I was told that I didn’t talk until I was four.
So now I catch myself strutting when I speak .But there is a boldness that comes with the Holy Spirit. Thank You, Holy Ghost.

For all of us, there are moments when words simply do not describe how we feel, what we need or what we so desperately desire from God.

Romans 8:26 reminds us there is someone who has studied us. The Holy Spirit knows us well. He is aware of our strengths, but He’s also keenly tuned in to our weaknesses. When we are unable to express in words what we hope for so desperately, the Spirit Himself steps in and clearly places our deepest needs before the Father.

Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I might have no words, or struggle to tell You what I need, but You already know. I’m so grateful the Holy Spirit knows my heart, and intercedes for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Luke 1

All of us  face a common problem of  prayers that seem to go unanswered.   Most prayers remain unanswered because they remain unasked. The prayer and the burden are in our head, but they is never offered to the Lord in prayer.
   Often, we are guilty of prayerlessness.  We are commanded to pray without ceasing’
   There is no substitute for prayer – Not eloquence, effort, energy, enthusiasm or intellect
         When we pray, we are confessing our inability and reaching up to claim His ability. We are inviting God into the processes and problems of our lives. We are reaching out to lay hold on a power that we do not possess.  If you are too busy to pray, then you are simply too busy, we can read a poem. The book of Psalm has a plenty of prayers.
         Prayerlessness is one reason prayer is not answered. God cannot and will not answer a prayer that is not prayed!
   This passage that relates the story of Zacharias and Elisabeth, and the birth of John the Baptist, reveals a few more reasons why prayer goes unanswered .
SOMETIMES THE ANSWER IS DENIED
        There are times when God will say “No” to the prayers we pray.
       According to this verse, Zacharias and Elisabeth were on praying ground. That is not why their prayers went unanswered. Unfortunately, it is often the reason our prayers go unanswered. James is straight to the point about how people fight on the outside because they are at war on the inside!
Prayer does not exist so that we can have our wants gratified. We can expect the Lord to meet our needs, but not to finance our greed by being selfish.
Delayed Doesn’t Mean Denied
        There are times when God says “wait” when we pray.
         The little verb phrase “is heard” can be literally translated “was heard and is still being heard”.
        In verse 18, Zacharias and Elisabeth had been praying and praying and praying for years. When they were young they prayed for a son. As they grew older they continued to pray for a child. When the angel appeared and confirmed the answer, Zacharias had even ceased to believe that his prayer could or would be answered.  This passage confirms the truth that his prayer had been heard and answered in the past. God had merely waited to the perfect moment to display His answer. Sometimes we think our prayers have gone unanswered. In reality, they have been heard and they have already been answered. It just isn’t God’s time to reveal the answer.
       This truth is illustrated in the life of Daniel . Daniel prayed three times a day. But when he needed his God the most he stepped right in .We are taught in the Bible to make our prayers in faith, trusting God to answer in His time.  When God delays the answer to our prayers, He is merely waiting to a time when He can get the most glory’
·         Why does God wait? According to Zacharias, if the Lord does it now, it will be a miracle. In other words, God will get more glory by doing it now. (Ill. Abraham and Sarah; Lazarus) God does what He does when He does it so that He might receive all the glory.  In answering the prayer of Zacharias and Elisabeth when He did and in the manner that He did God was dispensing great grace. They didn’t understand what the Lord was up to, but God did!
God used His delayed answer to bring glory to Himself; grace to Zacharias and Elisabeth; and to accomplish His eternal plan.
Different Answers Expected
        Sometimes God says “watch”. Sometimes He will take our prayers and make them better!      They wanted a son in their youth; God gave them a son in their old age. They would have been thankful then, but God gave them something far better. If He withholds something from us or changes it to something different, it is because what we asked for wasn’t good for us. (Ruth Bell Graham) An electrical transformer takes the energy in the lines and transforms into power that can be used in our home. What would happen if the transformers weren’t there? Help Me Holy Ghost!!!! The Holy Spirit is God’s transformer. He takes our prayers and transforms them into what they ought to be. I always have believe that God always gives us His best when we leave the choices to Him!
Keep praying that when prayer seems unanswered be sure that your heart is right with God and be sure that you are asking according to His will. If so, then keep praying .Is there ever a time to stop praying? Yes! You can stop when:
1.  When the answer is in your hand – Praise Him and report it!
2. When the answer is in your heart – Praise Him and wait for it!
3.  When God reveals a better way – Praise Him and accept it!
Until the answer comes, keep praying! God will come through in His time!

