Do you ever wonder what God cares about. Often I hear people praying and thanking God for being in every small detail. Other times I hear people speaking of God like he is a vending machine - the great dispenser of goods. I have friends who pray for "the peace and love of God to cover people and situations" instead of specific requests. My Mother prayed for parking spaces and got them most of the time. People struggle with trying to discern the will of God on jobs, moves, mates, money etc and only take steps once they think God has spoken. I, on the other hand am more inclined to think that God's will for us is to be increasingly more like Him and I do not spend too much time trying to discern if I should turn left or right.
I know this is a larger discussion than we can have via blog comments - it is shaped by how you see God...how you see the role of prayer....whether you are more contemplative than intercessory in your praying...discernment....providence - so many things.
What is your response?
4 comments:
I guess I think that God can be all of those things. He can answer prayer for a parking space just as easily as he can answer the "big stuff." I guess I just expect to grow out of the need for an answer to everything. Just like I expect to give my young children quick responses to reassure them, I also expect that responses will take longer as their faith in me and my love increases. I shouldn't need to direct their every move as they mature, because they should know what to do by then. Does that make sense? Our prayers and God's answers will change as our faith and relationship change. Also the requests lessen as I age and the talks lengthen...just like with my kids. It doesn't mean that you don't ask for little things now and then, but they aren't as common.
Arlene, I too, am struggling with this. Many, many times since I have been in BSF, I have heard the prayer...'Dear Father, we know you are a God of details, we know you orchestrate every detail'. To me, this conjures up images of a giant puppetmaster "orchestrating" every detail, I'm not comfortable with that image. Yet, I do see "detail oriented" prayers answered in a positive way quite often. So, I don't know, but what I am coming to believe is that God wants us to honor Him and bring glory to Him, no matter what the "details" are, whether we get that parking space or not. I believe that God will use every event in our lives for our eternal good, but whether he orchestrates every single one of them....not sure.
When I was preaching in Connecticut, there was this wonderful lady in the congregation who interpreted most everything, like a recent snowfall, theologically. "This happened because . . . ." I loved her, but I was much more convinced of the randomness of life. To me it seemed like the rain fell on the just and the unjust, that time and chance happened to them all.
I attended divinity school with a big bunch of high church-ers. I came to the conclusion that, to them, the Almighty was so transcendent that God didn't care or even notice that you were smokin, drinkin, and cussin (which they were, and which also seemed to be a requirement for their ordination). I didn't want to go there either.
So, I don't understand God.
"I guess I think that God can be all of those things."
RE: God is a Spirit, they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth."
Learn more: A Myopic Life Resonated From The Brink Of The Abyss by Simeon Johnson
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