Prayer

It has taken most of my life to finally realize that if I need the Lord, then I just need to call Him. Sounds kind of like a no-brainer, but for some reason, I spent most of my time with the Lord dealing with personal requests. I think we all do this a lot. I have prayed pretty much my whole life. I've only been a Christian for about a year now though, but I've always prayed. I have prayed very specifically at times and I have prayed in the bigger picture at times, but I have always prayed. What I did not necessarily pray about, though, were of "things to come." I think many of us tend to pray about the “here and now” or "me" issues, or the things that we want "to come," not necessarily asking the Lord to reveal what He is doing "concerning the work of My hands."

Why is this so important to understand? When I see verses that say to "ask" the Lord for something, then I know that must be His will. Instead of just focusing on the issues in our immediate path, we should ask the Lord about what He is doing down the road. He has a plan for all of us. Sometimes I get down or depressed when things go wrong, but I know that this is all in His plan now for me. I have been immensely blessed and have had huge increases in my own level of faith because I have learned to ask the Lord "of things to come" and have seen Him answer through circumstances or situations that have come to pass. My role is to ask, then to pray for wisdom and discernment in how to go forth in what He shows me.

We need to know that the Lord is more than willing to reveal things to us, if we are seeking Him with all of our hearts. As I grow in my walk with Christ, He will teach me His ways and mold my character into more of His image. When we spend time in His Word, we begin to see how verses take on a completely new meaning to us personally. This is the Word of God, and that's the first thing you have to believe. If you don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then you have little faith and it's impossible to take the next steps.