Church is more about being in right relationships than about believing the right thing

Photo from GraceChurch 

This morning I was listening to a super interesting dialog between Richard Rohr and Rob Bell on the Alternate Orthodoxy.  There was so much there that has got me thinking......I'm going to pick
one thing that I want to ponder on and write my way through right now.  Not that I'll totally grasp and apply the concepts in one sitting, but I just want to think on them some more.

The idea that got me to thinking was this concept that we've got it wrong that church is all about believing the right things.  It's so much more about being in the right relationships within the local body.

We need each other; 1 Corinthians 12:21 talks about how various parts of our physical body can't say they don't need one another to function and so it is with the spiritual body. This brings up a few things for me. I've felt a bit daunted that I couldn't find a church that believed just like I do.  I'd decided that as long as the main, big stuff, was the same I'd just go with it. Listening to this dialogue today affirmed that decision.

Because of my current, unique, life style/situation it's a bit difficult.  I live in a small resort town of around 6,000 people - that is where John and I own a home together.  This is my real home.  I work in a suburb of Los Angels that is a 55 minute drive from my home if there weren't traffic issues.  On week days that drive would be between 1.5 to 3 hours.  I can't live that way, doing that kind of commute.  John owns a home that is 9.1 miles from my work and it a 20 - 30 minute commute.  John's adult daughter and her boyfriend and his divorced oldest son live in that house; the oldest son gets his children to be with him in this home every Wednesday and every other weekend.  I have one room that I use in that house during the week and am home on weekends.  I've found a church that I really enjoy the pastors and so much of what they do near that house - but I'm not there on weekends.  Our town is so small that there are very limited choices.  There's a church I was part of for years; but at one point several years back a new pastor came.  I don't have anything against the guy it's just that there's not passion; it doesn't feel like he has a vital, growing relationship with God from which he's producing his sermons.  His sermons are pretty much a difficulty to sit through - not because they are "wrong", it's just there's so very little there.  When I was living in our town full time I solved this problem by participating in a small group with women from the church - I loved that group.  They were really my local body of Christ.  One friend had a gift of playing the guitar and leading simple, sweet, worship and she does that each week.  Another friend has a gift of administration and she'd organize everything and make sure we kept to a schedule, did ice breakers at the beginning of new Bible studies, had some ground rules, etc.  My gift was facilitating discussion, just helping others to be able to speak out and share together and pray. Only now I'm not around during the week.

My career skills are very specific and I'm grateful to have my current job.  I make a good living, do something for which I've studied to obtain my Master's, get to utilize leadership and creativity, am challenged to the hilt, and help other people.  It's also extremely stressful and unpredictable. Some days it will work out so that I have to work long hours because things come up.  I'm on call 24/7 and sometimes nothing happens, but sometimes a lot happens and I have to respond quickly both in terms of decision making and reports to the CA department of public health. I'm trying to get into mid-week groups with that local church but it keeps not really working for a myriad of reasons.  This church tends to have various, time limited groups that revolve around a specific book they're studying together.  I've completed two during the past year where I was able to attend and participate just about every single meeting.  Those were great experiences, but not enough to form real relationships and intimacy.  The current one I'm trying to participate in only meets every other week so you'd think I'd easily make it; but it's been just the opposite - work keeps coming up on the week of group.  I'd also had some issues since I'd participated in this group previously and have some difficulty fitting in.

All of this is to say that I want desperately to come together in meaningful, routine meetings with other Believers - to do "church" but can't seem to work it out.  All I know to do is to continue to try.

I truly don't have it all figured out but I know that I need other people.  I want to love God and love people in ways that are real.  I want to grow in my faith and relationship with both God and people.

The Change

Graphic from Quanta Magazine

I kind of feel embarrassed to even mention this word: Menopause.

