Well, I Didn't See That Comin'

WELL, I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING

My son loves to wrestle with me. Sometimes we arm wrestle. Sometimes I’m putting him in a headlock. He knows he’s going to get beat, and yet he starts it up on a regular basis all in good fun. I tell him no matter how big he gets (he’s fortunate to be 13 now) that I will always be able to take him down, and once I’m through with him, his daddy gets a turn. Invariably during our roughhousing I’ll do something my son isn’t expecting in order to “dominate,” and he will say, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.”

My prayer life is a lot like that. I pray with a burdened heart for God to heal this person, fix this person, resolve a situation, or something along those lines, and when He starts to heal that person, fix this person, resolve that situation, He does it in such an unorthodox way that I say, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.”

Sometimes healing that person means giving them a perfect body without pain in heaven. Sometimes fixing a person means He deals with me, my flaws and weaknesses, and my attitude which can be hefty at times. Sometimes fixing a situation means exposing sin and lies to break a situation down to what is true, so He can restore a relationship, a Christian or bring someone to Christ.

In the past few years, I’ve prayed some pretty big, bold, complicated prayers regarding burdens in my life, and two times God has answered in ways I would never have imagined. Why would He allow a marriage to be shattered in order to restore fellowship within the marriage and with Him? Could it be He was dealing with a couple of hard-headed folks which may or may not have had hard hearts? Why would He remove a livelihood? Maybe to remove those who were not encouraging spiritually and was otherwise dragging you into the gutter.

Before you get angry at God for not answering your prayers the way you wanted, better ask yourself some questions:

1.     What was the end result for which you were praying?

2.     Did you in any way try to handle this problem, person or situation yourself? How did that turn out?

3.     Why did you turn it over to God if you weren’t going to trust His hand, His method, His will?

4.     Do you know as much as God?

5.     Is there a possibility there are things going on that you are not privy to or facts you aren’t aware of? I mean, are you all-knowing like God? Because if you are, you should be rich, the most financially stable person on the face of the earth.

6.     God asked Job who he was to question Him. I ask you the same thing. Who are you to question God? Who am I to question God’s dealings, motives or plan? We are simply to obey.

So when things start going sideways in the situation or with the person for whom you are praying, let me make a few recommendations based on my experience.

1.     Get a grip on your lip. Stop talking. People talk because they think they have so many important things to say. You can’t possibly see God’s hand moving and working if you are too busy running your mouth.

2.     Open your eyes, your mind, and your heart. When things go sideways and it’s not of your sinful doing, it means God is up to something, and you should pay attention.

3.     Take notes. Journal. Journal. Journal. The Israelites would stack stones to remember what God had done in certain places, so they could tell their children and their children’s children. Journaling is your way of stacking stones.

4.     Wait. DO NOT MEDDLE. God does NOT need your help…at all.

5.     Move and speak only as the Holy Spirit leads.

6.     Be grateful. Find things to be grateful for along the way. Praise God during the wait. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, In everything give thanks.

7.     Trust. You trusted God enough to take it to Him; trust Him enough to leave it there. Trust that He has gone before you and is already preparing the way (Isaiah 42:16).

I could go on with this list, but these are the top 7 things to do when things appear to go sideways when you pray.

Pray Big. Pray Bold. Trust Greater. And Watch God do His thing. Then TESTIFY.

Perks and Rewards Program

Almost every store has a reward system. Grocery stores reward return customers with coupons, lower prices, or matches lowest price items sold elsewhere. Clothes stores offer 10% off if you apply for their credit card. Does any of this sound familiar? Perks and rewards. Amazon has Amazon Prime. Barnes and Noble has a program you buy into to get lower price on books. Sam’s Club card owners pay a fee to buy things cheaper in bulk. We’re always looking for the perk or reward for doing something or for buying something.

Well, good news! There are perks and rewards to fasting! After the post yesterday with the WARNING, I thought you might want to hear a little more about the perks and rewards.

From my own personal testimony of fasting, I can tell you I have received the reward of clarity. God gives me clarity on decisions that need to be made. He gives me clarity on my purpose and where I should be focusing my time. He gives me clarity in regards to relationships I’m in.

I have also seen the reward of watching God’s hand move to answer long-time prayers. Was it in the way I imagined? Rarely does He answer my prayers the way I think He will. I only see my circumstances. He sees the bigger picture. Isaiah 55:8-9 lets us know His way and thoughts are much higher than ours. Sometimes the way He chooses to answer my prayers can be painful, but looking back, I can see the pain was necessary. He was grooming me. He was cutting off the dead stuff so new growth could occur, and that can be quite painful at times. Not gonna lie. But it is definitely worth it on the other side.

He has put me in positions where all I can do is rely on Him thereby growing my faith. Faith growth is a reward to fasting. He will put me outside my comfort zone like no one else. Will I trust Him? Will I walk by faith and not by sight trying to control the situation myself? Will I follow Him even when it doesn’t make sense?

But my favorite of all is how close it brings me to my Abba. I love sensing the Spirit’s presence. I enjoy intimacy that can only be found during fasting, praying and praising. This happens because the time I would normally spend on Facebook, Pinterest or watching TV is spent fellowshipping with my Savior.

So what is the perk? I do tend to lose a little weight, but God knows that the intention of my heart is not to lose weight but to draw closer to Him.

There you have it. My testimony of the perk and rewards of fasting, praying, praising and meditating. What will be your rewards? Only God knows, but there are so many benefits to this time in your walk with Him, and He is so generous with His blessings.

One last thing. You might only see the perk and rewards after the fast is over. It may not happen for a week or two or more after the fast, so keep watching for the Spirit to move and to answer prayers. Keep watching.