More Q & A

This e-mail came from a sweet friend:

"Hi Janet,
Hope you are well. And Yes, I am still around, and coming along. I have no doubt that God is in control of things because I know I certainly am not. I find myself eager to rush ahead of him, to sort things out for myself , but what stops me is the fact that I know that if I force things it will not work out the best for me. Patience is a very hard thing, I guess that is why it is a virtue.
Here is a question. When we want something from God, is it "right" to keep praying .. bugging him like the biblical story of the woman and the judge, or am I to ask once then leave it with God to demonstrate"faith"?"

Response:

It sounds from your letter that God continues to grow you and draw you to Himself. There is nothing greater than to "wrestle" for a clear understanding of who He is. As far as prayer goes...Jesus gave us the illustration of the woman who keeps asking the judge to help her until he did. There is also many instances in Scripture where we are admonished to pray without ceasing. If you are praying for something in particular that would bring God honor..."salvation"..."comfort" ..."perseverance through a difficult trial"...."understanding of His character and Word"..."peace that surpasses understanding" I believe the Bible tells us that we pray and pray and pray. Now sometimes we pray for our comfort...desires....and God can choose to respond... but if He does not...again we go back to Scripture and understand that "God works all things out for our good" and we trust Him saying "No" or it may be "Not now". When that happens, we can rest that even though we have stopped praying, if it is for our "good" God will bring it about in due time. He does not forget...He does not catch-up to us...we don't even have to remind Him. When he says "No" then we have to trust that it is for our good. So to answer your question pray as long as you can...and when you stop, know that the Holy Spirit will continue your prayer in accordance to God's will.

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Looking at Chapter 9 : "Praying in God's Wisdom" we read:

"...we pray in accord with God's will when we ask Him to make us conscious of and submissive to the principles in His Word that apply to our situation." As Mr. Chapell writes Christian prudence is the second fence that lines up with the first one of Righteousness. These two fences guide our prayers. Christian prudence involves prayerfully seeking from God's Word, biblical counsel from peers and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us.
The distinction is made between the two fences that guide our prayers: "The fence of righteousness determines whether our prayer is moral; the fence of Christian prudence helps us determine if our prayer is wise"

Questions we should ask ourselves when determining if our prayers are wise are:
1--Is it loving? Are we considering others interests above our own (Phil. 2:3-8). Biblical priorities will not allow us to place our priorities first. We need to think how our prayer would affect others....family, friends, co-workers.

2--Is it legitimate? Legitimate prayers place God's priorities above ours. (1 Cor. 10:31) An example would be how we choose to use our spiritual gifts. If we choose to use them for our own gains and acclaim, we neglect God's priorities to serve Him first, even it means no personal fame, wealth or power.

3--Is it responsible? Responsible prayers pursue our own interests submitted under the authority of the Scriptures. (Matt 6:33). That means what we pursue should not discredit our witness for Christ. There are certain cear responsibilities given to fathers, mothers, children, workers and bosses. If we pray in any way that would hinder our witness before the people God has entrusted to us or with, then we are not praying in accordance to God's will. Mr Chapell says "integrity is more important than success, family security trumps personal desires and Christian testimony outweighs life itself. The order in each of these couplings is not reversible. We can not pray according to God's will and prioritize according to ours."

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Do these set of questions help you pray according to God's will? Does keeping these two fences "Righteousness and Christian Prudence" help guide your emotions and prayer life?
Any thoughts? more questions?
Tomorrow "The Internal Witness"