"How long must I pray, must I
pray to
You" -
"Hold my heart" - 10th Avenue North
How
long must I pray
must I pray to You
How long must I wait
must I wait for You
How long till I see Your face,
see You shining through.
I'm on my knees
begging You to notice me.
I'm on my knees,
Father will You turn to me
- 10th Avenue North, "Hold my heart (full song)"
must I pray to You
How long must I wait
must I wait for You
How long till I see Your face,
see You shining through.
I'm on my knees
begging You to notice me.
I'm on my knees,
Father will You turn to me
- 10th Avenue North, "Hold my heart (full song)"
Have you ever been in a
situation where you're just not sure that God hears your prayers? You find
yourself pleading your case and feeling completely justified in your request,
yet there just doesn't seem to be a response. It's so easy to fall into the
belief that God just doesn't care, or even worse there are some that would even
jump to the conclusion that God doesn't exist.
In our family, we are frequently dealing with the “it’s not fair” comment from one of our children. It’s common in almost every family and part of the learning experience that all children must go through. There always seems to be something that another child receives that seems unfair to the appealing child. Children must learn that this life is not always fair from our perspective, but this life is not always about them. As I relate this to God's process of answering our prayers, I realize there is also this feeling of unfairness at times when our prayers and desires aren’t met. Here again though, we are all maturing to the realization that God knows everything about you and I. He knows our heart, our mind and our feelings, and what’s best for us.
In our family, we are frequently dealing with the “it’s not fair” comment from one of our children. It’s common in almost every family and part of the learning experience that all children must go through. There always seems to be something that another child receives that seems unfair to the appealing child. Children must learn that this life is not always fair from our perspective, but this life is not always about them. As I relate this to God's process of answering our prayers, I realize there is also this feeling of unfairness at times when our prayers and desires aren’t met. Here again though, we are all maturing to the realization that God knows everything about you and I. He knows our heart, our mind and our feelings, and what’s best for us.
Given the opportunity to
appeal a decision from God on one of your prayers, what new information could
you tell God relative to the situation that He doesn't already know? If you are not hearing or experiencing
answers to your prayers, it is generally because God knows more about the
situation than you do and is deciding based on His knowledge, not yours. Trying
to grasp the essence of God takes trust, faith and patience. First, you must
come to the place where you can accept that God is sovereign. This means that
He is all powerful and is the supreme authority over heaven and earth.
Once this is understood and accepted, we then must come to the understanding that He has an eternal perspective. He sees all of eternity at one time, whereas you and I see linearly. The concern that you are praying about likely has a perceived immediate impact on your life. What God's perspective shows is every outcome of that request from this day to the end of time. Who will be impacted, what will happen 100 years from now, 1000 years from now as a result of this prayer, how will the action improve the Kingdom of God. These are just a few of the things that we can't grasp with our human perspective.
Finally and most importantly, you must accept that God loves you more than imaginable with a human perspective. This love is a one to one spiritual love that spans all of time. Since the creation of the world through eternity His love is exactly the same and unchangeable. There will be times when we feel that He doesn't love us, because something doesn't happen the way we want it too. Perhaps a relationship, sometimes a loved one passes away, perhaps a job loss, or any other myriad of human desires aren't met through prayer. This does not mean God's love has changed, it simply means we don't have a full understanding of what it means.
Recognizing God's sovereignty, His eternal perspective and His loving grace allows us to realize that His will is perfect as it relates to His Kingdom, and this may not align to our earthly desires. His love is enough, when we stay focused on the end game.
Once this is understood and accepted, we then must come to the understanding that He has an eternal perspective. He sees all of eternity at one time, whereas you and I see linearly. The concern that you are praying about likely has a perceived immediate impact on your life. What God's perspective shows is every outcome of that request from this day to the end of time. Who will be impacted, what will happen 100 years from now, 1000 years from now as a result of this prayer, how will the action improve the Kingdom of God. These are just a few of the things that we can't grasp with our human perspective.
Finally and most importantly, you must accept that God loves you more than imaginable with a human perspective. This love is a one to one spiritual love that spans all of time. Since the creation of the world through eternity His love is exactly the same and unchangeable. There will be times when we feel that He doesn't love us, because something doesn't happen the way we want it too. Perhaps a relationship, sometimes a loved one passes away, perhaps a job loss, or any other myriad of human desires aren't met through prayer. This does not mean God's love has changed, it simply means we don't have a full understanding of what it means.
Recognizing God's sovereignty, His eternal perspective and His loving grace allows us to realize that His will is perfect as it relates to His Kingdom, and this may not align to our earthly desires. His love is enough, when we stay focused on the end game.
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