God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Today I want to talk to you about faulty prayer.

First of all, have you noticed that there are always books in the bookstore advising people how to be a success. Many of these books are of the “Law Of Attraction” variety. These books are extremely enticing yet if we are not careful they will lead us down a dead end road.

The premise of desiring  success is obviously not wrong. We need excellent and successful doctors, businessmen, nurses, teachers, inventors, computer technicians etc. What becomes so unsettling in these success style books is their avoidance of including our Creator. The Lord has a perfect plan for all of us and we need to draw near to Him by reading the Bible so that we are sensitive to His leading. He has put talents in all of us- some of them hidden and unknown to us- and those talents are intended to be used for His Kingdom on earth. The only way those talents can be revealed to us however, is through a close relationship to the Lord.

We may pray for a business idea or endeavor of our liking be successful and blessed by God, but we don’t know all of the factors. We pray as if we know that the added stress and hours necessary to run our newly developed ideas will have no negative impact on our families.

Anytime we leave God out of our plans we will fail eventually.  Yes, please read that again. Every time we leave God out of our plans we will fail eventually. We may be a success at the career path we chose but something that was neglected due to our climb towards our goal will suffer. Most of the time it’s relationships.

God knows all. He knows the future and whether or not your new pursuit will be effective. He knows about your family and what illnesses will turn up in the future that you will need to be present for. He knows the stock market and whether or not your investments will go up or… tank, and leave you with a mountain of debt.

Our only security lies in God.

The Bible teaches us to seek Him first and then He will direct our path. Not only that, Jesus actually instructs us in the Bible how to pray- so that we live out the best plan for our lives:

 “Pray then like this:   Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

(Matthew 6:9-13)

 Asking for God’s will in our lives can never fail because this is what Jesus told us to do. We need to give God the opportunity to work out the best plan for our lives. A plan that will enhance our families and our health, while providing for us. This is the type of prayer God answers. God wants to be a part of our plans to bless us and help us avoid future problems.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”(Prov 16:9)

The Bible shows us that if we are faithful with the small things God has given us to do- like being a good parent, coworker, sibling etc. and valuing those so called “common” things, God will provide us with more at the appropriate time.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”(Matt 6:33)

Let’s encourage each other to see what God says about our plans and then go to the Bible for some quiet reading time. This is akin to sitting next to Jesus Himself, learning about what He deems important and then listening closely for that still small voice that is trying to lead us down the best path. When we live in alignment with God’s teachings and pray for His will to be done in our lives, our lives will be peaceful and we will end up with more than enough of everything!

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”(Matt 25:23)

All my best,

Lisa