Prayer Misconceptions, Part 4

Misconception #4:
Prayer is to pry riches out of God's reluctant hands. 

I am going to print the direct excerpt from the prayer study’s breakdown of this misconception. The author words this so well:

“Some pray as if prayer is the means of cajoling God into releasing His carefully hoarded riches. Someone has said, ‘Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of God’s willingness.’ God offers us His resources. He invites us to take His gifts. He does not have to be convincing to let go of His blessings. His Word says that He lavishes on us the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7-8) and that He lavishes His love on us (1 John 3:1). He is extravagant in His gifts. He pours them out. Scripture never uses language that would portray God as stingy or hesitant to give. Instead we read that He ‘richly blesses all who call on him’ (Romans 10:12).

“When we pray this way, we expend spiritual energy needlessly trying to convince God of something He already knows. Giving you every good thing gives Him joy; it delights Him. Jesus assures us with these words: ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom’ (Luke 12:32). His heart is set on you to do you good.”

Prayer Misconception, Part 3

Misconception #3:

Prayer is to hold God to His promises.

My thoughts: We do not need to hold God to His promises. One thing I believe we, as people, forget is that God’s timing is perfect. Many of His promises were not meant to be fulfilled in the very moment He made them. Most of them take time; come in time, at a time when God’s plan is coming together.

One of the things the prayer study touches on here is that God made promises “to stir up hope and expectation so that we would have reason to turn to Him. The purpose of His promise is to give us confidence and peace.”

I agree. Through the promises God has made, He has inspired us to hope for the day those promises are brought to fruition. Through hope we are able to have faith. Through hope, we know we can turn to God for anything.

Hope by definition is to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence; to believe, desire, or trust. God's promises have a built in gift of hope, moving us to trust in Him, to have the desire to believe in Him and His promises.

Prayer Misconception, Part 2

Misconception #2

Prayer is to convince God to implement our ideas.

My thoughts: God created prayer as a line of communication between us and Him. It is an avenue of which we can call upon our Creator and request the gifts He wishes to lavish upon us. What gets in the way of our receiving these gifts are our expectations. Many times we believe we know what is best for us, when ultimately, God is the only being that knows our truth, and the truth of everything else. God has no need to consult with anyone. God has never asked for permission or opinions. Who better to trust with our lives than He? Creation began with God.

If we begin to put limitations on the requests we make to Him, how can we expect to receive answered prayer? There is no negotiating with God. He knows best. But most times, answered prayer is inevitable; we just need to wait on the Lord to give us the gift at a time that is best for Him, making the timing best for us.

Prayer Misconception, Part 1

I have had much anxiety over this next day’s exercise. You can read about it here: 
My Spiritual Tantrum...And How I Got In THE Way

Week 2, Day 2 revolves around the Misconceptions about prayer. There are four misconceptions listed, then a final section on the Truth about prayer. I am going to take the assignment and break it up into five separate posts, each to be posted this week. 

Week 2 Day 2 opens with turning a promise into a prayer:

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

My prayer: Dear Lord, Please bring your plans for me to fruition. May Your Hand’s prosper me and keep me safe from harm of all kinds. May You guide my hopes, aligning them with the future you have in store for me – In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.

Prayer: A Spiritual Communion With God

The first week's lessons have revolved around the purpose of prayer. Here is my understanding:

To actualize God's will in our lives.

I see prayer as a constant spiritual conversation with God. I believe the intent to be about aligning our hearts with His holy heart, in an effort to permit God to continually harvest the seeds of which He planted. We are in the present when we are in communion with God, the hope to become what God chooses for us as it directly relates to His purpose. 

"Prayer is simply opening our lives to God, acknowledging our total dependence on Him. Prayer is not limited to a segment of our lives or to a scheduled event in our days. It is an attitude of receptivity in which we live every moment. It is being open to Him at all times. It is living in the presence of God, always in the process of being reshaped and recreated by Him." ~ Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Live A Praying Life, New and Revised Anniversary Addition 

Inaction vs. Action

I am on Day 5. I have read and answered everything pertaining to the first half of this day’s assignments. Today, I am just about all on board with the author. There is only one question that I question; but I will get to that later. I see many correlations between the part of Moses’ story revolving around the separation of the Red Sea and my life’s journey in obeying God and using prayer as a path to God’s will being performed in my life. This will be shared in Dove's Landing. 

The opening of Day 5 encompasses the purpose of prayer to allow an outlet for God’s will to be realized within this physical world. That the purpose of prayer is allowing God’s hands to reach down into our hearts in an effort to help us to obey His commands of us.

Upon reading the list of questions to be answered, and their subsequent bible verses to be used as a launching point for answering these questions, I decided to read the entire chapter 14 of Exodus, and then read the notes in my bible before answering the questions provided within the prayer study. Chapter 14 of Exodus is about Moses leading the Israelites through a series of movements that take them to the Red Sea that is parted for their escape from the Egyptians. Ultimately for the purpose of giving God His Glory.

