The Relationship Makes It Possible (Part 2)

 Last week, we began what turned into a three part dive into what a true relationship with God looks like. What I would label as a meaningful relationship with God is much deeper than believing that God is real. According to what we read in James 2:19 believing that God is real is pretty much low hanging fruit, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder." If believing is pretty much a given then what is required of us to develop our relationship with God? For me, that answer lies in the trust factor. I shared that as we develop our trust in God and His ability to do whatever He wants to do, we get to a place where it is not our will that matters. Just as Jesus cried out in prayer to His Father in Heaven, "... if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matthew 26:39. Jesus knew that His Father was listening, but Jesus also understood that He must trust that God knows best and that He would trust God's plan over His own. Today, my goal is to confirm that not only is God able to hear our prayers, He meets us in our time of prayer and meditation guiding us towards how we should be praying. 

Well, this should be pretty easy shouldn't it? Didn't Jesus tell us in Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." The short answer would be yes, I mean it is right there in the red letters. Yet when we have a true relationship with the God of all creation, then this scripture takes on a completely different meaning. Our prayers are not like the genie in the lamp scenario where we just make a wish and "poof" it is done. Instead our prayer life with God needs to be based in trust and seeking out God's plans and believing that His will is more important to the plans for your life and those of others in your life than your own. When we get to this place we may, in our humanity, ask God for healing, a miracle, or a positive outcome for whatever it is we are asking God to intervene, but because of our relationship with God, we are able to say "not my will but your will be done". When we get to that place then we can confidently trust that whatever we ask, it will be done. 

The peace that can be found in trusting God is shared in the invitation Jesus shared with mankind, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. When we have burdens we come to God and we lay down our hurts, our worries, and all that is weighing us down. Then just as we established we trust that God hears our prayers and then we believe that God will attend to our prayers in whatever way is best for His plans to be fulfilled in our lives. It no longer is "my will" that matters, but instead our prayer is that God's will is done and that we are instruments in His plans being fulfilled. 

This is a paradigm shift in how we approach prayer. For the most part, people pray for the answers they want in the prayers they offer up to God. In the world we live in today the mindset of "my will be done" prevails. For us to live in alignment with God's plans we must move to the mindset Jesus provided us as an example. Trust that God is in control. Trust that He has a plan for your life, and trust that His plans are bigger than anything we could conceive or imagine. I want my prayer to be Lord not my will, but Thy will be done in me and through me! Amen. 

Coach Carter