I love when I don't have a plan to blog...but feel led to anyway. Let's see what the Spirit moves my fingers to type:
Philippians 4:12-13
"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who gives me strength."
John 5:30
"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."
No matter what, Paul says that the true secret to satisfaction in any circumstance is to seek God who gives us the true strength. In the gospel of John, Jesus speaks how even him alone cannot do anything alone. It emphasizes to me how connected the Trinity really is...without all three characters of God, Jesus wouldn't be able to do anything. The latter part of John 5:30 really hit me tonight..."my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."
Oh how sinful we are! Our motives are so corrupt, and initially we pray and work for our own gain. We work for the good that will come in our lives. We pray and ask for blessings because it helps us. How pure our hearts would be if we'd get out of the picture. How clear and sound our judgments would be!
I have been opening to new ways for me to approach God. I love the levels of prayer we can have. Jesus calls us to be in a personal relationship with him, and as his beloved I love the idea of having "Jesus dates." I'd walk around town and find a place where it's just me and him. I have a casual conversation with Jesus, thanking him for showing me the things that take my breath away.
Then, there are the times when I need more divine intervention. When I need to not approach God as my lover, but as the King of kings. The only one that can fulfill my requests. I need to humble before the Creator of the world, assume my prayer posture, adore Him as the powerful being He is, and bring my desperate requests before Him.
There is one request I had been praying for almost a year now. God encourages me to be persistent, so I am. But my prayers have been changing attitudes. Each time, I notice God showing me another way to pray. Another part of me that needs to change. Finally, God just says "Are you asking for your own gain or my gain? What are you willing to give up for me with this? How will this glorify my kingdom instead of your selfish desires?"
To tell you the truth, I have been given answers in this as well, so I can keep praying persistently. It's interesting how I don't hear "No" from God, but rather I hear "Let me show you more and change you so this can happen for you." Even people around me haven't affirmed "No" from God. I pray my heart is prepared in case, and that my love for God is so amazing that I am not even devastated when my prayers aren't answered like I'd hoped.
Moral of the story...purify your hearts. Through God's strength can we get through any circumstance, and through God's strength can we have sound judgment and pure hearts when we approach God's throne. May your prayers and hearts reflect that of the tax collector and not the Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14).
When you don't have your answer yet, don't give up. Instead, love what God is doing for you now and embrace the waiting game...He's making you perfect so you may enjoy His answered prayer to the fullest.
"God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
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