Why does God make it so hard to follow Him?

Probing Proverbs 14:2 Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise him.

Centuries ago…when I was a young man, I excelled in math. I had 4.0 in 8^th grade math, then they put me in a new class called “Pre-Algebra” which was nothing more then a repeat of 8^th grade math. I aced it. The next year they had 3 different Algebra classes and I was put into the “advanced” class due to my grades the year before. Our teacher would basically post the work on the board and then depart. I failed quickly! I kept trying to figure out why “Pi” was “Pi?” No one would help me. In my Jr. year I had become a student that spent more time out of school then in! In my Sr. year we shipped to Hawaii where I knew that if I did not pass all 7 of my classes I would have to repeat.  Now my 3^rd try at Algebra…but this time I had a teacher that sat me down and explained “PI” to me. After a month I was still failing…and when I began making excuses she sat me down and nailed me! It was no longer that I did not understand the path…it was I was Unwilling to walk it!

When I finally submitted to just do what I know, I ended up with an “A” in the class! I realize the title to this Devo was provocative; that was deliberate. If we had no guidance from God, my question might be true, however, nothing is further from the truth! God has supplied to us not only the path, but also His mind and His heart to us. Everything we need to know concerning how to live in relationship with Him is in His Word. The reality is we want to do “our own thing” and demand that He accept that!

The issue is our heart…Jesus shared a clear picture in Matthew:

Matthew 21:28–32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.  “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.”

The So What: Are you confused on what God desires of you? What are you doing to try and learn? Do you “Make” (You will never “find”) time to study and meditate on the Scriptures? Have you made a conscious decision to follow God’s path? Do you think it will just happen, even though you know you are living with a fallen nature?

What is the Power in your Prayer?

Sometimes, we humans can really miss Truth! This reality should not discourage us, instead it should lead us to be slower in our process of Truth…not jumping to conclusions or arrogantly coming to the conclusion that “we’ve got it!” When God states, “His thoughts are not our thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9) He does not mean “almost!” He is not just a “little” different than us, God is light-years different from us!

Sadly, this misunderstanding impacts our understanding of many issues in our walk with God! Two of them are “faith” and “power.” “Faith” is very important in our relationship with God, but many have gone too far. They take a few verses where the Lord was testing a person’s faith, and come away with the belief that “faith” is the power! Faith is the “channel”, but the power is the object the faith is placed in. You can have all the faith in the world that your works will save you, but in the end they will fail!

When it comes to understanding “power” in your prayer life, the key again is not you. I am not saying we do not have a part in how prayer works, we do. Our ability to trust God (faith) our motive in our prayer and our walk with God at that moment all play into how our prayers are dealt with. However, the Key is Who is your prayer partner? The Power in prayer is the fact that Jesus Christ joins us in our requests. This is the 4^th reason why we should pray! In Review:

            {1} Because of Christ we "are not our own", we belong to                     Him, not ourselves.

            {2} We have the Key that opens the Door - His Name!

            {3} Because we are frail we do not always know how to pray                The Spirit prays for us!

{4} Jesus is already there praying for you - you are just joining Him

This is the Power to Prayer! The One Person in the universe that has the right and the authority to approach the Throne of God is Jesus Christ! His sacrifice of death and His victory in resurrection has given those that trust in Him that same privilege. When we go to God’s Throne, He is there waiting for us! What a Savior!  

Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

The So What: How much to you talk with the Lord each day on the average? When was the last time you saw an answer to a specific prayer? What reasons do you have for not making it a priority to meet with the family for prayer?