Looks Like Somebody Prayed

 When people say, “All we can do is pray” it bothers me. It is the best thing and the first thing we should do, not the last. What if you had a loving powerful confidante who cares for every little thing about your day—someone who would act on your requests in a surprising and efficient manner—someone who never got tired of your requests and stood by you in the most difficult of circumstances? Would you wait until you tried everything else before you ask him for help?

Here is what I have learned so far. You have to make the effort to get to know Him. You have to learn to recognize Him by his actions. You have to constantly seek his companionship because he isn’t pushy. He won’t step in and solve your issue unless you ask and believe that he can. And even when He solves those issues you have to pay attention or you will miss the opportunity to see what he has done. 

He will fix things in your life in his own way, which is not always your way, but is always in the best way. In some situations He carries you through the heartbreak. He is with you and he is developing your strength in this painful earth experience. Just focus on Him and you will realize you have made it through to the other side and are better for it. He is not a genie. He will not grant wishes. He is a BFF. He matures you. He makes you stronger. He always has your best at heart even when you cannot see it that way. 

Is there anything He won’t give you? Well, I think He will give you all you ask in his own time if it is asked in humility and in line with his heart. For example, if you ask for world peace he will surely give it to you but it is in his own time. He tells us in his Word that there will be wars and rumors of wars but he also tells us of a time when the wolf and lamb will graze together. So yes, he will answer that prayer for world peace, just probably not in the timing that we have in mind. To him, millennia are seconds on a clock. We cannot wrap our heads around how big He is. 

How do you get to know him? Pay attention. Yep, just pay attention. The best way to develop this sensitivity to His presence is to be grateful and read the stories written about Him. Realize that He created this universe and that everything amazing, creative and good, from laughter to coffee, comes from his hand. Everyday think of three new blessings for which He is responsible. (Although I thank Him for coffee everyday.) Give credit where credit is due. Develop that habit of gratitude. 

Next, when you ask him for something, watch for the answer. Don’t just set it down and run off and forget it. And don’t try to manipulate the answer. Trust me, I have tried this and it doesn’t work out. Let it go. It helps if you write down the request then go back and record how it was answered. Develop this habit. Again…pay attention to His work. Then praise Him for what he has done. 

Why am I so authoritative on this subject? Because He has answered my big and little prayers over and over again throughout my life! Oh, and sometimes he said no to my solution but he gave a far better one and I am so glad he did. It is only in the last twenty years of my life that I paid attention to what He is doing. I wish I had paid attention sooner. 

Trussst Me

Growing up in the USA in the 60’s and 70’s, I learned to trust my safety to society around me. It seemed like roads, cars, healthcare, government, law enforcement, and schools were all safe. But an honest look back showed me that this was not true.

We hurled our bodies down the highway at 80 mph without a seatbelt. We thought margarine was a health food and fresh vegetables only happened if you grew them yourself. Doctors smoked. Nuclear arms were tested near us. High school graduates were drafted to lose limbs and lives in a jungle. A president was assassinated. Prejudice influenced our law enforcement and judicial system. School playgrounds had wicked merry-go-rounds that worked like a centrifuge on steroids and we had sirens go off periodically to remind us that the USSR was coming for us with nuclear weapons. Billy Joel expresses this well in We Didn’t Start the Fire.

So is everything safe now? We all know that isn’t true after the highly trained, best-of-the-best secret service failed to protect a former President and hundreds of law enforcement officers failed to protect children from an armed kid in a classroom. So what is the point? We are not safe. We were never safe. We will never be safe on this earth. We should never place our faith in our government, our healthcare, our law enforcement or our schools. That gives us a false sense of security. They are all just fallible people; hired hands.

John 10:12-15 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Instead of trusting people in powerful positions of our society maybe we should put our faith in the only One who loves us with his life and is the supreme almighty. If we have an issue, we should take it to the top; the omnipotent (unlimited power) omniscient (knowing the present past and future), omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), loving, compassionate Savior. We don’t understand His ways and often use that as an excuse not to trust Him. We have a choice: trust our lives to a fallible system of hired hands that can be manipulated or we can choose a Savior who is motivated by his love for us but whose ways we can’t fathom and we cannot orchestrate. It is ours to choose every morning.

Lord, you are in control. Help me give up my false sense of security in government and people and place my hope in You alone, taking everything to you in prayer.

All Sheep

 Lately the news has been full of stories about religious leaders admitting that they have succumbed to sinful destructive acts. This should be a wake-up call to us all. Isaiah tells us that we are ALL like sheep who have gone astray. No exceptions for high community status, no one is immune. It could happen to any of us if…

We are slowly dissecting the familiar passage of the 23rd Psalm this summer in my church. The whole passage is based on the analogy of people being the sheep and God as the shepherd. Through this study I have learned so much about sheep and shepherds that I never knew. This morning, one new item stands out to me. Sheep get into trouble easily. The author, David, who was a career shepherd knew this well. That is why sheep need a shepherd.

Notice that there are two types of dangers out there for the sheep. There are the ones that are part of their environment like sickness, infections or breaking a leg and there are the ones they get themselves into by wandering off and falling prey to predators.

In our world today I so often forget about that second category. I minimize the predators. So often I pretend there is no enemy out to get me and regard any suggestion of that as silly. The enemy is discussed in the 23rd Psalm and he is real. He wants us to wander around on our merry path of ignorance and forget that he is there stalking us, waiting for a moment when we get out of sight of the shepherd. The wise sheep have a healthy fear of the enemy and confidence in their shepherd. All they have to do is stay close to the shepherd and they will be protected.

Some may see this as a life of fear but in reality it is a life of trust and wisdom. For a sheep to pretend there are no lions, wolves, and bears is foolish. For a sheep to believe it is invincible is folly. We live in a world with many wily predators. We need a good shepherd and we need to learn to carry on with our lives while always keeping Him in our sight.

But how? I see that it takes two mindsets. First, we must have faith in our Shepherd. We must see Him as willing and able to protect us from those predators. Remember how David killed the lions and bears? Even more powerful is our Heavenly Father. He is our Savior and he loves us dearly and cares for us.

But in addition to seeing that our good God is able to conquer any enemy, I must come to grips with the reality that I can easily lose my way and that I am a sheep just like everyone else on the evening news. It is when I begin to think I know more than the other sheep and trust my life to my own ability that I become vulnerable to attack. I must continually, humbly admit to myself that I am in need of the Shepherd. This will keep me within the length of the shepherd’s staff where I am safe from harm.

If it has been a while since you thoughtfully read the 23rd Psalm take the time to do so. It is so rich.

Psalm 23:1-6
The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.