It Only Feels Like Forever

Remember the first day of school your senior year in high school? Remember how excited you were because this was it, your last year of high school? Remember how as each day passed, May seemed to move farther and farther away? It felt like graduation day would never come? Why? Because you still had to go to school every day and work to finish your classes. The promise of a diploma loomed in front of you and you wanted it, but you had to wait until all your work was completed as well as wait for the day set aside for graduation.
     I suppose that's how Abraham must have felt as he waited for Isaac to be born. As each day passed and still no news of a pregnancy had to be trying for Abraham, yet Hebrews commends him for remaining faithful until Isaac's birth. Twenty-some years passed between the promise and the fulfillment, how did Abraham do it? I suspect it was much like how we got through our senior year, one day at a time...focusing on what tasks had to be accomplished that day and getting them done. Many times throughout my senior year, my teachers encouraged us to keep working by reminding us the reward was just ahead if we stayed focused and faithful. I remember on graduation day looking back over my senior year with my diploma in hand and thinking, "wow, that year went by so fast, how did that happen?" I guarantee the days themselves did not feel like they were flying by, but looking back, it seemed like we hardly had to wait at all to get our diplomas.
     Abraham too, had to stay focused each and every day on the tasks God gave. He had to live his life in those twenty-some years. It probably seemed to him that God was taking forever to fulfill his promise, but I bet, on the day he held his newborn son in his hands, those twenty-some years felt like nothing, it only felt like God took forever.
     There are days, many of them, when it feels like God is taking His time...lots of it...to fulfill His promise for me. What I have learned from Abraham in Hebrews 6 is that while the time may feel like it is dragging by, I need to stay focused on what God wants me to accomplish day by day. The promise will be fulfilled, but I have to live and work in the days from now until then. And I know that on the day that my kids meet Tebow, I too, will look back on my journey and realize it only seemed to be taking forever. Really, though, they will be nothing compared to the joy of seeing God fulfill His promise in His way and in His time.

Nothing Deep, Just Something Neat

Countless times in this journey God has taught me about the Holy Spirit and how we tend to overlook Him. I often tell my kids He's like the red-headed step-child of the Trinity...everyone knows God the Father, He's our heavenly Father, the one who loves us. Everyone also knows Jesus, He's God's Son, our Savior, but mention the Holy Spirit and it's 'who is that? does He have anything to do with me?' or in some cases, He's taboo because people get 'filled with the Holy Spirit' and start testifying in tongues and doing a holy dance down the aisles.
     Time and again God has shown just how much the Spirit does for me, especially in this area of prayer. One of the greatest things I have learned about Him is that He is my voice to God. He carries my prayers to the Father, editing them and adding to them the things I don't know or think to add to my requests. Not only is He my voice to my Father, but He is the Father's voice back to me. I cannot even begin to list all the things that God has shown me to pray for in this request, how the Spirit has guided my thinking and desires so that they match God's thinking and desires.
     Last night was one of those times. I love when God does this, it adds a newness and freshness to a long-standing prayer. I so loved what He showed me last night that I stopped in the middle of my prayer and sent a message to Stephanie sharing what it was. It wasn't so much what God showed but that He showed me anything at all. Our pastor says often that God will give you what you need to serve Him and then reward you for doing it...this is kind of like that. God gives me reasons why He should answer this so I can pray them back to Him and if He's the one saying pray this for that reason, He'll answer. I'm so very thankful that God doesn't give us a task and then leave us to figure it out on our own. So many reasons I pray for an answer are things I wouldn't have come up with on my own. So many things I desire to come out of this come from God Himself, I would have never thought those things could happen from an answered prayer. God is amazing...and that's an understatement.
      Oh, would you like to know what new reason He gave me for answering this request? As I was praying for Tebow, I prayed for him to keep close company with the right people. Friends are so important. They influence our way of viewing things, often without us realizing it. He is surrounded by Godless thinking and philosophy by the nature of his job, so I prayed that he would be careful about purposefully exposing himself to that outside of his work. I prayed that God would impress upon him the importance of solid, growing Christian friends and that he would make right choices in friends because my students needed that reinforced in thier lives. I thought about that for a minute. The reason I even thought to pray this for Tebow is because from time to time I read/see in the media that he attends one event or another with one celebrity or another. I then thought, 'okay, so how God  could my kids learn about right choices in friends from their role model if all the media shows him with are unsaved celebrities?" that's when God gave me another argument for an answer. The only way they'll know the impact his Christian friends and mentors have on him is by meeting him, hearing him tell them face to face how very important solid Christian friends are, to hear him talk about, by name, the influence these people have had and do have in his life. They need to meet Tebow so he can reinforce in them something they have been taught by countless spiritual leaders...how neat is that?!

