Praying With Disappointment

 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

 Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)                                                                           

           My IPhone and I have a love/hate relationship. Being able to contact anyone, at any time is a great feature – unless I am in the middle of quiet time and get one spam call after the other. 

   As a person who is directionally challenged in small closets and bathrooms, I love that my phone can direct me to my exact destination – unless I miss my turn and have to listen to a very irritated voice spitting out “recalculating, recalculating.”

But my love/hate of my IPhone is the most obvious when I use my voice to text a message. How wonderful that I can touch one little spot on my phone – a mic – and speak my message rather than trying to type what I want to say. That is, until my phone decides to interpret my voice conversation on its own. Let me explain.

            I call my sister at 7 am every morning, almost without fail. We both have busy schedules and it makes sense to call before the day gets crazy for either of us. One particular morning I was running late and decided to hit the mic button and send her a text by voice. What I said was “Getting ready for dentist appointment. Will call in a bit.” But what my phone heard when I spoke was “Getting ready for disappointment. Will fall in a pit.” Mercy.

            Fortunately, I glanced down just before I hit the send button and corrected my message. But later, as I recalled that text, I thought about my prayer life and wondered if that is exactly how I pray sometimes: Getting myself ready for disappointment by not believing that God will answer as I have prayed. Hoping He will answer; wondering if I said just the right words in just the right way. Maybe even feeling deep inside that what I am asking is too hard for God or that He really doesn’t care one way or the other.

           Have you ever done that? No, you say? What about praying that the cancer will disappear but thinking “It’s spread too much. There’s no way my husband can be healed.” or praying for a prodigal child while thinking “she is too far gone. Nothing will ever change her mind.”

            May I just remind you who you are talking with when you pray? The Creator of Heaven and Earth, the God of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End, Jehovah, Lord, The Most High God.

             He gave up everything He owned to purchase us, His children. He loves us  more than anything in all creation. And we wonder if He can or will answer our prayers? Our Father raised the dead, parted seas, gave sight to the blind, caused those who could not walk to run, closed the mouths of lions, and opened prison doors. He is very capable of hearing and answering our prayers.

             It comes down to this: pray with confidence. Pray with the assurance that He hears and answers. Your words do not need to be fancy; they simply need to be from your heart to His. Will you always get the answer that YOU want? No, because the wisdom of the Lord covers everything in our lives. That is where trust comes in. Trust that the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of our beating hearts, knows what is best for us in our lives.

             So the next time you pray, resist the urge to pray with disappointment; instead, approach the God of the Universe with boldness and confidence. He hears, He understands and He answers.

    Father, forgive me for praying but not believing that you can or will answer when I call on your name. You are a faithful Father and I love you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.      

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

•  Have you ever prayed but felt like your prayer was not heard or would not be answered?

• If so, why did you believe you were not heard by the Lord?

Apply

• Write the Power Scriptures on note cards and keep them paper-clipped together in your Bible.  

• Before your prayer time each day, read the Scripture on each card and praise the Lord for hearing and answering your prayer requests.

Power      

• Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”      

• Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”      

• Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”                 

Are You Bankrupt?

 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36 (NIV)

    Have you ever prayed for someone and then realized much later that you had not been praying the way the Lord would have wanted? Probably we all have. A friend of mine shared with me how the Lord redirected her prayer quickly and clearly. 

   Barbara told me that she had lunch with a couple who told her they were struggling financially. They shared how there never seemed to be enough money at the end of the month for everything they felt they needed along with paying all the bills.

          “My heart just broke for how hard they worked,” she told me. “Even though they both had great jobs, they were worried that they would be bankrupt within a few months if things didn’t turn around financially.”

    Barbara shared that as she drove away after lunch, she began to lift the couple up to the Lord. “Father, please help them,” she prayed.  “The last thing they need is to be bankrupt.” But she said that the Lord immediately spoke truth to her heart.

   “Pray for them. But understand the problem is not that they are bankrupt financially; it is that they are bankrupt spiritually.” Her prayer instantly changed for the couple.

