Sunday, December 19, 2010
Do we try to manipulate God?
The immediate response is, "Of course not! Who would be that stupid?!" Let me answer that: I would. God recently exposed to me a great failing of mine. In my prayers, I will often pray for patience or faith, as well as other good characteristics, but I have heard "horror stories" about what has happened when people pray for these things. I've heard people experiencing immense hardships and pain. So, in my prayers, I would stipulate exactly how I wanted to go about the growing of my spiritual life. I would say "Lord, give me more faith. But please don't take my friends away or put me in an undesirable situation". How foolish is that? Do I think I know better than God? Do I not know Him enough to think that He would be reckless and ruin other people's lives in the process of building my character? Doesn't he have the good of my soul in mind? Why would I think that He wouldn't know what He was doing? The only question I have for you is, do you have anything similar in your own life that needs to be changed?
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Hi Anne Marie,
ReplyDelete:) Good thoughts. Very insightful to analyze how you are praying. - I have found praying for faith or patience in a current situation is often more manageable... and i actually learn it instead of being broadsided by a new trial! The idea is to learn patience and faith by obeying now - instead of asking God for something more difficult before i think i can obey... Hope that makes sense. Love your posts! Keep it up. Love,
Mrs. McGee
yeah...you know i really strongly feel that...being patient...having faith..all of those things...are soully connected to how well we know God. i just feel like the more we know Him..the more we love our neighbor. 1 john says "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person." so keeping his commandments is to do with knowing Him. and what are his commandments? "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us."
ReplyDeletei just found that very interesting and wanted to share that with you =D
Thank you for sharing! That's a good point that really, if we are growing closer to Him, these things will come along with that, that they are not a separate bullet point on my to-do list and I have to grow closer to Him, then work on being more loving, then work on having more faith, etc. Anyway, all that to say, thank you for contributing your good thoughts. :D
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