The Answer
It's easy for me to admit that I want results, and quickly. Whether it's a change in life (eating healthier) or perhaps in work (finding my keys)...I want my problems/issues/frustrations solved right now.
But the deeper I grow in my faith, the more I understand that even the very simplest of things in life bear up much better under a bigger picture. I'm smart enough to know that exercising for a week is not going to give me immediate results beyond being sore and tired. So why is it, that I expect it to be any different spiritually?
When I'm feeling sad, I pray. When I need something, I pray (lost keys). When I'm angry, sometimes I pray. We pray so easy out of reaction to things in life that drive us to seek a problem solver...God.
At first I thought that I needed to be preemptive. Perhaps I should pray before those trying times come, and that way I will be that much closer to not only having my issues fixed, but also I will have that peace that only comes from spending time with God.
But still...that isn't the way we need to pray, to draw near to God.
We too easily associate God, and our relationship with him, with events that happen to us while in this world. God moves at a greater depth. We need to seek him for the sake of him, for the sole purpose of being in relationship with him.
God does not fix my problems, he simply helps me understand them better (and understand myself better as well). And sometimes this deeper understanding means that I can find the solutions I was looking for. But other times my relationship with God simply allows me to not be shaken by happens to me.
It reminds me of the difference that I see between "happiness" and "joy." Happiness, as I understand it, is a feeling created in us by what happens to us in the this world. Joy is a feeling created in us by God, and cannot be touched by the world.
I know, it's just my perspective. But I've seen this difference at work in my life. There have been times where things have happened to me that I feel strangely untouched by. And the credit goes all to God.
And if we want the sort of joy that accompanies the peace of God, then the only solution is to seek the source of that joy, that peace...God.
James 4:8 says...
"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
I suspect that one of the reasons that David was called a man after God's own heart was that David possessed a strong desire to be near to God. The Psalms are a great example of David spending time with God, praising him, being honest with him (about how he felt), asking him questions...
We were created to be in a relationship with the Creator of everything. What happens to us in this world should not decide whether or not we go to God. When everything is good...we should pray...when everything is bad...we should pray.
As Paul says in Philippians 4:6...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
and again in Ephesians 6:18 he says...
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."
Prayer is not about solving anything but the gap between us and God. You don't pray to get answers, pray is the answer. You don't read the bible to find answers. The bible is the answer.
You don't seek God to find answers. God is the answer.
But the deeper I grow in my faith, the more I understand that even the very simplest of things in life bear up much better under a bigger picture. I'm smart enough to know that exercising for a week is not going to give me immediate results beyond being sore and tired. So why is it, that I expect it to be any different spiritually?
When I'm feeling sad, I pray. When I need something, I pray (lost keys). When I'm angry, sometimes I pray. We pray so easy out of reaction to things in life that drive us to seek a problem solver...God.
At first I thought that I needed to be preemptive. Perhaps I should pray before those trying times come, and that way I will be that much closer to not only having my issues fixed, but also I will have that peace that only comes from spending time with God.
But still...that isn't the way we need to pray, to draw near to God.
We too easily associate God, and our relationship with him, with events that happen to us while in this world. God moves at a greater depth. We need to seek him for the sake of him, for the sole purpose of being in relationship with him.
God does not fix my problems, he simply helps me understand them better (and understand myself better as well). And sometimes this deeper understanding means that I can find the solutions I was looking for. But other times my relationship with God simply allows me to not be shaken by happens to me.
It reminds me of the difference that I see between "happiness" and "joy." Happiness, as I understand it, is a feeling created in us by what happens to us in the this world. Joy is a feeling created in us by God, and cannot be touched by the world.
I know, it's just my perspective. But I've seen this difference at work in my life. There have been times where things have happened to me that I feel strangely untouched by. And the credit goes all to God.
And if we want the sort of joy that accompanies the peace of God, then the only solution is to seek the source of that joy, that peace...God.
James 4:8 says...
"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
I suspect that one of the reasons that David was called a man after God's own heart was that David possessed a strong desire to be near to God. The Psalms are a great example of David spending time with God, praising him, being honest with him (about how he felt), asking him questions...
We were created to be in a relationship with the Creator of everything. What happens to us in this world should not decide whether or not we go to God. When everything is good...we should pray...when everything is bad...we should pray.
As Paul says in Philippians 4:6...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
and again in Ephesians 6:18 he says...
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."
Prayer is not about solving anything but the gap between us and God. You don't pray to get answers, pray is the answer. You don't read the bible to find answers. The bible is the answer.
You don't seek God to find answers. God is the answer.
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