Reality #4 Part 10 Spiritual Concentration and Prayer
Our problem is that we pray and then never relate anything that happens to our praying. After you pray, the greatest single thing you need to do is turn on your spiritual concentration. When you pray in a direction, immediately anticipate the activity of God in answer to your prayer. I find this all the way through the Scripture; when God's people prayed, He responded!
Here's what happens if you pray and then forget about what you have prayed. Things start to happen during the day that are not normal for your day. You see them all as distractions and try to get rid of them. You fail to connect them with what you have just prayed. When I pray, I immediately begin to watch for what happens next. I prepare to make adjustments to what begins to happen in my life. When I pray, it never crosses my mind that God is not going to answer. Expect God to answer your prayers, but stick around for the answer. His timing is always right and best.
The Silences of God
I went through a lengthy time when God was silent. You probably have had that experience too. I had been praying over many days, and there seemed to be total silence from God. I sensed that heaven was shut up. I didn't understand what was happening. Some people told me that if God does not hear my prayer, I have sin in my life. They gave me a "sin checklist" to work through. I prayed throughout the sin checklist on this occasion. As far as I could tell, I was okay. I could not understand the silence of God. (I don't agree with "sin checklists", they can get very legalistic. But we must confess our sins before God and mourn our sins.) Do you remember a biblical person who had a problem like this? Job did! His counselors told him that all his problems were because of sin. Job kept saying, "As best I know, God and I are on the right terms." Job did not know all that God was doing during that time, but his counselors were wrong. There was another reason for what God was doing.
The only thing I knew to do was go back to God. I believe that the God who is in a love relationship with me will let me know what is going on in my life when and if I need to know. So I prayed, "Heavenly Father, I don't understand this silence. You are going to have to tell me what You are doing in my life." He did--from His Word! This became one of the most meaningful experiences in my life! I did not frantically go searching for an answer. I continued the daily reading of the Word of God. I was convinced that as I was reading the Word of God, the Spirit of God (who knew the mind of God for me) was in the process of helping me understand what God was doing in my life. God will let you know what He is doing in your life when and if you need to know.
Timing
One morning I was reading the story of the death of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). Let me review the sequence of events. John reported that Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Having received word that Lazarus was sick unto death, Jesus delayed going until Lazarus died. In other words, Mary and Martha asked Jesus to come help their brother, and there was silence. All the way through the final sickness and death of Lazarus, Jesus did not respond. The received no response from the One who said He loved Lazarus. Jesus even said He loved Mary and Martha. yet there was still no response. Lazarus died. They went through the entire funeral process. They fixed his body, put him in the grave, and covered it with a stone. Still they experienced silence from God. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Let's go." When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Mary said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 32). Then the Spirit of God began to help me understand something. It seemed to me as if Jesus had said to Mary and Martha:
You are exactly right. If I had come, your brother would not have died. You know that I could have healed him because you have seen Me heal many, many times. If I had come when you asked Me to, I would have healed him. But, you would have never known any more about Me than you already know. I knew that you were ready for a greater revelation of Me than you have ever known in you life. I wanted you to come to know that I am the resurrection and the life. My refusal and My silence was not rejection. It was an opportunity for Me to disclose to you more of Me than you have ever known.
When that began to dawn on me, I almost jumped straight out of my chair. I said, "That's what's happening in my life! That's what's happening! The silence of God means that He is ready to bring into my life a greater revelation of Himself that I have ever known." I immediately changed the attitude of my life toward God. With great anticipation, I began to watch for what God was going to teach me about Himself. I then had some things happen in my life that I might never have responded to without that kind of readiness and anticipation!
Now, when I pray and there is a silence from God, I still confess and mourn my sin, sometimes God's silences are due to sin. If there is unconfessed sin in my life, I confess it and make it right. If, after that, there is still a silence with God, I get ready for a new experience with God that I have never known before. Sometimes God is silent as He prepares to bring you into a deeper understanding of Himself. Whenever a silence comes, continue doing the last thing God told you and watch and wait for a fresh encounter with Him. You can respond to the silence of God in two ways. One response is for you to go into depression, a sense of guilt, and self-condemnation. The other response is for you to have an expectation that God is about to bring you to a deeper knowledge of Himself. These responses are as different as night and day.
Do you know what set me free? Truth! Truth is a Person who is actively involved in my life. The moment that I understood what God might have been doing, I made an adjustment of my life. I put away the depression and guilt. I quit feeling that maybe I was of no use to God and that He wouldn't hear me anymore. I made the major adjustment in my life to an attitude of expectation, faith, and trust. The moment I did that, God began to show me how I could respond to Him in such a way that I would know Him in a greater way.
