chapter ten
"But is not such a will at variance with our dependence on God and our submission to HIm? By no means; it is much rather the true submission that honours God. It is only when the child has yielded his own will in entire surrender to the Father, that he receives from the Father liberty and power to will what he would have."
This lines up with what you hear from Bob when he mentions Ps 37:4 and what Steve Thompson was talking about over the weekend. It is possible to walk with God and have our wills become the will of God. The desires of our hearts can become the desire of God's own heart, and when that happens, we move in power and authority. Our prayer life is transformed as well in this reality. The whole point of the 21 days of prayer and fasting is to surrender to God and then to do His will; thus, this quote should make us excited about what God is doing in us!
"True humility is ever in company with strong faith, which only seeks to know what is according to the will of God, and then boldly claims the fulfilment of the promise."
ReplyDelete"But, when once the believer has accepted the will of God, as revealed through the Word and Spirit, as his will, too, then it is the will of God that His child should use this renewed will in His service. The will is the highest power in the soul; grace wants above everything to sanctify and restore this will, one of the chief traits of God's image, to full and free exercise."
Father, transform and renew our hearts and minds, sanctifying us at the innermost place that our hearts and wills might be aligned with yours. Father, give us the grace to see the world as you see it, and to pray for the things that bring sorrow to your soul. May we surrender everything we are to you and, in true humility, pray in faith for the things you place on our hearts.
I think an important to note here is that we can really get stuck on trying to have our hearts line up with God's and feeling like we fall short; that when our heart's desires are finally God's heart's desires then they will be fulfilled. It's important for us to realize that God has already given us a new heart of flesh and that our true desires already are His desires for us. Don't think I'm disagreeing at all with anything that's been said, this was my favorite chapter so far, until I read 11, and it definitely had me spending the most time in self-examination and prayer. It is just really, I think, a mark of that childlike faith we claim to want (which I think we also already have inside of us) to believe that our hearts are already aligned with God's. Can't be prey to that false conviction anymore :)
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmm......I'm lovin' it.
ReplyDeleteto wish to have something does not equal willing to have it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when I pray I think to myself, OK, stop saying words, sit and believe for a minute, think on the glory of God, OK, now pray. There is a big difference I think. I think when I pray for other people I am pretty good at believing for them, but not so much for myself. "to believe truly is to will it firmly"
The current season in my life is desperately searching for a definite path outlined by God. Is it sloth that has led me to believe I am lost?
I listened to a sermon from Bethel about our progression in relationship to God. We begin band new as slaves, obeying but not knowing why, then becoming friends with God, obeying out of joy and love and to glorify Him, and finally achieving a place beyond obedience, thus described in Clay's paragraph, where your will and God's line up, it feels perfectly natural and miracles follow you like footprints.