Prayer...

Prayer...3-14-2025

Previously, I mentioned a friend of mine who sends daily miniblogs. I am on his text list. I read these each day. Many times, these daily texts include exact words or verses or are very close in context to what God is putting on my heart. No, I don't use my friend's work in my blog, but I do occasionally refer to him and something he says, always with acknowledgement. My point is that my husband and I were talking this morning, and he used two words that I have never heard him use before. I looked down, and Mr. Joel had sent his text. It was open, and my eyes fell on the verse at the end, which included the exact two words. Now, I have said before that I don't believe in coincidences. I completely believe that God leads us in direction through our prayer time, our daily walk, our reading, others, and, yes, the Holy Spirit. God directs us to pray, seek guidance, and wait for His direction.

At this point, many of you probably want to know the exact two words. "Wasted away". Psalms 32:3 states, "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long." Okay, so now you are wondering what my "sin" is that this verse so applicably fits to my life at this moment. It is the sin of omission. Not admitting what I know God is calling or leading. I am not admitting that I feel a direction and am trying to suppress that direction because of fear of failure, fear of rejection, moving out of a comfort zone, or being unclear on what to do. Really, all of the above are at play in my heart and mind. Mr. Joel referred to Hosea and the book's final chapter in his daily miniblog. He talked about the fact that God compares His people to trees. God doesn't move, but sometimes we do.

Now, my interpretation. If we stay plugged into God, we move as God moves us. God doesn't move, He moves us. He moves us to seek His will. He moves us to complete His plan for us. He moves us to the uncomfortable, the scary, the possible failure to be His hands and His feet. You see, a tree has a root system. There are some trees that are connected with a giant underground root system and grow, feed, and thrive off of each other. God is our underground root system. He connects us through His church. He connects us through His word and prayer. We thrive, grow, and feed off His word. We are connected to each other through Him. When that tree is not connected to its root system, it will waste away. It doesn't thrive and grow. When we fail to admit to God our sins and seek His guidance, we create a barrier, and nurturing and growth cannot take place.

Sin in our lives doesn't have to be what some would refer to as "big sins". Sin is sin. It doesn't have to be alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual indiscretions, financial infidelity, or any number of things that many people only look at as sin. Sin in our lives can be omission and failure to follow God in all His directions. We use the excuses that "I'm following God, I go to church." Are you following God when you aren't at church? Are you following God in your daily life? Are you seeking His will in every step without fail? I titled this "Prayer" because that is how we communicate and seek His will. That is how we go to Him and confess our sins (all of them) and ask Him to lead us. That is how we communicate, and He feeds us through His word, through our prayers, and through His guidance. Yes, Lord, I feel your calling, and I am grateful.