Josh You Silly Man, Part II.
We lean to our own understanding, or we bank on service and do away with prayer, and consequently by succeeding in the external we fail in the eternal, because in the eternal we succeed only by prevailing prayer. – Oswald Chambers
For those of you that read part one of a previous post and commented, thank you. These are some questions that were posed: “Does it do any good to pray for the outcome even though it has already taken place? What is the Lord thinking when He hears this type of prayer? With shrugged shoulders, would God change an event that’s already happened? And lastly, in not praying for an after-the-fact outcome, does that mean that I don’t care what that outcome is?”
Some of you commented on the issues of that post and said that you had prayed the same prayers. Here are my thoughts on the matter.
Was I wrong in praying that way? Yes and no. Yes, in the fact that God doesn’t answer prayer that way, and no in the fact that I was earnestly praying without ceasing. Although I had prayed in that manner, I should have been praying for the grace to accept the outcome, and the wisdom to handle whatever may come my way. I was giving into the fear of the unknown. The Bible tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 So yes, bad things happen to good people, and unfavorable outcomes happen as well.
I also understand that human responsibility plays a big part in what happens in our lives. Going back to the test analogy. If we didn’t study for a test, and we didn’t pay attention during class, do we have the right to ask God for help? On top of that, are we permitted to ask God for a good grade even though that grade was already made? I don’t think so. Hoping for a positive outcome is normal and expected, but rubbing the lamp and wanting a wish is not fair.
For the question, “What does God think about the whole matter?” Well, with God as our Father, I think that He is very understanding with us. As children ask for things that are impossible such as I don’t want it to be night, adults know that there’s nothing they can do to change the sun from setting and the moon from coming out. We don’t get mad at the child that asks this, we simply listen and allow the natural to take place. Such is with our Heavenly Father. We ask for a lot, and although his answer is not always what we would choose, saying no is still an answer to prayer.
Lastly, “Does not praying in the above manner mean that we don’t care about the outcome?” I think the answer’s obvious, no. Of course we care, but we should be praying in a different way. If you are thinking that I don’t believe in miracles, you’re wrong. I do still believe that God works wonderful miracles in and with our lives. However, I just don’t believe that we should ask Him to be our personal genie. “Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” ~Søren Kierkegaard
We had an evangelist named Junior Hill at church this past Sunday. He has been an evangelist for over 40 years. He used an illustration in one of his sermons that might be apropriate here. He compared God to a portable direction device you use in a car, I think it’s called a gps or something.
He said that he got one for his birthday. He was using it to get to a meeting and put in the address of the destination. It told him to go left. He decided he wanted to see someone before he got there and he turned right. The unit told him to turn left again and he turned right again. When all was said and done he had made 5 wrong turns before he left his neighborhood. When he left the friends house the unit told him to turn left. That was the way he needed to go. Then it told him to turn left again and again it was the right direction. Then it told him to turn right onto the expressway. The right way again. What he realized was, the gps knew were he was when he made the wrong turns and told him how to get where he was supposed to be.
That’s just like God. He has a plan for us and even when we go the wrong way He knows how to get us back from were we are.
Hey uncle Rick thanks for the comment.