Me...Annoyed

"if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself"   2 Timothy 2:13

   It's seems God has put us in a holding pattern in this journey. I find those to be somewhat aggravating when I travel, flying around in circles right above your destination, waiting for the chance to land. It's aggravating because either you're right there, just out of reach of your destination, waiting for something to happen on the ground so you can land or it happens when you have a short lay-over time to begin with and it is just cutting into the precious moments you need to dash for your next flight, either way, they're aggravating.
     I suspect, we are in a holding pattern because we are close to our destination...meeting Tim Tebow...and something needs to happen here on the ground first. It is very annoying to me to not know what this thing may be and more annoying still, God isn't revealing anything ... nothing  ... nada ...  zip.  At least at other times in this journey when He was silent, He was teaching me something, not this time, which is why I think we're close and just waiting for circumstances to be what He needs them to be.
     While He may not be teaching me something I need to learn, He has been spending a lot of time reminding me of several things He has taught me. The three most prevelant reminders have been first, waiting takes strength. I can not tell you how many times over the past several weeks I have come across Isaiah 40:31..."they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength..." in one form or another.
     A second reminder has been to continue faithful, don't quit. Two verses this past week in my devotions dealt with continuing in prayer because the answer is coming and then last night our sermon came from Eph. 6:10-18, the idea being to wrestle against quitting and giving Satan a victory.
    The third reminder, and the one that deals with the last phrase of the verse above, is that God is faithful, what He promises He'll do He does. I have read several verses that deal with God being absolute and doing the things He has promised. I read this verse today and it really stuck with me, at least that last phrase did, "He cannot deny Himself." Stop and think about that for a minute, God is incapable of not being Who He says He is. He has to answer this request because He promised in Matthew 18:19 that if we agree in prayer and pray according to His will, He will answer it. We have fulfilled our end of the bargain, I truly believe that. God has to answer this, He's not a liar, (Titus 1:2-"...God, which can not lie...") if He does not answer He would be denying Who He is.
     If that sounds presumptous to you, I apologize, I don't mean for it to be. This truth just really lit up for me today, and in context of what we are praying for, makes me very excited.
     The funny thing is, I haven't really been struggling with doubting Him. Actually, it's been quite the opposite, I have a real peace in my heart that an answer is on the way, that's probably also why I find this particular silence so annoying...answer it already, God, please. Perhaps I find this truth so fascinating because it is comfirmation of what I already know in my heart, God is Who He says He is and He will come through...someday :)
     So, while holding patterns may be annoying, they are necessary to help us arrive at our destination in the safest and best manner possible. I may not like God's silences,  and while I may find them annoying, I know God has a purpose for them...getting us to meet Tebow in the best way possible...His.

What To Pray, What To Pray?

Wednesday nights are prayer time in our church. This is when our prayer bulletin is handed out and in it is the list of missionaries our church supports. Each week, our pastor will read a letter from one and list the needs that particular missionary has. I, however, am not in our regular church service on Wednesdays, I help out in our teen services on another campus. During our school year, a friend of mine will make a copy of the prayer bulletin and put it in my box at the school office. My problem is, she leaves for the summer so now I don't get a prayer bulletin. It has been somewhat annoying to try to pray for our missionaries specifically when I can't remember who they all are and when I don't know what their needs are. I have been lifting them up as a group and offering some prayers up on their behalf, but it feels like I'm not really accomplishing much on their behalf and I feel badly because I know they need my prayers desperately.
     Today I was reading in Colossians. In chapter 1 Paul gives a long list of things he prayed over for the Colossians, a group of people he'd never met and didn't know specifics of their lives to pray about. The study portion in my Bible summed up that prayer into nine things we can pray for people even when we don't have details over which to pray.
     This was such a blessing to me because I finally had something definite to lift up in prayer for our missionaries. As I read through the list, I realized these nine things are things we should pray for each other daily...and of course, it has given me something new to add into my prayers for Tebow, things he too definitely needs in his life.
     I love when God gives you a helping hand when you are struggling to do the right thing and just can't quite figure out how to do it. He makes things so much easier and more joyful and a whole lot less frustrating.

