God Has to Follow the Rules?

I am a Christian, a Christ-Follower, Believer, "religious", "Bible-Toting-American"...whatever label you wish to put on me. I believe in ONE God, the only God of the universe. I believe He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present. I believe every word of the Bible is true. I also believe that God hears our prayers and actually does something about them, i.e. answers them. Sometimes the answer is "no;" sometimes the answer is "wait;" and sometimes the answer is "yes." God is God; I am not. HE is the one that determines how things will be.

Prayer is not about ME getting what I want--it's more about me submitting my life to God's authority/direction. Putting my trust in Him to know what is best for my life. But I still pray. I still ask. And I still believe that, even when things don't go the way I think they should, God knows what is best, He knows how His answer fits into His perfect plan much better than I ever could.

So, to my point, I got a phone call the other day from a friend who also identifies himself in much the same way as myself. The reason for his call was to ask me to pray for a friend of his that was having some serious medical problems and would be going through surgery that week. "Sure," I said, "I'll pray. Let me know how things go." I hung up the phone and prayed. (I find that if I tell someone I'll pray for them, and I don't do it right then, I tend to forget. That may be an entirely different post.)

A few days later, my friend called to let me know the surgery had been a success. His friend was recovering nicely and should be able to return to a lifestyle they enjoyed prior to the surgery. We both commented on how good God was/is to answer our prayers and how grateful we were that we believed in and served a loving, healing God.

As we continued to talk, the conversation turned to the Bible, specifically Creation. I am a 24-Hour Creationist, i.e. I believe God created everything in six, 24-hour periods ("...there was evening and there was morning, the first day...", etc.) by simply speaking it into existence. That's how I read the account in Genesis and it seems pretty straightforward to me. My friend doesn't believe that way. He believes--in a nutshell--that God did indeed create "the heavens and the earth" as it states in the Bible, but he believes God put things in motion over a period of millions and millions of years, having put into creation all of the DNA/molecular structures and allowing men, animals, sea creatures, and plant-life to evolve into what we see today. He reads the "days" in Genesis as being figurative, long periods of time.

I asked him why he believes that way and he explained:

I believe God created everything, but there are things in Genesis that just don't add up or make sense to me; things that appear to be figurative in nature. I also have a hard time believing that on the first day (or period) of creation, God created light, but it wasn't until the FOURTH day He created the sun, moon, and stars. Now how is that possible? The Bible says God created light and darkness on the first day and called them morning and evening. That's just not possible without the sun!

I knew a rebuttal would be fruitless, so I just commented something like, "Well, we will just have to agree to disagree on that one, " and we finished the conversation with some small talk and a promise to get together some time soon.

Later in the day, I was thinking about what he had said. His explanation sounded good, if you contend that God HAS to do things in a particular order. But that puts limits, i.e. human limits if you will--on God. If God is God and capable of CREATING an entire universe, who says HOW He has to do things? And what really got me to thinking was the prayers we had prayed. We both believe that God is all-powerful. We both believe that God is capable (not because we prayed, but because He is God) of healing someone, whether it be through the skillful hands of a surgeon OR by reaching into our human realm and completely removing a cancer as if it had never existed!!

If God can make cancers disappear, not to mention intervene in the courses of human history, direct the actions of men, cause events to come about, that from a human standpoint, seem totally insurmountable...who says He can't create LIGHT without a sun?! If you believe Jesus could take five little barley cakes and some sardines and feed over five thousand people, I don't believe it's that much of a stretch to believe God can create an entire universe, instantaneously having all the laws of physics, etc in place, capable of sustaining life and do it simply by saying "it is so"...and do it in any order He sees fit.

Prayer

I pray--nowhere near as much as I should or could, but I do pray. I believe when I pray, God hears every word and is actively involved in answering my prayers. I believe prayer works. I don't believe I "get" everything I pray for. Sometimes God says "no" or "wait;" those are the tough answers.

I pray in the morning because it helps me start my day better. I tell God about the things that are on my mind (like He doesn't already know). I talk to Him about the things that worry me, even though I know the Bible says "don't worry;" I still do sometimes. I pray for my wife and kids every day, that they will have a good day a work and school...and that God would be gracious to bring them back to our home safely that night. Every time we sit down together for our evening meal, I thank God for giving our family one more day together.

I pray at night as I lay my head on my pillow. I thank God for one more day. Some people woke up this morning and by the end of the day, their life had been shattered by a tragedy. God, in His mercy, spared me/us from any harm today. I thank Him for that. I also pray for rest. Peace. For the troubles of the day to be swept away from my thinking and God's peace, assurance of His love for me, to fill my mind as I drift to sleep.

Many years ago, I got into the habit of breaking down my daily prayers--usually in the morning--into specific areas throughout the week. On Mondays, I pray for the people in the Adult Sunday School class I teach. I pray for them and the prayer requests they've made known in class the day before. I pray specifically for each request. I know God is already aware of those situations, but it serves once again to remind me how much I depend on God.

On Tuesday, I pray for and thank God for people that are and have been Godly influences in my life. I thank God for:

• Monroe Palmer- pastor of the church I grew up in.
• Jim Carty-first youth minister I had. We still visit from time to time.
• Sunday School teachers growing up--Mrs. Burnley, Mrs. Spyres, Mrs. Wright, Roy McGee, Frank Johnson, Charlie Miller, Estelle Williams, Phil/Kathy Cook.
• Former and current pastors.

Wednesdays, I pray about needs in our church, i.e. people having or recovering from surgery, fianances (especially during this economic downturn), families going through difficult situations. I pray for the safety of our men and women serving in the military, our country's leaders.

I pray for unsaved friends and co-workers on Thursdays. Some of them I've been praying for over 20 years. I remind myself that God works on a different time table than I do. I have seen some of them come to repentance and be saved; others appear to be as far from God as the day I put them on "the list." I'll keep praying.

Fridays, I pray specifically for my family-- each and every member; brothers, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, parents, mother and father-in-law, and of course my own immediate family. Each one gets mentioned by name. I pray for their safety, their faith, their health, etc.

Over the years I've come to understand that it's not about me getting what I ask for/pray about. It's more about me leaning on God and Him changing the way I think to the way HE thinks. Psalm 37:4 says - Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. I believe that verse teaches when we "delight" in God, depend on Him--He in turn changes us to have the right desires. His ways become our ways. For the record, God is still working on me. So...I pray.

Thank You for This Day

"Thank you for this day." That's how I begin my morning prayer--every day. Some days, I'm in my truck; some days I'm at my desk or at the kitchen table, but I always begin the same way. I need to remind myself each and every day that I am totally depending on God for everything...EVERYTHING in my life.

God graciously allowed me to get a night's rest and then wake up to begin another day. A new day...unspoiled by work's frustrations, cutting words, angry thoughts, and failed expectations. A new day to revel in the crispness of morning air; a new day to wake up EARLY and enjoy the quiet; a new day to stop and ponder: "What does THIS day hold?"

Another day to live my life, trusting in God to keep me safe, to help me speak kindly to my family and co-workers, to be the very best husband, dad, and employee I can be. Another day filled with opportunities to tell others about His goodness. Another day to be encouraged by words like:

...but he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. (Psalm 32:10-11)

Another day to know that even when I fall, He is there to pick me up, to strengthen and encourage me. Another day to bask in His forgiveness, to know that He knows my heart...and still loves me. And at the end of the day, to be able to go home to my family, seeing them all safe.

Thank You for my wife, our sons, our jobs, our friends, our church, the food on our table, our warm beds...and rest.

Thank You for this day.