Today I flipped through my Facebook memories, and I saw this page from when I participated in the Timothy Ministry, a discipleship plan. Last night I watched War Room, and all I could think about was prayer.
I know God created the entire universe. I know God is all powerful and all knowing, but how very often I pray, and lack faith in what I pray about. How very often I pray, but instead of letting God have my request, I hold on to it and try to bear the burden of fix whatever is at hand. Sadly, I very rarely let go and let God. Clearly God's Word expresses the power and importance of prayer, but War Room was such a beautiful reminder. What if all Christians prayed like Ms. Clara? Instead, I often find myself being the person who is too busy or with any other excuse. .Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Here, Jeremiah is writing to the captives. A false prophet has given them false hope of being a speedy release, and Jeremiah is assuring them that God will restore them to their own land. They could've found hope in this false prophet. It's often easier to believe what you want to hear. Instead God reminds them to 1) call on Him 2) GO and pray 3) He will hearken when they search for Him with ALL their heart. Call on Him To think about the fact that God is never too busy to answer your call is mind baffling to me. There is no call waiting, busy tone, or voice mail box that hasn't been set up at the end of His line. All we have to do, how very simple, is call upon Him. However, I find this being a difficult step at times. When a problem arises, my first reaction is to fix it. I've always been pretty independent (until marriage, and now I'm like a lost puppy without Yellow Car Boy). I was taught to handle things yourself, and if you don't know how you find a way. Unfortunately, I often translate this to my relationship with God. I want to find the solution. Sometimes it's because I don't want to be a burden. That excuse is pretty silly because God clearly tells us He wants to carry our burdens in His strength. It's also silly because I am His child, and He cares for me. Sometimes it's because I have a timeline established, and I don't know if God's timeline quite matches up with mine. And sometimes it's because I lack a great deal of faith, and I would rather know what I'm going to do and the end result than trust in what God can do. All of these excuses are quite silly. After all, God is the creator of the earth. Oh, and He's still in control. Oh, and clearly He knows way better than me because I haven't created a human body or entire ecosystem that self sufficiently functions. He's extremely thoughtful and knows what's best because He is eternal. Nothing that comes up in our lives is ever a surprise to Him. He knows the end result because He is already there with us. (Some may read this and wonder why God "allows" heartache. He doesn't want us to hurt. Bad things happen because there is sin in this world.) Go and Pray In War Room, I was just amazed at the designated spot for prayer. heir reward. Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. That is exactly what God proposes here. I don't know about y'all, you be more spiritual than me, but I get SO distracted. Yellow Car Boy and I have recently purchased a home, and there is plenty to distract me. There are lots of things to make pretty. My phone distracts me. The fact that dinner needs to be cooked distracts me. The floor needing to be swept distracts me. The beautiful weather distracts me. My classroom distracts me. (I'm very easily distracted- clearly.) How wonderful to have a spot with no distraction and just a place for you and God to meet. How beautifully intimate a time that would be with my Heavenly Father. In the movie, I really loved how she sacrificed closet space and in the end how the whole family joined together. What a wonderful, wonderful example to set for a child. Can you imagine watching someone "battle" life's issues in prayer as a young child? I would hope that experience would lead a child to know how to pray as a first action in times of rejoicing and sorrow. I love the action verb, GO. Go and pray. It's more than babbling a thoughtless prayer. He Will Hearken Ms. Clara had a framed paper of answered prayer requests. Y'all! What a glorious thing to have in the center of your home as a beautiful reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness. How very often I pray for something and God responds, and I just rejoice maybe once, and then I move on to the next issue at hand. He is faithful, and He deserves our praise. Heartache and Sorrow Some people may read this and think God let them down. They may think prayer didn't work. They may have experienced some type of heartache that I cannot wrap my brain around. (And heartache, by the way, is very individual. People may experience the exact same situations, but we're all different and respond differently. While it helps to have someone who can relate. We never truly understand what someone else is experiencing.) I don't have the answer. I can tell that person this, and I hope it's encouraging. God is not human. He is slow to anger and filled with love. His ways are not our ways (and praise God because if I were God, I would not be as gracious as Him). He truly does desire the very best for us as His children, and we may never know or understand a lot until those Who know Him as Savior are called home to Heaven. 2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Maybe He'll use you to comfort someone else. Maybe He'll use you to lead someone to Him. Maybe someone will watch at a distance at how you respond. Maybe you'll be the couple in the movie. He was so surprised at how his wife responded with grace and patience. He saw something different. Maybe someone needs to see that in you today. Maybe God wants you to hit rock bottom because you won't look up until you do. Ms. Clara took what God did for her and shared with others. She evenly specifically prayed He would send someone. When we have lemons, and God makes lemonade out of those lemons, we should share that sweetness with those around us.
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