No, I didn't forget to list the nine things...here they are, hope you find them useful in your prayers for Tebow and whoever else you may be praying for:

1.)  for them to understand God's will
2.) for them to gain spiritual wisdom
3.) for them to please and honor God
4.) for them to do kind things for other people
5.) for them to know God better and better
6.) for them to endure in faith
7.) for them to be filled with Christ's joy
8.) for them to be filled with God's strength
9.) for them to remain thankful

Tebow Needs This??????

Have you ever stopped to think that those people you hold up as great heroes of faith might actually need to see God do something impossible for them? So often when I look at people I admire for their service to God I don't think of them as needing God intimately. I'm pretty sure it's because I see them open themselves to God to be used for others so much that I don't often stop to think that maybe, just perhaps, they need to see God do something impossible to challenge their own walk, to help them in areas they may be struggling in.
     Last night as I was praying for Tebow, God led me to pray that this request be fulfilled because Tebow needs to see it done. My first thought was, "Really, God? This guy is on fire for you, what could he possibly need that this request would fulfill?" As I began to think a little about that I realized that all we know of Tebow's life comes through the media. We see him in short segments or read about him in news articles. He is very upfront about his faith, don't get me wrong, and as far as we can tell, he lives a life that backs up what he says. But what about his day to day life? While his walk may be strong, he is human and there must be areas in which he struggles and grows discouraged. I cannot even begin to imagine the onslaught from Satan he must face every single day. I cannot imagine the pressure he faces everyday to live for his God around people who have no desire or intention of living for anyone but themselves. It must get discouraging to have to constantly battle not giving into his flesh. There has to be days where it would just be easier for him to cave on his convictions and ease the mocking and ridicule he endures. The pressure to conform must be enormous. He must grow weary and tired in the battle.
     These are many reasons why Stephanie was led to form UNINTIMIDATED, but isn't possible that Tebow himself needs to see God do something big and impossible for a group of sophomores in Hawaii? Couldn't that challenge his faith and encourage him just as much as the kids? I think so.
      I think we often forget that heroes of our faith need to see God work for them just as much as they need God to work through them (see guys...still a prepositional thing!!!!), not something I often think much about. I regularly pray that God works though Tebow to be a blessing, to be an answer to prayer, to be a light for Him in a dark place, but it never occurred to me that Tebow himself may need to see this done, that he may need the joy of seeing God perform a miracle. I'm not sure what this request could do for Tebow, he's seen some pretty miraculous things but maybe he has never seen God answer a prayer quite like this one, one based solely on a challenge of faith, no gimmicks, no pleas, no YouTube videos, just a group of kids who believe their God is capable of answering any prayer they bring to him, even a chance to meet Tim Tebow.

In the Fullness of Time

"But when the fullness of the time was come..." Galatians 4:4
This verse references Jesus' birth, that God waited for the exact right time to send Jesus into the world. He knew what the circumstances needed to be for His plan of salvation to work best. God's timing is impeccable.
     It is amazing to me how that once I surrendered my lack of understanding as to why God has waited to answer and made the decision to go forward with this prayer, leaving that lack in His hands, how He has begun to show me reasons why He has waited.
     One of those reasons was definitely because God needed to do something big in the life of one of my students and He did at camp last week. Stephanie pointed out to me that perhaps God has delayed because He knows our human tendencies, that perhaps we would not be as committed to pray for Tebow once we meet him, or that we might quit praying for him all together because we met him. Perhaps he has needed those prayers more so now, in the summer, than he ever did in the spring. Perhaps the kids need to realize that the commitment was to pray for Tebow, answer or not.
     Whatever the reason for the delay, God very clearly showed me in this verse today that the circumstances are not quite right yet for Him to answer this, that the timing is not yet right for His purpose for this journey to be best fulfilled.
     I am confident though, that it will be and that when everything is just the way He wants it, we'll get that phone call, or letter or neon sign in the sky that we're meeting Tebow and how utterly amazing it will be because we didn't force His hand and demand that He answer in our time.

