Test Me in This
I keep talking about prayer a lot through this 31 day journey... Prayer is not only important, but I'm also realizing that prayer changes things. That the same God who handcrafted all the beaches and oceans and you and I is listening to my prayers. I'm seeing that come to life in such a beautiful way in my own life.
I work at a church and am involved in children's ministry; it's been incredibly beautiful to see the ways that partnering together as the body of Christ and praying together is affecting not only my own life but the lives of the ones that we're praying for!
It is so easy to try to put God in a box. To make Him something, or someone, that is easy to digest, and easy to understand. I'm starting to get an idea of just how magnificent He is! The more we pray, the more we are expectant for Him to answer those prayers.
So I've been praying, and praying for some pretty big things. For things that make me uncomfortable and things that I can't fix or can't make happen on my own. Which kind of seems like the point of prayer, right? That God would pave the way to make the impossible, possible.
I usually didn't pray this way. I prayed safe prayers, easy prayers that God really didn't have to intervene for them to happen. God, be with me today. God, help me.
I've been slowly working my way through Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson and it is quite literally changing my entire perspective on prayer.
Throughout this past week, I've thought a lot about expectation. Just so we're clear, I googled the definition of the word expectation and I found this:
"A belief that something will happen or is likely to happen, a feeling or belief about how successful, good, etc., someone or something will be — usually plural."
I've been asking and expecting God to show up in big ways. I'm learning that holy desperation is not so much a quick, one time need, but rather a slow fire stoking in my very soul!
With each request that I've brought to the Father this week, I've felt Him say, "Test Me in this."
Test You in this? Isn't that kind of sacrilegious, Lord?
I knew I had heard that phrase before from the Bible, but couldn't remember where I found it, so I hopped on Google and searched for the verse.
Success! I found it. It is Malachi 3:10. “Bring the full 10 percent into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. ‘Test Me in this way,’ says the Lord of Hosts. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.’”
I really appreciated the imagery of the 10 percent in this verse: we must be willing to pray. We must be willing to get our elbows a little dirty as we press into His presence.
As we keep praying and living in expectation, He is going to be faithful and pour out His heart and His blessings!
Between the Shadow and the Soul: Blogging through the journey.