Praise - Day 26

Praise God that He answers prayer

A number of years ago I came across the verse in Psalm 37:4 that says “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

I spent a few weeks just meditating on that one verse. I had circumstances in my life that I was longing for the Lord to answer. I knew that God doesn’t always answer the way I desired but I was finding that there seemed to be “no” answer at all- silence from God - which almost felt worse than an obvious no from Him.

Part of me wondered if it was a season of waiting- practicing patience- which for me would not be a bad thing to practice. But even in that- God felt strangely quiet and distant.

Throughout those days as I studied the verse- I began to ask myself- what does it mean to “Delight myself in the Lord?”

I began to discover that delighting in Him wasn’t just about completing a lot of religious practices- not just ticking the Christian boxes and expecting a response from God through that. 

Another verse that I uncovered in this season was Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. (James 4:8) and Isaiah 29:13-14 that says “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”

I realised how my faith had become about the rules and regulations. I’d say “See God? Look what I’ve done for you. Now what can you do for me?”

 I realised that my heart motive wasn’t about relationship but about contractual obligation. I repented before the Lord and asked Him to help lead me to discover a real relationship of trust in Him. 

As I drew near to Him I began to find Him. My heart began to be shaped around what He would want for me- not what I wanted for me. The circumstances that I desired for God to answer became more about my character and my response to them rather than about getting an answer from God. As I delighted in Him, these requests began to change and I could see Gods hand working in my life. 

I look back now and see how faithful He was to respond in all these circumstances- once my heart was in the right place.

Click here to listen to: Draw Near by Jason Ingram