A Timely Reminder

I always need reminders.  I forget everything.  Lists and notes are my best friends.  From grocery to phone calls to special projects and to dos, I write it down.  I even got a small erasable white board to jot things down and leave on my counter in an effort to save paper and be more environmentally responsible!   LOL

There are things we know.  We know that we know them.  But we forget about them in the hustle and bustle of living.  The truths and lessons God teaches us get lost in the busy day to day that crowds our minds and minutes.  It drives me crazy!  

Last night before bed I was reading "God's Hostage" by Andrew Brunson, with Craig Borlase.  Andrew and his wife were faithful missionaries in Turkey, working and living in obedience to God's call on their lives.  Twenty three years they spent ministering to refugees, planted churches, leading conferences and building up new missionaries, in spite of threats and difficulties.  And then they were arrested.  Norine was released shortly, but Andrew would spend over two years imprisoned on trumped up charges.  This book chronicles that time, and the trials Andrew faced, physically, mentally and spiritually, along with God's love and faithfulness during his ordeal.

So as I was reading I came to a sentence that struck a chord of conviction in my heart.  "GUILTY!" was the cry I heard in my head after reading, "I should remove from my heart any conditions on which God would pass or fail." 

Wow.  What a powerful statement.  And guilty was all I could claim.  Will God deliver?  Will God provide?  If He does this....If He does that....meets my conditions, my desires, my plans, my solutions.  With these conditions in my heart as I pray, I make myself God.  I make myself the planner, the ruler, the lord of my life. When I go to God in prayer with the answer already in mind, what happens when He doesn't answer the way I planned?  I decide God has failed me.  I decide when His love is being shown in my life.  I decide that He doesn't know how to run my life.   Ummm, no.  That's not the way it's supposed to be.  

Matthew 26:42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”  Jesus' own words give us the answer to all those conditions we place on God when asking for Him to help us or the our loved ones.  He is Almighty God.  I, for one, do not wish to take that title from Him, nor am I able or entitled to.  But yet, when I go to Him in prayer with the answer already formed in my heart, then I am taking away His sovereignty in my life.  

Like I said, there are things we know.  And most of us know all this.  But we forget, or we want it to be different or we can't let go of our own desired outcome....whatever label we put on it, we want to be the ones who dictate God's answers to our prayers.  Instead of echoing Jesus in Matthew 26:42, we say, "Not Your will but my will be done."   GUILTY!

Lord, forgive me for this habitual usurping of Your plan and Lordship.  I talk about submitting, but still go to You with the answers in my heart.  Yes, Lord, there are things we would like to see, ways we would like to be delivered, or see loved ones delivered.  But help us to let those desires go and make You and You alone the desire of  our heart.  Let us humble ourselves before You and let You be God.  Thank You for the always needed reminders You give.  You are a tender Father, loving with Your children, patience with our stubborn, slow learning, forgetful hearts.  Thank You.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Let go of your answers the next time you spend time in prayer.