There’s an expression that says, “If you’re going to pray for rain, carry an umbrella.” Now, personally, if I’m praying for rain, I don’t want an umbrella. If I’m praying for rain, it’s so that I can dance in it, play football in it, take a good nap, or get off work early – none of which require an umbrella. However, I understand the idea of the expression. If you are going to pray to God for something, believe that He is going to answer.
In John 14 Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Does this really mean that Jesus will give us anything we want? No. Just before saying this, He says, “…whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do…” And in Psalm 37.4 we are told, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
God will actually place His desires on our hearts, so that we “may all be one,” as Jesus prayed, “…just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” (John 17).
As our hearts align with God’s heart and our desires become His desires, He will call us to certain things. He will direct our paths and our ways. Our prayers will become God’s desires for our lives - His calling on our lives.
But when God calls us to something, we don’t just pray and wait for Him to act. (Sometimes He may tell us to do that, but not always.) When God calls us to something, He intends for us to act. Our initial action may not be what we saw or heard in our vision from the Lord, though. That action or task may still be far off in the distance. We may not currently be able to see any possible way of accomplishing what God has called us to do. But we can still act. There is always preparation time for everything.
God has been showing me lately how the acts of preparation are really acts of faith. When God calls me to something or I am praying for something I believe is in line with His will for my life, my prayer is not the end of my action. I don’t just pray and wait for God to do something. I pray and listen for God’s direction, and then I act in accordance with it. I do what I can with what He has given me to reach the goal that He has placed in front of me.
I realize that I have been talking very theoretically, and many times it is easier to talk theoretically than it is to act practically. So here is a practical application from my life…
About 6 months ago, I sensed God telling me to sell my car and pay, pay off the loan on it, and buy a car with cash so that I could have more money each month to give away. Well it took about a month or 2 to surrender to that call from the Lord. Once I did, I made very weak efforts to sell the car. Honestly, I was overwhelmed with the thought of selling a car, buying a car, and figuring out how to still have something to drive to work.
Well, I began to hear God giving me very simple, practical steps of preparation so that the whole process wouldn’t be so overwhelming. Some of those steps were: call the bank and get an idea of what the pay-off on the loan was, clean my car so that if someone wanted to see it that was already done, set parameters for the purchase of a new car so that my search was narrowed down, and (my least favorite thing to do) ask some people for help/advice.
Long story short, my car was sold and loan paid off, I am borrowing a truck right now, and I think I have a car to buy. None of this was based on my efforts, but on God’s faithfulness and the willingness of my church family to be a blessing in my life. However, I discovered that as I faithfully took steps of preparation, God showed His faithfulness to me in many ways.
Oswald Chambers has this to say about preparation and readiness:
“Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are…the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes…Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing…It means we have no choice in what we ant to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready…Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called!”
So what has God called you to that you need to be making yourself ready for? Has He called you to surrender your idea of success and spend more time preparing yourself for better for ministry? Has He called you to give your finances completely to Him so that He can use you and them as He wishes? Has He called you to prepare to be a spouse and parent, even in a stage of singleness? Or has He called you to something completely different that He has called me?
What is your umbrella? Are you ready to carry it?
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