Better Than Meeting Tebow

When  God didn't answer this prayer by the end of school, I questioned God, I told Him I did not understand why, when we had done what His Word said, He did not come through and fulfill this request. There is a good chance that God showed me just why He has waited to fulfill it.
     Towards the end of the school year I had begun to lift each of my sophomores up to God by name, asking Him to use this prayer to accomplish in each of their lives what He wanted to. I have known for several months that God wanted to do something big in and through the lives of these kids. This past week, God definitely did something big in at least one of their lives.
     I had the privilege of being a counselor at our church's teen camp. The preaching was AMAZING!!!! It seemed that every morning's challenge and every evening's message was some word or reminder from God of things He has said, taught and promised in this journey. So much so, in fact, that I began to think maybe I was reading things into the messages. Two of my sophomore girls and I were spending some time in prayer for Tebow and they talked about how it seemed God had been encouraging and reminding them all week in the messages and in their own devotions to remain faithful to the prayer and their commitment. That made me feel so much better, it wasn't just me, God was talking to them too. The last night of camp was a powerful one. Five of our young men surrendered to full time ministry, some feeling that God was leading them to become preachers. As exciting as that is, the most exciting part to me is that one of those young men was one of my sophomores. One I have been praying for months, "God, do something in his life. Use this journey, God, to let Him make a decision for you."
     I have often prayed that all of my students will stay faithful til the end of this journey, that when God fulfills this, their prayers of thanksgiving will not have to begin first with a time of confessing their lack of faith. Two weeks ago, I began to pray that if any of them had walked away from this commitment that they would walk back so they could be present when God brings the victory. The minute I saw that young man stand and publicly announce God's call on his life I knew this was one, if not THE reason why God has delayed His answer, one of my kids needed to walk back.
     I don't know for sure that this guy had walked away from the commitment and the prayer. I know he has said that in the past he has struggled with praying, perhaps he had quit when school ended. All I know is that after last night, he has definitely put himself back in place to be present when the victory comes.
     I can not express the joy that comes in seeing first-hand God indeed do something big in the life of one of my students...meeting Tebow can not equal the joy and excitement I feel in this moment.

The Bigger Picture

For the past several days, as I have been praying for God to fulfill this request, God has really impressed upon me to pray that this will be used to bring true revival to our high school. It became important to me early on that God reveal Himself in a way that makes Him real to my sophomores, that they connect the God of their Bible to the One they strive to serve today.
     It also became important along the way that God perform this miracle so that it remains a monument to what prayer can accomplish, that the kids desire to take on praying in impossible circumstances because they've seen first-hand what God can do.
     As I prayed last night, God really began to show me how important the spiritual impact this prayer could have is. By these kids meeting Tebow, God is going to reveal Himself in a way that I know I've never let Him in my life and I'm pretty sure the kids haven't either. These kids, all of them, are going to come face to face with a very visible decision about what they are going to do with God. God will no longer be an abstract concept to them, someone they can't see but know exists...He will be tangible and concrete to them, He will be physically real as they meet Tim Tebow and what are they going to do?
     I know my kids pray to meet Tebow because they want to meet him and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, there is something bigger, a great spiritual work here that God wants to perform and I honestly think He wants to use these kids and this prayer to begin that work. I have been praying that God burdens the hearts of these kids; that He gives them some, if not all the same spiritual vision He has given me for all that He can and wants to do in allowing them to meet Tebow.
    There is a bigger picture here. There is more than just a meeting with Tebow at stake here. It is my hope that these seven sophomores can go beyond their own desire to meet Tebow, go beyond just wanting to see God answer a huge prayer and see all that can happen for God's glory in bringing this about and that they desire God to touch off a revival in our school, and in their churches and that lives will be changed, all because they decided to make a commitment to pray for Tim Tebow and had the courage and endurance to pray that God allows them to meet him.
     Wouldn't that be amazing?!

Hmmmmm.....

