Today I'm sharing another devotion from Marika Marton.*
“How can a prayer be dangerous?” — you might ask.
For more on this subject, see Nothing Strengthens Faith Like This One Thing!, Don't Wish for an Easy Life and Ease or Endurance.
The answer is that many times, we pray familiar prayers without truly considering how God might choose to answer them.
We often say things like: “God, help me change…”, “Make me more like Jesus”, “Help me obey You”, “Cleanse me from sin”, or “Make me holy.”
We also sing songs with lyrics such as: “Lord, lead me, use me, be glorified through me, teach me Your ways…”
But
do we really mean these prayers? Are we truly aware of what we're
asking for? Are we ready to accept the way God might answer?
If we imagine that these kinds of prayers would be answered easily as if with a magic wand — we’re mistaken.
Yes,
God does answer prayers like these. But He often does so by allowing us
difficult life circumstances — situations where He can cleanse us,
shape us, and transform us. And yes, it has a cost.
Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Still,
even though the path may be hard, it is always worth it. If we are
willing to receive God’s answers His way, our lives will glorify Him and
will be filled with peace, joy, and contentment in the Lord (1 Peter 1:3-7).
So,
let us be prepared for God’s way of answering such prayers! Don’t be
afraid to pray them, but keep these thoughts in mind next time you pray
or sing them.
✞✞✞
* Marika lives in Subotica, Serbia. She is the translator for the Hungarian Bible Love Notes A szeretet üzenete, the administrator for the Serbian Bible Love Notes Biblijske Crtice Ljubavi, and the admin for Bible Love Notes English and foreign social media pages. Plus she is my special friend. I will occasionally be featuring a devotion from Marika on Bible Love Notes. ~ Gail
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