For a while now I've been trying to pretend that it doesn't affect me in any way, but the truth is that it does.  Symptoms include: hot flashes, night sweats, troubled sleep, anxiety, fatigue, and the sometimes over the top emotional response to situations.

I have to be on my guard for the emotional thing so I don't respond to what I feel. I have to stop and say to myself - yes I know this situation/person is really annoying, but do you think that the intensity of these feelings is much more than the situation warrants?  When I realize that this is the case I pray.  If it's at work I also take a walk outside for 10 or more minutes.  Basically I just don't let myself act on those feelings.


In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 the apostle Paul talks about his ow famous "thorn in the flesh".  I keep thinking about the 9th verse when Paul is relating how he asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh and what the Lord said to him: 

Each time he said, "No But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people". Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ's power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities (TLB)

I keep reminding myself that this is an opportunity to really depend on Him, 'cuz I really can't control this.

I pray that He would use me any way.  I'm more weak than ever before in my life.  I don't have control over what I'm feeling or how my body is acting.

Still trying to figure it out

Photo from Sociais & Metodos

So much has happened on the job front.

I met with my old boss and it was a healing encounter.  I actually got to hear those words that we all long for when someone has done us wrong, but rarely get to hear. She apologized and said she'd been wrong.  She even looked a bit misty eyed when she did it.  She talked about that RN who'd talked bad about me, and the other folks that had been part of that group of people.  When she'd worked with them more herself she realized that some of them were lazy and some of them were not emotionally stable or healthy.  Although that same nurse continued to work for the company, my old boss had come to realize that she had problems.  She said she was sorry that it had taken her so long to make it right with me. She talked about the potential job and offered me a large salary plus bonuses to come work with her again.  I left that meeting feeling like I'd finally had the closure that I'd always wanted with her.

Right after that a recruiter contacted me.  Recruiters contact administrators all the time (one of the many side effects of a high turnover job). I didn't initially think much about this one. When she told me the position and company for which she was recruiting, my attitude changed.  It was a company I'd longed to work  for because I greatly admire their clinical stance and commitment to people who have mental illness.  I told her I was super interested and she had that company's regional HR person call and talk with me.  The HR person and I totally hit it off. The HR person set up for me to phone interview with the regional director of operations and the VP of operations.  The phone call with them went well; I was thinking how great it was to talk with people with the same  passion, vision and values as my own.

At that point there were two jobs I was looking at - one where I'd worked before in west LA and one where I'd always longed to work in Long Beach.  Although the Long Beach job was close to a condo my husband owns, neither job was close to where I am currently working and living. I set up to go to both job sites on the same day so I'd just be taking one day off work.

I went to the old job in west LA first.  It was fun to see all the positive changes that have been made.  There were lots of sweet greetings and hugs from the staff who still worked there.  It was a positive experience.  My old boss offered me the job and I asked for 2 days to consider due to the location. I left there thinking how fun it would be to work there again.  The location didn't please me; LA traffic is the worst.  Last time I worked there I had to drive 1.5 hours each way to and from work daily in grueling traffic.  I didn't want to do that again (plus John would never want to buy a home in the type of neighborhood I previously lived in.  It was a bit ghetto). Housing anywhere within an hour drive of west LA is off the charts expensive. I pondered these things as I drove to the next location.

At the Long Beach job I first met in person with the regional HR and 2 operations folks. That went fine.  Then they had the on site clinical and nursing directors tour me around the campus.  I fell in love with the site and all it had to offer clients as well as these two men, they would be great to work with.  Then I went into a room with about 12 site leaders sitting at a table and interviewed.  Typically I hate that kind of thing since I'm basically a shy person.  This time it went great.  I felt at home with these people.  The next day the regional director of operations, the person who would be my boss if I got the job, called me.  She explained that the way they ran the 12 people interview, every person completes a private ballet about their thoughts on the candidate.  She told me that every single person I'd spoken with that day wanted to work with me. I felt great because I'd liked them too and wanted to work with them. She said that the next step was to fly me to their corporate offices to meet with the owner and the president of operations.  She explained that they had to sign off on any administrator hired by the company to manage one of their programs.  She said that the regional HR woman would contact me with potential dates for that interview.

