September 4 - Do I Trust God or Myself?

by Audrey Bauman

Proverbs 28    (The Message)

"God has no use for the prayers of the people who won't listen to him".   (v. 9)

Proverbs 29

"If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend 

  to what he reveals, they are most blessed."   (v. 18)

"The fear of human opinion disables, trusting in God protects you from that."   (v. 25)

How much do you pray about things? Are your prayers focused on what you want, are hoping for? How often are you really looking for the things God wants? 

These verses really made me stop and think. How much is my life based on what I want and like? How much do I rely on my plans, my ideas of how things should go? This conundrum of how much I should rely on the mind that God gave me, and how do I even figure out what God wants - is someething I've thought and prayed about throughout my life. 

How do I know what God wants? How can I listen to him? The first thing that comes to mind is the Bible. The Bible gives us tons of information on what God wants. So do I read it? Do I follow what it says? For example, here are verses that tell us about our behaviour.  Read them and ask yourself if you follow what they say:

Ephesians 4: 20 - 31  NLT

'But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you." Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

Verses like that make me stop.  "Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Is that me all the time, most of the time, some of the time???  God does give me direction when I read his word.

How else can I listen to God?  Pray!

I looked up "prayer" on gotquestions.org to see what King David says about prayer. Guess what he says the most often. "Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!"(Psalm 55: 1) That sentence is repeated many, many times througout the Psalms.  And isn't that what our prayers often look like as well. We pray and hope that God will answer us. We even beg for an answer to our prayers. 

Yet David also knows that God does answer prayers. Here are some more verses that tell us David's belief in prayer. "I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer". (63: 4)  "Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful." (69:13)   "I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory." (118: 21)

So am I willing to pray and wait? Do I really trust God to take care of me - my family, my friends, my church, my job ... ?  It's hard because we want to control our lives on our own. Thankfully, God is patient and helps us throughout our lives to learn to trust him. We need to learn to stop trusting our own plans and wait for God to give us peace about what lies ahead.

Our song for today is Lord I Need You by Matt Maher.