this post was written last week.... Due to hand pain I am only posting it now....I want to tell those of you who read this blog how much I value your feedback. Your support from my previous post was such a blessing to me... Let me open with a question, Do you pray about your stuff? What I'm asking do you talk to God about you daily stuff? As a little girl, I remember thinking that God didn't really care much about the little things in my life. I thought God only cared about sick and dying people. As I got older, I /discovered I loved praying for others with all kinds of needs, and even become known as the prayer warrior in some circles. Secretly, I had full faith in God's willingness to answer my prayers on behalf of others, but believed God saw my needs and wants as trivial. The last couple of years, God has shown me that prayer is a gift that enables me to come to Him in total dependence upon Him! I am learning that with God there is no topic too deep or shallow for prayer. I long to teach children this, so that they know prayer isn't just a thing to be done before dinner. I knew these scriptures that said pray about everything, but I didn't really think it meant EVERYTHING. As I read the Bible, I am starting to see that those who pray about everything are the people who are the most content lives in Joshua 9 the Israelites were deceived by the Gibeon people, who requested a treaty to save there lives. In many cases Joshua and Israel sought God before taking action. In this case, scripture does not say or imply this here. They did not consult God about what to do when approached by these neighbors regarding a treaty. I cannot help, but wonder if maybe they might have assumed this decision was a no brainier, and they could use their own common sense, instead of seeking God's will in the situation. As a result, they were deceived I doubt they intended to violate God's plan in this mater, but they may have fallen into 2 traps. One pride, they must have assumed they were independent enough that they already knew God's will in the matter, so they failed to seek Him on the issue. When we assume we already know what God has to say about a matter, rather than taking time to listen to Him,we are in danger of casually missing his direction and blessing. A few weeks ago, I had a rather embarrassing situation which to me seemed almost too practical to pray about, but out of my own desperation, and a promoting of God's leading I prayed. God gave me exactly what I prayed for. Imagine if I had not accepted the invitation to bring this concern to God. what a blessing I would have missed out on! It is also possible to miss God's blessing when we assume He only cares about some things in our lives and not others. I believe part of the reason I've battled anxiety in my life, is because I assumed God did not care about what troubled me, so rather rely on Him in trust, I thought I had to either worry or fix it myself.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.". Phil. 4:6-7. I admit I resented this verse in my childhood and teen years, because it was often used as a "pat answer. We can get so focused on the do not portion of this passage, that we forget that isn't just a command, about not worrying, but a command to pray! We are not just told to talk with God about serious matters, we are told here to pray about EVERYTHING. The daily things- the boring things, the silly things in life. Does prayer matter in your life?
