When I relied on God and prayer to meet my needs, I became lazy about meeting them myself. When a stumbling block appeared in my path, I didn’t see it as a challenge to overcome, but instead as a “sign” that perhaps I was on the wrong path (compared to what was meant to be).I was also part of a really good conversation tonight about how critical feedback and authentic challenges are more helpful than sugary-sweet compliments. I was comforted to learn that other people value real, cut-to-the-bone criticism and doubting and questions more than just automatic responses like, "good job" and "great writing!" When people challenge us and ask us questions or to back up what we say, we are forced to re-examine, and most likely to learn even more in the process. We grow more than we would if we just got a nice pat on our ego and kept on floating along. And we respect (or we should respect) people who say, "heyyyy ... wait a minute" instead of just saying, "that's great" and leaving us wondering if they even read or listened or thought about what we said or wrote.For me, there is a great deal of strength in taking responsibility for my own behaviors and choices.
I wonder if God is like this. I wonder if maybe He might respect us more if we question things more, instead of just glibly saying, "good job, God" and "keep up the good work". Or, "I trust you just because", even when our souls are screaming out, "WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN???? HOW CAN YOU BE GOOD, AND GOD, AND SUPPOSEDLY LOVE ME, AND YET I SUFFER THROUGH MISERY AND DISTRESS???" In the Bible we read stories of people basically making demands from God. If they were upset they screamed out to Him. If they wanted something, they shouted for Him to give what they desired. They grabbed God by the metaphorical collar and demanded that He listen and pay heed to their requests. Where has that boldness gone? Our prayers are like limp shadows and whispers compared to the bold colors, shouts, and proclamations of old.
I think part of the reason the above quote bothered me so much is because I think it's probably a pretty accurate depiction of how so many Christians do "use" prayer. They quietly offer up words of humility and surrender to a God who can see through to our hearts and our real intentions. He hears our thee's and thou's and verily's, but He sees the contrary way in which we live our lives. Prayer is not an excuse to lay something down before God and then meekly walk away. Prayer is a tool that God uses (if we don't get our "humble" selves in the way) to stir us up and get us going and show us how much we CAN do on our own. The catch though is that we're not REALLY doing it on our own. Through the act of prayer, God changes us, empowers us, and -- if we're doing it how we were meant to --
the last thing we would become is "lazy".
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