We are reading Chapters 1, 2, and 3 for Tuesday March 26th.
Without counting, the song loses harmony.
And without counting blessings, our lives lose the song, the light -- the beat of God's heart.
- Ann Voskamp
What are some of the things that can cause us to close our hands and hearts to God?
What specifically has helped you keep your hands and heart open, even though though times?
are we suppose to answer here? or in our journals? i bought one for this book. and numbered 1-1000 to put my gifts as i think of them and or find them ;)
ReplyDeleteFeel free to write in either one or both.
DeleteHonestly some things that can cause us to close our hands and heart to God is loss or grief. When loss happens we tend to get mad at God because we do not understand why it has happened. Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a job or even a friend. As humans we sometimes feel that God could have prevented it from happening or that he could have changed the situation.
ReplyDeletePrayer and the love of church family as well as my own family has really helped me to keep my eyes and heart open through tough times. Knowing that others stood beside me helped me a lot and having wonderful people in my life to quote scripture to me to remind me of Gods love and grace.
I think for some it can be as simple as "life overload" We tend to cram as much into a day as we can. I am not talking just about work either, I mean our social lives and our "free time" as well. There are more games to play, more tv to watch, more books to read that we sometimes even without realizing it become the oh boy it is Sunday and it is time we better get ready for church type of people. I did not even feel the need to attend church for a long period of time...I still loved the Lord, prayed and basically thought that was good enough. I found that I did not have the passion for Jesus and the word of God that I once had.
ReplyDeleteAttending Bible study and other book studies that give meaning to the word of God is a way for me to realize that not only can the life experiences of others as they walk with the Lord help me in my journey, but I have realized that I also have something to offer others in their walk with Christ.
In our Bible study group tonight we had a very interesting question come up and I would like to try to expand upon what I believe the answer may be. I may word this incorrectly as far as the question goes, but this is the way I interpreted the question. "if God knows" (and I believe He does)"how, what, and when everything happens...then why do we pray if God already has it written what is going to happen?
ReplyDeleteWe get this belief because we know that the story of our life is already known by God. We know this because in Jeremiah 29:11 He tells the the priests and the prophets and those that were taken captive in Babylon from Jerusalem "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV He had plans for them as I believe he has plans for us as well.
now lets step aside for a moment...do we always follow His plans for us? I can say that is a resounding no for me anyway. We have choices...Does He know the choices we are going to make? I believe He does and here is why. In Revelation twice it says "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End", says the Lord, Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" Revelation 1:8 NKJV To me that says He always was , is, and will be the Almighty God. There is a sense of foreverness to that statement for me anyway. this in no way shape or form says that He has decided our destination for us. He tells us time and time again that we must CHOOSE HIM and CHOOSE to accept His son Jesus as our Savior in order to go to Heaven. If we have that Choice then it is not predestination...if it is not predestination then our Prayers can change outcomes as well.
There is another reason for me to believe that prayer matters. My family was able to see first hand the power of prayer and each one of us believe it with all our hearts that it was prayer that brought my dad off his death bed a few years ago. the doctors told us (I think it was either evening or maybe even late evening)that if there was any family that wants to see him and visit that they should be notified now. I am not going to go into specifics now...but lets just say that we had people praying for us all over the USA. long story short, within a few days he was walking out of the hospital on his own two feet. That was a miracle and it would not have taken place if it had not been for the prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving that we gave to the Lord.