Several days ago, a dear friend messaged me, asking me to pray for a few personal requests as well as a request for a family member. As I stood at the sink early this morning brushing my teeth, the name and face of this individual came to mind and immediately I interceded on their behalf. As I did, the Lord immediately brought the phrase, "In vain" to my mind. I responded with, "Okay Lord, what is that supposed to mean? Where did that come from?" As I listened to Him speak to me, He asked me how I would feel if I had interceded on this person's behalf and through the prayers of myself and the prayers others that they had asked to pray, God spoke to them and showed them the way to go, they disregarded the answer He had given. Now please don't get me wrong, only God knows the obedience of people's hearts, that is completely between them and God, but...what if??? What if He told them the way they should go...the path they should take...the road they were to follow...the door they were to walk through and instead of immediately stepping out in faith and being obedient, they analyzed the situation...or questioned God...or figured a degree of "common-sense" into the equation...or weighed their "pros & cons"...or completely went the other direction... Would I feel as though my intercession was in vain?
As Kyle and I seek God to confirm Himself in regard to the decision at hand, I don't want the prayers and intercession of those who are on their face before God on our behalf, to be in vain. I want those moments of intercession to be fruitful. I want to give God a good return for the labor of those hearts. I want to respond in obedience to the way He has answered and spoken. I want Him to be glorified.
But I said, "I have labored in vain and for nothing.Yet what is due me is in the Lord's hand,
and my reward is with my God."
Isaiah 49:4
and my reward is with my God."
Isaiah 49:4
Never thought of obedience in this light...
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog for the first time. Perfect timing, too. We are in the middle of deciding to homeschool or not. I can't tell if God is prompting me or if my pride is telling me to do it. It's so hard!!!
ReplyDeleteErica~
ReplyDeleteWelcome & thanks for stopping by! :)
Homeschooling has been a tremendous blessing for our family & it's hard for me to believe that MaKayla will graduate at the end of this school year...already! Seems like only yesterday that we attended our first conference & truly wondered if we could really walk this path that we felt God calling us to. Even on the hardest days, it's a decision that we've never regretted!
I will pray that God would give you clear direction & insight as you continue to seek Him.
Blessings to you!