God's Assurance for Prayer

Tradition and Wisdom
Teaching and Learning:
Praying as God's People

Jeremiah 29:10-14

The Message

^10-11This is God's Word on the subject: "As soon as Babylon's seventy years are up and not a day before, I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. ¹²"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. ^13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you. I'll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you"—God's Decree—"bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

For Reflection
According to most psychologists, when one forgives another the forgiveness enables the forgiver to move on beyond the wrongful deed.  Perhaps it is true also with God.  With so many people to forgive and so much to forgive them for, God's forgiving may be as much for His own comfort as for ours.

God suffers from the wrongful acts we commit.  His forgiveness is just not all about us.

Isn't that how forgiveness works?  Reconciliation is a two way street.  Think about how reconciliation operated in your life.

Pray
prayers for forgiveness. Pray that we will not be come so self-centered that we take God's forgiveness for granted.