Too Big for your Britches

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12)

This is another opportunity for us to stop and examine how Jesus handled big decisions.  We see here in this passage of Scripture that Jesus stopped to pray and that He prayed all night long.  What could be so important that He had to pray all night long?  What was He seeking God’s guidance on?  Well, the passage of Scripture goes on to say that Jesus chose His twelve disciples on the following morning, from a larger group.  I would say that was a very big decision.

I enjoy reading this passage of Scripture because it once again reminds me that Jesus was human.  He needed God’s guidance just like I do.  He went to God to seek the direction on who should be the twelve disciples that would follow Him for the next three years.  Jesus never made a decision without prayer.  He always went to God.  He showed us how important it is to seek God on every major decision.

It’s way too easy to enter into decisions on our own.  We tend to think we have the answer.  Have you ever moved forward on a decision and later thought to yourself, “Maybe I should have prayed about this!”  I know I have.  There are a few times I’ve thought I should have sought the Lord’s guidance.  The truth is I’m getting better at this, but it’s a daily lesson I continue to learn.

God will be faithful to hear us and guide us in the right direction.  He is just waiting for us to give Him a little time.  Will we allow Him room to move in our lives?  It impresses me so much how Jesus took every minor and major detail to God.  It didn’t matter if it was morning or night.  It didn’t matter if it was a decision on where to go that day or how God wanted Him to be a leader.  Jesus always went to God.  He was not too big for His britches.

I think some of us have become a little big for our britches.  We tend to think we have all the answers.  Sometimes we think we know where we are going and don’t need to ask for directions.  Sometimes we think we know our lives better than our Creator.  How is that possible?  Even Jesus didn’t have all the answers.  He went to God in prayer.  Wow, I’m thinking if Jesus needed to seek God on guidance, then I certainly need God’s guidance in every detail of my life.

Yes, the waiting part is difficult.  It’s a lot easier to move sometimes and suffer the consequences later.  But do you see that Jesus prayed all night.  The Bible says, He spent His night in prayer.  He wasn’t giving God a time limit on when to come through on an answer.  He didn’t let God know how to answer Him.  He didn’t throw a hissy fit because He was up all night.  I think some of us want our prayer lives to be easy.  We want the short 5 minute, non-committal prayers.  The prayers that we can get in and out of real easily.  But what kind of relationship is that?  Do you have that kind of relationship with your spouse, your child, your parents, your friends, etc.?  Do you give them more than five minutes of your time?  If so, don’t you think that God deserves a little more too?  I think that we can do better.  I think we can give God more time and listen for the answers He wants to give us.

Let’s see what our lives would look like, if we started communicating with God on a regular basis.  What would it be like if we allowed God to really speak to our hearts?  What if we stopped to pray and listen for the answers?  What if we allowed the move of God to work in our lives?  How would our lives change if we prayed like Jesus prayed?  May we stop giving God a time limit and start allowing Him the freedom to move in our prayer lives!

Challenge: Read Proverbs 6

Memory Verse: Psalm 73:26

I’ll be taking tomorrow off to spend time with my husband, but I will be back on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Dear Father God, Please help me to have a more active prayer life.  Help me to sit at Your feet more often.  I pray that I will be an active listener and follow out all that You ask of me.  May I hear Your heart and not be concerned about the time it takes to hear it.  May I follow out all that You ask of me and ever be joyful of all things pertaining to You!  I love You Lord!

Praying for Change,