A sweet lady named Sue came into my office today and after talking for a few minutes, she shared with me that she has been praying for her husbands salvation for the last forty years. Forty years?! Yep, forty years. Every single day she pleads with the Lord for his soul. She explained how his body is failing from a terminal disease and the things that we daily take for granted, like walking and breathing are taxing for him. She wasn't so much concerned for his healing, though she would love that, her main concern was that he would be right with the Lord. I asked her if I could pray for her husband and we grabbed hands and once again gave the situation to our God. Through the tears she admitted that she sometimes gets discouraged when it seems that nothing is happening, but then she smiled and quoted Ephesians 3:20, still believing that her God can and will do more that than she could ever think, ask and hope for. She went on to proclaim how God's thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours could ever be and that even in this she trusted that He still has a plan for her husband. With her eyes lifted up she said, "I will never stop praying!"
How easy it is to stop praying for a situation that seems impossible in our eyes. Frustration and discouragement provide for the perfect formula to cause us to stop believing and to stop praying, the one thing that God tells us to do without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17). Family members that are not walking with the Lord, people that we love that are snared in bondage, direction in a decision, or simply waiting on a sweet God-given desire, no matter what it is, don't stop praying because it is important to Him. Instead of allowing our not yet answered prayers to build the foundation of an unshakable faith, we allow ourselves to be robbed of the beauty that comes in the waiting for God's perfect timing. Like Sue, I pray daily for my husband, though I am not yet married. It is what the Lord has put on my heart to do. Do I get tired? Yes. Do I allow discouragement to take me out of being a part of the beautiful story that the Lord is creating for me? Sometimes. Then the Lord reminds me of Who He is, gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek, dusts me off, smacks me on the butt and tells me to get back in the game!
What are you praying for? Perhaps the more appropriate question should be, what have you stopped praying for? Ask the Lord to show you. Then go back to what you know to be true. That God is good, that He hears the cries of His saints, that His timing is impeccable and that His ways are far beyond what you could ever imagine. Don't stop praying!
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." -Ephesians 3:20&21
How easy it is to stop praying for a situation that seems impossible in our eyes. Frustration and discouragement provide for the perfect formula to cause us to stop believing and to stop praying, the one thing that God tells us to do without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17). Family members that are not walking with the Lord, people that we love that are snared in bondage, direction in a decision, or simply waiting on a sweet God-given desire, no matter what it is, don't stop praying because it is important to Him. Instead of allowing our not yet answered prayers to build the foundation of an unshakable faith, we allow ourselves to be robbed of the beauty that comes in the waiting for God's perfect timing. Like Sue, I pray daily for my husband, though I am not yet married. It is what the Lord has put on my heart to do. Do I get tired? Yes. Do I allow discouragement to take me out of being a part of the beautiful story that the Lord is creating for me? Sometimes. Then the Lord reminds me of Who He is, gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek, dusts me off, smacks me on the butt and tells me to get back in the game!
What are you praying for? Perhaps the more appropriate question should be, what have you stopped praying for? Ask the Lord to show you. Then go back to what you know to be true. That God is good, that He hears the cries of His saints, that His timing is impeccable and that His ways are far beyond what you could ever imagine. Don't stop praying!
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." -Ephesians 3:20&21
As always, Tam, it is so apparent that these posts are inspired by the Lord and that you are being obedient to the Holy Spirits inkling on your heart. How they inspire me, touch me, and convict me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time, and for allowing the Lord to use you.
I love you!
Wow, thank you Veronica!
ReplyDeleteI love you too.