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Have you ever thought about what prompts a lot of us to pray? It's usually
when we want something really badly like a job or a date with someone
special or the lottery. And if we don't get what we ask for, we feel our
prayer wasn't answered and we feel "the silence of God." We're like
children who don't get what they want then pout. Why bother praying when
God doesn't answer our prayers?
Oh ye of little faith! The problem is not that God doesn't answer our
prayer but in our lack of faith in believing that God knows what's best for
us. Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has plans for us "to prosper us" and not to
harm us. If He has plans for us and He is our creator then it stands to
reason that He knows what's best for us. He has a purpose for each and
every one of us. It may not be the same as the plans we have for ourselves
but therein lies the problem of what we may consider to be God's silence.
We're so convinced that what we're asking for is the perfect thing for us
that we're forgetting that our Creator is all knowing. Psalm 9:10 promises
that God won't forsake those who trust in Him. If we put our lives in God's
hands and accept His will for us and in His timing for what happens in our
lives, we'll also be able to accept that everything we ask for in prayer may
not necessarily be what's best for us. We should be praying for God's will
in our lives, not for our will. Our prayer should be, "Thy will, not mine,
be done oh Lord!"
Remember the popular song from years ago by a group named the Byrds called
"Turn,Turn,Turn"? Well, it sounds remarkably like Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3.
It says, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose
under heaven." Think about that for a second or two. For all we know, that
thing we prayed so hard for but didn't get would have been the worst thing
for us in that season and at that time. God wasn't silent when we thought
He wasn't answering our prayer. He was protecting us from ourselves! Instead
of feeling slighted we should be thanking Him! You see, God is never
silent. We're just not listening!
We spend our lives worrying that we won't get what we ask for in prayer instead of putting our faith in God's plan
for us. Jesus says in Matthew 6:27, "Who of you, by worrying, can add a
single hour to his life?" There are a lot of questions in life and God will
answer every one of them. What we need to remember is that they will be
answered according to what's best for us and in our Creator's timing. We can
fight it or we can have faith in and accept the will of God in our lives. If
we begin each day by asking God to take control of every aspect of our lives
and to help us to remember that we really want His will and His timing in
our lives and we take it one day at a time so as not to become overwhelmed,
we'd find our journey in this life to be so much more fulfilling.
I have a little plaque above my kitchen sink that was passed on to me by my
"hanai" or adopted family that I try to live by. It says, "Lord, help me to
remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that you and I can't
handle together." Then I try to pray prayers of thanksgiving all day long
and only ask that His will be done.
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Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer Catherine de Hueck Doherty Nurturing Silence in a Noisy Heart : How to Find Inner Peace Wayne Edward Oates
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Reconciling our Homosexuality:
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