Most of the time when the Bible says something different than what life experience has shown me it’s hard to determine how to make a decision about which path to take. I know that the “Bible should read me” as we’ve heard Tyler say from time to time, but many times the issue isn’t with me disagreeing with the Bible, as much as me not trusting my understanding of what the words in front of me are telling me.
One such idea that has been hard to wrap my mind around lately has been asking for things from God through prayer, and how to interpret (and respond to) the outcome afterward. For starters in the New Testament the Bible says, “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,‘ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.” Mark 11:24. This is also repeated in a few other gospels.
What’s been hard for me to swallow is that none of this receiving what I’m asking for seems to be contingent upon whether or not God really wants what I’m asking for as well (according to this verse at least). I’m not talking about these extreme cases where I ask for outlandish wealth, but what if I ask for something that seems reasonable, but it isn’t what God wants for be right now. For example say I ask for a closer group of friends, but God is wanting me to go through a trial of loneliness. What seems logical to me, is that His will would triumph mine in this case, that no amount of believing would overpower what God wants. (If you disagree with this point, please let me know with ample verses/examples.)
So if you and I are in agreement, here’s what I find tough, I’ve asked for this "something" that seems like a good thing, some gift that He has given to others, however it seems I’ve not received it. What’s tough is I’m stuck between not understanding whether my denial of this gift is because of my lack in faith or belief, or if this is a gift that God rather not give me. And further more if he’s not wanting to give it, I have to wonder if it’s a gift that I just need to be patient about receiving in the future, or if it’s something that I won’t receive at all. What’s tough about this, is that taking the outlook of needing more faith, and understanding that I won’t be receiving something at all are two very different things, and totally affect how I handle the future.
For example say it’s my life’s dream to star in High School Musical 4, (don’t worry, it’s not) being told that I just need to work harder at the part and being told that there’s not chance in *beep* that I have the part will decide whether I practice my vocals from morning to night, or move on to a different occupation. Similarly, if I thought that my lack of belief is what‘s causing me to not receive what I‘ve been praying for, I‘d take a much different direction than if I were told that the gift I‘ve asked for isn‘t for me. And the hard part about it is that these two actions are very polar; and while doing the right action for the right circumstance will provide pleasure, choosing the wrong action in both cases will be painful. If more faith/belief would have gain the prize I was seeking, but I took the path of accepting that I was never meant to receive the gift, then that stinks cause I could have had what I wanted. However if I put a lot of belief into what I’m asking for and I’m not meant to have it, then I increase my hope and it causes all the more pain when I don’t receive what I want in the end.
Please comment as openly and as freely as you’d like on this topic, but what I’d really like to see responses to are the following:
-are there some logical missteps that I took? What are they?
-are there circumstances that you’re in right now or have been through where there was something you prayed for and you didn’t seems to get an answer (or at least not a yes) and you were at this, or some crossroad where you didn’t know where to go from there?
Have a great Thanksgiving!!!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Here's something I've been chewing on...chew on it with me...(that's gross...but follow along)
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2 comments:
I think what is most difficult for me to understand in circumstances like this is whether God is keeping me in a situation to use me, or he is using my being in a situation simply because i didnt seek hard enough or have enough faith in his will to find my way out. I dont know if thats clear, but I know God can use my flaws, but if there is a flaw I have that I would really like to be rid of through prayer and seeking God I find it frustrating not knowing whether he will help me be relieved of that flaw or will keep me in it to better some other circumstance. Like Paul, who throughout his writings, talked about a "thorn" in his spirit, and though he asked God to remove that thorn again and again, God let that thorn remain because it taught a greater lesson in the bigger picture of paul's life.
I think for me to actually evaluate what you are saying I would have to say that you should seek discernment from the Holy Spirit as to whether God has answered yes/no/or not answered yet. It could be that God will give you what you desire, but could be teaching you a lesson in dependence, or patience. It is so hard to wait for the things that we truly long for, and truly believe are for the betterment of His kingdom, when he is reluctant to give them to us or takes longer than we think it should take to answer those prayers.
My only advice, which isnt much, is to seek that discernment about his answer. Meaning, not necessarily seeking the answer itself, which you already seem to know must come in God's time, whether yes or no, but seeking out the Holy Spirit's peace about the issue. God may not grant questions or "needs" when we think we need them but in seeking peace about that issue he will almost always help us to bear the wait much easier.
I guess my answer to this that I often find is that it takes more faith to wait in the periods of uncertainty than it does to have and accept an answer.
Although you may feel as if you should be ready to accept if God's will is different from yours, I don't think there is any harm in continuing to pray about the struggle, and to pray for a better understanding of what you should do as you live in the moment he has placed you in.
Personally, I have had periods where I have felt like I kept banging on the door, waiting for an answer, with no response. That's when God has showed me that the most important thing to desire in life is relationship with Him, and unfortunately sometimes the way he teaches us this is when we are forced to follow Him even when we have no clear direction.
An example of this in my life has been with the ultimate question, "What to do with my life". I have been in a job that I'm doing well in ever since I moved here, but I've struggled with feeling as if it is something God would have me to do, or if it is best use of my talents and time.
The easy solution would be for me to feel as if the reason this was on my heart was because I was supposed to leave jobs. After hearing many opinions (many of which did not help), I realized the only thing left to do was pray, and seek. So I looked around to various fields,struggled with what my "gifts" were, and came up empty handed. Sometimes I would pray that God could construct some wild circumstance to take me from where I was at and put me in another place.
However much I prayed, I didn't feel as if I had clear direction. Even looking at other jobs did not compel me to leave my current one.
I kept pursuing this in my morning devotion and that's when I ran across a passage (I don't remember where) but it talked about following God, and as I read I realized that somehow I had the perception that following God would meant that if I prayed He would tell me where the heck I was going and what I should do. I never even thought that He may try a different approach, and that the real challenge was for me to follow him blindly, and even if it meant I was to stay in the exact same place.
I'm not sure if I answered your questions, but I think that it is easy to jump to a "what to do" mindset, rather than allowing God to transform the place we are in while we wait for an answer. As Josh said, I think that prayer gives us the peace to be okay in either situation, showing that we have total dependence on God.
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