    Jesus knew that the pull of the world and what it offered would be a huge temptation for His children. That is why there is one Scripture after another in the Bible that addresses that very struggle.

   In Mark 8:36, Jesus asks a pointed question: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” He is speaking to a large crowd with His disciples at His side and yet He is speaking to us, too.

   The couple Barbara spoke with could fail to pay the money they owe and have to declare bankruptcy. They could also work harder, perhaps, and pay off their financial debt. But can I ask you this: what’s the point of being financially free if we're spiritually bankrupt?

    Every single thing that the world offers us may appear beautiful but it is temporary. And because of sin, the more we get, the more we want. Jesus offers us eternal freedom. We can never pay the debt of being spiritually bankrupt but we don’t need to because Jesus paid that debt with His death on the cross.

    When you give Jesus your heart – your everything – you are no longer spiritually bankrupt. You are eternally His. If you have financial debt, I encourage you to seek Christian financial counseling to get on the right path.  But first, go before the Lord and ask Him to be Lord of your life. Get in the Word and seek His direction for everything that you do, every day. Be spiritually debt-free in Him. For eternity.

 

   Father, I want you to be the focus of my life completely. May I look less at what the world offers and more on your face and eternal life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

Reflect

• Where is the majority of your focus centered every day? Spiritually or worldly? 

• Does your life reflect that  you are seeking more of Jesus or more of stuff?  

Apply

• Write Mark 8:36 in your journal. Make a column titled “gain the whole world” under it and write down everything material that you consider important in your life and cannot live without.

• Now, beside each one, write “yes” or “no” as you consider whether each thing on your list is worth forfeiting your soul. If you answered “yes” to anything you wrote down, seek the Lord’s face and lay that item down before Him.

Power

• Mark 8:36 (NIV) “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” 

• Matthew 6:21 (NIV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

• Proverbs 23:5 (NIV) “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

Ander Issues

 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” James 1:19-20 (NIV)

   I love my children more than anything in this world. And I truly want to be the best Christian mother ever. Not that I have to win the “Mother of the Year” award, although that would be nice. The problem is I have blown it as a mom more times than I can count. Let me share just one experience with you. I’m not proud of it; I am embarrassed and ashamed.

   My son was four years old and the Tasmanian devil the minute he walked – or rather exploded – into a room. His bedroom was the worst. I would be picking up toys and putting them in his toy box and he would be pulling out all the clothes in his dresser behind me. As soon as I started putting his clothes away, he would run to the toy box and toys would fly. Again. And. Again.

   One beautiful spring afternoon I went into his room to see if he wanted to go outside and play. And I flipped out. Maybe it was because I stepped on the helmet of his Transformer with my bare foot. Or it could have been seeing toys stuffed in his dresser and his clothes stuffed in the toy box or the silly putty embedded in his sheer white curtains for the millionth time. I’m not sure.

   But what I AM sure of is that I turned into a yelling maniac. I proceeded to tell him how terrible it was to create so much work for me and how he needed to change his attitude and improve his behavior or else. The more I yelled, the angrier I became until I stopped to take a breath – and saw her. My landlady. Trimming the shrubs just outside my son’s bedroom. And yes, the windows were open.

   I knew that she heard every syllable of every harsh word I had spoken to my son in anger. And I was instantly so ashamed. Ashamed that I had spoken to my son in anger. Ashamed that it took me realizing that someone heard me, to make me stop.

   There is a reason James 1:19-20 is so important to each one of us. First, we as parents are to be Godly examples to our children. I am fairly certain that even if Jesus had stepped on a Transformer, he would not have exploded in anger at the child who left it on the floor.

   Secondly, we are to be examples of Christ to those around us. My landlady knew I taught the little ones where we went to church. She must have shaken her head at the thought of me teaching “Jesus Loves Me” to 4-year-olds when I treated my own child in such an unlovely, unchristian way.

