pray and pursue

Recently my husband and I were faced with a decision that required a lot of praying.  It’s a big decision and big decisions take more prayer as far as I am concerned.  Biggy decision require biggy prayers.  

A good friend of mine, Cara, also has been faced with a biggy decision requiring biggy prayers. The other day, we were talking through different scenarios for her in regard to this decision. At one point she said, “I just don’t know what to do. How do I figure out what God wants”? Of course, my response as a law-abiding Christian citizen is to say, “pray about it.”  Duh! That is our common response especially when we have no real advice to give. But as we continued to talk, I made a statement to her that seemed to capture the essence of what needed to be said…PRAY AND PURSUE! We both paused to ponder this statement.  Hmmm…PRAY AND PURSUE…what did I mean by that? Trust me, I asked myself that same question.

I think that so often we pray about an issue and then we sit.  It’s like there is a waiting room for pray-ers! We sheepishly walk into the room and survey the couches and chairs. Who do I sit next to? Do I tell them what I am praying about? Or do I bow my head in a “holy hush” hoping that my name will be called quicker? Then we hear our name…

“Melody?”

“Yes.”

“Your answered prayer is ready.”

I grab my purse and head into the room to get my answer! Once I hear the result of my prayers, my face will reflect whether the answer was an affirmative or a not so affirmative.  As I exit through the waiting room, I see faces of anticipation from the other pray-ers hoping my face reflects a positive answer. Once I exit, I know that I will return soon to the same waiting room with my next prayer decision.  Our life becomes a revolving door into the waiting room for prayer.

But what if we were to PRAY AND PURSUE? What if we by-passed the waiting room and pursued the answer?

Let me explain…we often wait for some great writing in the sky or some silly unrelated sign to give us an answer. For instance, if we are praying for God’s will whether we should move or not, we can take a flyer in our mailbox from a moving company as a sign to God’s will. But what if it is just some random flyer?  I apologize if this is someone’s story.

I have often sat with my children as they are trying to figure out God’s will.  I have told them that God is not sitting in heaven laughing at us while moving us around like pieces on a board game.  He doesn’t play hide and seek with His will and He is not playing tag with us. Seeking God’s will in a situation in life develops a richer relationship with Him. It’s a moment for trust and reliance on Him.  The end result should not be the answer to our question. Our end result should be how did we seek God and get to know Him more intimately.

So, what if we prayed in forward motion? Don’t head to the waiting room, but take the next step? Don’t sit down and wait for God to move. Start moving and discover if God is moving along side of you. If it is a job situation, for instance, and you are wanting to find God’s will as to whether you should move companies or not…put out your resume! Go to the interview. If it seems to go well, take the next step. That is the pursuit. Trust that as you are pursuing, you are also praying.  Trust that God will lead you in the right direction.

Pray first, pursue second…don’t just sit!

So, what about the big question, “What if I miss God’s will? What if I make the wrong decision?”

Number one…do you really think you will miss God’s will if you are seeking His will? I don’t! Again, God is not playing hide and seek with us! There is a relational development that takes place in our hearts.  Now, we can’t say that we are seeking God’s will when we honestly are not.  If we have made our mind up to what we want the answer to be and slap a “God’s will” sign on it, then that is not truly seeking His will. Big caveat here too…GOD’S WILL NEVER GOES AGAINST HIS WORD. Here is an example…If you say you don’t love your husband anymore and have found someone else’s husband who you feel is more suitable for you, you can’t slap GOD’S WILL on it because it feels better. Think that is ludicrous? Trust me, it is much more common than you realize!   

Big statement here, so listen closely!

When we are truly seeking God’s will, we will be willing for Him to say no.

That is the test of the seek!

If we can’t take His no, then we don’t deserve His yes.

What if the decision that you make seems to have been the wrong decision? You change jobs because you believed that is what God wanted you to do, then you’re miserable in that job. You move houses and the house you bought falls into a sink hole. Then you roll with it! It doesn’t mean that you decided outside of God’s will, it just means that God is using this situation to teach you something that you haven’t learned yet. If your new job is miserable, find another one.  It doesn’t mean you are contracted for life. If your house falls into a sink hole and you survive, call your insurance company! Every decision in life is relational between us and God. Decisions are meant to teach us dependence on Him. They are meant to teach us trust.

At each step of the prayer process, pray more…pray differently! Prayer changes us, not the situation!

So, on your prayer walk this week, remember to also pursue!