II Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…
Can You Live Without God?
I have sometimes heard people object, “Some people only pray when they are in trouble!” Well, we are always in trouble. We are just not always wise enough to know it. E.M. Bounds has said, “Prayer is but the voice of men in trouble.” We should praise God, but if we’re praying, it’s because we have problems and are smart enough to know that God is the answer to our need. Someone said, “Prayer is never natural until it’s necessary.” That is to say that people without problems do not pray.
Now King Asa was a man who had faced many problems in his life, and at one time had sought God for those problems. But then he sought help from the King of Syria and relied on him and not upon God. At the end of his life, Asa had a great disease, but he looked for help from physicians, not God.
In II Chronicles 16:9 it says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf on them whose heart is perfect toward him.” God seeks for those who seek Him, and He shows Himself strong on the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. God gives help because of Who He is, not so much because of who we are. We are weak and needy, and when we are humble enough to know it and wise enough to ask God’s grace, He gives it.
You will live without God for as long as you think you can. Our problem is not our problem, or that we only pray when we’re in trouble. Our problem is that we’re always in trouble, but we don’t always recognize our need of God.
Here is an atheist who falls off a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. What do you think he’s going to do besides try to swim? Well, I don’t care if he’s a Buddhist, a Baptist, or an atheist, he is going to pray. Even if a man claims he knows there is no God, he is going to take a chance on it in this situation. Why? Because it is the wise response of a person in trouble to his trouble, and sometimes beyond being wise, it’s the only recourse a person has.
When God is all that you think you have, you will find that God is all that you need. Make no mistake, you need God. But you’ll live without God for as long as you think you can. So may God help us to know we need Him and to seek Him every day.