A couple of weeks ago a friend from church was telling me she wasn't sure how to pray in a specific area of her life. Her heart was really desiring something, but she wasn't sure if it was God's will and if she should pursue it. She saw obstacles in her way and wasn't sure if this was the path she had to follow and learn in the process or if this meant she should not pursue her dreams. She was concerned that she would either push through her own will or nag God into getting her way.
As a parent I can understand that, sometimes you try to save your child from making mistakes but they push and push until you finally let them learn the hard way that the path they took was not a wise one. Now I knew I couldn't give her the answer, Who can know the mind of God, but I also felt that some of my experiences in life could be used to help her to know in what direction she should go. I believe we are placed here to take what we have learned on our own spiritual journey and pass it along.
So I explained by practice of "backwards prayer" not a term you will find in any books but I use often. God already knows the desires of my heart, I don't have to tell him. So I acknowledge my desire to Him and ask that if it's not His will that he place a big STOP sign in front of me (yes, I am very hard headed.) I mean a sign of Biblical proportions—Genesis 11, Tower of Babel sign. Even though the Bible doesn't state it, I believe that God gave them signs along the way, which they ignored. Sounds familiar doesn't it? So God took the drastic step of confusing their languages and making nothing prosper for them. I have used this method of prayer for several years and the decisions I have made doing this I have always remained at peace with.
I don't know if my friend is using this method, but I hope that whatever she decides to do she will always seek God's will.
As a parent I can understand that, sometimes you try to save your child from making mistakes but they push and push until you finally let them learn the hard way that the path they took was not a wise one. Now I knew I couldn't give her the answer, Who can know the mind of God, but I also felt that some of my experiences in life could be used to help her to know in what direction she should go. I believe we are placed here to take what we have learned on our own spiritual journey and pass it along.
So I explained by practice of "backwards prayer" not a term you will find in any books but I use often. God already knows the desires of my heart, I don't have to tell him. So I acknowledge my desire to Him and ask that if it's not His will that he place a big STOP sign in front of me (yes, I am very hard headed.) I mean a sign of Biblical proportions—Genesis 11, Tower of Babel sign. Even though the Bible doesn't state it, I believe that God gave them signs along the way, which they ignored. Sounds familiar doesn't it? So God took the drastic step of confusing their languages and making nothing prosper for them. I have used this method of prayer for several years and the decisions I have made doing this I have always remained at peace with.
I don't know if my friend is using this method, but I hope that whatever she decides to do she will always seek God's will.
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1 comment:
I've always loved the story of the tower of Babel. This is an insightful personal application. There are lots of examples of biblical propotions: man eating whales, talking donkeys, a reserection. I've had some loud and clears from God also, Kim. Not always, but it happens. That will be my catch phrase of the day, biblical proportions. The Babel story would make a great Veggie Tale. thanks for the blog post. -- Diane
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