renew your mind, Romans 12:2.  Don’t fill your brain with junk TV shows and crappy movies, or Harlequin Romance stories or tabloid gossip, but fill it with good things to help it learn and grow.  God will transform your body and your mind making them younger.  You’ll be able to think more clearly and comprehend better.  You will become wise.  If you can be trusted to take good care of what you have right now, God will give you more and better!


Faith example:  Abraham is called the “Father of Faith,” Romans 4, but Abraham doubted.  In Genesis you can read the story of Abraham.  When God first spoke to him, he was called Abram.  He lived with his folks in a pagan land, worshiping idols.  God told him to leave home and start traveling.  Abram obeyed.  

*  When you obey God you show you have faith in Him.

God told Abram that He would give him so many children that he could not possibly count them all.  Abram believed God.

*  When you believe God’s Word, you have faith in Him.

Abram’s name was changed to Abraham at some point, I don’t remember exactly when.  But Abraham started to doubt.  He didn’t SAY anything aloud.  He never said, “O, well, Sarah is now 90 years old and she’s like a wrinkled prune and I don’t believe we’ll ever have a kid.”  No, he never said that.  But, when Sarah suggested he sleep with her maid, he did it because he was beginning to wonder, not if God could do it, not if God would do it, but how the heck was God going to do it?  He slept with Hagar and together they had a son.  

*  Don’t say anything to cancel what you’re believing God to give you, keep on believing to get it even while your brain is asking, “Ok, where is it?”  Your heart still believes and that’s the only part that matters when it comes to believing and if your mouth is still confessing what your heart believes, you’ll receive what you’re believing to receive.

Finally, God brought Abraham a son through his beloved wife Sarah.  It took ten years.

*  Don’t expect instant results; just expect results.  God could work like a magician, but He chooses not to most of the time.  He isn’t a meddler; He doesn’t disturb delicate balances or force people to do things.  Sometimes He has to find someone who will obey in order for your prayer to be answered.  Sometimes He has to work things around to where everything lines up perfectly, then your prayer will be answered.

I asked the Lord for a metallic red mini-van, it took a few years, but He gave me a red metallic suburban—way better than a mini-van.

Rebecca, I don’t know exactly what kind of trouble you’re facing.  I hope this letter has been helpful, but if you need more or if you need something more specific to a particular problem please feel free to contact me.  Jaizem@hotmail.com

May the Lord bless you and guide you,

Marilyn

Psalm 10:14
Psalm 18:1-3
Psalm 37:39
Psalm 50:23
Psalm 55:22
Psalm 56:3
Psalm 57:1
Psalm 68:5 & 6
Psalm 100  
Psalm 103
Psalm 107:20
Psalm 119:11
Psalm 121
Psalm 126:5
Psalm 145:18
Psalm 147:3
Proverbs 3:5
Proverbs 16:3
Proverbs 18:10 & 16
Isaiah 40:28-31
Isaiah 43:1 & 2
Jeremiah 17:7 & 8
Jeremiah 29:11 & 13
Jeremiah 42:3
Hosea 4:6
Hosea 10:12
Joel 2:28
Habakkuk 3:19
Haggai 2:8
Zechariah 4:6
Malachi 3:6-12
Matthew 6:24
Matthew 7:7, 8, 11 & 12
Matthew 9:29
Matthew 10:28
Matthew 12:37
Matthew 18:19
Mark 4:26-29
Luke 6:38 & 45
Luke 8:50
Luke 21:19
John 1:12 & 13
John 5:24-27
John 10:10
John 14:12 & 14
John 16:33
Acts 4:12
Acts 5:29
Acts 10:34
Acts 16:31
Romans 1:17
Romans 3:22-25
Romans 7:14-17
Romans 8:1 & 2
Increase your faith by reading God’s Word aloud:  Romans 10:17
Romans 14:7 & 8
I Corinthians 1:18 & 24
I Corinthians 2:12
I Corinthians 3:21
I Corinthians 6:9-11
I Corinthians 10:31
I Corinthians 11:31
I Corinthians 14:1
II Corinthians 1:3 & 4
II Corinthians 4
II Corinthians 5:17 & 21
II Corinthians 9:6 & 11—the Principle of Sowing & Reaping
II Corinthians 10:5—make every thought line up with the Word of God
Galatians 4:6
Galatians 5:16-18
Galatians 5:22—what Jesus Looks Like
Ephesians 1:15-23
Ephesians 2:6
Ephesians 3:15
Ephesians 4:2-6, 22, 26 & 27, 32
Ephesians 6:10-20
Philippians 1:6, 21
Philippians 2:5
Philippians 4:8
Colossians 1:10-14; 21-23
Colossians 3:15, 17, 23
Titus 2:11 & 12
Hebrews 2:14 & 15
Hebrews 4:12-16
Hebrews 6:12 & 18
Hebrews 7:25
Hebrews 9:27
Hebrews 10:23, 25, 35 & 36
Hebrews 11:1-3 & 6
Hebrews 12:2, 7, 14 & 29
Hebrews 13:8
James 1:2-4, 13-15, 22-25
James 2:17, 22
James 3 & 4
James 5:16 & 19
I Peter 1:3 & 4, 7, 18 & 19, 23
I Peter 2:12
I Peter 3:8
I Peter 4:8, 19
I Peter 5:10
I John 3:8
I John 4:13-16, 18
I John 5:3, 14
I hope I got all these numbers right