I was torn about my old boss.  I had only asked for 2 days to let her know my decision. I didn't want to keep her hanging. If I did not take the job, she would only have 3 of the original 5 week notice the leaving administrator had given her to find a replacement.  I knew that almost every other administrator would just accept her job offer, and then if the other job came through, tell her that a better offer came up.  That felt wrong to me.  That would leave her in a bad spot.  I prayed about it and decided to just do what seemed to me to be the right thing.  I explained about the other offer and said that she should open up the search because I didn't want her to end up without an administrator.  I said that if the other company didn't come through, and she'd not found someone, that I would still be interested. She seemed angry.  She said something about yes, I did need to tell her, it was not like she just had another administrator in her back pocket.  She stonily asked me why I would want some other company compared to the one she worked for and I explained that it was about the location and the other job was close.  She seemed like she was forcing herself but she did say that she could understand that if a job was closer to a home I already had, in that same situation, she would take the closer job. She told me not to be a stranger and to stay in touch.

When I spoke with the regional HR person for the Long Beach job she said something a bit odd.  She said that the regional operations person would prep me for that interview and that the two people I would be interviewing with were "not like us".  At the time she said that I felt gratified that she already considered me part of her group context. When the woman who I hoped would become my boss and I spoke I asked her a question.  I asked if they had sent any other candidates for this position up to corporate offices.  She admitted that they had, but that those people had not had my experience with inpatient or running a building that had a union in it.

The flight to the corporate offices was only a couple of hours.  I had my first experience using a taxi to get myself to the interview.  The interview was not comfortable.  I didn't get any vibes like they loved me but these two women were the type that were not easy to read.  Two days later the regional HR called me and said that she was so sorry, she could not offer me the job.  I felt so sad. I'd really wanted that job and all the doors had seemed to be opening.

Exactly one week had passed since I'd contacted my old boss. I texted her.  She texted me back.  She'd already put a new plan into place. The program director at the site wanted to do an administrator-in-training gig so he could sit for the state and federal tests to obtain his license.  The administrator from another building within an hour of that one would hang her license there and preceptor him in the program.  He'd learn to be the administrator there and when he was all done he'd become their administrator.  I actually believe it is a good plan.  That man had worked there for 12 years and had a life long commitment to the location. He's young and has a wife and 2 small children.  This is good for him and the building.

Now I went within 2 weeks from a certainty that I would have one good job or another, to no new job. Wow

I'm perplexed.  I don't think I did anything wrong.  It feels like I have bad outcomes.  This is one of those times when I have to choose to believe the truth - that my life is in God's hands and obedience to Him is what matters most.  I trust God.  I know He has good plans for me.  I have no idea why this all happened but I can choose peace and happiness knowing that He is in control.

Prayer "experiment" with receiving vrs achieving-Day 2

I want to look again at all the verses I've already come up with regarding my struggle with being tired all the time.  I want to see if any of these verses have any conditions, anything I must do in order to receive the energy/strength/power that God says is available to me as His follower.

Isaiah 40:30-31(NIV)
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall; 
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
Condition: Hope in the Lord 

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Condition: Get away with Jesus. Watch how He does thinks. Learn from him the "unforced rhythms of grace".

Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Condition: Watch and pray so you don't fall into temptation 

Romans 8:22-28 (MSG)
^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Condition: Look to God's spirit to help me and give me strength. Cry out to Him, even when I don't know how to say it.

Romans 15:13 (MSG)
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 


1 Corinthians 2:2-4 (NIV)
² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 (MSG)
^10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10  (MSG)
^7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
Condition: Quit focusing on my problem with being tired and without energy. Thank God that He is strong in my weakness and look to Him for His supernatural energy.

