This goofy cat has nothing to do with what I wanted to say today, except that it was attacking the umbrella stand. I really wanted to talk about umbrellas. .
But first, it is worth noticing how Hannah (from the Bible) prayed. At one point, she was so distraught that she would not eat. She prayed from her heart, and made a vow (but not a foolish vow). After the priest blessed her, she went on her way, but here’s the thing… her countenance lifted and appetite returned. She trusted God for how He would answer, and expected something good. It reminds me of a story I heard a long time ago. I do not know whether it is truth or legend, but it’s worth retelling.
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24 comments:
Your story brought a smile to me.
Yes, sometimes how we act is a better indication of what we believe than the words we say (or the prayers we pray)
Craver,
My son gave me a copy of "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Jim Cymbala for Christmas. It was a very quick read on prayer and how it has affected his ministry. Highly recommended. I was very "convicted" about the wimpiness of my own prayer life. I've been enjoying your posts here and on others'blogs. Thanks for sharing!
Kim
UGH!! Prayer!! I fall so short here. Too often scattered random A.D.D. prayers. I know God hears them but I am sure by now He is expecting more from me. The deep focused prayer comes when there is a crisis, hmm maybe if I didn't wait unitl the crisis, oh I won't even go there! I'll keep working on it. Thanks for bringing this up.
Ok a little bunny trail,,,,4 times I have typed in that code and it has been rejected ...UGH!!!!
This is Jazzy speaking instead of Wayne and I want to say to that cat. Try to be more lady-like and if it is a male my number is 1-800 call-jazzy.
Loved your thoughts today. Seems I often pray to God while formulating my backup plan in the back of my mind. What a great story, and timely as my husband is currently raising support for a trip to Sudan this summer. Sometimes it seems easier to figure out our back up plan for filling in the gaps of support or saying "if he can raise the money, he'll go" when we should expect that he will go (since we believe that's what God has called him to do). Thanks!
Thanks Andre. Why is it so easy for me to separate my words and my actions when I pray? This ought not be so.
Kim… welcome, Dude. Yeah, I’ve heard people pray in such a way that they demanded things from God, and I can’t believe that He doesn’t just consume them in a puff of smoking sulfer, but the flipside is that we offend God when we ask one thing, but behave like He would never do it. The men without umbrellas probably gained a valuable lesson that day.
Spaghettipie, good point about the backup plan. Sudan? That’s wild, Sister.
Jazzycat. Um, no.
For Now…, How’d you get past the filter? Man, now I’ve gotta crank it up a notch. ;-)
I often think I'm praying in faith, but then I am surprised by the answer and realize how little faith I actually have. I think to myself "of course God answered - you asked".
I think that I don't know how to pray most of the time - because I just don’t' think I have a clue what God's will is for most of the stuff I pray about. Surely, someone's salvation - that is clear. But marriage or no marriage - I can build a case either way. Actually, salvation or no salvation - I could probably build that case too - health or illness, poverty or solid financial ground. Perhaps my mind is a bit too flexible but how do you know what to pray when you can see the positives and negatives of pretty much any given question - doesn't leave much fervency if you don't know exactly what you're asking.
I'm with halfmom on this one. I often don't know how to pray. And, like Musing Mom, when God does answer, I'm kind of shocked!
Last summer we hosted an impromptu open house for over fifty people. (And when I say impromptu, I'm talking call people to invite them at 8:30 on Saturday night for a 5 o'clock-on-Sunday party. Insane.) Anyway, it was supposed to rain all day. I ran to the grocery store at 4 o'clock for mustard and catsup to go with the burgers another friend was buying at Costco...and could hear the thunder. The sky was dark. I prayed, out loud in my car, "God, I don't know why you should care about this BBQ all that much. The farmers down the street are probably praying for rain, but, God, what do you think about holding the rain back for a few hours? Please?" I'll be honest -- I had ZERO faith that God would answer this prayer. ZERO. And yet this party was important -- friends were moving away the next day and we all needed closure.
To make a long story longer, the sun came out. We had a fantastic time with our friends out in our backyard. The party finally wrapped up around ten, and as the last guest was pulling out, the thunder started up again and the rain came in a torrential downpour.
I'll tell you what, it freaked me out.
