ponder anew

Prayer. Such a beautiful thing. Such an awesome privilege. And yet there’s something about it that I just can't wrap my mind around.

How often have I put God in a little box and "thought" I knew how He should do things? I've taken Him for granted at times and used the "prayer button" when it makes me feel better. I've been guilty of using the right words, saying the right things, praying the right prayers... but not putting my heart 100% behind it. - Not really understanding the power of prayer. You see... I tend to limit God to what I have seen and what I have experienced. I tend to pray what looks like is already going to happen. I pray the probable and it's so easy to forget that God is bigger than the obstacles I see. He makes the impossible, possible!

What would happen if we "got it"? If we just believed Him and took Him at His word. What if we realized that the things we really want most is what He's already promised us. What if we understood that the things that, at the end of the day, that we yearn for, are what He's already told us we can have! You and I both know He holds the bigger picture. He has more for us than we can imagine. – than we can even dream to know. What would happen if we stopped trying to tell Him what we want and let Him tell us what He knows. Seriously people. We know His plan is going to be better than ours anyhow. So step out of the way and let Him do it already!!

Last night I stood in the First Baptist Sanctuary in Houston with several hundred other women, worshiping from the deepest part of my heart. As we sang, "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty", a phrase in the lyrics suddenly hit me and I knelt down to grab my pen and wrote these words on the palm of my hand, "Ponder anew... what the Almighty can do..."

And I thought to myself. Hannah, you've been putting God in that box. There's no need to pray the probable when your God is so much bigger than that! His plan for you will more than likely take you somewhere you can't even begin to dream!

Ponder: To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.

Anew: In a new and different way, form, or manner.

Almighty: Having absolute power; all-powerful.

My point exactly.

~Hannah

hannahseale.blogspot.com

I don't understand

Last night at Bible Study, Beth said something that really hit home with me. She made the comment, that so many times people, in the midst of deep, real pain and tragedy will ask, "Where is God?!" But in turn, God replies by asking, "Where are my people?! I am where My people are!" It started me thinking... It's so true! There's a lot of hurt outside the four walls of our Churches and so many of God's people aren't giving everything they have to serve and to love that world unconditionally. Instead they're arguing amongst themselves over spilt kool-aid on the carpet and next week's bulletin. I don't understand! When did the Christian life become all about us and our stainglassed Church buildings? We're wasting our time becoming enemies with our own family instead of working together to strengthen and grow it! The Church building should be the place for our send off into a hurting world. We are friends and family meeting together in the Lord, and meant to be a tremendous encouragement to each other so that we can BE the body He wants us to be. HIS body - reaching to HIS world - to the people HE loves. When we get sick and our physical bodies don't work the way they were made to, we feel miserable and all our energy is put into healing what is hurting. My friend, when the body of Christ spends so much time in strife and frustration against itself, it seems to me that it is acting in sickness! It pains me that we would act so amongst ourselves. The battle is not between believers! - That's what Satan wants! We've got to overcome! We've got to stop fighting against ourselves and turn against Satan's schemes. The real battle is out there! Let's ask the Lord to help us heal His body, and put our energy first to do our part to mend relationships within so we can then TOGETHER build relationships without!

My Pastor loves to say, "We are never more the Church than when we are outside these four walls..." Do you agree?

Hannah

www.hannahseale.blogspot.com