How to Have Heaven Bend It's Ear To You
Proverbs 28:9, 13, 18 NIV
Verse 9: If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.
Verse 13: Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Verse 18: The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.
Today, several of these verses reminded me of when I was younger, naive, and not a believer in Jesus really. Before I understood that just "knowing about Jesus" was NOT the same as "knowing Jesus". This lack of understanding, lead to a LOT of wasted prayers!! Wrong prayers, evil even some times. I have learned, that God honors prayers when we are obedient to Him and in a right relationship with Him. Prayers that will bring Him glory, not shame.
Take a marriage for example. Would you really expect a couple to have a long marriage together, if all they did was ignore, bad mouth, ridicule, or even abuse each other?!?! For a healthy, thriving, long-lasting 'till death do us part' relationship, there HAS to be some sort of love, compassion, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and communication!! Well, the same is true of our "prayers" to God. It says in a few places, that when we obey, submit, and confess to Him our wrongdoings, misgivings, sins... then He is faithful to forgive us our sins. However, the opposite is VERY true too! If we go around ignoring God, His commands, His guidance and leading - then He has no other option but to allow us to choose that path, and let us do our own thing - but then He has to use 'tough-love' with us, and NOT hear our prayers.
Kind of like us as parents, when we have a child that whines. What is the best way to normally get that bad habit broken? As soon as they start talking in a whiny voice, we ignore it - say we cannot hear it... Then RIGHT when they DO talk with a normal voice, what do we do?!? We LISTEN and HEAR them!! God is the SAME way!! He hasn't completely tuned us out! He is right there, ready and waiting for the instant we reach out to Him with a sincere heart, and ask Him to forgive us, and show us the right things and ways to do things!! INSTANTLY!! Yes, He has to tune us out, in our requests when we are willfully and deliberately disobeying Him, but the very nano-second we change our heart - He's right there ready to grant us mercy, grace, and forgiveness!! Then, He will hear our prayers! However, He will answer them in the best way possible, His way :-) as well as in His timing, now ours.
Verse 18 hit me today, on the behalf of someone else. Which then brought up a memory of when I had to deal with a "bad guy" and court. Verse 18 CAN be a promise we CAN hold on to and CAN claim as truth for us!! Provided we keep ourselves in check with God. That means, every morning, or evening - kneel before Him with a sincere heart, that lays the whole day out before Him at His feet. Asking for forgiveness, and being willing to listen to His instructions back. THAT is how we are and can be considered "blameless". LOL We will NEVER be completely blameless, EVER!! We are human, and we mess up! Daily, if not hourly! LOL But, we still need to bring it all to Him and lay it at His feet. No matter how little, petty, or ugly it is - we MUST bring it all to Him! <3
The second half of verse 18, is the part, that is true too. When someone who is evil, plots evil, or sets traps for or towards us - they WILL fall in to a pit themselves!! True, it may seem to take a LONG time to see that happen - or we may never see it happen, but I'm telling you: it WILL happen!! Even if they turn to Jesus, repent, and start obeying His ways... they will have a consequence for their past actions. Thank goodness, it is not for us to determine!
Today, my 'take-away' is that we just need to keep ourselves in check, by going to God daily with not just with our cares and concerns, but with our heart open and ready for correction and teaching. Like being an empty cup, ready to be filled up with the liquid of life. Also ready, to pour out on others, to help fill them up :-)
Verse 9: If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.
Verse 13: Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Verse 18: The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.
Today, several of these verses reminded me of when I was younger, naive, and not a believer in Jesus really. Before I understood that just "knowing about Jesus" was NOT the same as "knowing Jesus". This lack of understanding, lead to a LOT of wasted prayers!! Wrong prayers, evil even some times. I have learned, that God honors prayers when we are obedient to Him and in a right relationship with Him. Prayers that will bring Him glory, not shame.
Take a marriage for example. Would you really expect a couple to have a long marriage together, if all they did was ignore, bad mouth, ridicule, or even abuse each other?!?! For a healthy, thriving, long-lasting 'till death do us part' relationship, there HAS to be some sort of love, compassion, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and communication!! Well, the same is true of our "prayers" to God. It says in a few places, that when we obey, submit, and confess to Him our wrongdoings, misgivings, sins... then He is faithful to forgive us our sins. However, the opposite is VERY true too! If we go around ignoring God, His commands, His guidance and leading - then He has no other option but to allow us to choose that path, and let us do our own thing - but then He has to use 'tough-love' with us, and NOT hear our prayers.
Kind of like us as parents, when we have a child that whines. What is the best way to normally get that bad habit broken? As soon as they start talking in a whiny voice, we ignore it - say we cannot hear it... Then RIGHT when they DO talk with a normal voice, what do we do?!? We LISTEN and HEAR them!! God is the SAME way!! He hasn't completely tuned us out! He is right there, ready and waiting for the instant we reach out to Him with a sincere heart, and ask Him to forgive us, and show us the right things and ways to do things!! INSTANTLY!! Yes, He has to tune us out, in our requests when we are willfully and deliberately disobeying Him, but the very nano-second we change our heart - He's right there ready to grant us mercy, grace, and forgiveness!! Then, He will hear our prayers! However, He will answer them in the best way possible, His way :-) as well as in His timing, now ours.
Verse 18 hit me today, on the behalf of someone else. Which then brought up a memory of when I had to deal with a "bad guy" and court. Verse 18 CAN be a promise we CAN hold on to and CAN claim as truth for us!! Provided we keep ourselves in check with God. That means, every morning, or evening - kneel before Him with a sincere heart, that lays the whole day out before Him at His feet. Asking for forgiveness, and being willing to listen to His instructions back. THAT is how we are and can be considered "blameless". LOL We will NEVER be completely blameless, EVER!! We are human, and we mess up! Daily, if not hourly! LOL But, we still need to bring it all to Him and lay it at His feet. No matter how little, petty, or ugly it is - we MUST bring it all to Him! <3
The second half of verse 18, is the part, that is true too. When someone who is evil, plots evil, or sets traps for or towards us - they WILL fall in to a pit themselves!! True, it may seem to take a LONG time to see that happen - or we may never see it happen, but I'm telling you: it WILL happen!! Even if they turn to Jesus, repent, and start obeying His ways... they will have a consequence for their past actions. Thank goodness, it is not for us to determine!
Today, my 'take-away' is that we just need to keep ourselves in check, by going to God daily with not just with our cares and concerns, but with our heart open and ready for correction and teaching. Like being an empty cup, ready to be filled up with the liquid of life. Also ready, to pour out on others, to help fill them up :-)
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