And it prompts me to ask this question: do we have to pray in faith for God to answer?
I'm having a bit of a hard time thinking about prayer while looking at the posterior view of that cat.
This rather reminds me of Mark Goodyear's wonderful poem "Barbies at Communion." (Time for another blog poem reading, Mark.)
LM - Your story is an answer to your question. God CAN answer our prayers whether or not we pray them in faith, pray them with right motives or pray them at all. Praying is about going deeper in our relationship with God, building intimacy and trusting Him.
Reading over these comments, the thought comes to mind: Prayer is always an adventure! Whether we are new in the faith, or quite “seasoned.” We read our Bibles and see how people prayed, we gather together for prayer meetings with other believers, we might read books about prayer, but you never really get to the point where you can say, “Been there; done that.” In fact, the deeper you go, the sweeter and more wonderful it becomes.
Prayer is not always easy for me, but I like the weekly prayer meeting at church. We meet for an hour, spending the least amount of time possible sharing prayer requests or giving direction (like praising God from a specific Psalm), and the biggest portion of time is spent in actual prayer.
Folks, if you have anything you would like me to pray for, I would be happy to shoulder those petitions. And as you pray, if you would remember me before the Lord, praying as the Spirit leads, well that would be nice too.
..Craver you really want to know how I got past the filter? Well, you see, I figured something was up, so I dipped my fingertips in some Kryptonite powder and POOF!! it worked. Don't think you can fool me I got your number!!!
Good looking out brother ~
James 5:17
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth."
I wish that more and more we would have expectation in our prayers.....AMEN !
Craver,
My hubby lost his job. We were praying for a better income and direction and then he was replaced at work. It was a great, yet difficult, answer to prayer.
He took a week off (like he had a choice *grin*) to pray and got a great job lead. From our earthly perspective-it answers all our needs for a job, a needed move to a bigger house, a good church in the area, etc.
We could use te extra prayers. Hubby is a little stressed at the moment, too.
Thanks! (I like the cat-reminds me of myself, somehow. Trying to get into prayer, but not as wholly committed as I should be :)
You really do run an all-purpose blog, Craver. Recipe exchanges...prayer requests.
So...how can we pray for you? (Of course, since I've already put it out there that I pray without faith of anything happening, you may not WANT me to pray for you...) :-)
Hello everyone!
I hope you don't mind me popping in and asking this but since you're sharing a bit of prayer requests maybe you can add this one to your list.
Without giving any information or details, please pray for my husband, Craver. He needs, (we both need) to be reminded that no matter what the outcome of ANY situation, we can most certainly rest on God's plan. We all need that reminder from time to time. Pray that our focus is on His goodness and His provision and His faithfulness. We need to rest upon all that is from Him! Even though we may face difficulties at times, we need to stay obedient to Him.
So I am asking that you pray for Craver. Thank you!
Peace and Grace,
Mrs. Craver
Sluggo, is that really you? I'm moved. Thanks for the comment. I'll be home soon.
For Now..., no fair using kryptonite. By the way, how is it that a substance that is not indiginous to this planet ends up in such abundance?!
Jen-Dos, Eve, and LM, our God is a really big God. What a privilege to be asked by Him that we bring our requests before Him. I'm glad to pray about anything you ask. Be blessed.
Mrs. Craver, yes, of course. How very wonderful that you thought to come here and ask. And you... we shall pray for you too.
Mrs. Craver - I'm glad you stopped by and asked. We will pray for your family tonight.
And Craver -- Um, you call your wife sluggo?
Have you ever seen what his wife can do to him if he doesn't behave? then you'd know the answer - one hand on her hip and a look is all it takes - Mrs Craver can be very scary (NOT!)
I'll be prayin' for Mr. and Mrs. Craver too.
I wish I would pray completely trusting in God and in His provision for me, instead of asking half-heartedly, without really believing that He will provide. I know that the lack of faith and belief comes from me wanting MY way and not His. . . and thinking that when things don't go my way, He hasn't bothered to answer me. I'm flabbergasted by the kind of faith some of these people had/have. . .
I have heard this story before and I just love it Thanks for reacalling it from the back spider webbed corners of my brain. Great blog by the way. Thanks for visiting mine.
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