I awakened at 4:00 this morning. After a bit of twisting and turning and futile attempts to go back to sleep, I rolled onto my back and turned on the bedroom TV. Somewhere in my sleep-fogged brain, I remembered being told that Beth Moore is on TV on Wednesdays at different times on different channels. As I’m not normally watching TV in the mornings, I’ve only caught her a time or two and then by accident. But I flipped through the Christian stations, and I found her on the James Robinson program.
What a blessing! She was speaking on the first miracle from John 2 when Jesus turned water into wine. I have always underscored Mary’s words in my Bible when she says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” That’s how I’ve strived to live my life, doing whatever Jesus tells me to do.
But Beth pointed out the first thing Mary said, which was to her Son: “They have no more wine.” Beth pointed out that Mary didn’t tell Jesus how she wanted Him to fix the problem. She didn’t give Him several options of how she thought it should be resolved. She simply stated the problem as fact. She left it up to God how to resolve it. Or even if He would resolve it.
Beth gave some wonderful examples of those kinds of prayers, and although these aren’t exact quotes, they are what I took away from the message: "God, there is no more money." "Lord, there is no more job." "Father, there isn’t one thing more we can try in this situation. We’re all out of options." "Jesus, I have no more energy. I’m depleted." "Father, I’m spiritually dry. I’m all out of faith." "Jesus, there isn’t a speck of creativity left in me."
There is no more. Period. You are God. Only You know how to take care of this. I trust in You, and I will do whatever You tell me to do.
Too often when I pray, I have in mind the exact way I want/hope/expect God to answer my prayers. Often I tell Him what those ways are. Expectations set us up for failure and disappointment, too. But my expectations are way less than all that He plans to accomplish. I want to begin praying this way more often. I want to silence my list of suggestions for quick fixes and instead simply tell Him my need.
There is such beauty in knowing that God loves me and wants the best for me. His plans for me are good and include prospering me, making me fruitful as I abide in the Vine. I can trust Him with all things, big and small. What a great way to begin my day, with that truth held close in my heart. I hope it blesses you, too.
In the grip of His grace,
Robin
