God's promises abound in the Bible. Some are very direct and easy to spot. Others take some study to understand the promise and the condition of its answer. Others just come in some odd ways, ways that just go to prove God can speak to us through any book and any chapter of His Word.
I have been reading through the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel. There seems to be chapter after chapter after chapter in these books of God pronouncing judgement, not just on Israel and Judah, but many of the surrounding nations as well. I will admit here, that sometimes, my mind glosses over as I read these pronouncements because they all seem rather similar. Not too long ago, however, as I was reading through the middle chapters of Ezekiel, something caught my attention. In verse after verse, God says, "I will..." and He gives some action. These verses are usually followed by, "they will..." followed by some action. Everything God said He would do came true. Every response He said the nations would have came true as well. What God says He will do, He will do.
This of course made me think of the promise God made in Matthew 18 about two people agreeing in prayer. The verse says God WILL answer their prayer. If God's "I will's" came true in the Old Testament, then they will come true in the New Testament as well.
God reassured me of His promise to answer our prayers for and over Tim Tebow through Old Testament pronouncements of judgement...an odd place for a reassurance, but one nonetheless.
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Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
He's As Interested As I Am
"Call unto Me and I will answer Thee..." Jeremiah 33:3
It's been over a month since I last posted any thoughts or ideas that God has shown me or any lessons I've learned. I would love to blame God and say it's simply because He isn't teaching me, but I would be wrong to do so. God won't teach or share if I'm not really interested in learning or listening.
When this journey first began it was so easy to be excited, to believe that at any moment we would get a phone call saying Tebow was on his way. It was difficult to focus my prayers on anything but Tebow. Lessons were being learned, it seemed, almost every night; posts on this blog were coming on a near daily basis. The big struggle was learning that faith was a choice I made, not an emotion I experienced. Doubt and fear were the biggest enemies I faced.
It seems that as this prayer has aged all those things have slowed down. Truths aren't as easily discerned. It's a bigger struggle not to believe that this is what God wants to do, but that He really is going to do it. It has become a lot harder to focus in my prayers, to be earnest in my petitions and not let them just become repetitious requests made without any real desire behind them. In fact, for many weeks if not months, that is exactly what my prayers were, a mindless list of 'God do this' and 'God do that' just to ease my guilty conscience, to mark this task off my spiritual 'to-do' list.
I had become frustrated and rightly so, but at the wrong Person. I was frustrated with God because He was no where near, or so it seemed to me. I couldn't see evidence of His working. It took Him a few tries, but He finally was able to remind me that He was only as interested in this prayer as I was...and I hadn't been showing much real interest in awhile. He also was able to remind me that His promises to me were conditional and that since I wasn't holding up my end of the bargain, He wasn't obligated to hold up His end.
Needless to say, I've made some changes. I have an easier time sticking to reading my Bible at night than praying so I switched morning Bible reading time with evening prayer time. It has made a HUGE difference. I have been consistently lifting Tebow and our request up in prayer for two weeks now. My prayers are more focused and I can feel the Holy Spirit leading my thoughts as I pray. There are things He has shown me in my Bible reading that I'll soon be sharing in this blog. There have even be a few articles posted about Tebow since I made this change, a little more direction on how to pray for him. He even has lead our UNINTIMIDATED group to make a video to post on YouTube, Twitter and Face Book (so be in prayer with us as we make decisions on how to put this video together over the next 2-3 weeks).
I must admit, it is exciting to hear God again, to feel Him directing the path of this prayer again; and if I can be transparent, it's a relief. The frustration has eased and the excitement and desire to see this answered are returning. God really is as interested in this prayer as I am.
It's been over a month since I last posted any thoughts or ideas that God has shown me or any lessons I've learned. I would love to blame God and say it's simply because He isn't teaching me, but I would be wrong to do so. God won't teach or share if I'm not really interested in learning or listening.
When this journey first began it was so easy to be excited, to believe that at any moment we would get a phone call saying Tebow was on his way. It was difficult to focus my prayers on anything but Tebow. Lessons were being learned, it seemed, almost every night; posts on this blog were coming on a near daily basis. The big struggle was learning that faith was a choice I made, not an emotion I experienced. Doubt and fear were the biggest enemies I faced.
It seems that as this prayer has aged all those things have slowed down. Truths aren't as easily discerned. It's a bigger struggle not to believe that this is what God wants to do, but that He really is going to do it. It has become a lot harder to focus in my prayers, to be earnest in my petitions and not let them just become repetitious requests made without any real desire behind them. In fact, for many weeks if not months, that is exactly what my prayers were, a mindless list of 'God do this' and 'God do that' just to ease my guilty conscience, to mark this task off my spiritual 'to-do' list.
I had become frustrated and rightly so, but at the wrong Person. I was frustrated with God because He was no where near, or so it seemed to me. I couldn't see evidence of His working. It took Him a few tries, but He finally was able to remind me that He was only as interested in this prayer as I was...and I hadn't been showing much real interest in awhile. He also was able to remind me that His promises to me were conditional and that since I wasn't holding up my end of the bargain, He wasn't obligated to hold up His end.
Needless to say, I've made some changes. I have an easier time sticking to reading my Bible at night than praying so I switched morning Bible reading time with evening prayer time. It has made a HUGE difference. I have been consistently lifting Tebow and our request up in prayer for two weeks now. My prayers are more focused and I can feel the Holy Spirit leading my thoughts as I pray. There are things He has shown me in my Bible reading that I'll soon be sharing in this blog. There have even be a few articles posted about Tebow since I made this change, a little more direction on how to pray for him. He even has lead our UNINTIMIDATED group to make a video to post on YouTube, Twitter and Face Book (so be in prayer with us as we make decisions on how to put this video together over the next 2-3 weeks).
I must admit, it is exciting to hear God again, to feel Him directing the path of this prayer again; and if I can be transparent, it's a relief. The frustration has eased and the excitement and desire to see this answered are returning. God really is as interested in this prayer as I am.
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