When there is something obvious that no one is mentioning, we call it an "elephant in the room."I find sometimes when I am praying that there is something huge that I am neglecting. It is as if God is saying to me, "Put down your prayer agenda and tell Me what's really bothering you" (or "...tell Me about that sin that you're forgetting to mention").
It doesn't have to be something scandalous, just something that needs to be addressed. And the Holy Spirit brings it to our attention and helps us to come before the Father... more/-
If you have a chronic health problem, a good doctor will help you get to the root of the illness. He will take the time to investigate your history and lifestyle, along with your symptoms.
There are so many times in the Bible when someone's underlying need is met. Jesus says to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." (Matthew 9:2) Of course he sees that there is another need on the surface, but He knows what the man really needs.
The elephants in my prayer life are elephants not because they are obvious to the human eye, but because they are obvious to God, who knows my heart; and obvious to me, as the Holy Spirit reveals.
When I sit down with God, I have to start somewhere. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to get into the Word if I'm distracted by something. (At the same time, knowing the Word helps in knowing what to pray. It's all connected somehow.) At this point, I might start to pray about one thing and then another, asking the Lord, "Is this what You want me to focus on? Is this the area where I need to trust You more? Is this what you want me to be passionate about today? Is this the call of my heart that You are ready to answer?"
We are to love God, first and foremost. And part of loving Him is responding to His love for us. And He calls us to lay our burdens down.
Liz, you will probably delete my post again, but at least I know that you will read it before you deleted it. Listen, I am not your enemy. I am actually your friend, although I know you do not see it this way.
ReplyDeleteWhat you are going through, I and many other people have gone through as well. I once was passionate about being a missionary. I once had these dreams and visions of what God wanted me to become.
The thing is it all came to a screeching halt when I realized that all I was trying to do is to fit God into my agenda. Every church in the US doing this. Almost every sermon at any given evangelical church in the US is all about how God may fit my agenda, and so we become used to the fact God is on our side. Always. The truth is he is not. God doesn't want us to be anything special compared to other people. God doesn't take away our pain, mistakes, illnesses and so forth. He does what he pleases, and he is by no means influenced by our prayers. All that nonsense about God being a loving Father (our daddy, as some pathetic Christians are trying to represent him) is nothing but a nonsense. God can't be explained or figured out and you and I know that. He has to be revered, and at no point he has said that he will be at our disposal when we need him. We are not supposed to stick God into every aspect of our life. He doesn't take away the painful consequences of our decision no matter how much we prayed about them and no matter how reasonable they seemed at the time.
The sooner you accept these facts the sooner your life will be free of stress and anxiety when it comes to doing the will of God. The will of God is to be a normal person. It's that simple.
A) there is no such thing as the will of God on one's life. Honestly, how would anyone know what his will on one's life is? It's impossible to know.
B) God doesn't show any partiality to anyone. You can be a perfect student of the Bible and yet God may neglect you but he may choose some idiot to do his will.
I hope you get my point.
V - I love your point...and perhaps Liz responded to it with her next post.
ReplyDeleteIt is something I struggle to remember all the time. When I find someone stupid or annoying, or most especially when I see some person on the street who appears to be obnoxious, disgusting, rude (for example the "rich jerk in the sports car going 90") I mentally slap myself and remind myself that God loves that person as much as He loves me! I am nothing special.