Prayer Requires Something of You

As I was transporting my children to school this morning, a familiar scenario played out. I instructed them to put on their seat belts… more than ONCE! The three younger ones acted as if I was asking them to do something painful. After they reluctantly put on their seatbelts, I reminded them of what I had reminded them of so many times before. I told them that God gave people the wisdom to create seatbelts to help keep us safe. I am in the habit of praying and asking the Lord to keep us safe when we are traveling. I told the children that while praying is ALWAYS in order, we should not ignore the safety provisions that are available to help answer that prayer.

How many times have we been like my children; times where we prayed, but ignored the answer God provided? It is so easy to use prayer as a copout. We pray but sometimes we want God to do it all and not require anything of us. However, prayer requires not only something of God but in prayer, God may require us to act! It is not wisdom to pray but then ignore and not act on wh at God has given us to help answer that prayer. For example, we may pray and ask the Lord to keep us from fornication but we push to keep a relationship alive that God cut off. We may pray and ask God for financial resources. However, when He opens the door for us to get a job we decline because we think the job is beneath us. A student may pray and ask God to help her pass her exams but uses the time God provided to do everything else BUT study. Pray at all times? Yes! However, remember that prayer does not exempt you from action.

Prayer Reveals Mysteries

August 9, 2019

In Daniel chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. He asked his wise men to both tell him his dream and provide an interpretation. The wise men thought this an impossible request. No one, they stated can tell a person their dream, except for the gods and they do not live among humans. The King was furious and ordered that all the wise men in Babylon be destroyed. Daniel, a servant of the true and living God heard the news. He asked the King for more time to get a revelation of the dream. Daniel went home and asked his three friends to pray and ask God for mercy and reveal the mystery to them. That night, in a vision, God revealed the dream to Daniel. Daniel could then tell the king both the dream and its meaning.

This is a powerful passage of scripture because it reminds me that prayer reveals mysteries. How many times do we find ourselves at a loss and we are not sure which direction to turn? Life can be complex and present many “mysteries.” We may have questions such as, “what should I do in this situation, who should I marry, is this job for me, what should I be doing in this season of my life, what is my purpose?” Prayer to the true and living God unveils the unknown and gives clarity. The question then is, how many of us consistently use this powerful weapon known as prayer? Do we go to God like Daniel and his friends when we need an answer? How many of us remain stubborn and try to fix and figure things out on our own? Are we quick to run to everyone else to give us the answers instead of running to God? God knows all, and He has an open-door policy. We can come to Him anytime, and anywhere. What a privilege that is!

Be Blessed

Anika

Don’t Just Tell God, Listen To What He Has To Say.

August 5, 2019

When I go to the Dr. I share what is going on and after I am done sharing; I give him an opportunity to speak and give me advice on how to tackle the issue at hand. It would be silly if I just went, told him what was going on, and then got up and left his office before he gives feedback. We at times take this approach in our prayer life. We tell God all, but after we are done talking, we get up and leave. We don’t pause long enough to let Him respond. The point of bringing our issues to God is so He can give us direction. We should see prayer as a dialogue, not a one-sided conversation.

Whatever our issue, the Dr. normally prescribes something. If we are stressed, he may recommend that we get more rest. If there is an ailment in our body, he may prescribe a specific medication. The same is true for our time with God. He tells us what we should do to address our specific situation. He expects us to fill the prescription so to speak. If we choose not to, we cannot expect change. God gives us directives, but many times we don’t like what he prescribes so we walk in disobedience and pursue our own remedy. Then we lament about feeling spiritually stuck. When God speaks, it is always in our best interest to respond in obedience. He knows best.

Are you in the habit of listening to God in prayer or are you always the main one speaking? Is there something God told you to do that you have not followed through on? Has disobedience brought you any progress? I encourage you to continue to bring your issues to God in prayer but be sure you are not the only one speaking. Don’t become so obsessed with hearing your own voice that you drown out the voice of God. Make room for Him to speak and then respond in obedience to whatever He tells you to do.

