{"id":256,"date":"2016-06-03T09:34:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smallchelle.com\/?p=256"},"modified":"2016-06-03T09:34:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-03T16:34:00","slug":"how-far-do-prayers-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smallchelle.com\/?p=256","title":{"rendered":"How Far do Prayers Go?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been reading Stephen King\u2019s book On Writing again. He talks about how writing is the most distilled form of telepathy there is. It takes the thoughts in my mind, puts them on a page, and then you have the ability to literally read my mind across space and time. My thoughts go straight into your mind. I love the analogy and wholeheartedly agree.<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought about this in relation to the Bible. It\u2019s the thoughts of the mind of God, in written form. The only way we can know what God\u2019s thinks is to read His word.<\/p>\n

The difference between God and King is that I am able through prayer to make my thoughts known to God. I don\u2019t even have to write them down. Even deeper than that, Psalm 139:1-6 tells us:<\/p>\n

O <\/span>Lord<\/span>, you have searched me and known me!
\n<\/span>You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
\n<\/span>you discern my thoughts from afar.
\n<\/b>You search out my path and my lying down
\n<\/span>and are acquainted with all my ways.
\n<\/span>Even before a word is on my tongue,
\n<\/b>behold, O <\/b>Lord<\/b>, you know it altogether.
\n<\/b>You hem me in, behind and before,
\n<\/span>and lay your hand upon me.
\n<\/span>Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
\n<\/span>it is high; I cannot attain it.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 6:8 we don\u2019t need to use very many words because our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask him.<\/p>\n

Jesus even demonstrated this a few times in the gospels when he would \u201cknow the thoughts\u201d of the pharisees and scribes, and even the disciples on a couple of occasions, and answer their unsaid accusations and questions.<\/p>\n

Prayers are not just hopes and wishes. Prayers are leaning our full weight of trust and faith on a God who is able to answer us. If we do not believe in the absolute sovereignty of God then why even bother praying?<\/p>\n

God is good and kind and he desires repentance rather than sacrifice. His will is that all would come to repentance. When we pray for our loved ones to be saved, and even our enemies to be saved, we are asking God to impose his will above their own will to remain in selfish autonomy.<\/p>\n

Does God do that? Does he take people by force for their own good and his own glory? You better believe it. He did it to Saul of Tarsus and for sure He did it to me.<\/p>\n

Are any of us \u201csaved\u201d of our own \u201cfree will?\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n

I feel like we live our whole lives in a sort of Stockholm syndrome. I\u2019m speaking through my general American lense here. I imagine things aren\u2019t this way in every country and culture. This is my own bit of sociological musing. I\u2019m getting a little philosophical here, but follow along\u2026<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t ask to be born. As babies and children we are captives of our parents. We generally grow to love them over time because they care for us. Even abused and neglected kids form strong bonds with the people who raise them.<\/p>\n

As youths and adolescents, we are captives of the current education system. A performance based reward and punishment system in which we don\u2019t always understand the rules. Every teacher\u2019s expectations and rules are a little bit different.<\/p>\n

In young adulthood we finally see an escape hatch. We get to exercise \u201cchoice.\u201d Decisions can be made to continue school and go to college, maybe get a job or learn a trade, perhaps join the military.<\/p>\n

But once the choice is made we subject ourselves again to the oversight of more teachers, bosses, drill instructors\/commanders.<\/p>\n

Maybe you meet that special someone, get married, and again find yourself subjected to a will beyond your own. How well we get along in marriage is dependent on our ability to yield our wills to each other.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you decide to have children and the cycle starts again but you\u2019re on the other end this time. You bring unwitting innocents into the world according to your will, then you wonder at your own sanity as you clash wills with tiny people who can\u2019t even wipe their own butts or pour a cup of milk without spilling.<\/p>\n

But you love them. They may test your patience minute by minute, they may ruin your possessions and finances, they may even break your heart with careless words or ungrateful attitudes. But you love them.<\/p>\n

By the time we reach our death beds our biggest hope is that we raised our kids well enough that we leave a good legacy and hope not many of our descendants end up in jail or as complete heathens.<\/p>\n

What does all this have to do with prayer and God\u2019s will? It\u2019s about who we become when we surrender our will to God and about how we pray for those who haven\u2019t surrendered to God yet.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not magic, it\u2019s surrender.<\/span><\/h4>\n

How does God save us? We just don\u2019t know. One moment we are blind, and the next, we see! One moment our heart is stone, and the next, it\u2019s alive. Not our physical heart, of course, but what we might call our soul.<\/p>\n

When we pray for our friends and family to be saved, this is what we\u2019re asking for. Spiritual life and vision. We are praying for them to surrender their will to God\u2019s will. We love them so much we pray that God would take them by force if necessary.<\/p>\n

For ten years we prayed for my dad, who professed Christ but was a \u201cfunctioning\u201d alcoholic. \u201cRock bottom\u201d came a number of times, but surrender did finally come. God is gracious and amazing. My dad\u2019s been surrendered to God for almost 13 years. He\u2019s a changed man, and not just behaviorally, but on the inside.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a friend of ours my husband and I have been praying for for 17 years. His wife is a believer but he says he\u2019s agnostic. He respects our faith but he has never had any experience that would convince him of God\u2019s existence. His family moved a few hours north of us last year.<\/p>\n

When they moved I began praying that God would bring him more Christian friends in their new town. We visited them recently and they also invited a new couple they made friends with to the bbq we had. And is it any surprise that they are totally Christians? The husband even has almost the exact same celtic cross tattoo as my husband. Answers to prayer across time and space.<\/p>\n

An answer to prayer like that is faith building. It\u2019s not some crazy miracle, but if it is God\u2019s will that people come to repentance is it any wonder when he answers a prayer that lines up with that will? So I will continue to pray on, for our friend and many other unsaved and prodigal friends and family who desperately need the love of God in their lives.<\/p>\n

Who have you grown weary praying for? Take a minute and pray for them right now. Think about stories like Saul of Tarsus and the Theif on the Cross, who\u2019s eyes were opened in an instant. Partner with God\u2019s will for repentance and salvation. Keep on praying.<\/span><\/p>\n

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