Trusting, Trusting

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord. Do you find that a difficult task? Do you sometimes think you should be able to handle it—whatever it is—all by yourself? Many times we trust in our own abilities and brilliance to get us through. This passage of Scripture tells us different. We can put our faith in Jesus Christ and then trust in Him with ALL our heart. This is what He desires of us: our whole heart. As a race, humans can get headstrong and independent. We think we have all the answers to all the problems of the world; yet when it comes to our own lives, they may be quite a mess. Leaning on the Lord to give understanding is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Having the ability to admit to our shortcomings is a gift. We are unable to do it all, or know it all. However, with the presence of the Holy Spirit who dwells within each believer, we have the power to seek guidance from the Lord about any and every situation in our lives. When we look to Him for direction and guidance, we are admitting to our inability to do it all on our own. This is a positive step. This is the kind of humility God can use. There is tremendous freedom in allowing God to take the lead of your life. I have found there is much less stress in my life when I allow Him to take the driver’s seat. Whenever I get independent and think I can do it alone, fear and frustration set in. Yet, giving the lead back to Him results in peace that I cannot explain. Whatever we do, we can make a choice to keep God at the front. Give Him all of your cares and concerns then trust His decisions. He will direct you and take you places you could not imagine going. Remember to acknowledge Him in all you do. Take the time to listen to what He is saying to you. He will amaze you.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord I give You thanks and praise for who You are.

Take my life Lord and lead me in Your way.

Mold me and make me into Your image. Forgive me for being headstrong and independent.

Heal my heart and guide my life. Lord, I give You control and trust in Your will.

In Jesus' holy and mighty name I pray, Amen. If you are not a Christian and would like to understand more, scroll down the page to my blog post titled, The Greatest Promise.

Powerful Prayers

“Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him,” (1 John 5:14-15 NKJV). Have you taken the time lately to stop and think about the prayers you are praying? What is it you are asking for, and why? What do you hope to happen as a result to your prayers being answered? Jesus gave us the perfect model for prayer when He gave us The Lord’s Prayer. You can find it in Matthew 6:9-13: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen,” (emphasis mine NKJV). Sometimes we think of prayer as a magic chant or magical method of getting what we want, yet that is not what prayer is about. Prayer is our line of communication with our Lord and Savior. It is a way to deepen and strengthen our relationship with Him. When we pray according to God’s will, things change. We may not always want to pray His will be done, because for the most part, human beings want what they want, when they want it. We live in an instant society. Instant coffee, instant potatoes, instant stain remover; we desire instant gratification… You get the picture. Not all of our prayers are answered instantly. Some may not be answered at all. Yet, we are to continue on, praying, knowing and believing that God is sovereign. Having said that, we can go back and examine; praying in His will. His will; will be done. So how do we learn to pray in His will? We seek Him first. Spend time in prayer sharing and also listening to what He is saying to you. I have been known to go to the Lord with a checklist. I want this, this, this and this and I want it done in this way. Selfish? Oh, yes. Is this what He desires for His children in prayer? I don’t think so. Learning to pray His will simply means going to Him and asking what we desire, but in the end of it all; simply pray, Lord, not my will but Yours be done. This can be extremely difficult for those of us who like to feel some kind of control. When we surrender our will to His: that is faith. Remember, His desire is to give us the great things, not just the good things. When we truly stop and take time to follow His way and His will, we will be blessed with the great things. God knows what we need and the best way to give it to us. Will you pray, Your will be done, and let God be God?