Check Your Heart

It's not always about our prayers.  Sometimes, even when we pray with all our might, it still seems that God is far away from us.  That no matter how we kneel in front of God and cry our hearts out God keeps quiet.  Why?

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. (Psalm 66:18-19, NIV)

Cherished.  The dictionary defines this word as something we hold dear, something we nurture or care for dearly.  Something we could not let go.

It's not always about praying to God.  Prayer, just like any form of communication, is a two way thing.  God answers when we have the right motives.  God answers when we don't have any sin that we let linger in our lives.  God is not silent.  He hears you and it breaks His heart when He can't answer your prayer because of what you're still holding.

What is it that you can't let go?  Is it lying?  Smoking?  Are you holding on to a relationship that you know doesn't please God?  Check your heart and let it go.

Let God break you so He can make you.  Surrender your sins to Him today.

Indescribable

God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. Who can compare with God, our God, so majestically enthroned, surveying his magnificent heavens and earth?  He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,  rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash,  seats them among the honored guests,  a place of honor among the brightest and best. (Psalm 113:4-8, The Msg)

Don't Ask to Walk on Water

God has a weird sense of humor. Nobody knows why He hides His glory behind turbulence. Right now, we're right smack in the middle of one. And God, weird as it may seem, is definitely in control.

You see my brother, whom I miss so much, wandered a bit from the family. He was testing his wings and checking out the view from the other field and he's somewhere out there trying to make a name for himself. And just like everyone else in this world, he has his good times and he also has a taste of his bad times. Right now is just the worst of his bad times. Totally negative.

You see God allowed Him to do whatever he pleased. That is called permissive will.

In Matthew 14:22-23, the disciples saw Jesus walk on water. Peter, being the competitive geek that he is, asked Jesus if he can walk on water too. Jesus allowed him to do so. Peter walked on water although it was not the original intention. Permissive will.

But permissive will is dangerous and not rooted in stronger foundation. That is why as soon as Peter saw the wind, he got scared and immediately cried out for help. He called on to Jesus.

You see there will come a time in our lives when God may grant us our prayers if only for us to realize that it's not His plan for us. He will let us feel what we want to feel but truthfully in the end, His plan will always prevail. When God gives you what you want, your scary wind will soon come and threaten you. I don't know why most, if not all of us, take this route when it's safer to just abide by God's will for our lives.

In the end, you will still call on to Jesus. Know however that He is more than prepared to reach out His hand to you and save you. He's just waiting for you to acknowledge that you shouldn't have asked to walk on water in the first place.

When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!" 

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. 

 So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.  

“Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” (Matthew 14:26-31, NLT)

Trust that God has the perfect plan for your life. Abide in Him for apart from God, you can do nothing (John 15:5).