EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Many of us are waiting on God right now for an answer to something. I believe we truly want to know what He wants for us, but we become impatient and want the answer now. What do we do when God doesn’t seem to answer us?
Many pray more. One of the main reasons why we pray should be to give thanks for what we all too often forget about, and that is what God HAS already done for us.
We seem to be asking God for things more often than taking time and thanking Him for what He has given us. I find myself doing that and not on purpose, of course, but I catch myself and fix it.
I encourage you to join me in making a conscientious effort to thank Him more and more instead of ask, ask, ask. May we all train a thankful, grateful heart to our King who gave His ALL for us.
Yes, deciding to be grateful even through the tough times takes action on our part. In times we are sad or at a loss or when we feel desperate, let’s learn the inner desire to thank Him reverently and do this even when all things seem to be going wrong.
When your mind gets snagged on your big problem, ask God to show you how to handle it.
The very act of thanking releases your mind from a negative focus. As you turn your attention to God, your problem fades in significance and loses its power to trip you up by dwelling on it.
Many of the situations that pound at our minds may not even be problems for us today. Let’s try to give these problems to God so that He can deposit them into the future, where He knowingly is the only One who has control over them!
Just say thank you to God, even when you can’t see the whole picture. Be assured He will shed His light on your situation. We need to thank Him in all our circumstances because something good happens when we thank God with sincerity.
We become more receptive to God’s will when we pray continuously and thank Him. If you try this and pray right when you are thinking about the situation, you will allow prayer to become your natural “first Response” to whatever is happening around you. This is healthy.
Let us invite God to work in our situations right where we are now. Watch the pressure that begins to lift and shift.
If we are leaning toward doing something that may not actually be what God wants for us, then our hearts can be more open to what “God wants,” and our minds might be more willing to change.
So, when you are waiting and hoping for God to do something in your life, continue praying and praising Him with a thankful heart. Your joy will rise, your mood will change, and all because you will soon realize you aren’t in control anyway. God is.
“Be joyful always; pray continuously; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)