Praise and Wait - Week 16
I took some time this week to be intentional with my prayers. I returned to the pen and paper I’d set aside for nearly a month and wrote to God about the many things I’ve had on my heart. The pages were quickly filled with thoughts and one night I even think my time with the Lord lasted about an hour. In these pages I adored God for who He is and the blessings I see Him providing. I got to lift up others in hopes that they would have a desire to draw closer to Jesus. With specifics, I asked our Father to reveal His majesty to me and the ones I petitioned for so that our lips would have more reason to praise.
While purposely seeking out three days to write to the Lord, I also purposely removed myself from a certain distraction for three days. I didn’t miss the distraction so much and it wasn’t so hard to do, but writing to the Lord and focusing in on my prayers was somewhat different. I stuggled in my intention and I almost opted out of a letter one night, but God bekoned me to follow through. My second letter was shorter than the first and my third letter was shorther than the both, but I’m thankful that my purpose was disciplined. Each time my words grew shorter and I had less desire to actually pen my thoughts. However, I’m grateful that these dedications were written for they did not go unheard. The good Lord responded clearly and faithfully to two of the written appeals.
A friend of mine was planning on going to the doctor for a sinus infection he thought he had. He was awake all night with a migrane and felt an awful congestion that no over the counter medication was providing relief for. After our coversation that night I asked Jesus to heal him, to clear his breathing, to take away his pain, and to give him a calmed peace. The next day when I asked my friend what the doctor said, he revealed to me that he didn’t go because he woke up feeling so much better. My friend didn’t ask for prayers, I didn’t tell him that I would or had lifted his health up to God in request, but when he told me that he felt better I did respond with, “well praise the Lord!” I saw our Father heal this week.
In addition to this healing, I also saw God make some progressive movements. Being stuck in an irritating situation for the past couple months, my mother was facing hurdle after hurdle dealing with the floods in her house. One night, after hearing about her growing frustration, I lifted her up in detailed prayer. I asked God to take control of the situation, to step in with the contractors, and give response to a silence that seemed unending. That next day, things started to move. Many phone calls took place, many discussion were had, and some answers were provided. No, not everything was magically restored, but things did start to move at an accelerated pace. So praise the Lord indeed!
Looking back at these faithful responses something about my mothers situation sparked my curiousity. Many prayers had already been said over the past two months regarding this matter, so what changed? Guidance had been asked for, leadings had been requested, and peace had been saught, but what gave to this timely response? Could it be the details that mattered? Could God be asking us to be extremely specific with Him? Could He be asking us to engage not just on a genereal level but on every level? Why yes, I do believe. I believe God wants to be in the nitty gritty of it all (He is). He wants everything we got. He wants every plan, every detail, every thought, and sometimes that’s hard to give Him. In growing with God I can see the different ways I’m learing to communicate with Him. I can see the inclusion He has in my life and the areas I’m still foolhardidly trying to control myself.
Trying to relinquish control and ask God for direction is not easy. I have a hard time dicerning my thoughts from His responses and seperating my will from His guiding. I have trouble trusting that my longings are not promptings from the Lord and I wrestle with what He would want me to do, especially in certain relationships. </span><span>If my longings aren’t the truth of God’s will may He help me by making that obviously clear. If what I’m craving is different from what He’d have, I’m praying that our Father will take away the cries of my heart and replace it with the joy of His Spirit. I’m asking that Jesus lead the way in our lives and further the good work He has already started, regardless of the things we want.
Lately, along with being assured in the promises of God, I have once again been reminded to wait on the Lord. For, “the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him,” (Lamentations 3:25) and our loving Father is certainly good to me, even in the sometimes-painful waiting. The past couple days, wherever I turned, what ever I did, wherever I went, I was waiting. Even in asking the Lord which way to go, He led me to a place of waiting. I was slowed at every direction but thankfully I didn’t let the absurdity of these prolonged activities get under my skin. I remained in good spirit by trusting that God was doing something through these sluggish occurrences. When all is said and done I still got everywhere I needed to be. I still did everything I needed to do but it was all done differently than I had expected. It guess it was all done according to His time and I pray to give Him more of mine.