Do you seek the will of God in everything that you do? No? Then how often do you ask the Lord what He would have you do? We are inclined to wake up in the morning, get dressed, and go about our daily duties as we see fit while either assuming we are within God’s will, or not giving it a second thought. However, this is not what He would have us do.
Jesus loves us, this sounds like such a simple statement, and is indeed the repeating theme of a childish worship song whose lyrics begin “Jesus loves me this I know”, but do we really know this? Do we understand the depth and complexity of His love for us? A bigger question is, how do we experience this love.
What are you doing as you wait on God? Do you even know what you are waiting on? We have all been through times when we aren’t really certain what we would like the Lord to do for us, or what we would have Him do in our lives and faith, but being adrift on a sea of uncertainty is not good. So when you find yourself becalmed on a motionless ocean, then pray for a breeze, a direction, and wait on Him. Then as you wait go about the tasks of living in the faith that Jesus. And God’s Word have taught.
How do you refer to God? Do you call Him Holy God, Heavenly God, The Great I Am, or maybe Lord? I’ll bet you also call Him Father. As I was reading my devotional message by Andrew Murray this morning, he revealed something about the Lord’s Prayer that had previously escaped me... This is the first time that the disciples had referred to God as Father. The wonder of this moment had never dawned on me, and it brought tears to my eyes.
There are those today that are filled with the Holy Spirit and don’t realize it because they don’t know the Holy Spirit from any other part of their faith. If he had come to them with a jolt like he did to the apostles, and licked above them with fingers of flame, and filled them with tongues, then there would be no doubt, but for many he comes gently with joy and comfort. To those who receive him in this way, it is so subtle that they have a hard time realizing he is with them for they can’t separate him from the basic movements of their faith until one day they are awakened joyfully to the reality of his presence within them.
Satan would have you think that obeying God’s will means that yours must be destroyed, and that you must become some kind of automaton to God. He would have you think that if you are in God’s will then yours has been done away with. This couldn’t be further from the truth; your will is valued by the Lord. He desires your obedience to His Will and plan for you, but that obedience must come by choice, and in concert with your own. Jesus chose to do God’s will.
How pure is your life? Are you cleansed and holy, or still allowing something to tarnish your relationship with God? Is His will paramount in your life, or are you still the center of your universe? Where are you in the process of holiness? Perhaps you think you are basically doing well and that your faith is flourishing, and yet things keep popping up in your day to day life that cause you to stumble. So you repent, ask forgiveness, and begin again. You are not alone in your labor.
We all love our children; Mary loved Jesus, but raising a child means more than just love... it is a challenge. Do your children bring you more than love and joy? Sometimes our children are foolish, and can cause us pain, suffering, or even disappointment during their lifetimes. If you are a new parent, prepare yourself, if you have older children you know this to be true, so was Mary, the mother of Jesus, different, and immune from pain?
How would you classify yourself; are you a giver, or a receiver? When you pray your morning prayers do you ask the Lord to show where you can be of service to Him, or for a need to be filled? When I asked if you were a giver or receiver I’ll bet you immediately felt that being a giver was good, but had a negative feeling about being a receiver. The fact is that both are good.
Your prayers are not powerless. When you enter into prayer you are not alone, but are joined there by the Holy Spirt, and Jesus Christ. When you don’t know how to pray the Holy Spirit will pray for you, and when we pray in the name of Jesus Christ it gives Him joint authorship with us in that prayer. Suddenly, what had been a knee shaking event as we stood alone before the throne of God, has become more than just that. I ask you... are you alone before God in prayer?
How strong are you, and how strong is your faith? Does the strength of your physical body reflect the power of your faith? To answer this let’s consider the apostle Paul. Perhaps you are battling an illness, or a deformity that cripples you, and your prayer for this to be removed is seemingly falling on deaf ears. When our bodies suffer and become frail this can actually be our time of greatest dependence on God, and as such the height of our faith.
Over the past few days many of you have prayed for me as I have battled to throw off the head and chest cold I have been suffering with, but today I wish to pray for you, and ask that you join me by praying for me and those around you. My prayer today is not for your physical body, but rather for your spirit and faith. Have you ever prayed such a prayer? If you haven’t then you are missing the greatest opportunity in prayer... to pray for the will of God to be manifest in all its power within another person.
Are you in the midst of some trauma in your life? Are you looking to God and asking “Why Lord? Aren’t I your child?” Of course the answer to this question is that He loves you too much not to discipline, or teach, you. The storms in the life of a Christian are meant to teach and perfect us, but they sure feel like pure punishment don’t they? Yet, amidst the hardships and discipline, never lose sight of the fact that you are indeed a child of God.
Where do your blessings come from? Are you busy trying to earn them? Is your goal in doing God’s will to be blessed, or is your blessing simply that of being in His will? Where does our spiritual blessing truly come from, and how do you come by it? Do we really know what blessed means? Let’s look at the role of Christ in our blessings, and then ask again how we earn being blessed.
Do you pray alone? It is good to pray alone, and in secret, because that is required for the intimacy of our relationship with God, but are there times when praying together are necessary? The answer to my question is a resounding “Yes!” There is power in joining together in certain prayers, whether we are physically together, or praying in unison apart. A common cause prayed by many carries much weight before the throne of God.