"Your kingdom come, Your will be done."
The summer that we started the Christian school was an incredible whirlwind of God moving and putting pieces into place in amazing ways. With about a week to go before school was to open, I still didn't have a 5th grade teacher. So I sat in my office and prayed specifically for one. As I was praying, I also asked God to bring someone in who could lead a music group that would travel from church to church, promoting the school.
Within an hour, the phone rang. It was my father telling me that a friend of his had a daughter that was moving back home. He knew that she was a teacher, so I called her and to my surprise found out that she had been teaching 5th grade for the past several years and was interested in the job. I asked her, as I always did, if she had any other interests that could help the school. She said that she also led a small choir that would travel from church to church, promoting the school.
Okay . . . . and by the way God, can I have a million dollars?
I have always run under the assumption that God miraculously answered my prayer, right down to the specifics. Lately I've been re-thinking the whole concept of prayer, and this story. Did I move God? Or did He draw me into a plan that He was already putting into motion? I tend now to think that the deeper I got into prayer, the deeper I got into Him. This was what He was doing. He was putting a school together. Where I thought it was me moving Him, it was actually Him moving me.
In reality - my new thought brings me greater comfort than me dictating events and God responding. I would rather He be the one dictating the events and me responding.
I do believe prayer matters - and I do believe God listens. How this merges with my plans versus His plans is beyond me. I do know that the more I pray, the deeper into His thoughts I go and my thoughts begin to disappear - to the wonderful point where I think His thoughts are actually my thoughts, so that I begin to think His will is an answer to my prayers!
I don't think this is a deception, I think it's awesome, because in His will and in His thoughts is where I truly want to dwell.
1 comment:
Well articulated. This post resonates with me... and I believe with all of scripture. :) I have felt many times that God has moved me to pray... and even when I don't "feel" it I know that He has commanded me to pray and that by His mercy I can. Not our will but His be done. Thanks for sharing this.
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