Wednesday, April 29, 2009

God in a bottle

Sometimes I notice myself that I was praying as if I have a genie in a bottle. Always praying for what I want. "Lord, please give me this..." "Lord, please help me on this..." "Lord, I need this..." etc, etc. Well, nothing's wrong in involving God to our lives' little mundanes. But when our prayers are almost 100% about our wants and needs, I think we should evaluate ourselves. It's great when God answers our prayers with a "yes". When the answer is "wait", we get impatient, uneasy. When God gives us a big fat "NO" for an answer. We fret. We get angry. We rant. We feel disappointed. We may think that God doesn't understand. What I always try to remind myself whenever I got a NO answer is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (in Daniel chapter 3). I admire the kind of faith these guys have. My favorite phrase in their answer to King Nebuchadnezzar is "but even if He does not" (Daniel 3:18). Amazing faith! Let me share with you my favorite verse: "And we know that all things work for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 KJV).

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you can't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart