For the God Who says that, out of darkness light shall be shining, is He Who shines in our hearts, with a view to the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
Paul to the Corinthians (2) 4: 6, Concordant New Testament
Prayer is always a hot topic in most churches. We either pray too much, or not enough. Can one even pray too much? Has the scripture not encouraged us to "Be praying unintermittingly" {Paul to the Thessalonians 5:17}? Indeed, prayer is a vital part of our life in the Father. Prayer is that intimate conversation which we have with Him every moment of every day. Jesus Himself would often retreat into solitude for His own time of conversation with the Father. Jesus, of course, knew the importance of His own conversations with the Father. These were not simply fireside chats, but intimate conversations where He poured out His heart to God. So it is for us as well. I was thinking this week of a new understanding of my own prayers to the Father. I pray about many different things every day, so it's important that I have a good understanding of just what prayer is, and can be. First, what is it that we see as answered prayer? Does God simply materialize things out of nowhere in order for us to see that our prayers have been answered? Or, as I have begun to believe, does the Father often open our eyes to what it is that He desires us to see? Indeed, the opening of our eyes has been mentioned many times in scripture. Adam and Eve had their own eyes opened after taking the forbidden fruit {Genesis 3:7}. Up until that point, everything was fine. When their eyes were opened, they saw things they had previously been blind to. What is it that you are praying for today? The author Norman Grubb has mentioned that our prayers are but invitations from the Father Whom we live in union with {Johns Account 14:20}. The other day a good friend requested prayer for one of our brothers. I believe that the Father will answer our prayers by revealing to our brother what it is that He wants him to see. For a short time, I questioned God as to why He would ignore my prayers and not heal my mother from her sickness. It wasn't until after she passed that my eyes were opened and I began to see that He had indeed answered those prayers. My mother was no longer hurting.
In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word. This was in the beginning toward God. All came into being through it, and apart from it not even one thing came into being which has come into being. In it was life, and the life was the light of men and the light is appearing in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not
Johns Account 1: 1-5, Concordant New Testament
Recently, a good friend mentioned that the Father would reveal to me the woman He has chosen in His time. Of course, this has been a prayer of mine for some time. In that day, my eyes will be opened to what it is that the Father wants me to see. In the book of John, we see that Jesus (The Light) has appeared in the darkness (The world we live in) but that the darkness has grasped it not {Johns Account 1:5}. Indeed, there are many whose eyes have yet to be opened to who Jesus is. I was once a "Knower" of Jesus, one who knew of Jesus but didn't know Him on an intimate level as I do today. My eyes had yet to be opened. Of course, this was due to the teachings and theology of the mainstream church that I was involved in for so many years. Yet in all of those years in the church, my eyes were never opened to the truth of Christ Jesus in me. What was God waiting for? It wasn't until I had left the church and began to join in conversations about Jesus with a dear friend that my eyes were finally opened to the REAL Jesus in me. There are people who speak of their own personal "Come to Jesus" moments in their lives. Those moments where the Father opens their eyes to what it is that He desires them to see. My own came on a hike with a friend who described the Father as being present in all of His creation. It was at this point that the Father opened my eyes to the truth of Christ in me. This was my own "Come to Jesus" moment. Of course, there have been other things that the Father has opened my eyes to see, such as the folly of partaking in the earthly pleasures of strip clubs. One night, God opened my eyes to this truth as I stood outside one of these establishments. What He opened my eyes to was the truth of who I really was in Him. I wasn't that guy who frequented these places. That wasn't really me. Yet it took the Father opening my eyes to the truth of who I was to get me to see the folly of my actions. I know that the prayers of my late mother were answered by the Father that night. So, what is it that the Father wants you to see?
~Scott~