It seems that here lately God is really emphasizing many of the things He has already taught me. A few weeks our pastor spoke of God's providence and in that message he said almost word for word something I'd heard another speaker say the previous week...God won't ask you to do something and then not make a way for it to happen. Yesterday, God pointed out once again that His promises are true and that what He says He'll do, He'll do.
     Today, the speaker for our upcoming teen camp preached in both our services. This morning he preached on having victory God's way. He reminded us that God is in charge...even when we don't understand the circumstances. How many times have I had to come to terms with not understanding why God chose not to answer this by the end of school?  He then reminded us that God's way is always right. I wanted this to have happened already, God has a better plan in store for my kids. He then said to remember sometimes, God works covertly. There will be times of silence, times when it seems God has forgotten or has stopped working, the speaker said, God is working, even in the silences. How many times has it seemed to me God was no longer listening? I have no idea what God was doing on behalf of this request during those times. It is also possible, God stayed silent to see if I would remain faithful. Last he said God rewards courage. He said obedience to the parts of the plan God has laid out is courage. God doesn't always reveal the entire game plan to us, He reveals it in parts, step by step. It's not always easy to follow something that makes no sense to us,but God rewards us when we do. God told me that early on in this journey...be obedient to what I've told you to do and I'll take care of the rest. He said that God will bring the victory, just stick around to see it happen. He asked what would have happened had Israel stopped on lap 5 on day 7 of marching around Jericho? They would have come so close to a victory and not realized it. Several months into this journey, God impressed upon me to not give up, even when this got hard, because wouldn't it be terrible to come within a day, an hour, a minute of an answer and not get it because I gave up.
     Tonight he made a statement in his sermon that reminded me of the few weeks after school ended, weeks in which I wasn't sure I wanted to keep on in this journey. He said we need to keep our lives in an area where God can still bless. We so often miss God's blessings because we stop praying and seeking Him. I am so glad God was able to get through my hurt and perceived betrayal and show me He wasn't finished with this request. I am so relieved I once again set aside time every day to pray because it has put this prayer back into an area where God can bless.
     I became curious this afternoon as to why God was going back over so many things He had taught and shown me. It could be the drilling it into my head that He revealed yesterday. It could mean a battle is up ahead and God is gearing me up by reminding me of all He has said. It could, however, also mean that God is getting ready to answer this and He is reminding me of all that He has said so I'll remember when the answer comes that it was He and He alone that made the answer possible.
     Either way, I'm so glad God hasn't forgotten all that He has said and promised and I'm so glad He is telling me that He hasn't forgotten...it helps.

Ready Ammunition

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line; line upon line; here a little and there a little:" Isaiah 28:9-11

      As I was reading for my devotions today, it felt like God was once again having to remind me that His promises are true, no matter what the circumstances may say. In II Corinthians Paul wrote to the Corinthian church a second letter dealing with issues the church was still having. In the beginning of the book, Paul had to defend himself as an apostle to this church. He had to persuade them that his words were true because he represented God. Basically, Paul was saying that with God, His "yes" is "yes" and His "no" is "no" and as His minister, his were too.
       As I looked at my Bible's commentary on these verses, they said there is no middle ground between God's "yes" and His "no."  God is never going to tell me 'yes' when He really means 'no', He's not that cruel. If God says it, then He means it. The commentary also referred to God's promises. He's not going to promise us something He has no intention of fulfilling.
     Obviously my mind went to Matthew 18:19. There is a definite promise there. God will hear and answer a request made by two saved people agreeing in prayer. God made this promise and He has every intention of fulfilling it. I do not understand the 'why's 'of everything that has happened and I'm not sure of the 'when' happening, but I am sure of a God Who is absolute and Who says what He means. His promise is a promise, we will meet Tebow.
     The odd thing about these verses today was that I wasn't struggling with doubting God or His promises. As I began my devotions, I mentioned to God I hadn't heard Him say anything about this request in a few days and that I'd like too. I then remembered the verse from Isaiah quoted above. At first, I thought that God was having to teach me the same principle, again. I originally started this blog off thinking those verses dealt with God having to teach the same thing over and over again. The more I wrote, however, the more I realized that really wasn't what God was trying to show me. He was just solidifying what He had already taught me...precept upon precept, line upon line.
     As a teacher, I know one very effective way of teaching my students something is to repeat it again and again over several days and to keep reviewing it over time. I make my 6th graders say their spelling and vocab words every day. They hate it, but come test day, very few, if any of them have to study because it was drilled into their heads every day for a week. That is all God is trying to do here...get something into my head that will stay so when the testing comes, it's there and I don't have to stop mid-trial and review what He's taught me, if I had to do that, I would be vulnerable to Satan and might loose the battle.
     Precept upon precept, line upon line can be very tedious and trying sometimes, just ask my 6th graders. Sometimes it can be comforting and reassuring, again ask my 6th graders when they forget to study. God wants us to be able to defeat Satan and having ready ammunition is important and that's all precept upon precept is...ready ammunition.
    

