Philippians 4:6-7 KJV
[6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. [7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
As we saw yesterday, worry will not change any situation for the better. In fact, it is very likely that it is the health of the person who has been worrying which would have been adversely affected. Rather than worry or fret, the verses above prescribe a solution, and all who have tried it have found it to be quite effective. This solution is simply taking to God in prayer. It sounds simple and complex at the same time, but that is what it is. God asks me to just turn to Him in prayer, and lay it all down at His feet. God prescribed a model for us: prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. There are no prescriptions of words to use; the verses above just tell me to make all my requests known to God.
Let it be clear that you are not telling God to let Him know what you need for the first time, because you are dealing with a God of total knowledge, who knows your need even before you know you need it. God wants to have conversations with His children, not one-way talk shows where only one party speaks and moves on, expecting the other party to just deal with the requests. He wants to build character in us; He wants to develop patience and endurance in us. He wants to do a work in us that will endure into eternity, and the only way we will thrive is in connection with Him. On our own, we will struggle. On our own, we will get into trouble and confusion often, as we cannot even see beyond our noses.
No one can predict even the next 30 seconds; how much more a whole lifetime. This is why we hand it over to the One who made, formed and knows us, and has the best plans for us. He is a God who is fully invested in us. Now, I note that the verses ask me to just talk to Him and it does not tell me how the answers will come or what they will be. In fact, nowhere in the verses above does God ever guarantee you the answer that you want. In speaking to God, you admit that you cannot help yourself and that He alone has the power, capacity and ability to change whatever or whoever needs to change. He wants me to trust Him with my life. After all, by myself, there is really little I can do to secure it. Would I trust Him with my life? Would you? God's time of favour is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment