I would rather give the controls of an aircraft to an experienced pilot than take over myself.
And yet I am often guilty of telling God in prayer how he should run my life.
I find it hard to yield my efforts at ministry to the one who gave it to me in the first place.
Why? Probably because I don't trust God enough. And I'm not tuned to what he is saying.
But Jesus is our example.
In John 14:10, Jesus says: "The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."
Jesus lived in dependence on the Father. He did what the Father wanted him to do.
Clearly, he struggled mightily when his crucifixion was imminent. He prayed to the Father that he be spared the horror of taking on all the sins of the world and the righteous Father turning away from his as the sin bearer.
Yet in Matthew 26:39, Christ yielded and said to the Father: "I want your will to be done, not mine."
The model prayer to God that Christ taught also includes the line: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Often it is hard to determine what God's will is.
In his book The Prayer Life, the great South African writer Andrew Murray suggests the approach we should take.
He says: "Our first work . . . ought to be to come into God's presence not with our ignorant prayers, not with many words and thoughts, but in the confidence that the divine work of the Holy Spirit is being carried on within us."
He is referring to the apostle Paul's words in Romans 8:26 where he says that the Holy Spirit helps us when we don't know what to pray for. He adds that the Holy Spirit "prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words".
What Paul is saying is that we don't have to rely on our own wisdom. We know that the Holy Spirit is praying for us even when we don't know what to say. And the Holy Spirit "pleads for us believers in harmony with God's will".
So, my job is to stop getting in God's way. I am to come before God, listen to the Spirit's promptings, and act on what he is telling me to do.
For big things, the great prayer warrior George Muller waited for direction from God. He would read the scriptures, praying about them and obeying God's promptings for action. He would be attentive to the things that the Spirit brought to his mind.
Sometimes, that means obeying promptings that don't make sense - like Abram leaving Ur on God's command. Abram didn't know where God wanted him to go, but he started travelling, taking his family with him.
Abram's obedience led to the formation of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.
Imagine if Abram refused to obey God's promptings. Suppose he wanted to control his life apart from God. Yielding control to God helped him become a vital part of God's story.
It's something for me to think about. Giving control to God makes all the difference in the world.
And yet I am often guilty of telling God in prayer how he should run my life.
I find it hard to yield my efforts at ministry to the one who gave it to me in the first place.
Why? Probably because I don't trust God enough. And I'm not tuned to what he is saying.
But Jesus is our example.
In John 14:10, Jesus says: "The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."
Jesus lived in dependence on the Father. He did what the Father wanted him to do.
Clearly, he struggled mightily when his crucifixion was imminent. He prayed to the Father that he be spared the horror of taking on all the sins of the world and the righteous Father turning away from his as the sin bearer.
Yet in Matthew 26:39, Christ yielded and said to the Father: "I want your will to be done, not mine."
The model prayer to God that Christ taught also includes the line: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Often it is hard to determine what God's will is.
In his book The Prayer Life, the great South African writer Andrew Murray suggests the approach we should take.
He says: "Our first work . . . ought to be to come into God's presence not with our ignorant prayers, not with many words and thoughts, but in the confidence that the divine work of the Holy Spirit is being carried on within us."
He is referring to the apostle Paul's words in Romans 8:26 where he says that the Holy Spirit helps us when we don't know what to pray for. He adds that the Holy Spirit "prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words".
What Paul is saying is that we don't have to rely on our own wisdom. We know that the Holy Spirit is praying for us even when we don't know what to say. And the Holy Spirit "pleads for us believers in harmony with God's will".
So, my job is to stop getting in God's way. I am to come before God, listen to the Spirit's promptings, and act on what he is telling me to do.
For big things, the great prayer warrior George Muller waited for direction from God. He would read the scriptures, praying about them and obeying God's promptings for action. He would be attentive to the things that the Spirit brought to his mind.
Sometimes, that means obeying promptings that don't make sense - like Abram leaving Ur on God's command. Abram didn't know where God wanted him to go, but he started travelling, taking his family with him.
Abram's obedience led to the formation of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.
Imagine if Abram refused to obey God's promptings. Suppose he wanted to control his life apart from God. Yielding control to God helped him become a vital part of God's story.
It's something for me to think about. Giving control to God makes all the difference in the world.
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