Hi, Everyone.
I hope you had a good weekend and are ready for a great week. I was able to swim 5 different times! I'm sore, but it was worth it. What a blessing not to feel encumbered by one's excess weight, while in the water. I rejoice with every positive change.
Today, we continue to look at how to get our prayers answered. Today's devotion might cause you to fidget just a bit, but it's very important information.
As always, I love hearing from you.

Life Plan Devotion #111 [Get prayers answered, Part IV]

Matthew 7:7a "Ask and it will be given to you..." (NIV).

     Of the 7 basic conditions to answered prayer, we have looked at the first two:
1) Pray in the Name of Jesus.
2) Pray with praise and thanksgiving.
     Today, we will look at the third condition: 3) Pray without known sin in your life. While rejection of Jesus Christ, our Savior, is what keeps one out of heaven, God does hate sin. God hates sin, for what it does in the heart and life of even the believer. Sin keeps the believer from an intimate relationship with God, and God is all about relationship!
     When Jesus was on the cross, He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46, NIV). Not only was that the prophetic fulfillment of Psalm 22:1, but we get a picture of how our Holy God reacts to sin. He turns away, because He must! Christ did not feel forsaken, in that He did not feel abandoned by His Father, to the painful death of crucifixion. He knew why He had to die, and certainly He laid down His life, willingly. At the very moment when all the sins of the entire world (past, present, and future) came upon our Savior, God turned His head, for He cannot look at sin.
     If God refuses to look at sin, it makes perfect sense that He turns a deaf ear to sin. The psalmist said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18, KJV). While the wording is plain, let's look at the Hebrew meanings of each of some of the key words in that verse.
regard: to see; advise self, approve, behold, consider, enjoy, experience, gaze, take heed, joyfully look on, be near, perceive, have regard for, have respect for, cause to see, let see, show self, spy, stare, think, view, visions.
iniquity: strict meaning=>nothingness; trouble, vanity, wickedness; specifically=>an idol: affliction, evil, false, idol, mischief, mourning, naught, sorrow, unjust, unrighteous, vain, vanity, wickedness.
heart: used figuratively very widely for the feelings, will, and even the intellect.
hear: to hear intelligently (with implication of attention, obedience); consent, consider, discern, give ear, listen, make a proclamation, regard, show forth, make a sound.
     If you have known (unconfessed) sin in your life, your prayer will never get past your lips. If you want God to hear your prayer and answer it, you must "stay current" with God. When you pray, you must confess any and every sin. When you know you've "blown it," confess it. Repent of it. Forgiveness is assured. Why carry a sin, when Jesus already carried it for you?
     Intimacy with the Lord should be so important that we spend some time in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to shine His searchlight into every corner and crevice of our heart. Our heart's cry should be, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV).
     Do you want the promise of Matthew 7:7 to apply to you and your prayers? Pray without unconfessed sin in your life. God will hear, for "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16, NIV). If you are in right standing with God, you are righteous, and God will hear your prayer.

What this has to do with weight loss: For most people, the sin of gluttony ushered in obesity. If you want your prayer to lose weight answered, confess and receive forgiveness for excessive eating, and when tempted, look to the Lord for help and a way out of the temptation.

Confession:
I keep a clean slate with God, so that my relationship with Him is right, and I know He hears and will answer my prayer.

Blessings,
Mary

Hi Randall, I hope a lot of people read your post.  I bear witness to this challenge in my own life.
WLS 12/2003, went back to school, RN 2007, BSN 2008 and now working on my MSN as well as taking the nursing certification for school nurse this summer.  I would have never done this without  #1 knowing God had a greater YES for my life, #2...WLS, #3...support and prayers from friends and family. 

I'm still enjoying my morning cafe con leche w/splenda from Ron's Cuban...LOL>

Praying for our brother in Christ and for his family as well.

Prayers have been said and I hope his family and friends give hime the same wonderful support you have had. WLS is always a life changing step, but also a life saving one in many cases. May God bless his new journey!

Hi all,
Since my WLS my church family has been my biggest and best support group that one could ever want. Each Sister and Brother of Christ has encouraged me, complemented me and helped me with this journey.  One Brother in particular watched me from the beginningof the saga of getting insurance approval, the pit falls of all the hoops that had to be jumped to satisfy the requirments, and changing doctors.  As he has watched this process he has decided that WLS is what he needs to do for himself.  He is 20 years my senior and has more health problems than I had.  His family is concerned about him having the surgery (as most are) and maybe not as understanding as they need to be.  He has gone through all the rig-a-marow that one has to and now has a surgery date of June 30, this Tuesday.  Please pray for a safe and sucessful surgery and that recovery is swift.  His wife is concerned about his emotional well being during the first few months. Pray that his family is supportive and he heals quickly and adjust well.  Thank you,
SIS
Nita