Prayers of thanks generally come easier for me than pleas. It's kind of complicated for me to explain my frustration with asking God for the things I need, so bear with me please.
John 16:24
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Isn't it contradictory to earnestly place ALL your faith in God to direct your life and supply all your needs, but then pray for intervention when times get tough?
God KNOWS my heart. He KNOWS my needs. I've asked Him to take control of EVERYTHING and I can trust that He will. Why should I ask for anything?
When my husband and I experience financial difficulties, I worry. God knows my heart; He knows my worries. By worrying, have I forgotten His promise to be in control? Instead of asking for His intervention on those occasions, shouldn't I ask Him to remind me that He's in control; to ease my mind and heart? Shouldn't I forget the prayers asking God to keep my electric on just a few more days or to provide a way to get the propane tank filled? It's in God's hands! Why ask? Why worry?
But I do worry and I get frustrated with myself for vascilating between God's power and my own. When I allow myself to worry, I've essentially attempted to take back control. I don't want control, though. I know that when I'm in control, things don't ever go right. I fall short on every occasion.
On the occasions when I worry, when I forget to lean on God, is it a case of Satan "tinkering" around or is it that my claim to trust in God is dishonest?
On the occasions when my "perceived" needs aren't fulfilled, is it an instance of God handing control back over to me because, in worrying, I've again attempted to regain control? Or is what I thought I needed not necessarily a real need? Perhaps the difficulty, or struggle, is what I really need. There is , afterall, a lesson to be learned in every struggle.
What about worrying about what God's will is? For example, I prayed for 15 years for the opportunity to own our home. About 3 years ago, my prayers were answered. My husband and I got the opportunity. We are now struggling to keep the payments made. We are currently 3 months behind. Am I wrong to worry that it's not God's will to own our home?
When I find myself contemplating God's will, I'm usually mollified by the scriptural verse in my signature.
Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Whatever God's will, I accept. If He's to provide an alternative, less desireable housing situation or lifestyle, I accept. If He's to test my faith by calling one of my children home, I accept. Whatever His will, I accept.....so why worry; why ask?
Father, I pray for the response that will ease my confusion. I also pray that if there be another suffering the same, the answer be provided for them as well. In Jesus' name, Amen.
John 16:24
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Isn't it contradictory to earnestly place ALL your faith in God to direct your life and supply all your needs, but then pray for intervention when times get tough?
God KNOWS my heart. He KNOWS my needs. I've asked Him to take control of EVERYTHING and I can trust that He will. Why should I ask for anything?
When my husband and I experience financial difficulties, I worry. God knows my heart; He knows my worries. By worrying, have I forgotten His promise to be in control? Instead of asking for His intervention on those occasions, shouldn't I ask Him to remind me that He's in control; to ease my mind and heart? Shouldn't I forget the prayers asking God to keep my electric on just a few more days or to provide a way to get the propane tank filled? It's in God's hands! Why ask? Why worry?
But I do worry and I get frustrated with myself for vascilating between God's power and my own. When I allow myself to worry, I've essentially attempted to take back control. I don't want control, though. I know that when I'm in control, things don't ever go right. I fall short on every occasion.
On the occasions when I worry, when I forget to lean on God, is it a case of Satan "tinkering" around or is it that my claim to trust in God is dishonest?
On the occasions when my "perceived" needs aren't fulfilled, is it an instance of God handing control back over to me because, in worrying, I've again attempted to regain control? Or is what I thought I needed not necessarily a real need? Perhaps the difficulty, or struggle, is what I really need. There is , afterall, a lesson to be learned in every struggle.
What about worrying about what God's will is? For example, I prayed for 15 years for the opportunity to own our home. About 3 years ago, my prayers were answered. My husband and I got the opportunity. We are now struggling to keep the payments made. We are currently 3 months behind. Am I wrong to worry that it's not God's will to own our home?
When I find myself contemplating God's will, I'm usually mollified by the scriptural verse in my signature.
Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Whatever God's will, I accept. If He's to provide an alternative, less desireable housing situation or lifestyle, I accept. If He's to test my faith by calling one of my children home, I accept. Whatever His will, I accept.....so why worry; why ask?
Father, I pray for the response that will ease my confusion. I also pray that if there be another suffering the same, the answer be provided for them as well. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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