27. Ok, Ash. I’ve been trying this whole prayer thing out and it’s not working. Nothing is happening, I don’t feel different. I don’t get it. How can your experience be so intense, and I can’t even get a simple answer to one prayer? Well, Nay Sayer, I say to you, that you’re trying to clean the windows or drive the car when you won’t even clean off your lego table. Ash, what the heck does that even mean? Well, I’ll tell you. The Lord God wants you to be led by His word and to have a peaceful life but you have to listen for His direction and take the actions He is prompting you to take.
1 John 5:14-15
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
It all started on Saturday when I was cleaning the house. My 8 year old daughter, Leah, wanted to help me clean up. She excitedly came over to me and asked “Mom, can I clean the windows?”, I replied “No, but it would be great if you could clean YOUR toys up on the lego table so you have more room to play.” Her face dropped and she replied, “Well, can I do the Swiffer?” Again, I replied “No, but it would be great if you could clean YOUR mess.” Discouraged she replied to me “Can I dust?” Again, I said back to her “No Leah, but if you get all of your Barbie stuff off of your lego table, and put those games away, you’ll have room to play on the table which would be a really nice help. If you clean your Lego table up, then you can help dust, do the windows or Swiffer.”
I was laughing at her bickering back and forth with me and the Lord put it on my heart that sometimes that is what prayer life is like. Sometimes the Lord God is dealing with us regarding a specific issue, specific sin, or specific circumstance in our lives. He is providing us with a gut feeling of what needs done, an intuition of what we should say, or do, or how we are to deal with that specific thing he is asking us to do. So many times, we are asking to clean the windows when He has clearly given us direction on how to clean off the lego table.
Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint
Sometimes it’s frustrating when you want to jump ahead, and you’re forced to wait. You begin to feel stalled out. It’s not easy to wait on the Lord God’s timing. He reminded me, just as I told Leah that she could help with the windows when she was finished cleaning her own mess, He never withholds the answers to our prayers from us. The Lord God simply has a certain order that things need to be completed in. Then He put it on my heart, that if Leah asked me right now if she could drive the car, would I let her? No. She’s not old enough, she’s not responsible enough, she’s not mature enough, and she doesn’t have a license, She’s only 8. Does that mean that she will never get to drive a car? No. Does that mean that I don’t want her to ever have a car and drive one, No, not at all. It’s just means that it’s not time for her to worry about that stage of her life yet.
If you are frustrated in your prayer life or feel as if you are not hearing from the Lord regarding a specific circumstance, I encourage you to really think about what has been on your heart and mind. Think of the motivation behind your prayer request. Listen for direction and guidance. When the Lord puts things on your heart, He does so in a way that may not always be this thunderous roar. It’s a still small voice. Take care of that first thing He is prompting you about, and the next step will be revealed.
James 4:3 - Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.
Job 33:14 - For God speaketh once, yea twice, [yet man] perceiveth it not.
Luke 6:46 - And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without ceasing.
It was also put on my heart that I’d never ask Leah to mow the grass, or to fix the roof. I’d never have her gas up the car or make sure there were groceries in the house, because these were not her responsibilities. These bigger responsibilities were those of the parent or care taker. She should never have to worry about bigger issues like that. She is taken care of. Her well being, her hunger, the roof over her head are all taken care of for her. I wouldn’t want her worried about those types of things. The only things I want her to take care of are the things that she is willing and able to do and the things that she has my direction to complete.
There is no reason to worry about the larger issues of life. The Lord God Almighty has a great and wonderful plan for each and every one of our lives. He will take care of His part, as long as we take care of the smaller parts that we can handle.
Psalms 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Corinthians 10:12-14 King James Version (KJV)
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
Take time to get out of your comfort zone and listen for the things that the Lord God is telling you to do. Then, when you realize what it is, don’t be ashamed or scared or uncomfortable. Tackle your obstacles, step up in your excellence, step out of your comfort zone, apologize if you need to, ask for forgiveness if you need to, forgive others that have hurt you, let go of the materialistic fleshy emotional ways of this earth and move on in your life to a place that you don’t need to have an escape from.
Psalms 115:4-8 - Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of men's hands
So many people need an escape from reality daily or weekly, I was one of them for almost my entire life, 100%. It looks different to everyone, whether it surfaces as compulsive shopping, alcohol consumption, drugs, comfort foods, entertainment such as tv binge watching, phone addiction and social media scrolling, addictions to vanity and selfies, cigarettes, fast food. No one wants to speak of how that is in really idolatry. No one really even realizes what they are doing. I know that I didn’t. Anything that you are physically seeking to provide you comfort (whether it be emotional or physical) that is not the Lord God or his word is an idol. Mic Drop.
Hebrews 13:5 - [Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Covetous – definition adjective
1: marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions.
2: having a craving for possession covetous of power
1: marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions.
2: having a craving for possession covetous of power
That new iphone you had to have, do you spend more time on it scrolling through social media than you do in prayer seeking relationship with the Lord? Do you spend more time drinking alcohol and murmuring and complaining about your work week than you do in prayer thanking the Lord for the roof over your head and the paycheck you have to support your family? Do you work extra hours and stress yourself out and take time away from your family to have money for the latest and greatest material possessions but refuse to help your elderly neighbor get groceries? Do you spend more time binge watching Netflix and eating chips on the couch than you do reading the Bible?
Colossians 2:8 - Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
That might be where you can start to reevaluate your priorities. Think about what you are thinking about. Think about how you want to spend your time. Think about what you reach for to find comfort. Think about what you want and why. Think about what you want to change about your life, pray scripture, and do the thing the Lord God is prompting you to do. You are an army of 1. No actions of the flesh can control the outcome of the plan of the Father who art in Heaven. His plan for you is one of prosper. One of having a close relationship with Him.
He is dealing with you about something, you know what it is. The question is are you ready to deal with your lego table so you can help wash the windows?
Hebrews 12:6-11 King James Version (KJV)
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
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