**I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped my tears away
Stepped in and saved the day,
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
**I'll praise You in this storm
And I will life my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never leave my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
**As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
This concept, friend, is not an easy one!! Do you praise the Father in the storms of your life? I will have to admit, some days are easier than others for me in dealing with the day in and day out trials of infertility. Today, Father, I praise You in this storm!
Tomorrow, on the other hand, may be a different story.
My Father, please help me to praise You in the upcoming tomorrows.
**"Praise You in this Storm" song lyrics recorded by Casting Crowns 2005
Monday, March 2, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
What? You Prayed for WHAT???
I have a confession to make before this blog continues, and I begin to sound like 'oh poor, pitiful me!' In 2000, shortly after recommitting and truely giving my life to Christ, I was so intrigued by my Father. I wanted to think His thoughts, love like He loved, be knowledgeable like He was, and have a complete inward and outward transformation. Boy, did that happen!
I was in constant prayer with Him and surrounded myself with His word and His people. I truly wanted to be what He wanted me to be, think what He wanted me to think, and live how He wanted me to live. I read the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiates, and Song of Solomon (Jon and I had just began courting). I would read them over and over and over again and was completely awestruck over the wisdom of King Solomon. I thought to myself, "this man knows things--he knows people on the inside. My Father has given him such an asset--to know people, to know things." Then, I thought to myself, "I want this. Since my Father is the all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God of the universe--and since He was so generous to pour this gift out to Solomon, surely He had some left to give me."
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7
The more I read of King Solomon's life, the more I realized this type of gift was received over a period of time, and that the Father did not just hit him over the head with His staff and command wisdom to enter his brain.
Henceforth, my prayer began; not only for wisdom but..........(shrieks) PATIENCE!
I prayed for it constantly--ignorant of the fact that NOONE prays for this! I just wanted so badly to be what He wanted me to be--to live a life holy and acceptable to Him--to feel like He would one day say to me, "Well done thy good and faithful servant!" I mean, He had brought me from a dying pit--consumed with internal fire and self-destruction--to a life full of LIGHT and Hope and Love and AWESOMENESS! And, not only did He save me from a burning flame after death, He saved me from the wreck satan and I had made of what I then called, 'my life'.
I felt like He was prompting me to pray for this, and I wanted to live a life of obedience. So, for about 6 months, I prayed daily for the Father's wisdom and patience. It wasn't until I spoke with a very Christ-like mentor I had at the time, that I realized NOONE prays for patience. Being the blonde, and ignorant in thought, I asked her, "But, why?" "Oh Krystal," she responded, "when you ask the Father for patience, you should be ready to accept the consequences that comes along with this GIFT!" I had no idea what that meant. I was in my early 20s and new at Christianity. She tenderly patted my shoulder, tilted her head a little, and replied, "When you pray for patience, our Father often uses the teaching technique so that we learn by doing in order to acquire this gift."
It wasn't very long until I knew exactly what she was referring to:
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick." Proverbs 13:12a
My Father has taught me this concerning PATIENCE: To obtain the favor of this gift, you must earn it and the only way to earn it is to practice its best teacher--WAITING!
I am so grateful my Father does not leave it at that, that waiting is not the end product, but rather a process.
"But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life!" Proverbs 13:12b Hallelujah!!
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart!" Psalm 37:4
I bet I can't get any takers on praying for patience. I have found few people who are willing to offer the sacrifice. I believe sociologist call this deferred gratification. Therefore, I wait!
I was in constant prayer with Him and surrounded myself with His word and His people. I truly wanted to be what He wanted me to be, think what He wanted me to think, and live how He wanted me to live. I read the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiates, and Song of Solomon (Jon and I had just began courting). I would read them over and over and over again and was completely awestruck over the wisdom of King Solomon. I thought to myself, "this man knows things--he knows people on the inside. My Father has given him such an asset--to know people, to know things." Then, I thought to myself, "I want this. Since my Father is the all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God of the universe--and since He was so generous to pour this gift out to Solomon, surely He had some left to give me."
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7
The more I read of King Solomon's life, the more I realized this type of gift was received over a period of time, and that the Father did not just hit him over the head with His staff and command wisdom to enter his brain.
Henceforth, my prayer began; not only for wisdom but..........(shrieks) PATIENCE!
I prayed for it constantly--ignorant of the fact that NOONE prays for this! I just wanted so badly to be what He wanted me to be--to live a life holy and acceptable to Him--to feel like He would one day say to me, "Well done thy good and faithful servant!" I mean, He had brought me from a dying pit--consumed with internal fire and self-destruction--to a life full of LIGHT and Hope and Love and AWESOMENESS! And, not only did He save me from a burning flame after death, He saved me from the wreck satan and I had made of what I then called, 'my life'.
I felt like He was prompting me to pray for this, and I wanted to live a life of obedience. So, for about 6 months, I prayed daily for the Father's wisdom and patience. It wasn't until I spoke with a very Christ-like mentor I had at the time, that I realized NOONE prays for patience. Being the blonde, and ignorant in thought, I asked her, "But, why?" "Oh Krystal," she responded, "when you ask the Father for patience, you should be ready to accept the consequences that comes along with this GIFT!" I had no idea what that meant. I was in my early 20s and new at Christianity. She tenderly patted my shoulder, tilted her head a little, and replied, "When you pray for patience, our Father often uses the teaching technique so that we learn by doing in order to acquire this gift."
It wasn't very long until I knew exactly what she was referring to:
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick." Proverbs 13:12a
My Father has taught me this concerning PATIENCE: To obtain the favor of this gift, you must earn it and the only way to earn it is to practice its best teacher--WAITING!
I am so grateful my Father does not leave it at that, that waiting is not the end product, but rather a process.
"But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life!" Proverbs 13:12b Hallelujah!!
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart!" Psalm 37:4
I bet I can't get any takers on praying for patience. I have found few people who are willing to offer the sacrifice. I believe sociologist call this deferred gratification. Therefore, I wait!
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