I have noticed the evolution in my prayer life. It starts with a problem: an emotional hurt, a troubling physical symptom, or fear of the unknown. My first reaction in prayer is to wish the trouble away. “God, please remove this from my life.” Or in other words, I don’t want to deal with this.
When the trouble doesn’t go away, I pray for God to make it a non-issue. “God, please make it not a big deal in my life.” I ask God to take the trouble and make it simply an annoyance. My hope is that it becomes something I can ignore most of the time or even forget temporarily.
When the trouble becomes a big deal in my life, I ask God to use it for my good. “Lord, open my eyes to see the lessons that you have for me.” When I have to deal with an issue, the process in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s guidance more clearly defines my faith and refines my witness. Growth and maturity result as an answer to prayer.
I like to think that I am a fast learner. I can pick out specific lessons for trials in my life. The real problem is that I forget to apply the lessons and inevitably slide backwards. That’s when I pray, “God, may you use this for your glory!” Finally, I have reached the point where my prayers are not about me!
I desire God’s glory to be reflected through the circumstances of my life. God’s glory becomes personal as His peace settles over my mind and my heart. Oftentimes, the reason for the prayer remains the same, but I am changed. My problems feel smaller and my God feels closer as I exalt Him. God’s answer to my prayers was the evolution of power and intimacy in my relationship with Him: which is exactly what God desired for me and what I needed from Him all along!
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Snowdrops for faith 
Something that spoke to me today from your piece: “When I have to deal with an issue, the process in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s guidance more clearly defines my faith and refines my witness. Growth and maturity result as an answer to prayer.” I have certainly felt this before and am certain I will again. Good reminder that God can and does use anything and anyone and His answers to prayer can be nothing short of amazing.
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Yes so True Debbie God does use everything for good in our lives but affliction does not come from His hand or does He do evil to bring good out of it and He does not temp us with evil either or allow it willingly.
God strengthens our Faith by giving us opportunities to walk in the Fruit of the Spirit and when we choose to do so we are empowered to do so.
“Christ”ian Love Always -Anne
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As someone else worded it and shared, “Everything is sifted through God’s hands first.” God doesn’t inflict us, but He does use everything for His glory if we acknowledge Him and yield to His good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives!
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If we willingly allow evil to happen Debbie we are agreeing to it but God tells us to hate Evil and to contend with Him against it.
To say God allowed the evil in my Life willingly or that everything is sifted through His hands first, would be to say He approved of me being abused and bashed by my Birth Mother and for her to abandon me and also to my being Molested from the age of 3 by 4 different men and raped by a Doctor when I was in my early teens and to me also being constantly bashed by my first husband even while I was pregnant and that God willingly allowed me to Abort my first child and also planned for me to loose my other six babies.
James 1:12-14 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that Love Him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.KJV
Yes we will go through testing and temptation but they will not be from God, He puts us to the test by giving us opportunities to walk in the Fruit of The Spirit, to show His Love, Kindness, Patience with those who are hurting and to give help those in need and to be self controlled in not being friends or joining in with what the World propagates and when we choose to do these things we are empowered to do them by The Holy Spirit which puts our Carnal flesh to death as we aim to be perfected in Love, good and evil cannot co-exist, we come close to God and Satan flees. KJV
God keeps us from the fire of the Oppressor as we see confirmed in the Scriptures below and the Fire of the Holy Spirit does not burn us but melts the icy edges of our heart so that we can fulfill willingly all that God has prepared in advance for us to do and He does this by blessing us and showing us just how much we are Loved. KJV
Isaiah 43:1-3 – Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.” KJV
Jeremiah 29 :11-12 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of Peace and not of evil, to give you a Future and a Hope. KJV
Lamentations 3: 33 For God doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the Children of men. KJV
“Christ”ian Love Always- Anne.
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Annie, I don’t claim to understand it all. I am still learning. I think this is an area where many Christians like myself still have questions, even after studying Scripture.
We have a sovereign God who is over all and has every power at His disposal. Yet, sometimes physical healing only comes through death with wholeness and peace reserved for heaven. (That was the case with my mom, a Christian.)
We have a God that limits Satan’s power. Job is a Scriptural example of where God allowed Satan to test and attack Job with God’s foreknowledge. Did God inflict the pain, of course not, as you pointed out Scripture after Scripture. However, God did allow it. At the end of Job, everything plus more is restored to Job through God’s blessings upon Job’s life.
When I think of, “Everything is sifted through God’s hands,” it brings me comfort. Nothing, even my struggles and hardships, are unknown to my God. His presence is enough as I learn to endure in a fallen world.
And yes, some people like yourself have experienced hell on earth (not sure what else to call it.) I think God has extra special blessings in mind for you.
Annie, you are a beautiful child of God loved as the apple of God’s eye, even before you recognized or acknowledged this truth! Your Father in heaven has protected your soul and brought miraculous healing into your life as a survivor through God’s grace, mercy, and love toward man (woman)!
That is what makes you such a powerful witness. I love that we can talk about the hard questions of faith, backed by Scripture of course!
A child of God, Debbie
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Thank you Debbie for your words of Love to encourage and uplift me.
I have asked all the hard questions Debbie, like why me, why did I have to suffer when others are blessed with wonderful lives from the time they are born, why because of Sin and because Satan controls this world and he won the right to put us all to the test and it was why Job was afflicted by him but as you shared he could not kill him, Job did not know what we do today, he thought it was God causing him to suffer until God later assured him He wasn’t.
Death is part of life and the time allotted to us is known we are Born and we won’t die until it is our time to die but God can give extra time as confirmed in Scripture.
Blessings – Anne.
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As I have been studying Revelation this year, over and over, we see God limiting judgment (and suffering) so that more people can come to repentance. Even in God’s judgment of sin, we see (and experience) His mercy.
I hurt for all you have had to break free from. I simply can’t imagine. I thank God that Jesus knows human suffering and did something about it at the cross. We both have come back to the cross for healing from our pasts, boldness for sharing our faith today, and hope for our tomorrows.
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Oh that is so true God has turned my life around, to share my story with God and show how much Good God has done in my life is incredible. God is so powerful.
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Barb… It is even more than what you described! (As if it could even get better?) John 14:12, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
With Jesus’s power in you, you will do even greater things for the kingdom!
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I know I can show what God has done for me. I felt God with me all the way. The result of praying earnestly all the way through
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Prayer is the love language of our relationship with God!
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Certainly is. I know that so much now.
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I can totally relate to this evolution of prayer 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by to visit and comment. Unfortunately, I can relate to it over and over again!
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