Who do you turn to?

Have you ever heard of the saying, "Run to the throne and not your phone." When I first heard this little saying I was filled with guilt. Most of the times when I have some type of problem, I call Nathan because I want instant feedback. When I pray about things, I don't get instant feedback. Gods timing isn't our timing. At the end of the day I am glad Nathan is an ear that will listen to my problems, but he can't necessarily solve it for me or make it any better. I need to turn to the Lord with my problems because He alone is going to make things right.

In the book of Isaiah I read a passage about King Hezekiah. Hezekiah is a great example of what to do when we are faced with problems. In Isaiah 37:14-20 (chapter 36 and the beginning of chapter 37 explains more of what is going on) Hezekiah is told the Assyrian army is going to destroy him and that his "god" could not save him. When King Hezekiah receives word of this, he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD (Is. 37:14). King Hezekiah is such a great example to follow. He immediately goes to the LORD with his problem and in his prayer praises God! Hezekiah is being threatened by the Assyrian army and instead of getting scared and trying to run away, he turns to the LORD. Not only did he turn to the LORD but he praised the LORD before anything else! How many times do we praise the LORD first when we are upset? I know I don't do it. I come selfishly to the throne and give Him all my problems. I am not saying He doesn't want to hear my problems. God wants to know every thought we have, he wants a relationship with us!


So, do you want to know what happened to King Hezekiah? Well, the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp (Is. 37:36a). WOW! God is so good and He does take care of us when we come to him.

Now, I know some may say, I have been praying for years, months, weeks for the Lord to help me and nothing has changed. I ask this first. Is what you are praying for in accordance with God's character. For example, are you praying for God to give you all the riches of the world, make a man/woman divorce his/her husband so you can be w/ him/her, perhaps you are praying your spouse will look like Brad Pitt (had to put a funny in here)...Whatever it is, make sure it is in accordance with his character. The other thing to remember is to think what your motives are when you are praying. A verse that is very convicting for me at times is in Psalms 139: 23-24. It states: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting." I find myself praying for things that may not be necessary or are very selfish. I don't really pray for God's will to be done, I pray that what I want will be done. Sometimes when we pray we think we know what God's will is and we really don't. How could we know the thoughts of God? I know I have prayed over and over for marriages to last and they don't. I know that when I pray for the Lord to keep these marriages together that is according to his character because God tells us in Micah he hates divorce and we see throughout Scripture how divorce is a sin (I know Scripture does give two reasons divorce may be okay). One thing I have to remind myself over and over again is that we are all sinners. Christians are going to get divorces, they are going to get drunk, have pre-marital sex, etc. But, Scripture also says that God works for the good of those who love him. So, maybe through a divorce God's glory will shine...somehow. We may not understand it but we have to keep faith that whatever we are praying for that God is in control and that he is going to do whatever it takes to make his name known and to bring his people to him. He may not allow a marriage to stay together or He may allow trouble to come your way in other forms so that it will bring his children back to Him.

I encourage you to keep faith. When you feel as though your prayers are bouncing back, tell yourself they aren't. That is Satan's way of making you feel like our big God doesn't care about our little problems. God cares about us more than anything else in this world. Don't lose hope in whatever circumstances you are in. You may be in them because you are far from the Lord and this is his way of bringing you back...it may be a way later on in life you can help someone else in the same situation...Just don't give up on God...keep praying. Make the Lord your best friend and come to him with your problems. Lay it at the throne of our Savior who desires deeply to help us in our needs. I leave you with this:

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord." Isaiah 55:6-8