Yesterday our church celebrated Children’s Day. We prayed for the children.
What do you pray for the children in your life?
Not wrong, but not exactly right either. How about this?
From Deuteronomy 6:5
May they love the LORD our God whole-heartedly, with all their soul and strength.
(also Matthew 22, Mark 12 and Luke 10)
From your heart to God’s.
I want my own way, you want your own way. We all want to be in charge. We submit seldom, and reluctantly.
God says, “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5:5). God blesses us when we are humble, gentle, voluntarily letting others have their way, voluntarily letting God have his way.
Matthew 5:5 includes a reward: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
So if I stop demanding my own way, I get everything?
The psalmist says it well.
Psalm 33:4-5 (NLT)
For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.
True, just, unfailing, trustworthy . . . gotta admit, God has stellar credentials. Beats mine all hollow. So why do I keep conniving to have it my way?
Tying two familiar Bible verses together in prayer:
(Matthew 6:10 & Luke 22:42)
Your kingdom come,
not my will but yours be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
It’s not about me and my silly little plans, God.
It’s about your big eternal plan. Have it your way! Amen.
It was good enough for Jesus.
In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer says,
“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.”
I did that–I tried to squeeze God into the job description I made up for him. It didn’t work out well, God kept overflowing my boundaries. Why am I not surprised?
I’m a Christian. I can ask God for what I want, right?
It comes down to this: I believe that God is all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving. Is there any good reason to want something other than his will for me?
Jeremiah 2:2 (RSV)
Thus says the Lord,
“I remember the devotion of your youth . . .”
Oswald Chambers said it well:
(My Utmost for His Highest, Jan.21)
“Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy.”
Remember. And be filled with joy.
There are days when I am cranky and short-tempered. I can throw an impressive tantrum. Once I calm down, I hear God’s question:
Is this how you want to be remembered?
No, Lord, NO!
How do you want to be remembered?
Philippians 4:9 (CEV)
You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example.
Paul urged the Philippians to remember what he taught them. He also told them to remember what he said and did–and to do likewise.
What will your children and grandchildren remember about you? Envision them saying and doing exactly what you have said and done. Would that be good for their souls?
