Tag Archives: God

Devotional

Easy A for Antithetical

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Read Colossians 3:1-10

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

easy_a_TRUE

At first she liked the attention. She even tried to help one of her bullied friends, letting him tell people that he had a tryst with her too. This led to other bullied kids asking her, and even offering to pay her, to let them claim to have had a tryst with her. At first, Olive agrees to all of this, thinking that she is in control of the situation; yet, as they often do, the rumors spun way out of control.

I won’t give anymore of the film away so as to not spoil it for those who haven’t watched it; however, I mention it because it is worth noting how easily people can get caught up in rumors. People just love gossip. All it takes is for one person to catch wind of something and, before long, the story has grown by leaps and bounds and has spread around an entire community and beyond.  What’s more, rumors are seldom, if ever, based on truth.

As Olive found out, rumors are nothing to play around with. While most people don’t start rumors about themselves, people often participate in them about others. They catch wind of something about someone they don’t know well, or perhaps of someone they don’t like, and they begin to talk about it with others, who then continue to spread the gossip. At first, gossip often seems very innocent and harmless; however, gossip is anything of the sort. At best, gossip emotionally and psychologically hurts and scars those who are subjected to it. At worst, it can be spiritually and physically damaging, causing the subjects of such gossip to devalue themselves and even, in some cases, harm themselves.

The Apostle Paul certainly dealt with division and rumors in his churches. In fact, he did not hesitate to clearly state that gossip, slander and other abusive behaviors were sinful. There is nothing good or Godly that can come from the spreading of gossip. Paul went so far as to even say that anyone who participates in any sort of wrongdoing such as gossip, will not inherit the Kingdom of God. After all, if God is love, and God is at the center of the Kingdom of God, then it logically follows that Love is at the center of the Kingdom of God. Gossip is certainly not an expression of love. It has no place in love. Gossip seeks to separate not to support. It seeks to discriminate not to accept. It seek so to destroy not to build up. When one really thinks about it, gossip is antithetical to love; therefore, those who actively seek to participate in gossip are choosing to not participate in (aka inherit) the kingdom of God.

This, perhaps, is not an easy message for many of us. Most of us have been caught up in one form of gossip or another; however, it is a message we need to hear all the same. God does not want us to participate in gossip, no matter what reason we feel we have for doing so. In God’s eyes, there is NO REASON to gossip. Rather, let us seek to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). Let us seek to truly get to know someone, rather than scorning them based off of hearsay. Let us live into, and inherit, the Kingdom of God rather than sowing the seeds of envy, gossip and hate. That is what LOVE calls us to do!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us, to talk about the rest of us.” – Edward Wallis Hoch

PRAYER

Lord, steer me clear of gossip, no matter how innocent it may seem. Let my words reflect your love for all people, and plant that love in my heart. Amen.

Devotional

Mountain Mover

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Read Matthew 1:1-21

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

MountainMoverBoth of my children have always been smart and studious, always striving to do well in their studies at school. They have each done very well in their grades and my oldest has even won the Presidential Award for Academic Achievement.  At the end of this last school year, my oldest daughter was told that her teachers were recommending her for honors classes for the next school year.

 One of the honors classes she is going to be taking this year is Literature. She has always been an avid reader, and reads countless books. One of the requirements for eighth grade honors Literature is for them to read three books during the summer, two of which are classics: “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens and “Call of the Wild” by Jack London. For those who have read those books, they know that is a pretty high bar for an eighth grader.

 Just the other night, my daughter was stressing out. She had read up through chapter 20 in the book, and she felt that she just wasn’t understanding this book.  “I am not sure it is really making sense Dad,” she confided in me. “I have to read this book and be able to answer questions about it, and I just don’t think I am going to be able to.” Clearly, she was distressed about the work that lay before her.

 We’ve all been there, we’ve all had moments that we felt we just weren’t up to the challenge. We’ve all been overwhelmed by the circumstances and challenges that faced us and have felt at a loss for just how we were going to survive. Perhaps even some of us have had negative attitudes toward those challenges. Perhaps we have told ourselves that we couldn’t possibly rise up to them, let alone above them; of course, such an attitude almost always becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 All we need to do is recognize and embrace our faith. Jesus taught his disciples that if we had faith the size of the tiniest of seeds we could move mountains. There is nothing that God cannot get us through. There isn’t any fear, doubt, obstacle, or task that is too large for God to handle. All we need to is to have faith that God would not allow us to be crushed by this world or it’s circumstances. All we need is a little faith in God’s ability to work through our circumstances.