Luke 2
The emphasis on getting Christmas right. We want it white and bright. We want the tree, the decorations, the lights, the eggnog and the presents. We want everyone to be happy. We want to be able to get and give plenty. We want peace and joy, too.
In reality, Christmas often turns into a major hassle. You rush around and pushed for time. You spend money you don’t have for people you don’t like to acquire things they don’t even want or need. In our struggle to get it right, we often get it dead wrong and end up making ourselves and others miserable.
It isn’t about gifts and trees and decorations. It isn’t even about families and parties and fun. It certainly isn’t about Santa Claus, snowmen, elves and reindeer. It is all about Jesus and all about Him alone!
I believe God wants us to get it right. I believe that He is not so interested in our having a white Christmas as He is interested in our having a right Christmas. So, how can we have a right Christmas? What do we need to understand and change in our lives that will allow Christmas to be a time of blessing and wonder instead of being a time of stress and tension? In reading chapter two I have found a few things that can make Christmas right.
For others, however, Christmas is a time of loneliness and sorrow, as they deal with the heartbreak of missing those who are no longer here. For others, Christmas is painful because they lack the resources to give to the people they love the things they want them to have. For many it is a time of overindulgence in rich foods, overspending on gifts, overcoming the problems associate with the season, and attempting to overcompensate for the failures of the past year.
Christmas is a time of celebration for the church. It doesn’t matter that Jesus was probably born some other time of the year. It does not matter whether it was spring, summer, fall, or winter. What matters is that God loved the world so much that He sent His precious Son into the world .
Around the church, we celebrate by singing Christmas hymns, preaching Christmas sermons, teaching Christmas Sunday School lessons, and having Christmas plays. I don’t know about you, but I love the Christmas plays at church.  What I love about Christmas plays in the church is that they preach the Gospel. The lost people who attend have an opportunity to hear about why Jesus Christ came into the world, and give person to have the opportunity to be reminded of the great love and grace of God that provided them with a Savior.

