In our depravity and lack of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are totally lost in our sins. It is only by the grace of God and His mercy that we come to the knowledge of our need for salvation. When we are caught on the hook of God’s call toward us we will come to Jesus because we recognize our need of Him. If we were not caught like a fish by God’s love and mercy we would never come to the knowledge of our need for Him. That is what is wrong with our world today. People are more interested in following their own ideas and their paths toward what they “think” is salvation and a pathway to Heaven and they are deceived by their thinking and by the world around them.

Many people today seem to be on a pathway which will take them to a place where they don’t want to go. They mostly think that they are good enough to go to Heaven yet they deny, at times, the existence of God and His grace toward them. Many of them know “about” God or have heard of Him and maybe His Son, but they have never felt convicted of their sins. Many of them don’t attend church services except on special occasions or holidays. Life for them is a trek from one problem to the next and many of them don’t think about God or their need of Him until something happens in their life which they can’t control or even their doctor doesn’t have control of either. That is when they turn to the One Who they have heard which can heal or help when nobody else can.

Turning to God when you truly feel the need for Him and His mercy and grace is a good thing but if you only turn to Him because of an illness or a financial need, that doesn’t do your salvation…the condition of your soul any good at all. Especially when your “need” is met or if your prayer for someone doesn’t turn out the way you were hoping for. Many times when a loved one dies that they have been praying for, that is when their heart turns bitter toward God for not answering their desperate plea for healing.

God hears your prayers and sometimes He will answer them even if you aren’t a Christian but sometimes you won’t like His answer. Healing can take the form of taking your sick partner or wife or child into Heaven if they have given their heart to Jesus. Which may not be the answer you were hoping for, but God doesn’t have to do things the way you want them to be done. Even Christian families don’t get their prayers answered in the way in which they want all of the time.

God is sovereign and He answers prayer in His way and in His time because He is God. It isn’t because He doesn’t want the best for His children, which we are, but since He is in control of all things He can see the outcome of the answer much better than we can. He can see what would happen if you won the lottery or the sweepstakes and it may not be the outcome that you think it would. Which is why He allows some things which seem bad on the outside to happen to good people. He also allows some people to actually get the good life that they want even when we don’t understand His way of doing things.

God is Holy and it is our sinful heart which keeps us from being in His Presence most of the time. Until you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit which draws those in the world to come to Jesus, you can’t just “decide” to become a Christian. His Spirit has to hook you into coming by allowing you to see just how messed up your life is in comparison to Jesus. When you do realize this, you will come to Him.