“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will
never go hungry,
and whoever believes in me
will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
You know, this is an easy verse to read and say, “Sure, I believe. I know He is in control, He is in charge and because of this all will be OK.” So, I pray. I wait. I pray more and pour out my heart to Him…waiting for the answer that I know is coming. I don’t know about you, but too often when I do this, my OK usually means that I have an answer in mind. Do you see where I am going? Think there might be a problem here?!? 🙂 I believe that the answer to my prayer will be X…or Y…or Z. Truth be told…I probably don’t believe the answer should be X…or Y…or Z, all to often, I KNOW the answer should be…blah, blah, blah. Who do I think I am???? But what if His answer is NO. Or wait. Not now, not next week…maybe NEVER. How do I react to THAT answer? What do I do then?
There have been times in my life when I prayed that the Lord would work one way or another…Lord, please give us more children…he said OK, then took them home to Him very quickly. It took me several years to come to grips with that situation, accept it and learn to be content.
Recently, my husband and I were discussing a particular family situation involving our parents. I said that I pray the Lord will just take them home before they get worse or too bad or…whatever. My husband pointed out that we don’t always get that. He pointed out that the Lord has a plan.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8
Isaiah 55:8
I am going to have to learn to accept this…His ways are NOT my ways. He has a plan I do NOT see. He knows, I do NOT. Yet, it is hard to accept. Max Lucado wrote a great devotional on being content when the answer is NO. You can read it HERE and it is well worth the time.
It is easy, in this life, to ask WHY? But I do not see the ending…question is: can I learn to be content?
Yesterday I closed with this quote from Mother Teresa and it seems fitting today:
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
Lord, please help me to be content and be willing to accept whatever your will may be, in the situations that are in front of me. Help me to be patient. Help me to control my tongue when my emotions get in the way. Above all, Lord, please help me remember that YOU are in control, YOU have a plan…the outcome is in YOUR hands and to remember all that YOU have done for me. Lord, please help me to put myself in YOUR hands, at YOUR disposition and listen to YOUR voice in the depth of my heart.
Friends, once again…I thank you, for reading, commenting or not, praying with me and encouraging me. You TRULY are blessings in my life. I hope you have a blessed day!
Once again a post I can well relate to, Mary! I love the Scripture verse about God's thoughts and ways and how they differ from man's. Our scope is very limited and I love reflecting on this passage. It comforts me.
Mary – to yield that He is in control – sometimes I struggle with that – but am learning to rest in that assurance. Thank you for your words, for your prayers. Blessings!
Mary, do you know what it is that I love about you and your blog? It is the fact that you are so honest and open about how you are feeling. That transparency endears you to many others than myself, I am sure.
I will put you on my personal prayer list. I love that quote on prayer by Mother Teresa.
Mary,
You are the blessing to me. Thank you for your thoughts today on prayer and on waiting for Him to work in His time. That is so hard. I pray that God will continue to work in and through you.
blessings
~a
Hey precious friend,
I can so relate to this post and when I first started reading it my thought was, "I will tell Mary the scripture in Isaiah 55 that says our ways and His aren't the same. When I scrolled down, there it was–we were on the same page.
The only thing I would have to add to this Mary is this:
Some years ago I started trying (don't always do this) but praying scripture over my family and over all situations–when we pray scripture over them we know that the answer is YES and AMEN–we just don't know the timing–
We are told in the new testament that we don't get our prayers answered because we pray "amiss." When we pray the scriptures, we never have to be concerned with whether we are praying amiss.
That is reassuring.
I so agree with what Dianna said about you and I got to see it in person–I cherish your friendship.
Love,
D.