Monday, January 10, 2011

God, are You listening?

Often times, I wonder if God is listening.   Does He know what I’m dealing with?  It goes without saying that He does, but it’s still an interesting thought.

James 5:16b
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

About four and half years ago, when I was leaving my classes, another student at my school that I had never met asked if she and I could ride the metro together.  This would not have seemed odd, except I had never met her, nor did we share any classes together.  I am not completely sure why I said yes, but I did.  While we were riding, she told me that God wanted her to tell me that I would meet and be with my life mate very soon. She said my mother and I should pray that God would show me who it was.  She and I parted ways, myself very confused, but I prayed anyway.  A week later, my pastor approached my mom, and let her know that he had been thinking about it, Jesse would be a great match for me.  A week after that, Jesse’s ex-girlfriend, whom I was and still am very good friends with, informed me that Jesse and I would be perfect for one another.  I was officially weirded out, but not convinced.

About three weeks later, the metro girl (as she became nick-named, since I had not yet gotten her name) asked to ride our train home again.  She asked me how my man-hunt was going and I told her what had happened, but finished with “I don’t really know...”.  She, Jasmine (I had finally asked her name), said the pastor’s words were a confirmation and that I was not praying the right way.

My question had always been, “God, are you listening?”, who would have thought that the question would be, “Am I listening for an answer?”

After this conversation, my prayer life changed drastically.  I prayed again, but this time I was expecting God to answer; I was waiting to hear and follow His lead.  Jesse and I started dating, and now we have been married for over a year, going strong.   

Romans 8:26-27
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

I don’t always know how I should pray, and sometimes I forget to listen for an answer.  However, the Lord always hears us and will answer us according to His will.  
Is your prayer life a one-sided conversation, or are you listening?

1 comment:

  1. What an awesome story- God works in ununsual ways. If He used your friend Jasmine to help lead you to your husband- He will use us in our struggle to reach others with similar circumstances. I am holding onto that hope! I saw on the support group that you had a doctors appointment today. How'd it go?

    ReplyDelete