  Let me be clear: none of us are perfect and there are going to be those times when we completely blow it. But we must always try to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” I knelt down, pulled my precious son into my arms, and asked him to forgive me for my angry harsh words. He extended mercy to me as only a four-year-old could and, smiling, said “Okay, Mommy” as he gave me a hug and a kiss.

   Mother of the Year? No. But I am determined every day, with God’s help, to be the example that He desires me to be.

   Father, I long to be a Christian example to my children and to those around me. Please teach me to listen and speak with love and mercy. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you ever absolutely blown it when talking to your children?

•  Were you quick to become angry and speak words you immediately regretted?

Apply

• Journal James 1:19-20. Put your name in place of “My dear brothers.” Every morning for a week, read that Scripture before you get out of bed. 

• Ask the Lord to help you be a Christian example to your children throughout the day.

 

Power 

• James 1:19-20 (NIV) “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

• Psalm 127:3 (NIV) “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.”Ephesians 6:4 (NIV) “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

• Ephesians 6:4 (NIV) “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Praying Without Believing

             “Be joyful always, pray continually . . .” I Thessalonians 5:16-17 (NIV)

    A man was baptized in my hometown a few years ago. That’s wonderful but not news that makes national headlines. It happens all the time. However, something made this baptism different: this was a man I had spent the last 20 years praying for almost every day.

    But I am embarrassed and ashamed to confess that even though I prayed for his salvation, I wasn’t convinced it would happen. Why? Because I saw him and his actions on the outside and I judged him.  I never stopped to consider that God was doing a mighty work on the inside, on this man’s heart. Shame on me.

    Year after year I watched him and prayed but also judged him by how I saw his life unfold. According to I Thessalonians 5:16-17, I should have been “joyful always” knowing that I  should “pray continually” for his heart to turn to Jesus each day and praising God for being faithful to answer when we call on Him.  

    Instead, I was judgmental and prideful during my prayer time. I didn’t speak these comments out loud but my thought life did: “Wow, God. He isn’t going to turn to you, is he?” or “I’m not sure even you can change the heart of concrete that man has, God.” And then there is this one: “So many are praying for him, Lord. Why isn’t he changing?”

    I tell you that, to share this: we may not see with our physical eyes changes going on in the lives of the people we are praying for but God is working on the inside to guide and direct them to His mercy and forgiveness and grace.

    We have no idea the battle that is being waged on the inside for anyone’s heart and life nor do we know the plans that God is putting in place as He fights for His children and their salvation.

    But He tells us to pray continually for a reason: because He, Jesus, has never once stopped interceding for us before the Father. If He never stops, why should we? I should have been trusting God to work in this man’s life and heart but instead, I was judging what I could see with my physical and not spiritual eyes.

    Can I just open up to you and say that there are loved ones in my family that I have prayed for, off and on, for years and I would hate to think that someone was praying for them with the same attitude that I had as I prayed for this man. Do you agree?

    So I have an idea: let’s all resolve to have an attitude of joyfulness as we lift up people all around us who do not have a face-to-face relationship with Jesus. Instead of praying “He probably won’t ever change, Lord” let’s instead pray “I am excited for the day that he turns his heart over to you, Lord.”

    My attitude in prayer. That’s what it comes down to—being joyful as we trust Jesus to speak truth to those around us. It’s not our job to judge if someone is changing inside. Our job is to pray continually, joyfully, hopefully. His job is to change hearts.

   Father, forgive me for using my physical eyes and not my spiritual eyes when praying for your children. Help me to trust you in all things. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever prayed for someone for months or even years and felt like your prayers were not being answered?

• Were you trusting the Lord and praying joyfully and continuously or did you give up and stop praying?

Apply

• Journal the names of people that you have prayed over for a long time – months or years.

• Beside each one write “I will joyfully and continually pray for you.” Then make sure to continue praying for them.

 Power

•  I Thessalonians 5:16-17 (NIV) “Be joyful always, pray continually . . .”

• Romans 10:1 (NIV) “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”

•  II Peter 3:9 (NIV) “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”