God: Mercy vs. Judgment

Maneuvering through day 4 has thus far been the most challenging for me: I am conflicted: I am confused. I find myself somewhere in the middle, not sure where to go, better yet, where I am being taken. I have thoughts of, am I getting this right? Why am I so far from the author on this? How do I go about dissecting this in a manner to put into words for the sake of my readers? To not only read, but understand? How, how, how???????? And, what, what, what????? I also find myself wondering if I should find a prayer study that is more along my frame of mind and spirit. Then I am reminded that I did not choose this prayer study, God did. Ok…so, He wants me to do this. I trust He knows what He is doing. But I am not sure I like it right now. Obey. I must obey. I just must.

It dawned on me, hours into Day 4, that I need to pray – Ha Ha!! Right? I need to pray about my prayer study. Who would have thought? I feel a bit ridiculous, realizing I have not prayed for God’s guidance before starting this chapter of the study…Get over it, I say to myself – And I pray:

Lord, I know it is Your will for me to not only complete this prayer study, but to share what You do to my heart with my readers. I am struggling and need Your help.

Please guide me; Show me Your way; Help me to hear Your truth; I need You in order to do this.

Help calm my frustrations and keep me from focusing on the things that pull me from Your purpose. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.

So, a prayer and a coffee run later, I am back. I take a few deep breaths, centering myself and emptying my mind of the thousands questions that wish to possess it, and begin again.

I am going to outline the main points of the prayer study and expound my thoughts as I go. Expect tangents within this editorial. If nothing else, it will break up the reading. But hopefully, God will reach into your heart and do things to it you can’t even imagine…And be the better for it :)

The Word Of God

I am on Day 3 of the prayer study, and I must say I am utterly astonished. What I find so astounding is that throughout the reading of the author’s content, I find my mind and heart go to one place – and I feel strongly about that place I have been taken. Then I get to the end, prepared to answer the questions she had laid before me, only to find that I am nowhere near the questions she has asked. My heart and mind went somewhere else entirely. Now I am stuck with a dilemma. Do I follow my heart and mind and focus my energy on what was unearthed, or do I set that aside and focus on the assignment?  

Guess what the answer is…BOTH. This does not thrill me, but when called…

God's Sovereignty, Part 2

Day 2 Continued:

Day 2's theme revolved around the Sovereignty of God. The author pulls verses from the bible that focus on this truth. Again, the objective is to see what God is saying to me, during this process. How do I understand God's sovereignty through the words in each verse? When I worked through this assignment, I literally wrote from my heart, completing verse after verse. 

Below, the remaining verses of Day 2's assignment (pg. #'s for my reference w/in my bible):

If you are interested in re-reading Part 1, or have yet to read Part 1, click here.

God's Sovereignty, Part 1

My mother had started a prayer study almost two years ago, sharing with me bits of her journey. After I expressed interest in doing the same, she picked up a couple of books for The Rustic Knight and me. I must say, I have had these for longer than I'd like to admit. For whatever reason, the timing just wasn't right. Now, I believe the timing wasn't right prior to The Paisley Butterfly's existence, for the purpose of sharing this experience with you :) And I am going to do my best to be completely honest and transparent with my thoughts and feelings in the moment of completing each section of this study...So, here we go!

The theme for Day 1 is: "Can I change God?"

To be honest, this is a thought that has never entered my mind -- that I can recall. I've understood prayer to be about opening myself up to God's will, to change me. I never had the intent to sway God to my wants, or to bend God to my will. Maybe it's the way I was raised in my faith, I have no idea. That's not to say I haven't needed much practice in prayer. 

I am asked in the study a multiple choice question, of what I assume happens in heaven after I pray. The options vary around the idea that we can change God's mind. There is an option none of the above. I choose this, writing, NO! Prayer changes us! 

Then, I am to read the prayer:

~ Psalm 25:4-5 ~

4 Show me your ways, O Lord, 

teach me your paths;

5 guide me in your truth and teach me, 

for you are God my Savior.

The Bible Study Is Really A Prayer Study

Alright, I know I said my first post for this bible study would come Friday -- and I will still post on Friday --however, having started this study, there are two things that I have come to understand. The first being, it is more of a prayer study than a bible study. The book has each day of the study broken down. There are weekly chapters, with daily assignments, if you will. Since my goal is to not only share the actual study with you, but also what is happening to me internally (thoughts, feelings, etc.), I am not sure I can follow through with my original plan, as it stands. Second, I believe my expectations of following the daily breakdown have been wildly aggressive. This is because the study is turning out to be more involved than I realized. If I complete the weekly study based on how the book lays it out, then try to pack all of that information, and my process, into one weekly post, I feel that I will be doing this entire experience a disservice.

So, that being said, I am altering my original proposal. I am going to forsake any time limit I have placed on this study, and the time expectations given by the book, in an effort to allow this study to unfold as it chooses. By spending more time where it deserves, I can truly share my thoughts, feelings, and understanding of this study with you. 

And, I am still planning on posting once a week in regards to my study. I just don't know how many "days" I will have covered within the book per post.

I look forward to sharing with you, and hope that you will continue to be patient with me on this endeavor! May God be with you! :)

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Prayer Study Day 1 here