Did you pray about it?

Joshua was one of the great leaders of Israel. One of the biggest mistakes he made had rippling effects for centuries to come. He forgot to ask God about a seemingly little thing.

In reading our Bible story at bed time with my kids, we read the story “Tricked!”. Joshua was approached by the Gibeons in disguised, fooled into thinking they were people from far away, and tricked into making a treaty with them. (You can read the story in Joshua 9.) If he had just asked God for guidance, he wouldn't have been so easily deceived.

The children's story that followed the Bible story demonstrated why we need to learn to be askers.

1 Thessalonians 5: 17 says “pray without ceasing”.

I often thought that meant we're required to try and pray all day long, or at least throughout the day. In a way, yes it does, but here's another thought.

Galatians 5: 16-18 says “I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

I believe walking in the Spirit and praying without ceasing go hand in hand.

We need to be seeking the Lord in everything we do. Often times we rush a head, making a rash decision that may not be the best thing for us, and we leave the Spirit of God out of it.

Did you pray about it first?

I know some of you might think this is ridiculous, but in my own life there have been numerous times when I just talk to the Lord about my day, or the things I need/want to get done, and I find that He often will direct me. I have often found things we were in need of at the second hand store, something I had told the Lord we needed and we wanted to be wise with our money and not buy bran new if we could get second hand. And He provides.

Then there's major decisions too. I remember when we needed a van. We had outgrown our little car and needed something that suited our growing family. We prayed and found a second hand van. We were prepared to pay a few thousand for it, but again, the Lord led us to the right people and the right van and we ended up only paying $100. The people we bought it from wanted to bless us, and they did!!

Had we rushed into the whole thing, and went off and bought ourselves something else, somewhere else without praying, we may never have experienced that blessing.

Another Bible story we recently read with our kids was from 1Samuel 8-10. The Israelites wanted a king. God knew that was not what was best for them, but He let them have what they wanted.

Again, we don't see the people seeking God in this, rather telling God... straight out demanding of Him... we want a king! Being that He's given us a free will, He allows them their demand, but also with the consequences that come with that.

The children's story that went with this Bible story, depicted someone gorging themselves in sweets and junk food, just because that was what they wanted. The moral at the end of the story stated simply “It's best to want what's best for us. Who knows best what is best for you?”

And of course we all know that answer. Our Lord does.

I know praying about little things might seem ridiculous to some, but what if you, without praying, were going about your day in a rush, not spending time with the Lord and talking about your day, and you hurry off somewhere, ignoring that nagging feeling you should maybe stay home today, and then you find out later someone in need called upon you and you were not there to help them?

Or what if I made a decision about something. I think it's fine, in fact I wanted it and I had my heart set on it. Without asking the Lord, I plunge ahead and do it. Later I discover it was a stupid decision and a big mistake. Maybe I even had people warn me it wasn't the best, but I ignored them anyway.

Life would have been less complicated had I asked the Lord for guidance and waited for His leading.

Walking in the Spirit.

Sometimes God may not give us that gut feeling. Often He speaks to us through His Word. We might not be able to find the exact words to a curtain problem, but there's enough scripture and guidance there to help us make some decisions. For example. Does it line up with Galatians 5 and the fruits of the Spirit, or does it fall under the works of the flesh?

1Thessalonians 5:22 says “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Does it have the appearance of evil. If it does, is this something God would be pleased having you do????

We can go on and on with this. I am sure there are many topics we could cover here. But my challenge to you and to myself is this.

Did you pray about it?

S.L. Kliever