 This is not to say that God CAUSES our circumstances. Life happens as it does, and we are constantly being affected by our own choices as well as the choices of others around us.  That’s the reality of living in a community, of living in a world with other people. Yet, God never ceases to be with us, regardless of the challenges before us. God is constantly working for the good of those who love God and are called according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28).

 So, have a little faith! Pick your chin up and know that you are not alone in your circumstances. Know that you are God’s and that God would never forsake you or fail you. Have faith in God, but also have faith in the abilities God has given you. God is constantly preparing us and equipping us with the abilities and tools to handle the challenges before us.  Have a little faith and be a mountain mover! Know that you are empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to rise up to any challenge that comes your way, no matter how great or small. Remember, all things are possible through Christ who gives us strength!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” – Helen Keller

PRAYER

Lord, open the eyes of my heart so that I may see that through me, you can move the mountains. Amen.

Devotional

Our Father’s House

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Read Luke 6:37-49

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)

still-of-hayden-christensen-in-life-as-a-house-large-pictureThere’s a movie that came out several years ago called, “Life as a House,” which was about a man who finds out he has terminal cancer. This man was a guy who fell short in many of his relationships, none more so than the relationship with his son.  After telling his ex-wife about the diagnosis and prognosis, she agrees to send their son to spend the summer with him. The son didn’t really want to spend the summer with his father; however, he has no choice in the matter and begrudgingly went.

The father had decided that he was going to build his dream house, the house that he always talked about building but never got around to it. It was the house he had promised his son’s mother that he would build when they were still married; it was the house that he failed to build. The father also decided that his son was going to help him build this house and, as with going to stay with his father in the first place, the son had little choice in the matter and begrudgingly agreed to help his dad build the house.

The father wanted the building of the house to be the rebuilding of his relationship with his son. He wanted to bond with his son so that, after the cancer finally killed him, his son would know that he loved him and would have the house as a reminder of his father’s love for him. But the son wanted none of that. He thought the entire project was stupid. He couldn’t understand the point of it all. The boy’s pride was keeping him from seeing the bigger picture.

To make a long story short, the boy does end up bonding with the father, but just as he starts to bond, the father tells his son that he doesn’t have long to live. He grows angry with his dad and can’t understand why his dad didn’t tell him to begin with that he had cancer. Again, the boy’s pride kicks in and he refuses to talk to his dad any more and refuses to work any more on the house…until his father falls ill. Once his dad was dying the boy was faced with the choice of forgiving his father or holding a grudge…of building the house or letting his father’s dreams die with him. Thankfully the son chose to complete the house and in the end the father willed the house to his son and his ex-wife.

Many people, just like the son, let their pride hold them like prisoners. They hold grudges and refuse to forgive only to watch their relationships disintegrate before their very eyes. What a tragedy that in this short life, people would choose to waste it by locking themselves in the prison of pride. What a tragedy that anyone would selfishly refuse to forgive others, especially since each of us have been on the receiving end of forgiveness.

Jesus taught of the importance of being humble and forgiving.  If we think we are better than others, if we think that others are less deserving of grace and forgiveness than we are, then we truly are prisoners of our pride, locked away in our own unrelenting personal hell. Is any grudge worth the price we pay in the end? Is any wrong committed against us worth the hell we put ourselves through by hatefully holding grudges? Today’s challenge for us is to let go of our grudges, and let God begin to sow the seeds of forgiveness in our hearts. If we do that we will truly inherit the house our heavenly father is building for us: the house of Hope, Healing and Wholeness.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes

PRAYER

Lord, give me the strength it takes to be humble and to forgive, as I recognize that I, too, have been forgiven. Amen.

