When Jesus Feels Late: Praying for Your Child Like Jairus

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Hello, friend. Welcome back to Grace for My Home. I'm Audrey McCracken and I am delighted to be back with you again this week. I hope that you and your family are doing well. We are doing well. We're busy as ever, with two in high school, one graduating this year, and just a lot going on. It's it's a busy season. We have a cat now. I'm taking her to the vet today. We've adopted her. She she wandered up to our home and made herself at home. And that's not really easy because I have one son who is extremely allergic. And so she can't come inside. We're keeping her in our in the garage. And she we we live in the middle of the country, so she can roam pretty pretty well without having to worry about neighbors or cars or anything like that. And she's really sweet. But today we're making it official. I'm taking her to the vet and you know getting her getting her shots and all of those things. So but yeah, we've had a lot going on. And and I love it. We had we had our first soccer game last night, and my son has another one tonight. And so just you know, just keeping busy. I'm sure you are too. I've been doing a series on praying for our children, and in doing that, I've been sharing different stories in the Bible about parents who brought their children to Jesus, and Jesus did something in their lives. And I just think that's a wonderful way to encourage you, to encourage myself in the fact that Jesus wants to answer our prayers, he wants to touch our children. And in all of these examples, it's the parents' faith that has brought the blessing for the child. And so as a mom, as a parent, you have you have an inside connection. You have a wonderful opportunity to bring your child to Jesus. And and the the scriptures show us that Jesus cares. He had compassion on all of these parents. And they're all in different areas of life and you know, different places, but but he cares about them all. You know, one of them wasn't even a Jew, wasn't even one of his people. And and he told her, the one the Seraphenician woman, he told her, You're asking me to do something for you, and you know, I'm not sent to you, I'm sent to the Jewish people. And she asked anyway, and because she was persistent and she had faith, she got a request. And so, how much more can we trust that Jesus hears our prayers as children of God? And today I want to share yet another story of a parent who came to Jesus on behalf of his child, and that parent is Jarius. His daughter was 12 years old, and his story is told in three of the four gospels. It's told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And his daughter was sick, so Jarius went to Jesus and begged him to come and pray for his daughter. And Jesus said yes. And I want to read for you from the Gospel of Luke, but I'll give you the other scriptures in case you want to study it, because guys, studying the scriptures, build your faith. That's where faith comes from, is the word of God. And when we get into the word and we study the word and we see it for ourselves, that's when our own faith grows. So I'm going to give you these passages, and I encourage you to go and look them up for yourself and see that it's not just what Audrey is telling you, that this is God's Word. This is what God is saying to us, and He gives us these stories so that our own faith can grow. But it's mentioned, Jarius is mentioned in Matthew 9, verses 18 through 26, Mark 5, verses 21 through 43, and then what we're going to read today, Luke 8, verses 40 through 56. And it starts in verse 40. It says, And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed him, for they had all been waiting for him. And there came a man named Jarius, and he was an official of the synagogue, and he fell at Jesus' feet and began to implore him to come to his house. For he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as he went the crowds were pressing against him, and a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak,

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and immediately

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her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, Who is this one who has touched me? And while they were all denying it, Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on you. But Jesus said, Someone did touch me, for I was aware that power had gone out of me. When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before him, and declared in the presence of the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace. While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue officials, saying, Your daughter has died. Do not trouble the teacher any more. But when Jesus heard this, he answered him, Do not be afraid any longer. Only believe, and she will be made well. When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except for Peter, John, James, and the girl's father and mother. Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her, but he said, Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep, and they began laughing at him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, Child, arise. And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately, and he gave orders that something should be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed, but he instructed them not to tell anyone what had happened. So Jesus is summoned by this father. Please come. I know you can help us. My daughter is dying. And so Jesus is on the way to Jarius's home. And I know Jarius had to be ecstatic because he had hope. You know, for the first time he has hope. Jesus is coming to my house. I know he can make this better. But there's an interruption. And this interruption is from a woman who has had this problem, this hemorrhage of blood for 12 years, and she's not been able to find any relief or any help. Um, the other versions say she'd spent all of her money on doctors and healers, and she had no help. She was still, she was still not healed. And so she knew if I can just touch Jesus, then I can be healed. And she was right. But see, the thing was it was illegal for her to be around people with an issue of blood. She was not well, she was sick, and so it was illegal for her to touch people, but she by faith went to Jesus. That's why she was hiding, that's why she didn't want people to know she was in the crowd or that she had pressed into him because she was not supposed to. And so she was afraid, but Jesus said, Don't be afraid. Your faith has healed you. And while he's telling