Be Blessed,

Anika

Pause To Pray And Then Proceed

My hair loss had taken a turn for the worse and I was in was in need of something—fast. The beautician told me it was medical glue and the hairpiece would look natural. The price was ridiculous but she began to ramble off a list of names of celebrities whose stylists used said “medical” glue to get them picture ready. I was desperate and gullible—a bad combination. After the consultation, I went home and asked begged my husband to let me get it. On credit that is, because we did not have that amount of cash lying around. Not once did I consider praying about it. As far as I was concerned, it was clear that this was a godsend.

Seeing my panic and desperation, my husband agreed to let me put this SUPER EXPENSIVE hairpiece on credit. Within a few weeks, the medical glue began to produce unmedical results. I broke out with sores on my scalp because of an allergic reaction to the glue and had to have the hairpiece removed. She offered no refund. I was left with a head full of sores and a very expensive lesson on the detriment of not pausing to pray before proceeding.

Admittedly, I have jumped headfirst into many decisions that seemed like a good idea. I am learning and, by the grace of God, I don’t want to continue to make the same mistakes. I find it dizzying going around the same mountain. This week, another test came. I learned of an opportunity to grow in my gift as a writer. The program is legitimate. I read article after article and watched numerous videos of testimonials on the success of the program. I wanted in! The class had a large price tag attached to it, and rightfully so, it is an EXCELLENT class. We are actively trying to get out of debt and be good stewards of our finances, so putting this class on a credit card was not an option.

I mentioned the opportunity to my husband and, this time around, we paused and prayed before proceeding. I inquired via email about scholarships and different payment plans; all requests were denied. On one hand, I was disappointed because I really wanted to take the class. On the other, I was also encouraged (I participated in the teacher’s free webinar which was excellent) because I knew that I had made the right decision and passed the test.

This principle of pausing to pray before we proceed with making decisions is echoed in Proverbs 3:5-6. This passage tells us that we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not to lean on our own understanding. We are to acknowledge God in all that we do and allow Him to direct our path. Too many times we don’t stop to consult God before making decisions and inevitably we end up bumping our heads.

What major decisions are before you? No matter how good the opportunity may look, I encourage you to pause to pray. Allow the Lord to direct your path, and once He responds, then you can proceed in faith! Are you quick to make decisions without first consulting the Lord? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.

No Pretending Honest Prayers

January 20, 2016

I used to be really good at playing pretend but then I got tired.  Somewhere along the road, I realized that playing games can get real old.

When I stopped pretending, that’s when I learned how to pray

Stop pretending that everything is ok when it is not

Stop pretending like it doesn’t hurt when it does

Stop pretending that I want to do the right thing when everything in me is screaming go left

Stop pretending like I am perfect.  Oh you already knew…I am not

So I pray

Real prayer

No script

No pretense

Honest I don’t want to do it God

This is just not fair God

How come God?

Child to parent dialogue

My Good Good Father…He listens

I cry

I whisper the darkest secrets of my heart

Thoughts I didn’t even know where there, ugly thoughts

Prayer is my therapy, I unload the burden

He continues to listens

Yes I have a really good father… I am blessed like that

I am learning He is not looking for an act

He requires honesty

The kind of honesty that scares nice church folks

Yep I know the right answer… I shouldn’t think like that

But what happens when I do

Confession:  And I sometimes do

I pray

Honest Prayers

No pretense cause that’s outdated and ineffective

In honest prayers, I am not the only one that speaks

My good good father he response

With love

With His truth

He knows that even in my brokenness

Even in my humanity

I have said Yes to His will, Yes to Him being Lord of my life

A Yes I won’t take back

So in my no pretending prayer

He molds me

He refreshes me

He reminds me

He corrects me

He fills me again with His spirit,

Bringing an even greater death to Anika

How about you over there, have you been praying no pretending prayers?  Or is it difficult for you to share the ugly parts of you with God?  Leave a comment and let me know.

 

 

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