Praying for ________ Everything that I am posting here has come as answers to prayer. Invariably, some discomfort in my life lead me to ask God for help, I sought help for a season and then found resolution. However, it never felt that neat or tidy. Most of the time His answer didnt seem to match my question, but through hindsight, I can see God answering the real issue, not my symptom driven plea. The process of asking God for help usually starts with me complaining about whats happening. (Lets call this passive prayer) Ill try and shift the responsibility off to someone else, try and justify myself and reason why this shouldnt be happening to me. God patiently listens to my whining. If Im especially fleshly and self-absorbed, Ill even pull out some Bible verses supporting my defense that as a Christian I shouldnt have this struggle. Again I can shift the blame away from myself by calling it spiritual warfare. God listens to my babbling. It is part of our nature (the way God created us, not punished) that while sufficiently uncomfortable, either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, we CANT STOP thinking about it... This is a gift. We push it out one ear, and it pops in the other. We try and ignore it, pretending it isnt there, hoping it wont see us and go away. We keep busy with other things, not giving our heart/mind time to go there. We treat it like a stray dog commanding, Go Away! while wondering, Whose dog is this? They should keep it leashed. When things get bad enough, Ill eventually realize that I need to open my eyes and look around to see what Ive been working so hard to overlook. I need to use what God has already given me and take responsibility for what is happening now. The more mature we are, the less discomfort is needed to motivate us... After this denial-spree, we come to accept that we are not, and cannot, hande this by ourselves. We need help. I wont detail all of the unhelpful places I have reached for help before turning toward God. Hopefully less places than last time... Finally, I use my words and quote my Judy, Help please? Once I quit running from the trouble, and squarely face it, the real process begins. Ill call deliberately seeking Gods help, active prayer. This season can be shorter, or longer than we think it should, in my case, usually longer. Have you ever closed your eyes and walked across a room? It is normal to put your hands up anticipating the wall well before you reach it. It seems like you should be there by now... This is how I feel in this seeking process. Eyes closed, hands out groping for something, expecting the worst, trusting in my ability to keep myself safe. If only I could see what was happening! Sometimes this season is merely waiting the necessary time to grow up beyond the question. Like Kramer, going on strike from the bagel shop, demanding $5.35 an hour. The twelve year strike ends when the minimum wage rises that high... More often, the process transforms us a bit more into the Image of Christ. We couldnt understand it before, even if we were staring right at it. From our new position, we are able to get it, and more importantly, use it. A less flattering reality is that God is often answering, but we rejecting. Maybe it doesnt look like we think it should, or it doesnt remove our discomfort (solve our problem). When the package arrives we know it isnt what we are expecting, wrong shape or size. My answers usually come with the dreaded instructions, some assembly required. The season of seeking is followed by a season of applying. At some point I realize that something is different, changed, shifted, resolved. My natural mind chalks it up to coincidence or as purely natural; my Spirit man recognizes Gods handiwork. Sometimes I clearly have the answer, othertimes I had something, but am not sure what. Many times I just had resolution. I didnt know the what, where, when or why, only a realization that things were different, something had changed. I have grown up some. I am a little better at recognizing Gods Answers to prayer. I have come to see, that everything in the Kingdom emphasises process over product. Consider your ways..., not just the destination. I have experienced Gods leading me with a trail of crumbs. Any individual crumb is insignificant by itself, but the bit of nourishment received and the course correction combine to heal my pain and lead me to the place of understanding. If I overlook some crumbs, judging them as insignificant I wont have the strength or direction to move forward. Most importantly, Gods Answers are usually in seed-form. We are crying out for lumber, we can clearly see the need, and we receive a pinecone. How does this help?! Amazon has further distorted our concept of provision - expidited shipping, package tracking and delivery right to our door. This is not Gods system. He is leading us. Leading implies moving from one place to another. Get off the couch (pew), and follow me. Gods answer to Noah was to build the ark. How long did that take? How much work was involved. (an extreme example of some assembly required...) Search the scriptures for Gods intervention and provision. How much was food from heaven - complete and ready to eat, versus that which was not, what was not immediately useful, but potential packed within a seed? When you pray for lumber and are given a seed, value it, plant and nurture it, partner with God in His process of provision. Hopefully by the time the tree is mature, you will have learned woodworking. R.S. Hildebrant
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 13:52:41 +0000
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