In Christ,
David
Here's what happens if you pray and then forget about what you have prayed. Things start to happen during the day that are not normal for your day. You see them all as distractions and try to get rid of them. You fail to connect them with what you have just prayed. When I pray, I immediately begin to watch for what happens next. I prepare to make adjustments to what begins to happen in my life. When I pray, it never crosses my mind that God is not going to answer. Expect God to answer your prayers, but stick around for the answer. His timing is always right and best.
The Silences of God
I went through a lengthy time when God was silent. You probably have had that experience too. I had been praying over many days, and there seemed to be total silence from God. I sensed that heaven was shut up. I didn't understand what was happening. Some people told me that if God does not hear my prayer, I have sin in my life. They gave me a "sin checklist" to work through. I prayed throughout the sin checklist on this occasion. As far as I could tell, I was okay. I could not understand the silence of God. (I don't agree with "sin checklists", they can get very legalistic. But we must confess our sins before God and mourn our sins.) Do you remember a biblical person who had a problem like this? Job did! His counselors told him that all his problems were because of sin. Job kept saying, "As best I know, God and I are on the right terms." Job did not know all that God was doing during that time, but his counselors were wrong. There was another reason for what God was doing.
The only thing I knew to do was go back to God. I believe that the God who is in a love relationship with me will let me know what is going on in my life when and if I need to know. So I prayed, "Heavenly Father, I don't understand this silence. You are going to have to tell me what You are doing in my life." He did--from His Word! This became one of the most meaningful experiences in my life! I did not frantically go searching for an answer. I continued the daily reading of the Word of God. I was convinced that as I was reading the Word of God, the Spirit of God (who knew the mind of God for me) was in the process of helping me understand what God was doing in my life. God will let you know what He is doing in your life when and if you need to know.
Timing
One morning I was reading the story of the death of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). Let me review the sequence of events. John reported that Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Having received word that Lazarus was sick unto death, Jesus delayed going until Lazarus died. In other words, Mary and Martha asked Jesus to come help their brother, and there was silence. All the way through the final sickness and death of Lazarus, Jesus did not respond. The received no response from the One who said He loved Lazarus. Jesus even said He loved Mary and Martha. yet there was still no response. Lazarus died. They went through the entire funeral process. They fixed his body, put him in the grave, and covered it with a stone. Still they experienced silence from God. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Let's go." When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Mary said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 32). Then the Spirit of God began to help me understand something. It seemed to me as if Jesus had said to Mary and Martha:
You are exactly right. If I had come, your brother would not have died. You know that I could have healed him because you have seen Me heal many, many times. If I had come when you asked Me to, I would have healed him. But, you would have never known any more about Me than you already know. I knew that you were ready for a greater revelation of Me than you have ever known in you life. I wanted you to come to know that I am the resurrection and the life. My refusal and My silence was not rejection. It was an opportunity for Me to disclose to you more of Me than you have ever known.
When that began to dawn on me, I almost jumped straight out of my chair. I said, "That's what's happening in my life! That's what's happening! The silence of God means that He is ready to bring into my life a greater revelation of Himself that I have ever known." I immediately changed the attitude of my life toward God. With great anticipation, I began to watch for what God was going to teach me about Himself. I then had some things happen in my life that I might never have responded to without that kind of readiness and anticipation!
Now, when I pray and there is a silence from God, I still confess and mourn my sin, sometimes God's silences are due to sin. If there is unconfessed sin in my life, I confess it and make it right. If, after that, there is still a silence with God, I get ready for a new experience with God that I have never known before. Sometimes God is silent as He prepares to bring you into a deeper understanding of Himself. Whenever a silence comes, continue doing the last thing God told you and watch and wait for a fresh encounter with Him. You can respond to the silence of God in two ways. One response is for you to go into depression, a sense of guilt, and self-condemnation. The other response is for you to have an expectation that God is about to bring you to a deeper knowledge of Himself. These responses are as different as night and day.
Do you know what set me free? Truth! Truth is a Person who is actively involved in my life. The moment that I understood what God might have been doing, I made an adjustment of my life. I put away the depression and guilt. I quit feeling that maybe I was of no use to God and that He wouldn't hear me anymore. I made the major adjustment in my life to an attitude of expectation, faith, and trust. The moment I did that, God began to show me how I could respond to Him in such a way that I would know Him in a greater way.
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 2:59 PM
1 Comments:
I have just come across your blog and am greatly encouraged and challenged by it. This series is of posts in excellent.
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