God's Providence

I hope I never stop being amazed at how God will work in my life, however, I do hope that someday I stop being surprised that He does.
     Our church service was amazing tonight, and was probably designed just for me!!!! Okay, probably not just for me, but still, it was good to hear the Holy Spirit talking once again. Much of what was taught tonight applies to so much more than just this prayer request, although God did use it to talk directly to me about it, I thought I'd briefly share a little of what our pastor spoke about in the event that it is something you too need to hear.
     The title of the sermon was "Aaron's On His Way". Pastor used the story of Moses' need for Aaron to help him fulfill God's plan for delivering the Israelites from Egypt as a launching point to speak of God's providence in our lives. One of the very first things he said was that God already has an answer for the things He has asked us to do. You can guess where my mind went, I'm sure. God did ask me to pray for my kids to meet Tebow. He wouldn't have done that if He didn't already have a plan in place to make it happen. He also said that God will provide a way to overcome the obstacles. I don't know how many obstacles there are in the way of a Tebow visit, but God already has a plan to overcome them. Pastor then mentioned that the trials that come while awaiting His answer are meant to teach us how small and incapable we are and how big and capable He is to answer our requests. It did make me wonder if this delay into summer is to help me truly see that there is absolutely no way I can do anything, especially now, to make meeting Tebow happen. He also said God will not call you to a task that He won't make possible. That was the second time in as many weeks I have heard that exact same statement, from two different people. God said ask, He's going to make this possible. My pastor then mentioned that often there are trials and hardships to endure between the time God commands us to do something and the time He fulfills it. God often does this to demonstrate His providence. This too, made me wonder if perhaps this is the reason we are having to wait into the summer months for God to answer.
     In the beginning of his sermon however, Pastor made a point that really stuck with me. He said God's providence means He sees my need before I do. When this prayer began, I asked God to help me gain a better understanding of Who He is. I did not realize, until I came face to face with some issues in this request just how much I needed that better understanding. God really did see my need long before I did and praise Him, He has used this request to help me gain a much better understanding of His nature.
     Like I said, this sermon could have been just for me, could have been the Holy Spirit letting me know He hadn't forgotten this request and what He still plans to do. But it could have been for you too. I do hope something in here as helped you, if not now, perhaps it will one day in the future.
    

Taking God Off Trial

Tonight I went back and re-read several of these blogs, hoping to find reasons once again to fully take up this prayer. As I read several of the ones where God so plainly showed His hand to be on this request, I grew quite frustrated with my lack of understanding. I grew frustrated with such clear evidence that this was what God wanted from me, yet He didn't answer. I begged God for an answer, an indication, a light, a glimmer of what He wanted and I was met with silence. In anger, I asked God why He was being so silent and the Holy Spirit very clearly said that He wasn't being silent, I was no longer talking to Him in a way that He could answer back.
     Quite honestly, that stunned me. He was right. This past week, I have prayed at Him not to Him. My prayers have been such short ones, He never had a chance to respond. He very plainly said that if I wanted to hear Him, I needed to take Him off trial and give Him a chance to speak. I needed to stop accusing Him of not coming through on His promises. I needed to quit using, "I'm hurt" as an excuse to not trust Him. He did nothing wrong here, He simply didn't answer when I wanted Him too.
     So tonight, I recommitted this prayer to God. I took Him off trial and asked Him once again to hear this prayer and to begin once again to move and work in the lives of all involved. I renewed my commitment to pray every day both for this request and for Tebow himself. It is time to get serious again. God told me to ask Him for this, to not continue on would be deliberate disobedience. God has promised time and again he will answer this if I fulfill my end of the covenant, it's time to begin fulfilling that once again. One of my students once shared something he learned at a youth conference...God doesn't need our permission to send trials into our lives, but He does need our permission to send blessings into them. Tonight, I asked God to begin blessing this request again, to once more work on behalf of it. Oddly, I found myself praying the same thing I did way back in January. "God, let me have a better understanding of Who You are as I undertake this journey. God deepen my knowledge of You and help me to build a better and stronger relationship with You as we go through this." Despite every other thing God has done and shown through this journey, despite all the reasons He has added to this command, that request was the original reason God asked me to take this on...to know Him and tonight as I renew this commitment, I renew that desire as well.
     When I first began praying for this, Stephanie asked me for a time frame to pray God answered in. At the time, I really felt God wanted me to ask that this be fulfilled by the end of school. Tonight, I think perhaps the timing may should have been while they were still my spiritual obligation...I thought this to mean while they were still my homeroom. While they aren't technically juniors yet and technically still my homeroom, God has yet to let them meet Tebow, so they are still my spiritual obligation. It is still my responsibility to guide them through to the fulfillment He has promised them (something else I recommitted to tonight as well). I am now praying that God will allow them to meet Tebow before they officially become juniors on our first day of school.
     The circumstances surrounding the prayer have definitely changed, but the God behind the command and the promises has definitely not. His Word is still His Word and His promises are still His promises. These kids will, some day and in some incredible way, meet Tim Tebow.