Ever have God call you out on something?
Annoying, isn’t it?
It happened first thing this morning,
yeah, you know, because there I am all groggy from sleep
and there He is having NO NEED FOR SLEEP
like He was just waiting there all night just to talk to me
and He’s not groggy, nooooooo,
cuz, you know, He’s God,
so, already He’s waaaayyyy ahead of me.
Anyway,
I was working up a good steam of anxiety
almost before I opened my eyes
and rehearsing some things I was going to suggest to God
in prayer
that He could do to help relieve said anxiety
when I felt Him infringing on my personal space,
clearing His throat,
in a pretty clear God way so I asked,
“Yes, Lord?”
a little perturbed,
you know, cuz He was interrupting my prayer planning time.
That’s when He asked me,
“Lori, if your house was on fire and the fire department arrived,
would you stand out in front and tell them where to set up,
what equipment to use,
and how to go about their business?”
“Of course, not,” I replied.
“Or, if you were taken to the hospital in a rescue
stricken with a sudden illness
would you feel the need to direct the doctors and nurses
who cared for you?”
I began to see where this was going so I didn’t answer. He knows my thoughts.
“Why then,” He continued, “do you feel the need to spend your prayer time giving me directions?”
And I thought of friends who taught me about praying specifically and I offered that up to Him as a defense.
“But, that’s not what you’re doing. Specific prayer isn’t about you giving Me directions. Specific prayer is for certain times but allow me to point out something painfully obvious to those of us here in the balcony seats.”
“Okay,” I replied, “what would that be, Lord?”
“You haven’t the foggiest clue what should be done for your situation, so how in the world do you think you should be giving Mespecific directions?!”
Oh. Yeah. That.
He had me there.
So, that’s why my prayer life this morning sounded less like “Dear Lord, please do such and such and please give me such and such and please arrange this that and how” and more like
“Lord, do you see this fire? Help!”
and
“Lord, there’s this painful situation and I don’t know the remedy! Help!”
and
“Lord, I can’t see in the dark! Thank you for walking with me. Help me find my way out.”
And weirdly, with those truly unpoetic,
very general,
lacking complete eloquence,
who would be impressed by them prayers
my anxiety dissipated like the morning fog off the bay.
Because it’s not about my words, it’s about my heart.
And suddenly, this morning, I remembered how amazing God is
and I remembered that I trust Him completely
because, He rules.
“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:25-28
How about you?
Ever been called out by God? Does He ever annoy you? Ever turn praying specifically into trying to instruct the Lord?
Maybe I’m the only one, I’m still learning, that’s for sure.
Get in on the conversation
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The Conversation
Oh, yeah. It’s just you.
Not hardly!
God is God and I am not. I should probably have that engraved somewhere so I can remember it when I decide to tell Him how to fix things.
You had me going for a minute. 🙂
“Hi. Me. Screwed up again. Help.”
I am totally stealing that prayer.
Yeah, I tried to use that “praying specifically” argument on Him, too. With the same, “who are you kidding?” response from Him. At least He’s consistent.
Praying that God will smooth the road for you.
Ah, yes, consistent. I praise Him for being consistent! Thanks, Jan. 🙂
Lori, this is essentially the complete text of my talk for women entitled “Tabby Teaches Prayer.” Isn’t it wonderful the way He talks to all of us with the same message?
I love the way your blog gently nudges me in the direction I should be taking without making me feel I’m such a loser I’ll never get it right. To think “Help” is a complete prayer sometimes! What a mighty God we serve. MOMMA
To Anonymous: Right Arm!
Right on target, Lori! I certainly ID with your early morning conversation with God! And how wise his councel! WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?
<3 Sheri
Naw, I never have any of these kinds of issues.
NOT
This topic was WAY more than challenging. I’d put it right up there with twisting my arm. So I’m gonna spend some extra time re-focusing on who God is.
As for the personal ‘in your face’ story: it will probably take me a few days to get around to sharing that. But thanks for asking.
Yep, He’s good at that! Just when we think we’ve got the answer to a situation He suggests an entirely different take on it. OY! Haha!