Who am I: my relationship with God through prayer (part 2)

And yet He does answer all things. Whether or not I realize it, God hears me even before I speak (Isaiah 65:24), much as He heard the groanings and cries of suffering from the children of Israel in Exodus 6:5 and 22:23,27. He knows those that suffer and hurts for them. (Jer. 29:12,13; Jer. 31:9) At the same time, all things have a purpose, His purpose and He desires that I understand that He will avenge my pain, or at least assuage it, when His purpose is complete. My task as one of His is to stick with Him.  No matter what. To acknowledge Him as Lord, standing before the alter as Solomon did after those many years and at once praise Him in private and public (1Kings 8:22) Serving Him purely, with a humble heart, as Solomon did (1 Chronicles 28:9) Even when it seems like He is not hearing me, Job 30:20: “I cry unto thee, and thou does not hear me. I stand up and thou regardest me not”.  Even when I am trying to knock the bricks in my wall down my self with all kinds of self-help books and programs, and I am not listening for God. He says He will answer me (Jer 33:3). Even when I tell God I can do by myself, He knows I cannot. But He also knows that I have to come to that realization of the absolute and undeniable truth of “Our Father, Who truly art in heaven, without any doubt or question.” He knows that I have to realize the truth of Job 8:5,6, “If thou wouldst seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty: If though were pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee and make the habitat of thy righteousness prosperous.” He has seen to my needs of food, fellowship, fidelity, and faithfulness. And He knows that inherently I, like all other humans, have a need to fill the empty holes and cling to something. It is when I actually understand that I have holes that only God can fill and that my life is not my own, but His, that I understood that my cries and longings have not gone on deaf ears. He had told me a long time before I was born that He will be good to me if I wait on Him in His throne room. (Lev 3:25) and that all I need to do is call on Him, that He is a jealous God for my call (Joel 2: 18, 19,32) When I seek to fill the holes with things that will fade away, God shakes His head because He knows that it is me that is blocking His view. (Amos 5:4-6) Not God. It is my own pride, my own short-sightedness that prevents me from reaping rewards that otherwise could be mine, if I allow God to be as big as He is. My attitude lacks something of humility, and I cannot go before Him truly until I develop the attitude that Hosea describes in Hosea 12:4, “Yea, [Jacob] had power over the angel and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him, he found him in Bethel and thus he spoke with him.” While God knows my heart, he knows when my intentions are haughty and when they are humble, he also listens to the soft cries when I realize I have no where to turn. I too can wrestle with the angel, as long as I come to the realization that I have hit rock bottom and have no where to run to. Then can I “seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually and say, ‘Save us, O God of our salvation and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name and glory in thy praise’” (1Chronicles 16:11,35, 2Chronicles 7:14)  Then can I seek His kingdom as Matthew says (Matt 6:33ff). That concept is not a new one. It has been in God’s history for quite some time, as in Zephaniah 2:3, and Zechariah 13:9. Jesus carried it through in his teachings over and over to teach his disciples and me in the future about running to God in prayer (Matt 18:19,20, Matt 21:22)

Who is Jesus: The Lamb of God (part 3)

There is only one God. Elijah knew that when he made sacrifice before God to bring rain to His people. (1 King 8:36-38) But He also knew God’s timing was perfect and that because he was the God of Abraham, Isaac and all Israel, He was not required to answer or give answer to anyone. If God chose it to rain, so be it. He burned the fire to prove a point, that Elijah was right, and that Elijah’s acknowledgment was true and steadfast. And that He was with Elijah, as He is with me during trials of faith, always.

 

And what does God answer during those trials? How much do I rely only on God? Enough not to make expectations but enough to know that He really does know best? Do I seek Him while I can still find Him (Is 55:6)? Or do I not take Him seriously and use use Him in a bad way, for my own selfish ambitions? Do I use other idols (money, name, looks, etc.) to get what I want? (IKings 18:24-34) When I elevate those idols to God’s level and use those to get me out of sticky situations or even to get what I want, when the one true God doesn’t, because He has a better way? Once upon a time, the prophet Elijah told the people to pray to the stone god image of Baal they thought could make he could make it rain. Three times they were to invoke Baal. And nothing happened. Then Elijah prayed to God and down came the rain, and the rocks smoked. Why did that happen? Was it that Elijah knew the right button to push, the right handle to turn? Did Elijah use the magic words? Of course not. What Elijah did know was that God was in control and He is in control and will always be in control. Whether or not the rocks were set on fire. Whether or not it rained. God brought this universe into existence. Why should He perform magic tricks for me? And what audacity it is of me to believe that the God that led His people through the wilderness to the land of milk and honey after 400 years of captivity couldn’t set rocks on fire or make it rain!