Devotional

A New Kind of Normal

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Read Mark 1:1-13

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.” (Deuteronomy 1:6)

leaving-normal-signNo matter how many times people talk about change, we never really seem to ever get to a place where we feel comfortable about it.  I have heard so many different sermons on the topic of change, and I have attended seminars on change, and have even preached on and taught the merit of change myself; however, change always seems to get us anxious and uneasy. We just don’t want things to change, do we?

I am certainly know stranger to change. When I first entered into community college, I was determined to get into web development. I focused on all of the things I needed to in order to attain an associates degree. Yet, before I could finish, my wife and I  ran into financial issues, as we were both in school, and I ended up having to leave school and pick up a full-time job, working as an Iron Worker with my father-in-law, in order to support our young family.  Boy was that change! Going from college to being an iron worker was a tough change to deal with, yet over time it all worked out.

When my wife finished nursing school and was able to pick up a full-time job as a nurse in a hospital, I left iron working to go back to school. I went to a technology Institute and earned a degree in business programming, was placed in a job and things all seemed to be going as planned; however, less than a year later, the company I worked for owed me $5,000, went bankrupt and left me home without a job. I tried desperately to get a job, but every company wanted at least five years experience before they even looked at your resume, and most of the IT jobs had been outsourced.

Boy, that was a tough change to go through as well. I had gone from a working man to being at home watching my children. I had to constantly endure questions of whether or not I was looking for a job, and if any progress had been made in that search. I had to come to terms with the fact that I could not get a job and I had to go through a period of soul searching before being able to see that staying home with my children was actually a blessing.  It was during that period that I also came to terms with the calling God had placed on me as a young boy…and then the CHANGE really began!

Jesus was no stranger to change either.  The Gospel of Mark purposefully starts of with Jesus down by the river Jordan. Many people were getting baptized by the prophet John, and Jesus went to be baptized just like the rest of them. Yet, as he was coming out of the water, he had a divine vision of not only his calling, but of his true identity as God’s beloved Son. There is no doubt that the theophany (or appearance of God) at the Jordan River profoundly changed the course of Jesus’ life, as well as the course of human history.

What gets us through change is the realization that things are always changing and there is nothing can do to stop it. In fact, when I look back at those times of change in my life, I wouldn’t “change” a single a moment! I would keep everything exactly as it is because it is each and every one of those moments that has helped to shape me into who I am. I’d imagine that if you take the time to look back on the moments of significant change in your life, you will see the value those moments have had. God has worked through those moments in our lives to promote growth and cultivate faith. So thank God for change, and when change comes embrace it as a new kind of normal!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

PRAYER

Lord, I have changed in order to become who I am today. Help me to embrace the change that is shaping me into who you want me to be. Amen.

 

Devotional

It’s All About Pacing

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Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

NikesHave you ever had the opportunity to run a 5k race? Right now, as I write this, I am in preparation for an upcoming 5k race. All summer long, in fact, I have been preparing for this by jogging as much as I can for as long as I can. As I have come to learn, running is all about the pacing.

When I was about 10-12 years old, my dad would take me running all the time. I wasn’t necessarily the biggest fan of jogging; however, I would go out and run with my dad.  He would always tell me to slow down and to pace myself. “You’re not running a race son, you’re just out here to get in shape,” he would encourage me. “Slow down, take it one step at a time…don’t quit now…you’re almost there.” Before long, we were running for a couple of miles.

I remember, at one point, my dad signed us both up for a 5k run in a neighboring town to ours. I may not have finished in first place, or ran a record speed; however, at 10-12 years old, I was conditioned enough to run a 5k without even feeling the need to stop. It is amazing how much one can endure if one just paces him or herself. It’s not a matter about where one places, but about finishing the race.

This summer I took my twelve year old and my nine year old out running with me, just as my Dad did with me when I was their age. At first they wanted to sprint out ahead, but would quickly tire out and have to walk.  I told them to slow down, just like my dad told me all those years ago. Once they listened to me, once they started to pace themselves, they found that they too could finish the run. In the end, my youngest ran a full mile and my oldest ran two full miles. They found out they could go the distance.

The same is true when we look at our faith journey. We often seek out God in order to better our lives in some measurable way. We look for success, for prosperity, for the world to see eye-to-eye with us, and for the world to change at the sound of “amen!” Yet, when these things do not happen the way we envision, when it seems that nothing is working the way we’d hoped, we give up and turn away from our faith.

