This chapter obviously brings faith to mind...I thought about my own measure of faith. As I thought, I decided that my biggest roadblock to simple faith is me. I make it complicated. Prayer is and should be a simple act of pouring our heart out to God. For me...this is often not the case. I get overwhelmed by me. My heart truly loves God and my desire is to please Him. I WANT to pray for everyone and everything. I don’t want to leave anything out and at the same time I want to leave all in His hands. I pray, but if prayer were a sport I think my follow thru would be weak. My faith often falters in the middle....especially when there are other people within earshot of my prayer. My eyes go to me and I become painfully self-aware and self-conscious. My mind goes blank. I forget for who or for what I was praying. I start off well but finish with my eyes on me, rather than on God and the enemy of my soul...my flesh...wins. My cynical, doubting, self-conscious and judgmental self rears her ugly head and like Peter, I sink. I drown in a sea of me, myself and I’s. I am thankful in those moments for each of these heroes and heroines of the hall of faith. They were far from perfect but God used each one of them for His purposes. He was faithful to complete the good work He started in them. I can trust that God will do the same for very far from perfect me in my life. He is faithful even when I am not. In reality my God hears and answers my prayers despite me, because he hears my heart. I can’t bring to Him what I don’t have...so I bring him me and he works, as His word tells me, in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Praying by faith for each of us today that our God would count us worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with His power.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.—Ephesians 3:20-21
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Addendum...in writing this God brought me to James 1:5-8. Faith is enjoined here in these verses. Faith is a heart stabilizer.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.—James 1:5-8
I really liked how Spurgeon described prayer here...hoping it blesses you today as it did me.
iii. “Do you believe that God can give you wisdom, and that he will do so if you ask him? Then, go at once to him, and say, ‘Lord, this is what I need.’ Specify your wants, state your exact condition, lay the whole case before God with as much orderliness as if you were telling your story to an intelligent friend who was willing to hear it, and prepared to help you; and then say, ‘Lord, this is specifically what I think I want; and I ask this of thee believing that thou canst give it to me.'” (Spurgeon)
