Unselective hearing

Ok so the new nooma is out, it is called open and it is about prayer. How often do we feel like we are banging out heads against a brick wall when we pray. I keep praying and praying and praying and I am not getting my answer. Key word, "My Answer," I keep asking God to answer my prayer or to do this or change that, but it isn't happening. Then what is the point. God is listening, even when we are so completely desperate for our answer we forget God is giving us his answer.

So why then if God is going to do his own thing, should we pray. Well that isn't exactly true, look at Moses pleading to God to not kill his chosen people after they turned away from him, look at Abraham pleading for Sodom's salvation if only a few righteous men are found. God listens, God's mind isn't made up, but we must be completely honest to God, not that we are going to change God's mind, but maybe when we are truly honest with God he will change our mind.

Listen to what you are praying about, are you a part of your own prayer? I'm not asking are you asking God to give you something, but are you asking to be involved in God's answer to your prayer. Prayer is not just words, prayer is our whole life, prayer is being aware of God acting in the here and now.

So if God is working in the here and now, and if God can do anything, then why does God let so much hurt and pain happen. God doesn't let it happen, sure it happens, but what are you doing to stop the hurt and pain. Did God make you so that you can see this hurt and pain but you are helpless to do anything about it? NO! I don't know how else to say this, other than stop sitting back and asking God why but not asking God to show you how.

Rob Bell says something so completely magnificent, "don't ask God to feed somebody if you have plenty of food." Be a part of the solution, instead of asking God to feed the hungry, ask God to give you the strength to share your plenty. Let me ask you this. Which is harder, talking the talk or walking the walk. God does not just listen from some far away place, God listens as he holds you close and walks with you on your journey through life.

So if God, our maker, and savior, can walk with us through our entire life, and can handle everything that happens in our life, what is stopping us from walking two steps towards our neighbor to pick them up, and take two more steps in their shoes back home. May you be honest with God about yourself, and may you ask God to enable you to be part of his plan. Because God wants you to be a part of the world he has made.

Rob Bell references Psalm 13... I want to leave you with that Psalm.

Psalm 13

1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

You are stronger than you know

I'm tired. Tired of people thinking that they are unable to fix themselves. When people it may be just me but whenever I give out advice I'm not saying anything revolutionary. I simply state what is obvious to me and normally that is what what people need to hear. But ultimately what I say or do does not fix a person.

People have this sense of helplessness about them, and I don't understand how they can think this way. People think because they are a certain way, or they are in a bad position that they are helpless and there is nothing they can do to change what is happening. We control how we feel, we control our situations, we are anything but helpless, but for some reason we convince ourselves we are weak.

God has empowered us to be the agent of change in our own lives. I often find myself saying if it is important to you, you will do it. If you want to change you need to find that well of strength that is deep within you, that place that you are afraid to go because you can see your true potential and power. That place is scary because there you cannot hide behind your conceived weakness. You are stronger than you know, you just have to get out of your own way.

Now I know I am walking a thin line sounding like all you need to do is rely on yourself. However I want you to look a little deeper into the source of your strength. I'm not saying that you are the source of your strength, God is the source of your strength. He gave it to you, he enabled you to use this strength, you just have to choose to use it.

God has given human beings a scary power. He gave us the ability to change ourselves and make choices. But how often do we forget that we have this power. We are stronger than we can imagine but we choose to be weak because that is easier. Heroes don't have more strength than us they just use what God has given them to the fullest. YOU are a hero. YOU are strong. YOU can fix yourself. YOU just have to want to.

Change is not easy, but if we are to better ourselves we must cast our fear of the unknown and take a step of faith on that narrow path that is so hard to walk on. We must rely on Christ to pick us up when we stumble and continue to walk forward, away from our weakness and toward God's strength.