What we as people of faith need to do is to learn how to pace ourselves. We need to stop trying to sprint off to the finish line and we need start learning to take this journey one step at a time. God has not called us into instantaneous perfection. God has not promised that the road will be short and easy. God has not promised that we will not pour sweat into the paradise that we strive for.

God simply promised that we would not have to run this race alone. That, for each step we take, God’s Holy Spirit will be there with us each step of the way. If you silence yourself for a moment, you will hear God calling out to you, “It’s not a race, my child…you’re just out here getting in shape. Slow down, take it one step at a time. Don’t quit now, you’re almost there.” Remember, that by the grace of God you can and will stay the course and finish the jog; in the end, you will look back at the course and know that God, in and through you, has accomplished much!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie

PRAYER

Lord, I thank you for being present with me as continue on the journey from where I am to wear you are calling me to be. I trust you to guide me there and leave the timing up to you. Amen.

 

Devotional

All Ears

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Read Matthew 15:21-28

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course.“ (Proverbs 23:19)

earFamily time has always been important to me. As a child, I grew up in a home where both my parents valued and encouraged family time. One of the ways that we spent time together as a family was at the dinner table.  My mom and/or my dad would cook dinner and we would sit together and eat. Our dinner time was not just about eating; however, it was very much centered on good, ole’ fashioned conversation.

As an adult and a parent, I still hang on to that value. If you ask my wife or my children, they will tell you how important it is to me for us to be spending family time together, including but not limited to the dinner table. And at the dinner table, aside from my egging them all on about how unhealthy their food is (I mean I have to have some fun as a vegan), we spend a lot of time listening to each other. We listen to how each of our days were, we listen to all of the things that excited us, we listen to all of the things that upset us, we listen to each other express ourselves in a variety of ways.

Perhaps what I just wrote above strikes you funny, or perhaps you didn’t pick up on my wording at all, but the key action that ties our time together as a family is listening to each other.  One of the most important, yet most neglected, things in our culture is the art of listening.  In today’s world we are so inundated with our own personal soundtracks, our own agendas, our own judgments, biases and egos to silence ourselves. No one really seems to care to listen anymore. Rather than take the time it requires to listen to what others are saying, to what they are truly expressing, we head off into rash judgments and close the doors to any sort of beneficial dialog.

In Matthew 15, we see Jesus being urged by his disciples to not take the time to listen to the Gentile woman who was begging for Jesus to heal her daughter. They wanted him to send her away, after all, she was bothering them with all her begging. The disciples were not truly listening to her, they weren’t compassionately putting themselves in her shoes. In some ways, even Jesus didn’t truly listen to her at first, as evidenced when, in essence, he told her that it wouldn’t be right for him to heal her daughter since she was a Gentile. Yet, in the end, Jesus did listen and, in her expression, Jesus saw her heart and her faith. Rather than pushing her away, rather than silencing her plea for the healing of her daughter, rather than invalidating her need for his help, Jesus listened to her and, following that, a miracle happened.

The point of all of this is that God is calling each of us to speak less and listen more. Whether we need to take the time to listen to others or we need to pause and take the time to truly listen to ourselves, listening is an essential component to the human relationship. It is through the art of listening that relationships grow and prosper. It is through the art of listening that we gain understanding of others and of ourselves. It is through the art of listening that we find ourselves open to the miraculous things that God has in store for us. Be still and learn to listen.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.“ – Bryant H. McGill

PRAYER

Lord, teach me to be a better listener to other as well as to myself. Amen.

 

Devotional

Go with the Flow

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Read Philippians 4:4-9

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Imacon Color ScannerMy family and I just recently went on a vacation down to South Carolina. The first four days of our vacation were spent at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. One of the things my wife, daughters and I did was go on a two hour kayaking tour of the bay. We all have been kayaking before and we thought that it would be a relaxing way to spend the last morning of our stay at Hilton Head. As we got into our double kayaks, paired up with our children, we quickly realized that the kayaking tour was not going to be a “relaxing”, lazy river experience. The winds had kicked up and the current became rather strong.

