Today I had an interaction with someone close to me that did not go as I had planned. I want something for them that they do not seem to want for themselves and I am angry that they do not see things my way. So I thought I would do the 'Christian' thing and ask a dear friend to pray for us. I almost made the call until I felt the Lord gently impress upon me "Tina, did you pray?" No-I'll pray about it later... "Tina, YOU pray now." As I thought about it I realized that in asking my friend to pray I was actually giving it over her instead of the Lord. Truth is I probably would not have prayed about it. I would have listened to her encouraging advice, given it to her to pray about and then that would have been enough. I probably wouldn't have thought about it again---until the next time.
I realize that I do this often. I give my burdens to others instead of the ONE who can really help. Don't get me wrong-I strongly believe in community. The Scriptures are filled with verses telling us how important it is to pray with and for each other. But perhaps there is also a time to JUST take it to the Lord. Perhaps that is part of what Matthew is telling us in Matthew 6:6, which says "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything will reward you." (NLT) So I have decided that with this one thing it is just going to be between the Lord and I. I want to give it to Him in private as our 'little secret' and when He answers it He and I will know that it was only through Him that hearts were changed. And I will probably be surprised that the heart that needed the most work was mine... Just a thought...
1 Comment
Marty A
12/11/2016 10:12:01 am
I've done the same thing. I've also felt like I should tell the person that I'm praying for, that I'm praying for them. Or to send them a prayer when I actually was trying to influence their behavior hidden in a "prayer." God convicted me of this. He said "why don't you just pray to me and not say anything to her. See what happens." Sure enough, I did and it was like she heard it. I was receiving apologies from her and other stuff that told me God's Spirit had spoken right into her heart. So now I check my heart more often.
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