Yesterday I was reading a fellow Christian sister’s blog post on She Reads Truth about her struggle to find God’s will in her life. We have been reading Proverbs and she was meditating on Proverbs 19:21…
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
She lamented that often she find herself asking for God to grant her specific things instead of searching for God’s will herself. As she was listing all the things she’d asked from God, I thought to myself what are the things that I’ve asked from Him lately.
And I have to confess that this is an area I struggle with greatly—not because I ask for specific things but I don’t really ask for much at all.
I began to feel guilty awhile ago about my prayers being rather selfish and not yielding to God’s will. I didn’t feel worthy enough to ask Him for specific things so I just kind of stopping asking for things all together, perhaps swinging the pendulum a little too far in the other direction. Consequently, my prayers became rather empty. I was giving thanks for the bountiful blessings God has provided me with but I never really confessed the areas with which I needed His help. Slowly, my prayers morphed into a daily ritual of me listing off a bunch of things for which I was grateful.
And that my friends is not a meaningful or fulfilling way to pray or to build a relationship with God.
The point of this passage is not to make you feel like you can’t ask God for anything—a point I was taking a little too literally—but rather that you should pray that God will help you see His path. You should pray that He helps you make the right decision and that He leads you to your destiny.
So rather than asking for Him to make sure that my husband and I get the new house we want, I should ask God for His guidance. I should confess to Him that my husband and I are looking for a place to help grow and enrich our family and that we need His help and guidance to show us where we belong.
Because at the end of the day no matter how much I might want this one particular house, if it doesn’t work out, it’s because God has a different path for us. And I must trust that He would never lead His lambs astray.
What things do you ask for God’s guidance with in your prayers? Right now, I’m asking for His help in our house hunting search and in my ability to freely forgive others.
