The power of prayer and
the sovereignty of God are indisputable. God is God, and declaring so helps us
to recognize that He governs all things. Who is to say what God can do? When we
believe—with all our heart, soul and strength—and trust God with the outcome,
His will is done and miracles occur.
Though
God can, has and does perform miracles without our help, He tells us to ask and
we shall receive. So we have a tendency to pray selfishly, seeking only what we
want, and base God’s goodness on His answers. God promises to provide what we
need, the desires of our hearts, but our prayers often seek what we want.
Imagine if God always said “Yes!” to everything.
In the movie, Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, God bestows His power onto Bruce. However, with this power comes numerous prayer requests. Instead of considering each one, Bruce hits Reply All and answers “Yes.” It doesn’t work out very well. What if God had said “Yes” to Jesus when he asked not to endure the suffering of the cross? Our reconciliation with God would no longer exist and we would have to pay the wages of our sin. It can be very difficult to accept God’s answer to our prayers, but, when you pray, trust that God’s answer — whether yes or no — is in line with His will.
Should you pray for miracles then? Yes, absolutely! Pray for healing from terminal illness. Pray for God to open each person’s eyes to His glory. Pray for the Red Sea to part again, or for the deaf to hear and the blind to see. Regardless of His answer, God’s love for you never fails.
God knows
the desires of our hearts and, when we pray, He wants nothing more than to
grant us those desires. However, God’s plan is much bigger than any one person.
Even Jesus prayed earnestly to avoid suffering, but he trusted God with the
outcome.
Matthew 26:39 (New Living Translation)
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face
to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible,
let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be
done, not mine.”
God’s
plan for you is so much more than you can fathom. Though at times it may seem
that He only intends for you to suffer, God’s love for you is great. What
happens when we trust in God and demonstrate our love for Him?
Romans 8:28 (New Living Translation)
And we know that God causes everything to work
together for the good of those who love God and are called according to
his purpose for them.
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Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church.
Today's devotion is based on the Living It Out study on trusting God. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check
out the daily
studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.
Thanks Sandie! Needed that today.
ReplyDeleteThe longer I walk with God the more I've come to trust. Having the benefit of several decades of hindsight helps. The key is to walk closely. Jesus isn't just our Savior - He needs to be Lord of all. Not always easy. But when we let Him, the end results are so worth giving up the control and selfish will. :)
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