Praying for protection; I'm sure we all have prayed for protection of our children and often. I know I have on many occasions, as they grow older and different phases of life those prayers take on different tones and shapes. I remember praying for my son's safety during a tornado while he was with his nanny, I remember praying for my daughter's breath when she was first born. Do I think I deserve something special from God because of who I am, hardly, in fact over years my prayer life has gone through many phases. One of high faith and one of very low faith. I've heard pastor after pastor say "ask and it shall be given" and so many other popular verses such as speak things as though they were, not as they are, this gives us great hopes that all we have to do is ask and it will be done however we call and ask it, but they leave off according to His will. I began reading a book called Praying backwards and was astonished when I read the words that let me know why I pray in Jesus name. This is giving God permission to have His will done, not mine. This was a great thing for me to learn because I had been struggling over my prayer life, because I could pray and ask God's will for anyone I prayed for except myself and those closest to me; why, because I was afraid of what His will might be, yeah I could say do this or do that and expect it done but what if His will was something different than mine? Now, that's where the rubber meets the road and my faith is tested daily. See, I've prayed over many for protection and I've seen some saved and protected from a circumstance. Then I see many suffering and not being protected and it has caused me to question God but then He leads me to verse that says in this world you will have troubles but take heart, I have overcome this world. Others about not taking us out of our circumstances but delivering us through them so our faith can be tested, proven and strengthened.(those are all paraphrased). Then I've seen Him take children/people out of this world and I ask why, His response is always "You don't know what I rescued them from"... See, He sees the bigger picture, as David struggled in sin God saw the bigger picture(his heart- the only thing that matters in the end), which makes me wonder did God take Bathsheba and David's first child only for a punishment for sin or to rescue that baby from a life of ridicule, pain, rejection... the list could go on but bottom line is that, His ways aren't our ways.
As, I write this blog God has taken a very precious 1 month old baby girl out of this world and I guarantee you there has been many, including myself praying for her healing but He chose the ultimate healing for her and why I don't know, these parents loved and wanted her so greatly but He said NO, this has my heart aching not for that precious baby for her life is better than anyone can imagine but for those left behind feeling a void where she was placed in our hearts, never to be taken away.. so this leads me to Stormie's words in chapter 3 " being a praying parent doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen to your children or that they will never experience pain. They will." I know my mom was a praying mom as well as my granny was(I witnessed her praying more than I did my mommy) but not everything that I experienced was good or pain free but today, I can see how circumstances were changed because of prayers, even with my own prayers, I know prayer changes things and I believe you do too. Stand firm James 5:8
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