Do Not Pray For

Came across this quote from Phillips Brooks,
an American preacher and Episcopal bishop
(1835 - 1893). Sounds very 'nice' -

"Do not pray for easy lives.
Pray to be stronger men and women.
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for powers equal to your tasks."

But to live it out? Quite a different story, right?

It's always a temptation to pray for an easy life -
or pray for problems to go away when they come
instead of seeing them as opportunities to grow
in spiritual maturity and character.

It's equally tempting to pray for tasks that do not
stretch us. Why look for trouble and problems?
But that is also missing opportunities to cry to
God for help to see us through and see how God
answers and reveals Himself to us.

And growing in spiritual maturity and a closer
relationship with God is important in life, isn't it?
Important enough to resist praying for 'easy lives'
and 'easy tasks'?

However, it does not mean though, that one will
be purposely praying for a tough life and tough
jobs, does it? I doubt it.

Problems will naturally come to us. The lesson is
not to pray for the easy way out but to pray to be
strong to take the test and pass. And if tough jobs
land on our laps, the lesson is not to elak or pass
the parcel but to pray for power to get the job
done and be stretched.

I think that's what the preacher had in mind and
that's sound advice. But as most advice goes, it's
easier than done. Yet, is there a choice if you
want to grow? And shouldn't you want to grow?

Abraham's Choice

"Most men choose heaven above hell, but
Abraham chose heaven above earth. This
choice gave perspective to the trials of life
and made his life surprisingly and singularly
free of distraction as he steadfastly focused
his gaze on God.

He had much of what the world seeks,yet
none of this diverted him from total commit-
ment to God.

The realization that his home on earth was
temporary didn't demand austerity, but it did
assign value.

He fixed his eyes on eternal realities instead
of searching for the best deal here.

For these faithful ones, nothing here was
good enough to capture their affections or to
divert them from a better country. There was
nothing in this world good enough for them.

That's not true today.

Thoreau lamented,'We no longer camp as
for a night, but have settled down on earth
and forgotten heaven'."

Can't remember from which book this extract came,
maybe Jean Flemings' "The Key to Order in an
Overwhelming World."

Ascertaining the Will of God

This is what Mueller shared about ascertaining the
will of God. The enumerating is mine.

1. "I seek at the beginning to get my
heart in such a state that it has
no will of its own in regard to a
given matter. "

"Nine tenths of the trouble with people generally
is just here. Nine tenths of the difficulties are
overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will,
whatever it may be."


2. "Having done this, I do not leave result to feeling
or simple impression. I seek the will of the Spirit
of God through, or in connection with, the Word
of God. The Spirit and the Word must be
combined."



3. "Next, I take into account
providential circumstances."








4. "I ask God in prayer to reveal
His will to me aright. "






5. Then comes reflection.

"Thus through prayer to God, the study of the Word,

and reflection, I come to deliberate judgment according

to the best of my ability and knowledge;

and if my mind is thus at peace,

and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly."

"The whole process took time."


Sounds like good advice.

The Weaver's Hand

Went through the 'Blue Book' the other day and
saw this poem. Have a fondness for it.

"My life is like a weaving between my God
and me.
I do not choose the colours He works steadily.

Sometimes He weaves sorrow
and I in foolish pride forget He sees the
upper and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles
cease to fly will God unroll the canvas and
explain the reason why the dark threads are
as needful in the skilful weaver's hand as
the threads of gold and silver in the pattern
He has planned."

Don't know who penned this poem but certain parts
really speak to me like "the dark thread are as
needful as the threads of gold and silver" and the
fact that while we go through the "dark threads"
of sorrow and pain, we don't realise that the it is
part of the beautiful pattern God had in mind.

However, sometimes God does tell us why the
"dark threads " are there. We don't always have
to wait till the work is finished to know the reason.

Another favourite poem is the Serenity Prayer.

There are so many presentations in the web.
Found this one and kind of like it although

most of the words are too small.

Why must we have Moody?

The story is frequently told about a British committee
that was considering inviting evangelist D.L. Moody
to their city for a campaign. When a pastor spoke
glowingly of Moody's ministry, a member of the
committee asked rather flippantly,
"Why must we have Moody? Does he have a monopoly
on the Holy Spirit?"
"No," replied the pastor, "but the Holy Spirit has a
monopoly on him."

Swim, Sam, Swim

Wow, it's now July. We're past the half-year mark.
Here's a tongue twister to start this new month.

When Thomas Wareing's car collided with a trunk
in Preston, England, police arrested him for drink
driving.

"Rubbish," Wareing told the arresting officer.
"Listen to this:
Swim, Sam, swim, Sam, swim. Show them
you are some swimmer. Swim likethe snow
white swan swam. A well swum swim is a
swim well-swum. So swim, Sam, swim."

The policeman was not impressed. He issued
a summons. When Wareing was tried, he recited
the tongue twister for the jury. The verdict?
Innocent.