Trusting and Depending on God’s Faithfulness
(New International Version)
2 "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 3 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'
(The Message Version)
Trusting and Depending on God’s Faithfulness
Carrie was frustrated. Anger played at the edge of her heart. Why didn’t God answer her? Why didn’t He rescue her in her situation as she begged Him too?
She began to pray less. One day she realized she had stopped praying except for her habitual prayer before meals. She realized she had quit expecting anything from God. Her trust in His goodness had melted away in the heat of her struggle and God’s silence.
Countless Christians have experienced their prayers erode to a trickle of empty words of habit or panic button prayers. Some lose faith when life’s hard circumstances make no sense and God fails to intervene as they think He should. Others simply get too busy to bother. Many experience feeling let down and disappointed by the church or other Christians and paint God with the same brush.
It’s easy to begin depending on our own best thinking when we lose heart in expecting God to answer our prayers. Trusting God, when our path in life grows muddy, is not an easy task. The mud of weariness, busyness and hurt can cause us to trip and even fall. We wonder how we will ever get up again. Faith can feel like a thread that threatens to break.
There's so, so, SO much that we can't control - there seems to be an unusually large amount of the "uncontrollable" variety of stuff on our minds right now. We need the One that can control it. Many know Jeremiah 33:3 as "God's phone number.” I think a lot of people (myself included, at times) have a problem with prayer because it can feel like a one-way conversation. Granted, it's not the same as talking on the phone, but God does promise to answer and respond when we call.
The response may or may not be obvious, may or may not come right away, and may or may not be anything close to what we'd expect, but it's crucial to know that God is not just a divine pair of ears; Not that God listening when we pray isn't a huge miracle in itself, mind you. But that's only the first miracle of prayer. The second is when God answers our calls, our questions, and our needs that we didn't even know to mention. The next time you get stuck in that "one-way conversation sensation," remember that it's just that - a sensation. God's promise to answer is what's Real! Remember the history you have with God will be the Key to getting through your next trial. Focus on what He did last time you went through circumstances that were beyond your control and you cried out to Him! Don’t forget to be still and listen for His Voice. Trusting God with your life, even when it makes no sense to you, is to choose to grab hold of the pearl of wisdom. As Christians we know the vital connection prayer is to our God, yet we can let it slip away from fingers muddy from falling. We must be deliberate in choosing to cling to it. There is great wisdom and reward in depending on our God even in the silence.
Maintaining that vital connection to God in prayer is a choice. Step by step, through the fog on our pathway, we can choose to trust that God has our best interest at heart and lean on His strength to get us through our day… or … we choose to shrug Him off with little expectation and lean wearily on our own understanding. When we live our lives with prayer on the fringe we are really telling God that we don’t trust Him. Often with our lips we declare trust but with our lives we show that we really don’t believe He will see us through. Ask yourself the hard questions…
- Do I really trust God to have my best interest at heart?
- Do I really believe He will strengthen me today to walk where I need to walk…even in the dark and the silence?
Choose to increase your trust in God and to bring prayer into focus from the fringe of your life. These steps will help you firmly grasp that treasured pearl…and you will discover the wisdom of depending on God. Choose to TRUST.
- T – Thanks
Thank God for the things He has done in your past. Go back as far as you need to. Begin to chart His track record in your life. Ask Him to remind you of times past when He was there for you. Then find something in your life today to be grateful for. Living thankfully is God’s will for your life.
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
- R – Repent
Say you are sorry to God for intentionally allowing things in your heart and your life that you know would disappoint Him. Having a rebellious heart toward God’s ways in one area of your life can cause your prayers to hit the ceiling in other areas. Take an inward look and ask for God’s help in changing attitudes, thoughts, motives and actions that need a correction.
“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened: but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer” (Psalm 66:18 & 19).
- U - Unify
Unify broken relationships. Whether you have offended someone or have been offended, God leaves the ball in your park to seek restoration. If restoration isn’t possible give God the broken pieces and ask Him to root resentment out of your heart. Bringing peace to fractured relationships brings blessing.
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
- S – Share
Share the journey. When times are tough and trust wears thin, find a friend to pray with you and for you. Tell someone your struggle and ask her to walk with you awhile on the road of life. Getting help in our weakness leads to healing and to power in praying.
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
- T – Take time
Take time to spend with God. If your heart is dry set aside some time to listen to praise music and use the words of the songs as prayers from your heart. Till up the ground that has become hard from the worries of life. Learn to spend time in the presence of the Lord and find refreshing beyond what you can imagine.
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”” (Psalm 91:1 & 2).
Depend on God in new ways today. Trust Him… even in the silence and in the dark. The wisdom of depending on God will bring results in your life that will surprise you. “My God, in whom I trust”… with expectation!
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