The June 20 devotional from Blackaby's Experiencing God Day by Day was profound in its treatment of the question, “Can you accept God's will when His answer is NO?” Often, I have thought that God's answer to some of my prayers was not necessarily no, but instead I just surmised that I was mistaken about His will. In the example of the devotion, the early church prayed for James to be protected and spared by King Herod, But James was martyred. Later, they prayed the same prayer for Peter, and he was freed from jail by an angel prior to his planned execution. Why would God say yes to Peter's rescue and not James'?
I do believe that at times, we do not pray in God's will. Other times, we pray His promises from scripture to find that God's timing and our expectations do not coincide. During other times of prayer, God conforms our hearts to His will as we pray over a matter.
I am convinced that the following are essentials for prayer: a heart that trusts God completely and a strong faith in God's sovereign nature. He knows what He is doing. We has allowed us the privilege to speak and hear from Him as we pray. When we pray, He teaches us, our faith grows, and our hearts begin to conform to His will .
As the author of the devotion says, “We must learn to trust God so that if He says no, we accept that His will is best.”
Benny Stofer - Worship Pastor
1 comment:
It's difficult for me to get a "No" or "Not Now" response from the Lord b/c I keep thinking I know what's best for myself.
Praise the Lord that I don't know best because when I think I do I couldn't be more wrong.
I believe our brains aren't made to handle that kind of responsibilty. They're really made to glorify God and that can show up by us making the cognitive choice to trust in Him.
A "No" or "Not Now" has got to be ok with me in order to grow in Christ.
Thanks for getting me to think about this.
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