Daily Devotional for Wednesday December 7, 2005
Praying Even about the Little Things
(Matthew 10:30; Galatians 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 3:16; John 15:5)
I want to share with you today a lesson I learned many years ago that literally transformed my daily life. It became the difference between me going through the day in my strength, feeling like there was a Baby Grand Piano on my back, and going through the day in the Lord?s strength, effortlessly and free regardless of what the circumstances or problems that day brought. We have no problem praying to God about the ?big things? in our life, but what about the ?little things??
It is critical to never forget that prayer is an act of dependence upon God. We pray because we are dependent upon God for the answer. We pray because we face things in our life that are totally out of our control and God is the only answer. Let me make an important point here that will help you grasp the lesson today about praying for even the little things in your life. It is a false sense of security we have that we are in control of ANYTHING in our life. That is a lie from the depths of hell itself. We may THINK we are in control of certain things, when in reality we are not.
It is rebellion to live your life or even try to live your life apart from God. When you confess Christ as your Savior you are surrendering your life to Him. Completely. 100%. The Bible clearly says that it is no longer our life, that it ALL belongs to Him. The problem is we never really get to that place of 100% surrender. We might get to 50%, or maybe 75%, or even 95%, but we never really give it ALL to Him. There are certain parts of our life we hold on to, not willing to give Christ everything.
What we end up holding onto are those sins that have become deeply rooted in our life as well as the parts of our life we think we are in control of. We have talked often in the past about dealing with those ?secret sins,? those deep-rooted bondages that we have learned how to live with. As we mature in our faith, the Holy Spirit brings us under conviction and we slowly get victory over and eliminate those bondages and strongholds, allowing the Spirit to clean up those areas of our life that are not pleasing to the Lord. However, we still hold onto the things in our life we think we have some control over.
What I am talking about are those day-to-day issues that we face that may not seem life-changing, and in the big scheme of things are pretty trivial. Getting a parking place. A problem at the bank with your account. Your car needs to be serviced. An issue on your job or at school. You find ants in your house. They can?t find two of your shirts at the dry cleaners. I am talking about literally thousands and thousands of daily issues that arise as you are simply living your life. These are the ?little things? that we never pray about and try to handle on our own.
Don?t you know how much God cares about you and loves you? The Bible says that He cares about you and loves you so much He even knows the number of hairs on your head. If God cares enough to number the hairs on your head, why would you think He doesn?t care if your keys are lost or your sprinkler system is not working? Let me assure you, HE DOES! I?m going to share something with you that will literally transform your life and your relationship with God. START PRAYING ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE, EVEN THE LITTLE THINGS!
Years ago, I realized that I was living my daily life not really depending on God but myself. I began to pray about everything, no matter how insignificant it seemed. I would pray as I was looking for a parking spot. That didn?t mean a spot up front magically became available, but it did mean I got the exact spot God wanted me to be in. I would pray when I would decide what phone to buy. It didn?t mean they gave me the phone for free, but I ended up with the exact phone God wanted me to have. I would pray when I took my car to be serviced. It didn?t mean that there weren?t things that needed to be repaired, but God made sure what needed to be fixed was, and it was in good working order.
The point I want you to grasp is that thinking we are in control of anything is a myth. However, God IS in control of everything at all times. He has given us the ability to communicate with Him at any time about anything. We are fools when we don?t take full advantage of that opportunity. Trust me, there is nothing you can do better than God! Let me repeat that so you don?t miss it. There is NOTHING you can do better than God. You are only making your life more difficult when you live any part of your life apart f rom God. You are carrying unnecessary burdens when you don?t take everything, even the little things to the Lord in prayer.
I love you and care about you so much. God loves you and cares about you even more. He loves you and cares about EVERYTHING in your life, even the little things. Have you ever gone to your mom and dad with a problem and they told you, ?Don?t bother me, I don?t have time right now, figure it out yourself.? God will never do that. The Bible doesn?t say, ?Call upon the Lord with the big problems in life but handle the little things yourself.? The Bible tells us to bring ALL of our petitions to the Lord. That means not just the big things in our life, but the little things as well.
We are actually in rebellion to God when we are trying to deal with anything in our lives apart from Him. John 15:5 tells us that without Him, we can do NOTHING! It doesn?t say we can do the little things, it says NOTHING. When we pray about those little things we face each day in our life, we are not only being obedient, we are not only acknowledging our dependence upon the Lord, we are taking the pressure off our ourselves. We may get it right, we may make the right decision, but we know GOD WILL 100% of the time. We are being foolish not to call upon the name of the Lord and let His Spirit guide us in everything we do in life.
I will be praying for you today. Praying that you will start to consciously make an effort to pray throughout the day as you are faced with decisions, with problems, with choices to make. Simply take a moment and ask God to show you the way, help you through whatever the problem may be, guide you in your decisions. After a while, it will become second nature, instinctive, to pray about everything in your life throughout the day. You will be amazed at how it will transform your daily life. Not only will you be living in the freedom of His strength, but you will start to live with great confidence because when God is guiding you and directing your steps, LIFE WORKS! Keep praying about the big things in your life, but now, start even praying about the little things.