Not One is Missing
Not One is Missing
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 40:26
“Astronomers estimate that the universe could contain up to one septillion stars—that’s a one followed by 24 zeros. Our Milky Way alone contains more than 100 billion, including our most well-studied star, the Sun”* This magnitude of stars is far beyond our comprehension. And yet, the Bible tells us, that because of the might and strength of our God, who created each of those billions and billions stars, and called them all by name, not a single one is missing. Likewise, our prayers, each whispering, shouting, weeping, and rejoicing prayer is heard by our God. Not one is missing.
Are you experiencing a season of seemingly unanswered prayer? Have you been crying out to the Lord for the salvation of a loved one, a restoration of a relationship, the removal of an illness, an ease in financial pressure, deliverance from any number of distresses, and yet there seems to be no change? Have you been tempted to give up and not continue to come to God again with that request? Perhaps there’s a temptation to feel forgotten or ignored by the Lord. These things are not uncommon to the human experience. The psalmists repeatedly in the psalms have asked the Lord, “Has God forgotten to be gracious? Or has He withdrawn His compassion?” (Psalm 77:9) Our hearts grow weary at times waiting on the Lord, scanning the horizon for a little glimpse of an answer. As each day dawns and new circumstances occur, we wonder, “Is this the thing God will use to begin to turn things around?” But hearts remain unchanged, from our perspective. Situations continue on in the same vein as before, sometimes even getting worse, and our hearts faint for something we can see that will encourage us that we have not prayed in vain, we have not hoped in God for nothing.
Jesus told his followers the parable of the widow and the unjust judge “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). A widow needed justice for herself. She kept coming to the judge and entreating him for his help. But he was unwilling. In his own words, he admitted that he neither feared God nor respected man. And yet, because the widow came to him persistently, again and again, requesting justice, he finally gave it to her. We come, not to an unrighteous judge, but to a gracious and loving Heavenly Father, who loves to give good gifts to His children, “Indeed, the LORD will give what is good” (Psalm 85:12). Let us be like the widow in that we persevere in prayer, even when the Lord seems silent. After a three year drought and a battle with the 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah knelt down and prayed to the Lord to send rain. Six times, Elijah sent his servant to look toward the sea for any sign of rain. Six times he came back and said, “There is nothing” (1 Kings 18:43). Elijah continued to pray. Finally, on the seventh time, the servant saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand and Elijah knew a heavy shower was coming. We, like Elijah and his servant, must continue to pray and watch. We may be on the verge of answered prayer.
Take heart, dear Christian. If He cares for the sparrow, if He clothes the lilies of the field, and if He keeps track of each of His stars, He is caring and counting and listening and answering each and every prayer you have prayed. Our God is so powerful so vast that He will not, in fact, cannot, miss, lose, or allow one prayer of ours to go unnoticed or forgotten. I like to include quotes in my posts and this one was so fitting: “You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so: he who counts the stars, and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting his own children.He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature he ever made, or the only saint he ever loved. Approach him and be at peace” (Charles Spurgeon).
Photo credit to dweiss002
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