Today I want to tackle a few of those questions but I want to tackle it from the perspective of prayer. Prayer is central to people of faith. Often people pray specific prayers for specific needs rather than more general concerns? I often hear people ask for prayer for purely selfish needs. It is as if they see God as a form of Santa Clause. Sometimes people might even pray for things they want rather than discover what is God’s plan for their needs.
I often have told people in my prison ministries that they should be careful about what they pray for because they just might have their prayers answered. Yet, it may not be the best. What I mean by that is that often we all can pray about what we want rather than what we need and become preoccupied with self-centered approach to prayer rather than discovering what God has for us.
I remember one man coming to my class in prison one day and shared that he prayed that he would win the lottery. He stated that he did win $100,000 but it was the worst thing that ever happened to him. He began to party and ended up with an addiction and after all of his friends abandon him and all of his money was gone, he was left alone and with a serious addiction. In order to support his addiction to begin to steal and consequently was arrested and that’s why he was in prison.
I’ll never forget that because I think that it is often what we turn to God and pray for. We can be motivated in the very same way, selfish agenda rather than God’s plan. We often ask God to conform His Will to our ways but today I want to encourage us that prayer is the alignment of our will with God’s way!
I’m reminded of the lyrics to a song, “When you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.” Sometimes God‘s plan isn’t always as easy to see as we hoped but, we walk in obedience even though we don’t always understand.
The Bible is filled with many verses on this very topic but I have to believe that if we come into alignment with God‘s biblical pattern for living and live within the promises that He gives so that we will discover God‘s peace and plan for our lives. Most of us struggle with simply obeying what God commands throughout Scripture yet alone trying to discover His plan.
God calls us to specific things but it’s always within the context of what He commands and what He promises that He will do. I remember when I felt the call to ministry. I was overly concerned about the specifics of that call but God simply wanted me to be obedient in the context of what He clearly commands as well as living within what He promises. Once I figured that out I was able to operate freely within the parameters and not concern myself about tripping over details. Of course God can be very specific but He typically uses others as well as confirms those specifics along the way. But often it is a faith walk that is discovered through the journey not the destination.
A quote by a friend of mine, Dr. Steve Snyder says, “God’s will is about a position not a decision.”
Isn’t it amazing that just when we need to know what the next step is that God will bring us to that metaphoric 11 o’clock hour. Once my family was within 15 days of having to move out of our home with very few options about where to go. Neither my wife or I had a new position lined up but we definitely could not afford to stay where we were living at the time. As we prayed and waited on the Lord, He came through at just the right time. Within those 15 days of moving Cindi was able to secure a job and we were able to make the move. From there God begin to unfold the rest of His plan along the way.
During that difficult time, which lasted nearly 2 years, we were filled with uncertainty and I questioned God‘s plan often. It was during that time that God revealed to me that it was not the destination but the journey that mattered. While the Lord always supplied our every need; we didn’t always know exactly how it would happen.
One such journey of faith occurred when I was confronted with financial need. The church was making some cuts in their finance and I took a journey of faith that showed me that God truly was the provider. Grateful that God lead me throughout that time when the income was reduced substantially and I had to depend on other means of support for my family. Thankfully the church allowed us to stay living in the church parsonage but financially I had obligations that I needed an income for. The Lord seemingly came through every single time. Some through donations that came to us in support of my chaplaincy. In other ministry opportunities like weddings and funerals the provided just the right amount of income for what we needed that week. Every detail came together in God’s time and at just the right time to provide for our every need.
I’m older now and I could see clearly how God orchestrated every detail. I had to trust him during those uncertain times yet he never failed. It was truly a reminder to me and my wife and hopefully to my children that God was always in control.
Finding God‘s will is a journey into the unknown as it is a walk with God from day to day. We didn’t just one day wake up and say, “There it is!” It was a gradual discovery of God‘s will. Moreover it is the journey of how God reveals His provision and His promises.
My life verse is a reflection of how God lead me through the good and the bad. Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.“
