How many times in our life have we “Made a deal with God?” We pray prayers similar to this, “God heal me of this sickness and I will do this for you…” “God help me find my perfect mate and I will do this for you...” “God help me find the right job so that I may be able to pay my bills and I will do this for you….” I know many of us have prayed prayers similar to this because we think we can bargain with Almighty God. What we must quickly realize is that God doesn’t need anything from us. He has everything. He owns everything. He knows everything. Us trying to bargain with God is like an ant trying to bargain with a human being. That ant can’t offer us anything of use. It can make us better or make us want to make a deal with it. No, God is too big to bargain with His creation. Instead, the way we receive from the Lord is simply by delighting in Him. The Bible declares in Psalms 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 91:9-11) (Isaiah 26:3-4)
How do we delight in the Lord? We do so by giving God thanks for our many blessings. We do so by giving God Praise for His many interventions in our life. We delight in God when we sing unto Him with Thanksgiving for never leaving us nor forsaking us. When we approach God in this manner I believe every desire that is within our hearts will be gladly given because we understood this truth that God is not a dealmaker, but He is a lover of our souls. When we love Him a mere portion as much as He loves us we will see our life elevate in ways that we can’t even think or imagine for ourselves. The Bible declares in 1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of Him.” (Psalm 31:23-24) (Psalm 28:6-8)
Be encouraged to reevaluate how you are approaching the Lord. Do you only pray when you want something? Do you only seek the Lord when you have a problem or a trial that you need help with? That should not be. Praying should be a continuous practice. We should be in communion with the Lord throughout our day each and every day that we are blessed enough to have. God loves us with an undeserved and gracious love. He is merciful to us even when we don’t deserve mercy. That kind of love is incomprehensible in our own minds, but yet still exists and is extended to all of humanity who will reach out and accept God’s love, grace and mercy. Call upon the Lord my friend. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart! (Psalm 118:4-6) (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to never call upon the Lord trying to make a deal, but rather seek Him earnestly giving praise and thanks for all that He has graciously given you.
A BETTER PRAYER
One man, too inebriated to drive, was walking home along railroad tracks when his foot suddenly became stuck. He pulled and tugged, but could not free it from the tracks.
Then he heard a noise and turned around to see an oncoming train. In a panic, he prayed. “Dear God, please get my foot out of these tracks and I'll stop drinking.”
Nothing happened.
With the speeding train closer, he tried again. “Oh, Lord, get my foot out of these tracks and I'll stop drinking AND I'll quit cheating on my wife!”
Still nothing, and now the train was just seconds away.
He tried one last time. “Lord, if you get my foot out of the tracks, I'll quit drinking, cheating, AND... I'll become a minister!”
Suddenly his foot shot out of the tracks and he dove out of the way of the passing train. Dusting himself off, he looked toward Heaven and said, “Never mind, Lord, I got it out myself.”
Does that kind of prayer sound familiar? How often are prayers, even when one is not in a state of emergency, concerned only about physical needs -- health and safety?
Like you, I know what it is to be afraid. I'm afraid of accidental injury, dismemberment or death. I've been afraid of a pending medical diagnosis. There must be a million different faces to the fears of life.
I'm tempted at these times to hope for, and pray for, a way to avoid the danger ahead. I want to be safe, secure and healthy. But none of us is always safe, secure or healthy. So, I, too, have come to see that the better prayer is for courage to face whatever life may bring. And in some place deep inside me, I am not only convinced that the courage will come and not fail me, but that it will be enough. Always enough.
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Psalm 105:1-5 “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him: talk ye of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His Holy Name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD, and His strength: seek His face evermore. Remember His marvellous works that He hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.”
Psalm 139:17-18 “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with Thee.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Psalm 107:6-9 “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
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| St Peter Sq |
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| Rose garden at Assisi |
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| At Assisi |
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