If you are just tuning in, please read the previous blog post for clarity...thanks!
Continued from Part One:
I would like to say that after three years I am a prayer warrior and that I have all of the answers and that I have learned to pray like a champ but I can’t give you that. I can tell you that I am more consistent in prayer but the tone of my prayers are vastly different from what they were before. The Lord used those times to pull some things out of me that needed to go! He refined me in the fire of tribulation and I won’t lie, it wasn’t fun! Even the writer of Hebrews said, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). God wasn’t so much teaching me about prayer in that time as He was about Himself! Truthfully, I’d be lying if I said I have reached the pinnacle of James 1:2 where I can say that I “count it all joy when I fall into various trials.” I don’t enjoy trials. But, the Lord really used this to separate the wheat from the waste in my life.
I felt compelled to share a handful of things that I hope will be an anchor to you in the storm of a divinely broken heart:
1 - God is sovereign. This is either a comfort or a concern to you but mainly it depends on how you look at His sovereignty. Someone has to have ultimate authority. It will either be Him or Him. That isn’t a typo! Most of the control we think we have is an illusion. The reality is, HE IS IN CONTROL! But, along with that, He knows the beginning from the end. He isn’t running our lives blindly not knowing what tomorrow holds. All things that are mysteries to us are known to Him. In reality, if we are going to serve Him with any amount of trust at all we are going to have to be okay with not knowing all the answers, we just are! You know, He even knows us better than we know ourselves so we may be praying for something we think that we want so desperately and He knows it isn’t at all what we want! And, He is HOLY. Totally without sin or any evil thing. He is light and in Him is no darkness!
2 - Prayer is the means by which God accomplishes His will. Let’s face it, there are times when we pray for something and God grants us what we have requested and it builds our faith. If we had not prayed and asked then this cause/effect would not have occurred. Often times prayer is a great faith-builder. Prayer also teaches us perseverance. Think about a long delay in an answered prayer. Our perseverance is increased. Perseverance is absolutely necessary for the Christian life.
3 - Breaking our hearts makes us more like Christ. The scripture says that Jesus “was a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3) Are there any two words that paint a picture of a broken heart like sorrow and grief? God’s will for our lives is our sanctification which simply means becoming more like Christ. Because we know how the story ends, that Jesus has risen from the dead and will come again, we picture partaking in His victory without the suffering. Jesus is King but He came as a suffering servant first. In order to taste the victory we must endure the suffering that paves the road to it. Take comfort in the fact that the victory is already sure and HE IS COMING!
4 - His glory is always His motive. God does not work based on our wants, desires or needs if they are for anything other than His glory. He is totally sold out for His glory in all things. So much so, that He takes sin and ultimately uses it for His glory. And rightfully so! He is God and there is none besides Him. He alone is worthy, holy and righteous, unlike us. So you can take this to the spiritual bank - if it is not going to bring Him glory, He is not going to endorse it, girls!
5 - His ways are not our ways. God doesn’t even think like we do. Yes, we are made in His image but scripture is clear that His thoughts are higher than ours. It says in Isaiah 40:13-14 “Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?” We see things from a human, temporal perspective. God sees things from an omnipotent, eternal, kingdom perspective. His moving in our lives is for the proclamation of His gospel and the exaltation of His Son. His word has always been about redemption through Jesus Christ and His eternal kingdom. Anything aside from that is a second class request. Not to say that He doesn’t answer those requests but that is not His main concern. However, we have a tendency to make these second class requests first class for us in prayer. Rarely do we spend time in prayer consumed with His Kingdom, His Gospel and His Coming.
Lastly and simply, God commands us to pray. Plain and simple, no explanation needed. Sometimes you just have to do the thing whether you understand or not. In this world where we cannot get away from suffering we need an anchor for our souls. People are hurting and struggling in many ways that we cannot know or understand. However, often times we hope in the answer instead of the God who provides the answer. Instead of waiting on the thing, we need to wait on the Lord. I know that’s tough but true nonetheless.
So, where does this leave us when our hearts are in our hands? It leaves us asking ourselves this: Is God good? To which we should then ask, “What does His word say?” Then, “Do I believe His word?” From here, I must choose to trust even when I don’t understand, even when it hurts, even when I can’t see the end from the beginning because He does! Ultimately, God is good. Whether we choose to believe that or not doesn’t change it, although He wants us to believe Him. Because, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Maybe right now you aren’t very interested in pleasing God. Your heart has been broken and you have more questions than answers. Ask Him to equip you with faith unto belief, to help your unbelief and then begin right now to think your way into feeling. “For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
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