this woman, you're healed, someone from Jarius's home comes and says, Don't bother him anymore, your daughter's dead. Well, Jesus immediately turns to him and says, Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be well. And guys, when I when I when I hear this story, I just think about how afraid Jarius must have been and how frustrating this interaction must have been. And she he is on borrowed time, you know, he's in a hurry. I've got to get Jesus to my daughter before it's too late. And in the middle of it, this woman interrupts them. Now, I don't know if you've ever felt like I'm in desperate need right now, like this is an emergency, and I need Jesus right now, like I need something right now, and I don't have time for interruptions, and you know, I'm already learnt running late. And if he doesn't show up now, then all hope is lost. But that's how I imagine Jarius felt. You know, finally I've I've touched, I've come in contact with Jesus, and I know he's coming on my behalf, but something happens and we we get delayed, and and then all hope is lost. And I can't help but think, you know, what would I what would be going through my head at that time as a parent? Lord, that woman had an issue of blood for 12 years. Couldn't she just wait one more hour? You know, why I'm in emergen I have an emergency case. Can't she wait just another another few minutes until you answered my prayer? And don't we feel that way sometime? You know, we don't we don't wish ill on other people. You know, we don't mean to be selfish, but Lord, I've been praying a lot longer than that person. And you seem to be working in their life and doing something in their life and in the lives of their children. And what about me? See, we we come to the Lord often, you know, guys, we are we are natural, we are human, we are not divine. We are we live in this earth, this imperfect fallen world, and we don't see unless he opens our eyes, we're not able to see like the Lord sees. And every now and then, you know, he pulls back the veil and he allows us to see things through his eyes. And and that's where perfect love casts out all fear, you know. That's where it's like, Jesus, I know you can help me. I have faith that that everything's gonna be okay because you see me. And guys, we live in a very limited world. You know, we're always we're limited on time, we're limited on money, we're limited on education, we're limited on ability. And Jesus is abundant, he doesn't live in our limited place. You know, he is the God of abundance, and all eternity is his. And we're coming to the one who isn't worried. You know, he cares about our worries, but he's not worried. And I just imagine Jarius has this mindset of I'm so limited, my time is limited, you know, my opportunity is limited. But even when it feels like and it looks like you missed your opportunity, or maybe you came too late, you know, maybe he should have come to Jesus yesterday. Maybe, you know, it's his fault, maybe he's feeling, you know, why didn't I just come sooner? Why didn't I find Jesus sooner? But Jesus, he he just says, Don't don't fear. Don't worry, believe, and it's gonna be okay. And I want to say that to you today. Don't worry, believe, keep praying. It's gonna be okay. It feels like Jesus is late. You're thinking of all the things you wished you'd done different, or you wished you'd done earlier, or you wished you knew before now. And guys, none of that matters in the presence of Jesus. None of that matters in the presence of the Lord. He is not limited by our limitations, and he is only limited by our belief and by our refusal to come to him. You know, like I said in when I first, like I said a few minutes ago, in all of these situations, the Seraphonician woman, the father with the child who kept going into seizures, and in this case with Jarius, the parent sought the Lord for his for his or her child, and it was the faith of the parent that received the blessing for the child. So you keep praying, you keep believing, even when it feels like you're behind, even if when it feels like everybody else is getting the blessing before you, even when it feels like Jesus has forgotten you because he's moved on to another case, he's not forgotten you. He's got enough healing to go around, he's got enough breakthrough to go around. You know, we live in a world where it's always about scarcity. What if I don't have enough money to finish this, this project? What if I don't have enough time to do all the things that I want to do? What if, what if? But Jesus is not gonna run out of time. He is eternal. You know, even when she died and he comes into the house and he tells them, she's not dead, she's only sleeping. Guys, to Jesus, she was only sleeping because he is the resurrection and the life. You know, to Jesus, any believer, any child of his, when they die, they really are. They're just sleeping because he's gonna bring them back to life. He's not limited by death. He overcame death and hell in the grave, and he's our hope. So don't stop believing, don't stop praying, don't give up on Jesus because he's not giving up on you and he's not giving up on your child. He loves them more than you love them, and he has a plan, and that's what we're praying for. We're not praying for our plan or their plan or somebody else's plan. We're praying for God's plan, and he will answer that prayer. Isn't that good? And I love how he puts everybody out. You know, he gets to the house and he puts everybody out and he only takes in Peter, James, John, and the girl's mom and dad. See, we gotta protect our circle. We gotta protect who's speaking into our ears because there are people who their unbelief will tear down our faith. They'll say things like, Really, really, and and we'll start doubting. But Jesus only brought in those he knew he could trust. He only brought in those that needed to be there. You know, and sometimes we got to get away from people and voices, and maybe, maybe it's people in our in our everyday life. Maybe it's voices on the internet or on, you know, the reels that just need, you just need to shut them up because they're not helping. And if they're not helping to build your faith, then they're tearing down your faith. You know, we have to be careful what what we listen to, because sometimes people who don't have faith, they don't want you to have faith. They they're intimidated by faith. They're like, you know, let's just all come down to another level and then you know, we'll all be equal. But Jesus is calling us up to a higher level. He's calling us up to believe despite what we see with our eyes. And he