Pray Specifically by Name

Just reading Colossians 1.9-12 in accordance with Charles Stanley's devotional for the day. How often do you read scripture, praying through it, with a specific person's name in it? I remember working in the restaurant business and learning how to say "Please", "Thank You", "Hello" and "Good night" in about a dozen different languages. A total of 48 phrases, if you do the math, made a world of difference to the people who were native speakers of those languages. Now, while God knows every word on our heart and is not moved by flattery, don't you think it honors Him when we speak His language?

Try praying through His word and see what power meaningful specifics have in prayer over the blandness of wandering generalities.

9. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
11. being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

He is faithful.

Hope = confidence?

Recently, I was reading in Romans 8 where Paul describes hope and asks "But hope that is seen is no hope at all. For, who hopes for what he already has?" And, then, he expounds in verse 25: "But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." So, hope = waiting patiently.

But, I felt God leading me deeper into that definition. For some reason, I felt a pressure in my head that made me think about the word "waiting". I thought about some of the things we wait for and the attitude surrounding our wait. We wait for the light to turn green. Okay, I can see the choice to wait patiently or impatiently. Hope would be active in this moment. We wait for the bus to come. We can wait paitently or impatiently. That makes sense, too.

But, when we cross the line from patiently waiting to impatiently waiting, I think we begin to lose hope, not only by definition, but by absense of a certain assumed quality: confidence. Sometimes, I'm waiting at a red light that just won't turn, I'll do that mythological high beam flash so the light will think I'm an ambulance and then change for me. Other times, impatience leads me to roll over the sensor again... and again. "Did you notice my car here?!" These actions are all outpourings of a loss of confidence. Doing this is a key indicator that I'm not confident the light will ever change. No confidence, no patience. No patience, no hope. Suddenly, I've crossed the border of waiting and moved to wondering.

This morning, during quiet time, I was mulling over a few things about the wedding, the move, the bills, and all that comes with an impending marriage. I found myself doing something I have done four or five times this week, and caught myself doing. Sighing. Immediately, Romans 8 came to mind when Paul talks about the creation being subject to frustration and groaning inwardly with anticipation. My betrothed has said repeatedly - "I just want the wedding to be over [so we can enjoy being married]." I found myself in a sympathetic echo.

I looked up, and did the only thing I could do, I laughed. "Father, you have such a clever sense of humor." For God to have brought me through these verses so much in the past month and then to catch myself groaning, it was like an "I get it." moment. We laughed. God and I laughed together. I in spite of myself and God in a sort of "now, you understand what I go through with you?" kind of way.

"Now, wait patiently. Be confident that I will do what I said I would do. Hope in me."

The Lord makes me laugh and He gives me confidence to wait...

patiently.