April 10, 2018

God Is Waiting

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. – Acts 1:14

How important is prayer on your daily “to do” list? Is it an afterthought or is it something you dedicate specific time to? Is prayer something you do out of obligation or is something you look forward to doing? And is prayer a once-and-done kind of thing or is it something that carries you through the day?

Several years ago I lead a study titled The Battle Plan for Prayer. I always knew God would call me to do it again and He has. It’s been a wonderful refresher course in being specific in my prayer life.

This study, by Stephen and Alex Kendrick and based on the movie War Room, leads us into a more strategic prayer life. How many times do we pray in generalities so that we never really know if our prayers are answered? How many times do we hold back because we’re afraid God will let us down, that He’ll say no, or, worse, that He’ll ignore us and our request?

What shallow faith we have. We’re so intent on doing it ourselves, on counting on ourselves, that we leave God out of the equation until all of our options are done. We have no where else to turn. We have nothing left to lose. Then we turn to God, who was waiting there all along, eager to help us and longing for a relationship with us.

That’s what God wants. He wants our hearts. He wants our devotion. He wants us to turn to Him, to run to Him, with all our joys and sorrows, our needs and our celebrations. He wants that relationship. We’re a bit leery. He is God, after all. He is Almighty. Powerful. Our Judge. The Creator of our world and the One in charge of it all.

What if He says no? What if He doesn’t heal or provide for us? What if He sends us on a journey we’d rather not take to a place we’d rather not go?

God has good plans for us. God provides for us. God loves and sustains us. These are His promises. He wrote them down for everyone to see. He is a God of truth. We can count on Him when we can’t count on anything or anyone else.

What would happen if you were as devoted to prayer as you are to your cell phone or to your kids’ ball schedule or your job? What would happen in your if you made prayer a priority rather than an obligation or something that was an option?

Schedule your prayer time and keep it. Then learn to pray spontaneously throughout the day. Is it a beautiful day? Thank God for it. Did your meeting god well? Thank God for that too. Are you stressed over finances? Turn it over to God and thank Him for handling it – before He does. Whatever it is, learn to include God in the moments of your day. He cares and He wants to be included.