So for just a few minutes today let’s leave our world behind and visit once again the little town of Bethlehem. Let’s notice that as Mary delivered Jesus into this world, there is a message for us for that is being delivered also. Let’s let Jesus transform our Christmas
This is an amazing text. A Roman Emperor, living thousands of miles away, issues a decree and causes a poor carpenter and his pregnant wife to travel ninety miles from their home to the home of their ancestors. Certain shepherds just happen to be tending to their flocks on the hillsides just outside the very town the couple goes to. Angelic beings just happen to show up at the right place, at the right time, with the right message. These things didn’t just happen, they were the work of Sovereign God accomplishing His eternal plan.
The true essence of Christmas is the birth of a baby. Not just any baby, but a baby Who was and is God is human flesh.This night God became flesh and walked among men ranks as one of the greatest moments in human history. It was a night of tremendous miracles and great blessings. It was the night when God moved into the world to live and eventually to die. Though this story is over 2,000 years old, it is still as fresh to me as if this were the first time I had ever heard it.
Jesus is called Savior! Not an example or a teacher, but a Savior! If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent an entertainer. If our greatest need had been military, God would have sent a soldier. If our greatest need had been for justice, God would have sent a judge. But, our greatest need was forgiveness and redemption, and, therefore, God sent a Savior!
The shepherds were considered to be social outcasts. Their duties made them unclean and the fact that they were unable to come to the Temple for many weeks at a time prevented them from getting clean. Praise God, that’s the crowd He came for!  They were probably the men who raised the lambs for the temple sacrifices, it is appropriate that they would be the first men to meet the Lamb of God! The shepherds delivered a message of peace.
The angels praised their Creator! “ Praise to God and Peace to man” . It was a shouting message to the shepherds. The shepherds were afraid, but the angel offered them a message of grace, peace, hope, blessing, joy and salvation. The  multitude of angels stretched from horizon to horizon. When they opened their mouths to speak, they sought to glorify God. Their only mission and motive that night was to exalt God Almighty for the great work He had accomplished.
As these men returned to their sheep, notice that their circumstances had not changed. They were still shepherds, still outcasts and still in the field. While their circumstances had not changed, their hearts had! These men returned with hearts full of praise for the Lord. What a difference Jesus makes! If you know Him, remember that your situation may be bad, but your God is Great!  Learn to praise Him in your problems and the Lord will honor that. Remember greater is coming!!!
  There is no evil intent mentioned. However, how many people would turn a pregnant woman away into the night? Reveals a hard heart in the innkeeper!  A message of rejection. No room for Jesus. The cry of the crowd the day He was crucified ! Do you have room for Him in your life? Lay aside whatever is in the way of letting Him in and open to door! No Jesus, No Hope, Know Jesus, Know Hope! Without Jesus, there is no hope, no future and no life!But the Innkeeper, warm and secure in his bed. Jesus lying in a dirty, filthy manger. The Innkeeper’s rejection allowed Him to  know the joy of the shepherds
As we think about these Christmas Messages, we need to be sure that we receive the message of the angels like the shepherds did. That we too come to know Jesus and go away praising Him and glorifying His Name.
     What kind of message is your life preaching today? Like the Angels, are you living a life that points men to Jesus? Or, are you like the shepherds, so filled up with His wonder and glory that life is fresh

In Luke 2 verse seven  introduces us to  person who was a part of the Christmas story with the words, “…because there was no room for them in the inn.” In larger ancient inns there was an innkeeper. The innkeeper kept watch over the inn and collected money from those who stayed in his establishment.
They were usually an open courtyard, surrounded by an enclosure, with awnings, or other shelters where people could bed down for the night. They provided travelers wi
th a little bit of safety and rest from their travels. The innkeeper would be paid by the traveler for a place to stay, and it would be his duty to provide his lodgers with food, drink and shelter.
  When Joseph arrived at the inn in Bethlehem with a very pregnant Mary, the innkeeper turned them away because the inn was already filled with travelers. His words to them as he turned them away told them there was no room. But, was that correct? What about his room? He could have given Mary and Joseph his room for the night. He could have, but he was indifferent to their need. As an after thought, he points them to the cave where the animals were tied. Perhaps they could find room for themselves there.
The truth is, this innkeeper was unmoved by Mary and by her obvious need. He was indifferent to the fact that the divine plan of God had brought him face to face with Savior of humanity, and without a thought, he turned Him away.
The innkeeper was indifferent that night, but he is as much a part of the Christmas story as anyone else that was there. We don’t mention him often, but he needs to be included too.
Our world is filled with many people just like this innkeeper. It is filled with people who are so preoccupied with life, with themselves, that they have no time for anyone, or anything else. When they hear the Gospel, they are indifferent to it. They don’t care about God, the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Gospel of grace. They think those things have nothing to do with them, or the lives they are living. They hear our witness and they are unmoved. They pass by many churches without a thought to what we are doing or to the God we serve.
They do not realize that Jesus Christ died for indifferent people too. He died for the very people who could care less about Him. He died for the busy person, the preoccupied person, the self-centered person. He died for the person who cannot see past the end of their own nose. He died for you!
When Jesus came, “He came unto His Own, and HIs Own received Him not”. But, He came anyway. He came and He died. He died to save the indifferent from their sins, and from themselves. They are part of the “whosoever” for whom Jesus died.

Amen