Give God What He Wants To Get What You Want - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) July 21, 2023
When it comes to Praise & Pray messages, the Lord typically lets me know what they'll be three to four weeks out from the actual date. In many cases, He'll even have me write several messages in advance with His guidance. However, there was this one day when I needed to prepare a message for something other than Praise & Pray and it was the most difficult time ever. The Lord kept telling me I was ready to write the message, which meant He'd taught me on the issue. Feeling assured, I sat down at my computer and prayed to receive what He wanted me to write.
Thirty minutes went by and ... nothing. I told myself not to worry, though I'd been waiting for this message all day. Another hour zoomed by and I hadn't heard anything more from God. I sat there spinning in my seat, constantly testing the spirit as directed in 1 John 4:1 to make sure I'd heard correctly from the Lord. Each time, the answer was the same - I heard right and was ready to write. Yet, the Lord was completely silent on the additional and very necessary details needed to start and complete the message. With 15 minutes to go until I needed to publish, my phone rang. I didn't want to pick up. I had 15 minutes to write, proofread and spell check a message, after all.
The Lord wasn't having any of my excuses. He reminded me that I was to speak to this person earlier in the day but didn't. Truth is, I'd called and they didn't pick up. Clearly, I thought that was enough and my obligation had been fulfilled. God didn't feel the same and instructed me to pick up my phone. I looked at the time, thinking of the message and its fast-approaching deadline.
I picked up my phone and moved away from the laptop to speak to the caller. We spoke about the issues they were facing from a Biblical perspective, sharing scripture, and building expectations that God would solve the challenge. About 45 minutes later, we prayed and ended the call.
Would you believe it, as I thanked God for guiding me through the conversation, He immediately gave me the details of the message I was supposed to write. A message that was 45 minutes late at that point. I didn't complain. Frankly, I was just grateful to get what I'd been waiting for!
What is the moral of this story? Simple - Give God what He wants to get what you want.
I'd wanted to finish a task by a certain time but God had other plans. He wanted me to put my deadline to the side. If I was to get what I needed - a word granted by Him - then I needed to do what He wanted. And until I obeyed, no amount of praising or praying would cause Him to budge. None of that could twist the arm of the King of the Universe in my favor. Mind you, I wasn't looking for something to satisfy my desires per se. I needed Him to give me a message to share for His purposes. And yet, I couldn't get that without submitting to His will that I speak to someone and pray with them.
So, what more when we are waiting on Him to fulfil our personal expectations? The same rules apply to everyone who claims to be a child of God Almighty. You might have a laundry list of things you want for yourself, for others, and even for the glory of God. None of that matters if He has something He needs you to do first. If you fail to give Him what He wants, then you're limiting the chance that your desires will be fulfilled. And if you choose to move as Jonah did, which is to be disobedient, then please beware. God might keep you in an uncomfortable holding pattern as He did with Jonah and it might not just be uncomfortable for you but others as well. It is best to obey the Lord, no matter how hard it seems. Put His objectives before your own just as we are instructed in Matthew 6:33 - But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well (CEV). Obviously, I needed a reminder to submit to God in order to get what I want as well. Hallelujah!
I pray you will keep this lesson in mind as the days go by. That you will seek to keep God's work first in line in your life so that you will get what your heart expects, IJMN, Amen. See you at Noon EST when we gather for fellowship.
To read more
Don't Delay To Obey - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) December 15, 2020
Jonah - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) June 15, 2021
Hear, Accept, Obey - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) June 22, 2021
God is Responsible for you: Leashed vs Unleashed? - Tuesday P & P (for others) April 19, 2022
Listen, Obey, Trust - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) August 12, 2022
God's Best is for His Children - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) January 3, 2023
Obedience - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) June 2, 2023
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