That Same Power...

Okay so I'm going to be raw, open, and honest here. Sometimes I grumble and complain. Mainly to myself and in my prayers. I ask God why things aren't going the way I think they should or what am I doing wrong. Sometimes I just grumble and mumble to myself wondering why I do some of the things I do or what's the point in them at times.

If we're all honest, we all have a tendency to do this. Right? Don't leave me hanging here. Tell me I'm not the only one who wonders what I'm doing wrong or if I made God mad. I know I can't be.

You know how you're kind of wondering if you're on the right path, if you're really called to do what you're doing or if you're just kind of stepping out of the path and something just isn't going right? And then God comes up and reminds you gently (or He sometimes has to smack you in the face with it) that there is something you can change. Something you can do differently. Yeah, this past week has been one of those times.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I've been totally frustrated or having a bad week. That's not it at all. There's just this nagging in my mind that makes me sometimes question what I'm doing and if God's really got the right gal, ya know?

Soooooo... onto that whole gentle nudging, reminder, Gibb's slap on the back of the head thing... Sometimes someone around us will share something and it hits home. We think oh, that's really awesome and wow! How did I miss that? Then we go about our week.

Then that same thing comes up again, kind of like God saying, " I don't think you got that the first time, dear".

That happened this week. Our worship leader shared a passage of scripture in Ephesians and talked about how the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. Of course, that got the new Jeremy Camp song stuck in my head because it says the same thing and it's awesome. I went on about my week.

Then comes Sunday. Pastor was preaching on believing and guess what passage he used as well? You guessed it. Same passage. Same message. That same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in us.

Let that soak in. When you have the holy spirit living inside of you, that's the same power that caused Jesus to come up out of the grave. Not only just to come out of the grave but to take the keys to death, hell and the grave. It wasn't just a nap people!

Now, think about what other powerful things God has done. Parted the red sea, moved mountains, freed the children of Israel, Lazarus? Came up out of the grave. Calmed the raging seas with just words. Spoke life into existence. That same power? It lives in us.

So now contemplate this aspect. What if we prayed like we really believed that? What power would our prayers have if we honestly, wholeheartedly prayed believing that what we prayed for was going to happen? That people would be healed. That those things we are fighting against were already won with His power. Now I'm not saying go off and pray to win the lotto, because come on. Let's be real here. Not that that couldn't happen but.... (hahahaha)

It just really hit home with me this week. I'm kind of like a child throwing a temper tantrum at times saying, "But God, this and this and this has gone on so what is the deal?". When instead I should be praying believing in that power that and believing that the prayers that are prayed have power. And another thing? How about I pray about the situation instead of grumbling to Him about it? Have I really prayed enough about it? That's another thing that He kind of, gently, had to remind me of. Instead of me saying where is such and such, why not pray for it instead?

How would we pray differently if we kept that thought in our minds? How do you think things would change if Christians started raising up and remembering that power instead of feeling defeated and beat down? This world wants to take that from you. It wants to tell you that you're not good enough, smart enough, that you can't do enough. Don't believe it. Trust that God loves you and has you in the palm of His hand.

So, maybe that's just for me. Maybe it's just me that He's trying to get that message to stop grumbling and start praying with that power that lives inside. Hopefully it's not just me :-).