Tuesday, May 25, 2021
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19
Just Give Me Jesus
This has been a popular meme in the past couple of years. I wonder how often we really mean that when we say it? Would we really be happy with just Jesus? Or when we seek Jesus are we seeking Him for our own personal requests?
Prayer is so much more than a time to list off all the things we want Jesus to do for us. Prayer is talking to God about anything and everything, and sometimes there doesn’t even need to be words. In fact, I have found more peace in just sitting with my Savior recently than anything else could offer. There are those moments when we are so scared, or so hurt, or so overwhelmed that we literally don’t know where to begin. Because He loves us so much and because He sent the Holy Spirit to intercede for us, in those moments when we cannot even put the thought together, He knows, and He intercedes on our behalf.
Prayer should be more focused on building our relationship with God than asking for things. It should also be about giving Him the authority in our lives He deserves, recognizing that authority and trusting that authority. It is absolutely okay to ask God for things but respecting His authority and knowing that it might not get answered the way we want it to is crucial to our relationship with Him. It is hard when prayers don’t get answered the way we think they should. It is even harder when we don’t understand why God answers the way He does. This is where the trust and respect come in. Trust and respect are a part of every relationship and if we want a true relationship with our Savior, then we have to trust and respect His authority over our lives. That means trusting Him with the answers we don’t understand and the outcomes we didn’t plan for.
Growing in our faith is not only a responsibility for every believer it is also the path to a deeper knowledge of God and richer Christian experience. A simple faith may save us, but a deepened faith sustains and empowers us for the course of life. Unfortunately, too many Christians are not willing to go through the difficult experience of discovering deeper truth. The path to this deeper faith begins and ends in prayer - communicating with Him and building a relationship.
