God is not a genie in a lamp

Today's affirmation:

#Prayer is communication with God

praying without ceasing. Thes. 5:17
not being anxious.  Phil. 4:6
stop babbling. Matthew 6:7

Sering the blessing before it comes

Today's affirmation: #faith #prayer

Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. (1 Kings 18:41-44)

Dominoes... A game of chance just like Life

Hand of Dominoes

Keep asking that God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.  Ephesians 2:17 (15-20)

My father was a domino fanatic. A daily ritual – wake-up,work, eat, and slam bones. Nightly his crew would battle – Russell, Pee-Wee and a few others. This was a game of war no mercy – may the best man win – strategic moves, name calling until the break of dawn.  The sound of Dominoes click-clacking reminds me of life.

There are similarities between Dominoes and life both are a game of chance.  To play, first know the rules. Either follow them or choose your own path. For both - every thought a decision has to be made - right or wrong - good or bad.  There is a way that appears to be right but in the end it leads to death Proverb 14:12.

Life choices playing Dominoes

Shuffle

In the beginning all dominoes are "shuffled."  Life shuffles or rearranges our goals – we loose direction. Confusion develops blocks.

 When we seek God, his kingdom, and righteousness, our goals will be placed in order Matthew 6:33.

Block

The lost of direction cause setbacks – a "block.”  With no moves we make irrational decisions. We reach for help from the bone yard. 

Things that hinder us set them aside, fix our eyes on Jesus Hebrews 12:1-2.

Bone yard

We gather dominoes from the bone yard. We randomly select – ideas, goals or dreams. We hope for the best. When all else fail we draw again from the reserve in suspense.

Take your dreams to God. Don’t depend on your understanding. Submit to God, he will layout your path Proverb 3:6

Layout

What is before us is a table of connected dots - we play and  layout each Domino – some are winning hands, others retreat back to the bone yard eager for another opportunity.

Stop wishing. Rely on your faith and trust in the Lord. Proverb 3:5

Father and son

Dominoes was the game where I connected with my father and learned Man talk. In between trash talking, counting, and analyzing there was a bond – a sense of togetherness. God desires for us to choose him in our game of life. Do you trust him?

Each game 'pops' and I played - All problems were laid out in a row – on the table. I calculated each move - every thought began with a decision. The end result we had fun no tension everything was carefree – until I yelled DOMINO!

Part III - When all else fail Put God first… A Praying relationship

When all else fail - Read

In everything you do put God first and He will direct and crown your efforts with success. Proverb 3:6

When all else fail

What is true and tried the world has turned away from it – God’s written word. We conger up schemes hoping to persuade God and when Pimping God don’t work we become surly and give up.

Breakthrough

Between 1990 and 2006, apathy was my name. All decisions and financial investments crumbled. My self-centered prayers Edged God Out – ego – and I blamed God for my failures.  When He did not reply hopelessness manifested. I was ready to cash in all my chips. “Lord how long will this misery last?” I justified my actions by questioning God. Man’s faith waivers in the darkest hour.

When all else failed I finally put God first. The ah-ha moment came after studying this familiar verse – seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Matthew 6:33.

Stumbling blocks

True understanding was lost because my focus was not on God they were on:

Treasures – Jobs, money, material things – Matthew 19-21

Ego – focus on self not submitted to be in God’s will – 2 Corth. 8:5

Selfish – ­committed work to self and not to God – Proverb 16:3

Lack of faith – doubtful

For where your treasure is there will be your heart also Matthew 6:21.

God does listen

Though I was a Christian my heart/treasure was not on God. Attempting to do all things through ‘me’ that strengthened me – man’s power is limited.

One dreary cold Sunday morning after praying a selfish prayer the Holy Spirit spoke.  You ask me to do all these things in my Son’s name yet you stopped attending church, worshiping and praising my name. You cannot do these simple actions yet you ask much from me.

This profound message changed my perspective – it is not about me but about God.  Over time I put God first, prayer focus changed, and faith increased. Today, God is first and He has directed me. He has crowned my efforts with success.

Steps to a better prayer life



Steps to success

The foundation of developing a positive prayer life and relationship with God begins with prayer – praying for others, praising God and Worship. As I implemented each step from my three part series on prayer God begin to move - sometimes swift and other times as he saw fit. 

Part I - Unanswered Prayers… When God refuse to hear  - Seven deadly sins which cause unanswered prayers

 

 Part II - Pimping God for Seven minutes …Do You Know How to Pray? - Hustling and bargaining with God

 

Part III When allelse fail Put God first - A Praying relationship

Don't give up

When all else fails don’t give up. Whatever storm you may be facing I encourage you put God first.  Seek God’s will (not yours) through prayer, study his word and watch him begin to move in your life!