Devotional

I did a devotional before a meeting today. First time in my life I have done something like that. I had an idea buzzing around my head for weeks and it was a perfect time to get it out. So here is what I said...starting with the Bible:

Luke 18:35-43

[35] As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. [36] When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. [37] They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

[38] He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

[39] Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

[40] Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, [41] "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord, I want to see," he replied.

1 Corinthians 3:19

The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God

I read the book the furious longing of God recently and it impacted me greatly. The author, Brendan Manning, harped on the fact that we are children. We say that we are children of God frequently and don't really think about what that means. We think that we are so wise, that we are smart, but we are more like a toddler, who gravely tells his father that honey comes from milking bees, that is how our wisdom sounds to God.

We are foolish, and God our Father adores us. We have such sinful pride and we are commanded to call God, Abba, Father. Brendan points out that this is akin to how children these days call their father's "Daddy". That is the intimate, close relationship we have with God.

The story of the blind man is fantastic for so many reasons. The one I'm going to focus on is the way it shows us how to pray. First of all, he is persistent. Elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus talks about praying repeatedly and persistently for something. The blind man is told to be quiet by those who were friends of Jesus, but he called out even more loudly.

Secondly, and most importantly, we don't have to trick God into answering our prayers. We don't have to explain how doing what we want will be good for God. What is the prayer here? Simple, "Lord, I want to see."

Too often we fall into the trap of thinking that if we use bigger and more words when we pray, God will hear us more. We think that our "wise" "churchy" words will sway God somehow, but we forget, we are toddlers to God. We are His beloved children. We can pray, persistently and simply, and know that God will answer our prayer in the way that will sanctify us the most. We don't have to think through all the ramifications of what we are praying for. We can rest in the sure knowledge that God knows, far better than we do, what is good for us, and He will always, without fail, do what is best for us.

It is important to remember that God loves us because He chose to love us. He does not love us because of something we did, and He does not love us in spite of anything we will do.

To get personal here: There were times that I wondered if I should stop praying for healing for Carrie. Maybe God has answered and said no. Maybe I should stop praying for children, for a "normal" life. Maybe I should just accept what is, and try to make the best out of it.

Now I pray for what I want. I pray for small things, I pray for large things. I pray for things that maybe I shouldn't "bother" God with, I pray for things some people would get mad at me for praying for. I pray with the knowledge that I am foolish and that God knows this, and adores me. I pray knowing that if there is anything that I am asking for that I shouldn't be asking for, God is big enough to sort it out.

I have been reenergized by this book and by the wondrous reminder that our God, who loves His foolish children with a furious love, personally asks each of us, "What do you want me to do for you?"