I’ve been doing a lot of praying lately (and learning a tremendous amount about myself through it). But my mind still creeps in there and starts making God’s plans for him. I’ve got work to do, a decision to make, a path down which I must walk…and I understand the need for personal responsibility and planning, but there’s still the need to let all of my actions be informed by a heart that is looking to God for its help.
God answers prayer. I’ve seen it and experienced it myself on many occasions. Quite often, the answer can be unexpected. It can come in a form quite different from the one I’d envisioned. It can come in a way that I may not even realize until years later. It can come as a “No. This is not good for you. This won’t work.” I’ve said before, it’s not about our expectations, it’s about what he wants for us.
And so…and still…there are moments of discomfort. Of anxiety and stress — not at all out of doubt for God’s handling of whatever stresses me, but in anticipation of the answer itself. All I can do is plead, but maybe with a bit of a cringe at the possible outcomes. And I’ll admit, this isn’t a good thing. This isn’t a total turning over of myself to God’s care and guidance in my life. But it is a fear of the unknown. I have to remember that when I tell someone “don’t worry, God has always handled it in the past so we should not forget that in the present,” I have to be talking to myself too.
But we’re all a bit fickle and forgetful, and sometimes the goodness of the past just can’t quite break through into the here and now. There are still times we’ve got to say “God, give me a sign – show me something to encourage me today.” Kind of like Gideon. Here was someone in direct conversation with an angel of the LORD, and still he needed that fleece to be wet…or dry (once was not enough).
I’m sure a lot of you may know what I’m talking about. God has indeed responded, and in every way with every one of us, differently – sometimes obviously, sometimes subtly. Sometimes in ways that make us struggle all the more to keep pressing on in prayer.
This morning I came into work quite early. I’ve got a busy day ahead – a day that’s going to need a lot of prayer. And after praying through most of the drive without a sense of relief, I came around a bend to see a beautiful, cold, clear pre-dawn sky, and it was there that I found my comfort and encouragement – a sense of God in his creation that said “I am so much greater and more beautiful than anything you can imagine. I am here. Look at my work and be at peace.”
Paul writes in his letter to the Roman church “His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.” While he was speaking of the unbeliever being without excuse as a result, the message is still there for the believer. It’s as David wrote in song, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” It’s obvious.
Something so seemingly simple as that, and yet so immense and incredible, can give me great comfort. On a God-scale, my anxieties are infinitely insignificant. And so Peter writes that I should humble myself and cast all of my anxieties upon him because he cares for me.
One look at God’s creation should remind me of that…and comfort me.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
