Monday, April 15, 2013

Don't Put Him in a Box

Until last weekend, we haven't moved in 16 years. One thing I've learned about moving: the boxes multiply like bunnies. Just when you think you've emptied all of the boxes and put things into their proper place, you find more boxes waiting to be unloaded. It's a never-ending pile it seems.


While I stared at the pile of empty boxes, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me of the many times I've placed God in a box. While I may have prayed for an answer to a complex situation and begged for God to move on my behalf, I've spiritually limited Him by not believing He would REALLY answer my prayer or perhaps I believed I hadn't been good enough for Him to be concerned about my worries. So, without knowing it, I've put God in a box.

Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith, it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him."

If God has no limits, then neither should our prayers. God exists and operates outside of the four space-time dimensions of boxes and the world He created. Therefore, we should pray that way. Even our hardest prayers are easy for the One who created, sees and knows all. And it doesn't matter how long or how loud you pray. It all boils down to if you believe there is no limit to God's power to answer your prayer.

God can answer your prayers. Because He can, you can pray with fervor, ferocity, focus, and see His favor on your circumstance. God is not going to stay in the little box I've put Him in.

(Barbie will be the guest speaker this Thursday at First Baptist Church of Madison's ladies dinner.)