called this little girl and she came to life. And that is my prayer. Lord, call my children. Let them hear your voice and come alive spiritually. I'm in a blessed place right now that my children are not physically in need of healing. There are some of you who are listening who you have a child who needs a physical healing. One of my children's friends is in desperate need of a physical healing. Now we're praying for that. We're believing for that. Why? Because the Bible says if any of among you is sick, pray. Pray that they'll be healed. So we have a biblical standing, a biblical reason to pray for healing. But it's always in the Lord's hands. I can't heal, you can't heal, only Jesus can heal. So let's call Jesus on the scene and see what he's gonna do. But I want my children to hear the voice of the Lord calling them out of darkness into the marvelous light. And that's my prayer right now for my children. Lord, let them hear your voice. You know, last week I spoke about a challenge that I've had with one of my sons. And, you know, God is doing something in his life right now, and he's not going to my church right now. And as my husband and I, we've pastored that church for many years. We're coming up on one year since we stepped down as pastors, but it it has been very difficult for me. He has traveled, he has visited different churches right now. He's kind of landed on one. And, you know, God is doing something, but he's he's kind of landed on one, and God is speaking to him, and I see him seeking God, I see him searching for God, and I wish I could be there. I wish I could see him on Sunday and see God doing a work in him. But this week we talked about it. And he was telling me about what happened at the service that he was at on Sunday. But Sunday, when he came home from church, we debriefed. He told me a little bit about what happened at the service he was at. And guys, please forgive my my throat. I have a sore throat today, so I sound a little hoarse, but he he we debriefed and we talked about the service, and he told me about what happened at the service that he was at. And he said, Mama, God really spoke to me. And that's all I needed to hear. Because a year ago, I didn't know what was gonna happen. I didn't know what it was gonna look like. It looked dark. You know, I wondered if he even believed anymore. And so for I don't care where he goes to church, as long as it's a church that's alive. And if God is speaking to him in that church, then it's alive. So I'm thankful, but I can't control it. I'm not there to control it. I just have to believe that God, you hear my prayers. I'm not there to to monitor it, I just gotta trust you. And I told him this week as we were talking about that, I told him, son, me and your dad found God in our way. And now you're having to find God in your way. And I don't care how you do that, as long as you find him. You see, I have pressed in for him, but now he's pressing in for himself. God has spoken his name and he's listening, he's he's got an ear that's attentive. And that's our prayer. Lord, let our children hear your voice and rise up spiritually and find you and search for you and hunger for you. And do you believe God can answer that prayer? I'm a believer today. I'm a believer today. I have examples in the scripture, and now I have a track record in my life that even when we feel like we've been passed over, even when it feels like and looks like Jesus is not on the case, that he has taken a detour, that I don't have enough time, I don't know the right prayers, that he is still going to do a work in the lives of my children. But he's gonna do it his way and not my way. And Jesus is not limited on time or the number of breakthroughs, he can give a breakthrough to all of us and still have more left over. Amen. You know, he is not living in scarcity. Oftentimes we are, but he's not. And my prayer for us is that he would pull back the veil and we would see his abundant grace, that it's more than enough for our situation. And this is one of the reasons I wrote my devotional covered in prayer, 31 prayers to cover you and your child in God's grace. It is a book that I wrote for my children, but also for myself, as a reminder that God hears and answers my prayers. And I want to encourage you, I'm gonna put a link in the show notes, get that book. Get that book and let it be the cry of your heart. Start off praying my prayers and then just let the Holy Spirit take over and start praying through you your own prayers. Mine is just a jump start, it's just a way to get started. But once you start praying, your prayers will take on a whole life of their own. Also, today I'm gonna put in the show notes a link to a prayer I wrote just for you, just for moms and dads who need help getting started praying for your children. It's a free resource. I'm gonna put it in the show notes. Go there, click on it, and let it help you get started. We have great examples in scripture that Jesus answers the prayers of parents who bring their children to him. And you can be one of those. If this message has been encouraging to you today, if it's been just what you need, would you share it with a friend? That's the biggest way you can say thank you, is just to send it to someone who you think would be blessed by this message. And I really appreciate you coming each week. I hope that you've enjoyed this series. Next week will be the last week of this series, and then we'll start something new. And my prayer is that it has built up your faith and encouraged you as a mom. Before you go, let's pray together. Father, I thank you for my friend. I thank you that faith is growing in her heart. And Lord, she is going to start seeing the answers to her prayers. And Lord, I thank you, Lord, that, you know, you said don't despise small beginnings. Maybe it's just a little thing. Maybe it's just something that anybody else would overlook. But I pray that she would see it as what it is. It's a seed. It's a start. And I pray, oh God, that you would put your words in her mouth, that Lord, as she goes to you in prayer, that you would help her. And Lord, that you would strengthen her and give her the grace she needs through this season. And Lord, maybe she's not going through a difficult season right now. Maybe, you know, that's that's not where she is right now. But Lord, I pray that when those times come and they always come, Lord, that she would be reminded that you answer the prayers of moms and dads. And Lord, we love you and we give you praise and we thank you for your goodness and that you're more than enough. In Jesus' name. Amen.