At one point, my youngest daughter and I started to get pulled in the opposite direction from the way that the group was going.  I started to paddle harder and harder, but it was to no avail. The current was simply to strong. My arms got tired and I became panicked and concerned that we were in a hopeless situation. No matter how hard my daughter and I rowed, we just could not get our kayak to turn around and head in the right direction.

Finally, a light went off in my head. I realized that the whole time we were trying to row against the current. We were trying to rely on our own strength to turn ourselves around and row upstream.  Yet, the forces of nature were simply too powerful for my arms and the arms of a 9 year old to row against.  But what if I began to row with the current, what if I let go my desire to go against the current, what if I stopped fighting so hard to do what was ultimately impossible?

“Row right, row right,” I called out to my youngest daughter! The second she heard me she caught on to what I was trying to do and began to row with the current in synch with me.  As we began to pick up speed, I plunged my paddle into the water on the left side of the kayak and began to feel the vessel turn around. “Shallow ro, shallow row,” I called out! With those words, my daughter began to row quickly on both sides using the double paddle. As she rowed the kayak picked up momentum, turned and before we knew it, we were paddling quickly upstream. With in a moment or two, we caught up to the group and, shortly after, were able to see a pod of dolphins swim gracefully by us only a few feet away.

What this experience taught both my daughter and I is that, often times, we find ourselves caught in a current. Rather, than letting go of our fears and going with the flow, we often find ourselves fighting the current. At best, we find ourselves paddling in place and never going anywhere. At worst, we find ourselves exhausted, lost and hopeless.

If you find yourself in such a situation, if you find yourself rowing against the stream, if you find yourself fighting the current, today’s challenge for you is to let go. Allow yourself to go with the flow and to gain momentum. Remember, you do not have the strength alone to fight the tide. But if you let go of your fears and go with the flow, through the grace of God, you can build moment enough to turn yourself around and paddle to where God is calling you to be. With God, there is no such thing as hopeless. Remember that, let go, and let God take you to those rewarding, refreshing waters.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Don’t stand about on the edge of life afraid to venture in. go with the flow of circumstances. Follow the voice within.” – Unknown

PRAYER

Lord, help me to realize that I have little control over the circumstances in my life; however, I do have the choice to hand my desire for control over to you. Guide my life in the direction you see fit and lead me to where it is you are calling me. Amen.

Devotional

In God’s View

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Read Amos 8:1-12

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.” (Zechariah 7:9-10)

Prince William and Kate Middleton Attend Harry Meade And Rosie Bradford's WeddingWhile I am not one to get caught up in celebrity or royalty, it is hard to do anything in this day and age without getting a glimpse, whether one wants to or not, into the lives of famous people. The latest story to be gripping the news and the world is the royal family’s newest addition to the list of heirs. “Baby Cambridge” as people are affectionately naming him until his name is officially announced, has been born to Prince William and Princess Kate and the world is going “goo goo ga ga” over the idea that this little prince has been born.  It is easy for anyone, myself included, to find themselves getting caught up in the excitement of a newborn baby.

Let’s pause there for a second. How many babies were born in the world today? How many were born in your particular part of the world today? How many babies were born in your town today? Who are those babies, what are there names, where are the cameras, crowds and global celebrations over their births? We give so much of our attention to the birth of this one child and nearly no thought, let alone our attention, to the countless children born around the world.

Beyond that, what about the children who were not so fortunate to be born into a royal family. How about the children that weren’t even fortunate enough to be born into a middle-class family? How about those countless children around the world that were born into abject poverty? Why is it that we are so glamoured by celebrity and fame that we will celebrate the birth of royalty all the while turning a blind eye to the countless births into a seemingly endless poverty?

The point of this is not to begrudge the royal family or to take anything away from their celebration, in which I am sure they could only wish for some privacy; rather, the point of this is for us to pause and think about the nameless, faceless babies out there who will be lacking almost everything they need to survive, let alone thrive, in this world. The point is for us to pause and take note of the babies whose births mirror that of another “king”, who was born into abject poverty nearly two thousand years ago.

That “king” grew up in a world that didn’t think twice about him either, even as it nailed him to a cross. Yet, prior to his humiliating death, this “king” would teach us that the economy of heaven is much different than the economy of humanity. In God’s view, the only royalty is born of humility. In God’s view, the master is numbered among the slaves. In God’s view, the winners are those who are counted by the world as losers. In God’s view, the rich can only be found among the poorest of the poor.

