Faith in prayer

Over the past few months, I've become caught up in a situation that I'm pretty sure God has wanted me to be in. Yeah, okay, I want to be in it myself too, but I really felt like God has been guiding me through this and has had me going through this for a very good reason. Well, recently I've hit a huge giant wall in this situation that has really got me discouraged and questioning what exactly God wants me to do about it.When I hit roadblocks with this before and prayed about it, God always gave me some kind of encouragement or sign to keep going (and things were going pretty darn well). Over the past few weeks, though, I've prayed and prayed (and prayed some more) about this and really nothing has gotten better. I'm still stuck with no answers and no clue about what to do about it.....

Such discouragement, however painful, serves as a good reminder to me of the importance of keeping faith in God and His plans, even when I have no clue what He's up to. Yeah, it's super super hard not to want to get really mad, stop praying, and just give up seeking God's will and do whatever the heck I want to do in the situation. However, I've come to the realization that it's at times like this when you have to pray and trust God more than ever before. After all, that's what faith's really all about. Faith wouldn't mean a thing if I could see ahead and know exactly how this situation's gonna work out. Rather, authentic faith occurs when you're in the dark and you have no idea what's going to happen. "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." (love that quote by MLK Jr.), which means that we must not let doubt or fear prevent us from living our lives. Rather, we must live with the assurance that, if we trust God and seek His will, He's going to work everything out for our good (even if we can't see what He's doing right this very minute).

So yes, I'm extremely downhearted right now and have no idea where this situation is going and how things are going to turn out. But the one thing I do know is that giving up on God and prayer is not the answer. The Bible speaks numerous time on the power of prayer and how God will never ignore those who call upon His name. Some of my favorites: "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." (Psalm 17:6), "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:16), "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7). No, the Bible doesn't promise that we will get everything we want, right here, right now, when we pray. After all, just as a parent doesn't grant all of their child's wishes (because children often do not know what is best for them), God is not going to grant all of our wishes as He knows full well that some of our requests would prove detrimental to us later down the road. Also, God's timing is not our own. Something we pray for now may not become resolved for months down the road. I have an incredibly difficult time with God's timing as I have rather low levels of patience (never would have thought that of me, right? ;) ) and I give up on things/situations rather easily. However, one thing God has surely taught me over these past few years is to NEVER give up praying for things that are important to you (as God answered a prayer very dear to my heart nearly a year after I started praying for it). Thus, I must remember to never give up on prayer as prayer often proves more powerful than we could ever realize. I often compare prayers to planting seeds in a garden. You plant seeds and care for them for many months until they bloom into new life (just as, oftentimes, you must consistently pray for something before God provides the answer you seek).

I could go on and on about this topic, but seeing as how you probably don't have all day to read my blog (though I'm sure you wish you did) I'll wrap things up with a wonderful quote I found by Oswald Chambers
 “We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.” In other words, instead of worrying all the time about the troubles of life and dwelling on the negatives, we must lift our eyes to God and trust that, if we seek His will earnestly and never give up coming to Him, He will answer our prayers. No, He may not give us the answer we want, but He WILL get us through the situation and will provide for us in ways far more wonderful than we could have imagined for ourselves. Scripture reminds us that, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). Thus, I have to remember to keep trusting that God will work out this struggle in my life for His glory and for my ultimate good. I've seen God work miracles in this situation previously, so the only smart thing left to do is to let go, do the best I can, trust, and pray and see what God does. After all, I have no clue what the heck I'm doing in life most of the time and God hasn't failed me yet in seeing me through. So, I don't think He's going to start failing me now......