My desire is burning like a million stars
And I’ll keep reaching out, reaching out for You
Small yet earnest prayer.
So I lean on God. So much peace and comfort to be found focusing on Him only. By looking towards the kingdom and doing His work, all things are made light and I am once again given a spirit of boldness to make the effort with a spirit of obedience in hopes of demonstrating and exemplifying Christ’s love and righteousness.
A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.-Proverbs 11:18
May the fruits of my labors be a sure reward, for let my toils not be stained with malice and my heart not led astray by sin. Kingdom come, overtake me.
Take up the whole armor of God … praying always … —Ephesians 6:13,18
You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25). Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him …” (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God … .”
Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God …” (Romans 8:28)— to those who remain true to God’s perfect will— His calling in Christ Jesus. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.
-My Utmost for His Highest.