It is this vantage point that Jesus calls us to embrace. It is from God’s view that we should be seeing things. While we ought to be glad that another life has made its way into the world, we should also be sad that such a life would be held in higher regard than anyone else’s. After all, aren’t we all created EQUALLY in God’s image? What is more royal than that? Let us celebrate every life on this this planet, not in mere words and festivities, but through fighting against all forms of oppression and inequality, and by bearing the hope, healing and wholeness that God has to offer.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.” – Robert F. Kennedy

PRAYER

Gracious God, forgive me for the ways in which I have been a part of a system of inequality and use me to tear down walls of separation wherever they may stand. Amen.

Previous Post

A LOOK BACK: Proving God?

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Well, it’s summertime again and my family and I are on vacation. While we are away, I will not be writing any new devotionals; however, this is a great opportunity to look back at a couple of devotions that were written over the course of the past year.  Today’s devotion was written on Wednesday, August 29, 2012. I hope that though this was written last year, that in it you may find a relevant message that God is speaking to you. So without further adieu, click below to read:

Proving God?

Michelangelo's "God Touching Adam" segment of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

Devotional

Unanswered Prayers

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Read Matthew 6:7-13

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26)

Garth-Brooks - Unanswered PrayersWhile I am not too much of a country music listener, I have always had a liking for Garth Brooks. His flashy, rock-like performances, his charismatic charm and his wild and crazy persona have always captivated me and millions of others.  But beyond all of that, he also happens to be an incredible song writer and has, as a result, befriended and worked with many other worthy songwriters such as Billy Joel.

One of my favorite songs of Garth’s comes from his album, No Fences. On that album is a song called, “Unanswered Prayers.” The song tells the story of a man who goes to his old high school to watch a football game.  While at the game he runs into a woman whom he had a fling with back when he was a teenager, which triggers a flood of emotions and memories.  I am sure he remembered the good times he had with her, all of the things they used to do together, how she smelled after putting on her perfume, or how she looked on their first date. I am sure he was flooded those memories and more.

He also recollects how he used to pray to God, begging him to keep them together. Perhaps he prayed for the relationship to go further than it had. We can certainly use our imagination for the things he was praying for; yet, there he was, years later at a football game with a different woman…his wife. In looking at his old fling, and looking back at his wife, he realized that the woman he had prayed for all of those years ago, didn’t turn out to be who he had thought she was; whereas, his wife was everything he ever needed and/or wanted in a loving partner.

Brooks sings, “Sometimes I thank God, for unanswered prayers. Remember when your talking to the man upstairs, that just because he may not answer doesn’t mean he don’t care. Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” I can relate with these words. There are many times I prayed for things to happen one way or the other; however, looking back on those things that I wanted, I am glad that they never happened. People pray to win the lottery, yet when they do their lives are often ruined by the sudden rush of wealth. People often pray to be come famous only to find themselves more empty than they were before the world knew them. We often strive and pray for what we want; yet, what we want is seldom what we truly need.

And there is one more point to make regarding “unanswered prayers.” God is not some magic genie in the sky that appears to bestow three wishes to us every time we rub the lamp.  God is not some catchall spiritual inbox for every request YOU need to make. God is the source of all of our lives. God is the very breath we breath and the very life we feel coursing through our veins. God is both in us and transcends us and it is this God who calls us to live in LOVE…to live in the very essence of GOD. Thus, if our prayers are self-centered and all about US, then chances are those prayers will remain unanswered.

Rather than pretending that we know what we need and what is best for us, rather than seeking our way, our truth and our life, let us turn to our Creator, our Redeemer and our Sustainer and remember that God will provide exactly what we need. Knowing this we will not need to ramble on and on only to find our prayers go unanswered; rather, our prayer will simply be: “Lord, let your will be done in me and on earth as it is in heaven. Use me in the way that you will.” If that is your prayer, I guarantee you it will NOT go unanswered!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” – Søren Kierkegaard

PRAYER
Lord, let your will be done in me and on earth as it is in heaven. Use me in the way that you will. Amen.