Who is God:my relationship with God through prayer

 

I allow all kinds of gods in my life. And that hurts God. People He created had no clue. And that continues today. Who the real God was, just that God was something that was entitled to reverence. They were half right. They did what I do whenever I try to shortchange God in worship, whether privately or in the church service. God doesn’t like me to be haphazard and half-way about anything, especially when I am supposed to praise and honor him. He is the one with all the answers the real answers (Proverbs 16:1). He also knows that when that happens feelings of hypocrisy and jealousy crop about what the person being applauded by everyone for their godliness. He knows I am one-step away from stepping out and sinning against my brethren. And that displeases Him most of all. He knows I have set myself up, I have put myself into a compromising position and I will give in regardless, because of my fleshly body. Unless I remember that God has equipped me with His Spirit. And it is that spirit that understands that God is the LORD above all else and we shall have no false gods ahead of Him. (Exodus 20:1ff) God equips me with His Word and with friends that can bring me back into focus if I will remember to call upon their support. And, more importantly, that is what His Spirit will do, if I let Him. That takes practice. Do I love God enough to do that? Does my relationship with God matter more than my job that I am in danger of losing, or that husband that wants me to do something that would compromise my morals but would be good for his business? Does following God’s Word mean more to me than losing friends? If God matters more than what I fear does, then I will listen to Him. I will remember that God was displeased with the golden calf, even though Aaron was trying to be a servant to His people and give them what they desired. I will remember that God commands me to speak His truth to His people, as He did Jeremiah (Jer 26:2) even if I stand alone. Like sacrificing Isaac was for Abraham, this is not one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. But it is what He wants me to do. To speak the truth. To acknowledge Him in all things. To be concerned with what most pleases Him, not how someone looks or what my talents are and how much better and more expressive I am than my brother or sister in Christ. To stand praying to Him and praising Him every day. What a blessing! To be in His holy chamber and sit by Him! (Lk 18:10, Lk 24:53) To be in tune with God. I will listen to Him as He tells me where He needs me and for what purpose. I will also believe deeply the scripture in Isaiah 19:20 that speaks of how when I was oppressed, God brought me from my personal Egypt, the way He heard the cries of the Jews and rescued them. How many times have I read through the numbering of families and the various genealogies that are written of in the Old Testament and found myself either falling asleep trying to get through them or simply wondering why it was in the bible to begin with. Having read it again with the idea of worshipping God in all I do, I have come to the conclusion why it is important for God to have included numbering and genealogical mapping as He insists that biblical writers do. I believe that God found it important first of all to give a history and a background to present day people, a listing so people could trace from whence they came, but also so they have firm footing as to their place in history. But most important to give His history. That even though He has been here forever, He is not untraceable. And He is in control of all tribes, colonies, herds, etc. Each has its specific task to perform in the service of God and a purpose in His kingdom. Because He is in control, I am not the one holding the reigns. I must understand this, that even in storms He will always be in control. (Matt 14:30-33) He’s taken care of all things for me. My main goal is to relax, be His daughter and live according to His love and truth. To be as Joshua, falling at the feet of the LORD his servant (Jos 5:14, 15) and as David when he says to God, “So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy LORD and worship thou Him: I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee forever and ever.” (Ps 45:11-17). To praise Him daily. To acknowledge His royalty and power, as made manifest in the birth of Jesus. And to comfort the one pierced by my acts, as if by my hand He was slain. To mourn the death of one so beautiful and then rejoice that God has raised Him to a new life. (Zec 12:10). And most comforting, to rest in Zion, to cry no more, because He answers all prayers, and knows that life here is painful. (Isaiah 30:19) In his great mercy, he has made that temporary, only giving me what I can handle, and letting me know that He will never forsake me.