Do you think God has more important things to do than be concerned about the details of your life? Recently a friend shared that early in his Christian pilgrimage he was bothered when people would ask for prayer over something he considered small, like the sale of a house. He reasoned that God expected us to take care of those things, He had bigger fish to fry. But as he has matured in his faith his view of God and prayer have changed.
When you think about it, what is small to God? Isaiah wrote that the nations are like a drop from a bucket, regarded as a speck of dust ( Isaiah 40:15). Yet Jesus tells us the very hairs of our head are numbered (Mark 10:30). Nations are a speck, but God cares about the minutest details of my life. What a contrast.
My first year out of college, I joined the staff of a student ministry and lived in Boston. The director of our team modeled a life of prayer. If a piece of equipment was not working, he would immediately stop and pray. I guess God wanted me to learn to depend on Him for everything too. My roommate and I lived in a quaint New England cottage that had a finicky lock. It only worked with prayer! If you didn’t pray it would not unlock, but as soon as you prayed it opened with ease. I am not kidding you! When it was raining my roommate and I learned to pray in the car before dashing to the door. If we did, it opened like a charm.
Animals are given instincts to guide them, humans are created to rely on God. God delights in our coming to Him. We are created to need God. Maturity isn’t needing God less, it is recognizing that apart from Him we can do nothing. In describing this relationship in John 15, Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and a branch. A disconnected branch has no life. It is utterly unable to produce fruit. It becomes dry and brittle and is used as firewood. Only the branches connected to Jesus are fruitful.
Jesus cares about the details of your life. What is heavy on your mind? Tell Him about it. Ask His advice, give Him your concerns. Now enjoy having the God of the universe personally guide and provide for you today.
Blessings,
Debbie