“To pray is
to change. Prayer is the central avenue
God uses to transform us. If we are
unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of
our lives.”
Richard J. Foster The
Celebration of the Disciplines
We have just entered the Lenten Season, a season of prayer, fasting, and reflection as
we prepare for the Resurrection of our Lord.
As we discern and seek God’s face for the
direction of this church and our own personal lives, prayer is a must.
God will speak, but we must offer Him the space to speak.
I love the
quote above from Foster; I think sometimes we forget or don’t even realize this
simple yet powerful truth concerning prayer.
Instead of prayer being an avenue to change our hearts, we make it a
plea for God to change. We pray, “God do
this and do that, change this and change that.”
When it doesn’t happen we become indignant or discouraged. Could it be God is waiting for us to ask Him
to change us and not our
circumstances, but our attitudes and perspective? Jesus understood this concept. When His disciples asked Him how to pray He
responds in Matt. 6:10 “…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven.”
Yes, God
wants us to ask Him for things, but ultimately He desires for our hearts to be
in-line with His. He really is in the
business of changing people. As we enter
this Lenten season may our prayers be for God to change us and prepare us for
the calling He has at First Baptist; so when He does lead us we will be ready
and follow, not begrudgingly, but in faith.
May God
protect us from everything but His glory.
Amen. (I stole that line from Beth Moore:))
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