Ephesians 1:15-23 (MSG)
^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
^20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Condition: Pray. Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

Philippians 2:12-13 (MSG)
What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Condition: Acknowledge the truth that God is my source of strength. 

Colossians 1:9-12 (MSG)
Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. 
Condition: Learn more and more about how God works. Learn how to do what He's called me to - my work. Pray for His strength.  Look to God to give me strength through His Spirit. Thank God for His strength. 

Colossians 1:28-29 (NLT)
²⁸ So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. ²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (MSG)
 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely. 
Condition: Pray. Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. Be engaged in the activities that He wants me to do and ask for His strength.
 
 I want to start looking at these verses, one at a time or in groups.  I want to think more deeply on them.  Studying them and these conditions more.

Prayer "experiment" with receiving vrs achieving-Day 1

If I were to pick my toughest challenge right now it would be that I'm tired.  I feel like I don't have enough energy to do all that is before me in my life with the excellence that is necessary.  The issue is not that I'm over committed either.  The issue is me and how I'm dragging.

So I've come up with these verses that relate:

Isaiah 40:30-31(NIV)
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall; 
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Romans 8:22-28 (MSG)
^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Romans 15:13 (MSG)
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!


1 Corinthians 2:2-4 (NIV)
² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 (MSG)
^10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10  (MSG)
^7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Ephesians 1:15-23 (MSG)
^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
^20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Philippians 2:12-13 (MSG)
What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Colossians 1:9-12 (MSG)
Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. 

Colossians 1:28-29 (NLT)
²⁸ So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. ²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (MSG)
 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely. 
 
 So if the idea is that I can benefit from praying with confidence that I will receive what God wants for me, then I need to change the way I think.  I need to meditate on these verses.  I don't know if my brain is capable of memorizing all of them, but I can certainly meditate on them and memorize at least some.  Who knows, maybe I can memorize them all.  We'll see.

One thing for certain is that I'm tired of being so tired.

So I'm gonna fill my mind with what God says, and then try to pray with confidence to receive what He says is already mine.

I'm also gonna look to the conditions in these scriptures and ensure that, by His power, I do my part so that I can receive what He wants to give me.  Sometimes I think the conditions are the way God will give me what He wants to give. 

Receiving prayer versus Achieving

A group of women and I are studying through 1 & 2 Thessalonians together.   We're utilizing a workbook to assist us in our study.

As I was studying in the workbook and the Bible this morning I became confused. The workbook author was discussing how frequently Paul asked the Thessalonians in these books to pray for himself, Silas, & Timothy.  She then related  the concept of shifting out prayers from achieving to receiving.  At first I thought she meant it the other way around and I totally got that concept.  I thought to myself that yep I'm constantly praying that God will empower me to perform that required activities in my family, work, and community effectively.  But then as I continued I realized that I'd reversed what the author was saying. She talked about how we trust God to receive and then have His peace.

The author pointed out verses such as Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:10-13, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:2-3, and 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. All of these verses point to the idea that God wants to give us what we need.  They all could be interpreted to say that we can confidently ask from God because He wants to give to us.

Sure I've read and heard these thoughts many times before.

But, today, something different stirs inside me.  Today I'm asking - what will that look like?  How will this change my prayers?

If I'm totally candid, my prayer life has been quite small lately. I've thought about God plenty. Read the Word. Sometimes sang praise songs to Him.  Occasionally confessed something.  But spent very little time actually talking to God, and even less being open and trying to listen.

So I'm thinking - OK. I want to pray more.  I'm being stirred inside about this idea of receiving versus achieving.  I don't exactly get the concept but I'm going try a bit. I just read an encouragement from a brother in Christ to memorize the Word. So I'll start with a Word about something that's heavy on my heart right now, the get some verses regarding that and meditate on those verses and work toward memorizing them. Then I'll try to see how I can pray with confidence regarding that area.