Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Reflections: 21 Day Prayer/Fast

I don't have a ton to say in reflection. Well, I have a ton to say but I don't have a ton to share publicly. But I wanted to share a couple thoughts here.

In the last 3 weeks I have seen God answer prayer. Prayers for myself and prayers for others. I have seen God answer prayers no but give a reason as to why it's a no.

Side note: You know how hard it is to thank God for answering a prayer with a no?

I've had to pray some desperate prayers over the last 21 days. I've had to rethink prayers. I've had to take myself out of prayers. I've had to stop praying some prayers. And I've started praying some ridiculous prayers.

Sometimes God doesn't answer prayers because we need to be fully dependent on and desperate for Him first. Our desperation allows God to prove himself faithful in our lives.

And sometimes the requests that God lays on our hearts and the things we're praying for end up turning those no answers into not yet answers. Because sometimes we need prayer A for prayer B to work. But sometimes we have to be led to pray prayer B, which is crazy and irrational and seems impossible so God can do a miracle in answering prayers A and B. (Was that statement confusing to anyone else?)

And now that the 21 days is over I need to press in even further and keep praying and pray even harder. Because I still have a lot of unanswered prayers. I still need a ton of direction and clarity in my life. And I have new dreams and visions I need to be chasing and praying about. As faithful as God has proven himself and as good as He's been over the last 21 days, it's just the beginning. And if I let it be the end then what he's started won't come to fruition.

Time to dig deeper and go further.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." ~ Philippians 1:6

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