While it's not a formula, because God is way bigger than a formula, I have noticed a theme or trend. When it comes to answered prayers.
All through the Bible God blesses those who walk with Him.
So a constant relationship is key. In fact essential.
Then something crazy takes place. It's not that my every whim and desire are being gratified but that my heart has aligned with God's and I'm praying to see Him at work. Bear with me.
Praying for a person is a common enough prayer.
Why wouldn't God want to answer you? After all, He loves all of us, He already knows everything about us - good and bad, He promises he's tending to us. So when we pray for another we're actually lining up our hearts and minds to what He wanted in the first place. Then if we're watching and in a relationship with Him, he opens our eyes to it.
Confused?
Well let's add more to the mix.
In Psalm 37:4 it's mentioned that if we, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your hear". Sounds almost like - If you love God and hope really hard to win the lotto - He'll give it to you. Nope.
It's more like, Focus your everything on God (spend more time with Him than with your TV or on FB) and the desires of your heart will be the WILL OF GOD.
Almost sounds like a bait and switch but I promise you it's not. God's Will is always sooo much better than what we could imagine.
I personally have a great imagination but I'm not enitirely sure I could come up with an elephant, trees, mountains, giraffee, or coffee in just a week. I'm most definately not in the same catagory as God is.
So why do we keep offering up human sized solutions? Because they're human sized problems? You might think they are but you'd be wrong.
Imagine watching TV in Black and White...just living like everyone else. Then you enter into a real and personal relationship with Christ. Blam - Color TV!
"Wow", you think.
Everything looks so diferent!
Most Christians feel like they've made it. They can see in Color!
The Holy Spirit has opened their eyes!
but wait.
What about flat screens that are super huge and boggle the mind?
What about 3-D?
I'm discovering that my color TV is blah next to the 3-D of learning to crave God's Will over my everything.
I've also discovered that while I can only grasp this world in 3-D that perhaps it more. Mostly likely it's a lot more! 64-D even. So mind blowing that I can't even possibly imagine it.
So we're down here thinking we're reasonable and asking for normal stuff but in God's reality we're not seeing anything clearly.
Those human problems? Could very well be divine blessing and we're just not tuned in properly.
So before I start sounding like I'm starting a Sci-Fy series, I want to share how I've prayed and how I've been answered. Just this week to keep it simple.
On Monday (around 10 - yes it really matters) April and I lifted up these concerns - and a few more.
1. Continued health
2. Our husbands and marriages. That we'd learn to see and love our husbands the way God sees and loves them. That God would tear from their lives anything and everything blocking them from Him.
3. What's best for Tyler's education. Not what I want but how does God want Tyler raised. Public, Private or Homeschool next year?
4. Prayer for sovergien control over my finances. That we don't give in to spiritual warfare in this area of our lives.
5. Continued strength on my new diet program.
It was a slow week for us so that just about cover it.
Right before April and I had met for prayer Mike and I'd talked about getting a new dresser. We'd decided that it was a better decision to build one that to buy. The dresser I want is $1200 at the Pottery Barn but we found free design plans FOR THAT EXACT dresser for free. Mike headed to Lowe's to get the supplies.
As he walked out the door I was uncomfortable about the decision. I was feeling like we might be overextending ourselves this month to do it now. However, I've been praying for two weeks to be the wife Mike needs and I could see that he just needed to be completely in charge of the project. Even the timing of the project. So I send a prayer up that asking if we were still completely within God's Will and moved forward.
After praying together, on the phone, because we are constantly unable to meet in person, Mike and I unloaded the dresser wood and had lunch.
Katie walks in the door just after 3pm with the mail.
Inside the mail is a completely unexpected check for.....exactly the cost of the dresser. Woo Hoo!
It was a settlement check from how Chase mistreated us by trying to foreclose on us in 2009. It was decided that was wrongful on their end and we were in the clear! Bonus gift! Thank you God!
While I was waiting to tell Mike the good news I hopped on the computer to check my email as well. Two emails from k-12 asking us to come back at huge discounts!
Another ANSWER!
Another Bonus! I didn't ask God to save us money if we were going to HomeSchool but He offered it just the same.
I started to think maybe I was reading a bit much into the whole email answer but tucked it aside.
Simply Thanked God for His swift responses and expressed my joy in Him.
Now you might be thinking, "God sure seems to answer Ruth and April quickly, I wonder what that's all about."
I've decided it's two things. First God made me and April at the same speed. The speed of light. Microwave speed. It's not that we don't have patience or have been called upon to practice patience...we have. It's that God is delighting in delighting us.
Two, We are both daily followers of God. I wake up wanting to check my bible app for what the day's verse is. I like to walk down the hall, grumbling a good morning to the kids while reading my quicky biblestudy app.
Once the kids are gone for the day I start in on my meaty Bible Study.
It's more important that coffee.
Which brings me to another part of the theme - not formula of answered prayers.
Three weeks ago I was in the process of getting ready for gastric bypass surgery. I was informed by my doctors that it was less risk than being as fat as I am.
I was ready to go.
I figured that if food was in the way of my temple being fit than it needed to go.
I prayed about it many times but then April and I prayed about it together this time I prayed that I simply wanted a clear sign as to which direction I was supposed to take. Cut out my stomach or Let God heal me.
I'd been reading in 1Kings about a king that won many battles because God went before him but for one epic battle this king didn't consult the Lord. Devistation was the results.
It got me thinking that I needed to make sure I wasn't trying to do things my way but God's way. I took the surgery to God and asked if it was His way.
Not three hours later I got a call from TriCare that they wouldn't be covering the surgery. I'm not fat enough. Woo Hoo! This meant that God was going to heal me.
More on this amazing weight loss story later. It deserves it's own blog. Spoiler - I'm down 8lbs.
Back to Homeschooling.
I was planning on running to the base for some shopping before gettting the kids for their dentist appointments today. However, the second I finished my morning Bible Study April called. Urgent prayer warrior stuff.
Our sharing lasted right up to the moment I needed to get the kids. I figured no biggie.
Getting Tyler from school I noticed that I was missing my ID card. Had to pull out my driver's license for the school's ID check.
I texted Mike if perhaps he knew where it was.
"Look in the kitchen"
Sure. Whatever.
I didn't give it another thought.
Then sitting at the Dentist office I'm surfing FB and realize I have a message. My ID was found at the dog park. Best Part - By a girl in the local homeschool group. Yup. My name was even posted on the local Homescool FB page - looking for anyone who knew me to let me know my ID had been found.
How's that for an answer? Reconnecting me with the local HomeSchool Group seems like quite the answer to me.
Wow.
And it's only Tuesday!
As I watch for more God answers please pray for Rob and Mike. That's our husbands. We've been praying for them and joked today that they could be in for a JONAH style problem. While I doubt God has a whale planned for a New Jersey men.....God is rather creative.
He gave Joshua Jericho by asking him to march and holler....
He gave women boobs......
Also, we've decided our prayers need to be bigger. Do you have something we can turn over to God for you?
Pretty. Dang. Amazing.
ReplyDelete