2 Chronicles 7:14 RSV
" . . . if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Women are doers. We're fixers. We like to take something and change it for the better. Clean it. Rearrange it. Repair it.

We bought our house about five years ago (right at the end of the last housing dip). It has good bones, but it's a fixer-upper. It's been fun to see the changes as we've remodeled and redecorated. Just last month, I had my husband help me move furniture in our long, narrow living room. Just those simple changes brought a better sense of balance to the room. It's a pleasure to walk in there now.

I have a quotation hanging in a frame in my office. (It would be better if I had it hanging in my heart!) It's from S. D. Gordon (http://peterwade.com/articles/gordsd/biogsdg.shtml) And it says this:
"You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray before you have prayed."

As Christians, we are called to be pray-ers, not necessarily do-ers. Particularly not do-ers until we have prayed.

This verse in 2 Chronicles tell us this: Christians (those called by His name) are to humble themselves and pray. Not humble themselves and do. And it's more than that. We are to pray a certain kind of prayer. We are to seek His face.

This isn't a "purchasing agent" kind of prayer, the kind of prayer that lists all the things that God should do for us or give to us. This is the kind of prayer that wants to know God for Who He is more than all of the blessings in the world, the kind of prayer that realizes that the greatest blessing of all is knowing Him.

I believe that this is the kind of prayer of which the Lord Jesus spoke when He taught His disciples (and us) to pray:

"Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9b-10 RSV).

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done." Seeking God, Who is He, want He wants, learning to trust regardless of what we are facing, knowing that He will take care of everything.

We don't have to do. We have to pray.

I think this is one of the most difficult lessons to learn. To pray and leave things in God's hands (rather than trying to do it our way) is the opposite of humility. It is pride. It is saying that we know best, that we know how to work things out, rather than trusting God to work things out for us.

Have you ever "made" something happen? You forced and forced and forced until the circumstances dropped into line. (And then justified it in some way?)

I have. And regardless of what I tell others, I know that I have made it happen.

I don't believe that is the way of the Lord. And while I think we often miss out on the blessings of the Lord that way, I think it's bigger than that. I think we miss out on knowing the Lord that way. We miss out on humility. We miss out on trust. We miss out on seeking His face. And while it pleases Him to give us things, what pleases Him most is when we become totally and absolutely dependent upon Him, when all that we want becomes His will and nothing else.

Prayer, submission, humility. They are choices. As His people, we can choose them . . . or not. It's all up to us.

Copyright 2008 by Robin L. O'Hare. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. Permission to reproduce will be given by author by contacting servinggodalone @ yahoo.com. All copies must be reproduced in their entirety and distributed without cost.