PRAY FOR SINNERS

                                        IN HIS TIME
      One of the worst things you and I can do is to take judgment into our
own hands. God does everything so well. He can do them better than you and
I can. Have you ever looked at a beautiful rose and watched it slowly, day
after day, blossoming forth? Have you ever tried to help it open?  You'll
kill it. I recall reading about some children who tried to help a butterfly
out of its cocoon. They killed it. God makes everything beautiful in His
time. He causes everything to straighten out and line up in His name. If
you have a problem in your life with a person or a circumstance, leave it
with God.  "'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." (Rom.12:19)

      In verses 13-16 of Psalm 9 the psalmist was telling us, "Don't take
judgment into your own hands. Let God take care of it. Let God be the
judge, the jury and the prosecuting attorney. He knows more about this than
we do. "The psalmist was assuring you and me that, in His time, God will
catch those who are doing wrong...going to sink down into the pit that they
have made. Sinners who have laid nets in the pathway are going to get
caught into those nets themselves. "The wicked is snared in the work of his
own hands" (v.16)

      It encourages me to know that I don't have to devote my time or
energy, even my inward concern, to wondering to what's going to happen to
all the evil in the world. God's going to take care of it. Of course, you
and I as Christians should do our part to make this a better world. We are
the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. But we've been called
to do something...we have the privilege of witnessing to them and letting
them know that they can be saved...

  **  HEAVENLY FATHER, I pray for your sons and daughters who have gone astray. They have sinned, they have hurt You. Your ways are above our ways, and so we surrender them all to Your perfect plan for them. In Your perfect time please call their attention, however in Your divine wisdom You want it. Teach them the consequence of rebelling against You and make them realize the wastefulness of their lives. In repentance, make them truly
renounce their ways, turn the opposite direction, and turn over the control of their lives to You.  Lord, You spared no expense to celebrate the return of the prodigal son. Please welcome them back as well and, in this day of rejoicing, help them begin again to walk constantly with You.