"No, Slow, Go"

Good morning!

Today, I want to share more about prayer.  I've heard some say, "I don't feel like my prayers are heard."  I touched on this at the beginning of yesterday's post.  But, remember, the truth of God stands, in spite of our feelings.  The promises of God are reliable.  He never lies, nor does He ever fail.

So, don't pray based on your feelings.  Faith is not governed by feelings.  Basically, your feelings can lead you astray.  Prayer, like much of the Christian life, must be a conscious act of the will, an act of obedience.

"But, I don't know what to pray for...."  There are two things which you can pray for that will always be right.

The first is to pray that God will have His way in every situation about which you are praying...that regardless of the outcome He will receive the glory in it.  For example, a loved one is very ill.  You pray that God will heal him or her, but you are concerned that this may not be God's will.  Pray for healing and that God will be glorify Himself in the situation.  To pray this way is not to pray against the will of God.  We are told in James 5:14-15 to pray for the sick, that they might recover.

The second is to pray the Scriptures.  I had a boss several years ago who shared with me that she prayed every morning Psalm 91 over our school.  If you read that psalm, you'll see it is asking God for His divine protection.

Christian brother, sister, don't worry that God is not hearing your prayers.  He is.  And, he will answer.  One of my former pastors, Ike Reighard, used this little phrase to help us remember how God answers prayer.  The phrase is:  "No, Slow, Go."

Sometimes, God's answer to our prayers is "no".  This is when He reveals to us that our petition, our request is not one that He knows is best.  So, as a good Parent, He says, "no".

Sometimes, God's answer is "yes" or "go".  In those cases, we see that He grants our request.  Or, He speaks to our hearts and lets us know that He wants us to move forward with what we were praying about.

Sometimes, God's answer is "not right now" or "slow".  These are the hardest, because these are the times when we feel like He is not listening, that our prayers don't "rise past he ceiling".  These are the situations that deepen our faith.  I want to share with you an illustration that helps me in these times.  Basically, one of my besetting sins is wanting to control situations and people.  I have a forceful, passionate nature, one of those "git 'er done" types.  Predictably, things sometimes don't go the way I think they should, and I get all twisted up about it.  I've had to learn to pray through these times and turn situation after situation after situation over to God.  I'm STILL learning this, Friends!

Right now, I have one of those "slow" situations that is tearing my heart in two.  If you do too, we are right there together, in the spiritual trenches.  But, our Savior, Father and Spirit are right there with us!

Have you ever looked at a piece of needlepoint?  If you look at it from the area that is to be viewed and appreciated, you see a beautiful scene (well, not if I did it, but if a master of needlepoint did!).  However, if you turn it over, you do not see beauty.  You see knots, and sometimes threads all crossed up.  The picture on the underside, behind the scenes, resembles nothing like the beauty that is on the viewing surface.

This is much like how God works in our lives to answer our prayers.  Often, He does not choose to answer them the way we would like!  In those cases, He is asking us to trust Him, to yield to Him, to see things the way that He sees them.

Lord, again this morning, remind us of how much You love to commune with us in prayer.  Help us to remember to exercise the discipline of prayer throughout the day as we go about what You have called us to do.  Help us to remember that, if our hearts are sincere, we can't "pray wrong", and even if we do, your Holy Spirit "helps our infirmities" (Rom. 8:26).  You know how we are formed, because You formed us!  You remember that we were created from the dust of the earth.  (Psalm 103:14).  Yet, You love us with an everlasting love.  Draw us to You with those cords of love today.  In the precious and matchless name of Jesus, Amen.