God is full of surprises.
A common saying is that "you can't put God in a box." I believe that's true.
Often, we get more than we bargained for when we pray to the Lord. He may not give us what we ask for - but we receive something else better.
I think of Jacob, a flawed man if ever there was. A man who cheated his brother out of his legacy.
But God looked favourably on Jacob. In Genesis 28, Jacob left home alone for Haran and had a heavenly vision while sleeping. He had a dream of angels climbing up and down a stairway and God at the top, making a stupendous promise.
God promised him the land he was sleeping on and told him he would have a multitude of descendants and all nations of the earth would be blessed through him. He promised Jacob his protection.
What a promise! I'm certain it was unexpected - a surprise.
Then, there is the apostle Paul who received another vision of a man from Macedonia beckoning to come (Acts 16). Paul was preparing to go on another missionary trip to Asia minor, but he changed his plans and entered Europe, bringing the gospel to a whole new continent. A surprise message from God.
In his book Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson urges us to pray for surprises from God, surprises which show that they can only come from the Lord.
He recalls a staff meeting at his Washington church years ago when a routine staff meeting became an all-out prayer meeting. He wound up face-down on the floor praying a prayer he has repeated often since: "Lord, surprise us."
He acknowledges that this is a dangerous prayer - meaning we must be ready to give up our own plans, just as the apostle Paul was when he saw the vision of the man from Macedonia.
"We have to relinquish control," Batterson writes. "We have to trust God's timing."
He says that God has answered this prayer in his life "a thousand times in a thousand ways".
A few weeks after he first prayed that prayer, a failing Baptist church in the Washington area turned over their $2 million property for free to Batterson's church so his church could use it for ministry. This happened through a series of improbable circumstances.
"Prayer adds an element of surprise to your life that is more fun than a surprise party or surprise gift or surprise romance," Batterson says. "In fact, prayer turns life into a party, into a gift, into a romance."
A great way to look at prayer. I'm going to start praying for God's surprises.
A common saying is that "you can't put God in a box." I believe that's true.
Often, we get more than we bargained for when we pray to the Lord. He may not give us what we ask for - but we receive something else better.
I think of Jacob, a flawed man if ever there was. A man who cheated his brother out of his legacy.
But God looked favourably on Jacob. In Genesis 28, Jacob left home alone for Haran and had a heavenly vision while sleeping. He had a dream of angels climbing up and down a stairway and God at the top, making a stupendous promise.
God promised him the land he was sleeping on and told him he would have a multitude of descendants and all nations of the earth would be blessed through him. He promised Jacob his protection.
What a promise! I'm certain it was unexpected - a surprise.
Then, there is the apostle Paul who received another vision of a man from Macedonia beckoning to come (Acts 16). Paul was preparing to go on another missionary trip to Asia minor, but he changed his plans and entered Europe, bringing the gospel to a whole new continent. A surprise message from God.
In his book Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson urges us to pray for surprises from God, surprises which show that they can only come from the Lord.
He recalls a staff meeting at his Washington church years ago when a routine staff meeting became an all-out prayer meeting. He wound up face-down on the floor praying a prayer he has repeated often since: "Lord, surprise us."
He acknowledges that this is a dangerous prayer - meaning we must be ready to give up our own plans, just as the apostle Paul was when he saw the vision of the man from Macedonia.
"We have to relinquish control," Batterson writes. "We have to trust God's timing."
He says that God has answered this prayer in his life "a thousand times in a thousand ways".
A few weeks after he first prayed that prayer, a failing Baptist church in the Washington area turned over their $2 million property for free to Batterson's church so his church could use it for ministry. This happened through a series of improbable circumstances.
"Prayer adds an element of surprise to your life that is more fun than a surprise party or surprise gift or surprise romance," Batterson says. "In fact, prayer turns life into a party, into a gift, into a romance."
A great way to look at prayer. I'm going to start praying for God's surprises.
What a great word. I love this post.
ReplyDelete- Andrew