"Just Outside of Reach"

"My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forgot to eat my bread." (Psalms 102:4)
The other speculation of the writer, is that it was Daniel while in captivity in Babylon. It is very possible, based upon the references to Zion in a few of the verses ahead. Fasting while praying is sometimes not the plan, it just happens to be what you do while being focused upon a certain task or situation. That first day after my wife's incident in the hospital, eating was the last thing on my mind. I would like to relate it to the title, where you know in your heart that God can do anything, even that which seems totally out of the question, but you have nothing you can do but pray for it to happen. The question then becomes, How much and how long do I continue to pray? In that regard I have to think of Daniel as he had continued in prayer, while the messenger, Gabriel, was being detained by the Prince of Persia. It also reminds me of the time when Pastor Burt had all the users pass out acorns at the beginning of that Sunday morning church service. I had committed in my heart to write a $250.00 tithe check every Sunday, which was based upon the budgeted tithe amount of ten percent of the money I would need my new business to generate in order to make our obligations. I mean, what else was I to do? We moved here from Southern California to start a business, totally from scratch, and I needed to have something to base my covenant with God upon. I could have just tithed all that I received, but we did not start out not having financial obligations, so that just did not seem right to me. Our monthly bills and expenses where around $10,000.00 a month, so I needed our income to get to that point, or else we needed to downsize our living conditions. Anywho, it was almost about a year, and our savings was beginning to dwindle away; it started to cut into our food budget and the choice of food we could eat. So that specific Sunday morning, instead of writing a check for $250.00, I wrote a check for $100.00 instead. That's when it happened, the whole acorn thing! I will never forget that morning and the words Pastor Burt said: "Sometimes we come one prayer short, one tithe check short, of all the blessings that God has for us." As you can imagine, my heart dropped down to my feet. I was totally and utterly overwhelmed; and I knew that I had made a great mistake. That was the last time that I robbed from God, at least by not writing the right amount on the tithe check. The Bible tells us to make our covenant with God when it comes to giving, and then stick to it, cheerfully! Even if the odds of you paying other things seems overwhelming against you, you stick to your commitment to God. This is the one area in our lives where God commands us to test Him; and believe you me, it is not a half-hearted commitment! God wants us to believe that He is our Provider; it's not a question of how, it's a question of will we trust Him to do what He says, no matter how things might appear on paper. That is what you call, Stretching your faith...
""Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! "But you ask, 'What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?' "You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before that are ripe," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies." (Malachi 3:8-11) NLT