Bothering God

I was sitting at my desk one day working away when I heard a voice behind me. It was startling as I was the only one in the house, only human, that is. The desktop computer was behind me but it wasn't "awake." A bit more searching and I found the source. My husband's GPS was connected to the desktop's tower. I'm not sure the instruction it voiced to me was correct, though. I was already at my destination.

I am reminded of Isaiah 30. The Lord God is addressing a rebellious people, telling them that in making Him their destination, in returning and rest, they will find salvation, and that in quietness and confidence—in Him—they will find strength. He tells them His desire is to give them mercy, to be gracious to them at the sound of their cry. The prophet Isaiah wrote in verse 19b—"When He hears it, He will answer you."

 

Do we believe that?

 

Isaiah's words tell us that the Lord in His mercy and grace will answer. Our ears will hear a word behind us saying, "This is the way, walk in it." (30:21)

 

Praying moms, know that the Lord hears our cries for our own rebellious children.

 

We are able come boldly with confidence and speak directly to the One seated upon the Throne knowing there is the mercy and grace needed to help our children. When our voices address the King, we stand in the gap between Him and them. Through our prayers, the kindness of our God will work in their lives to turn their hearts and their feet to follow Him and walk in His ways.

 

Oswald Chambers wrote that there is an incalculable power of intercession, that through a Christian mother's believing prayer, the Spirit of God "holds off the world, the flesh, and the Devil and introduces the Friend of friends, the Lord Jesus Christ."

 

My prayer is we will be like the woman in Luke 18. Jesus used her example to teach His disciples that they always ought to pray and not lose heart. The Greek word used is egkakeo. Thayer's Lexicon explains it is to not be weary, to not lose courage, to not flag or faint—simply put, to not give up. Unlike the unjust judge of Jesus' story, God wants us to "bother" Him with our pleas for our children.

 

In essence, this is what Jesus is telling us—

 

Keep pleading, keep coming!

 

Don't give up. Your voice is in the ear of the One who hears. We may find ourselves in the desert with seemingly no hope, but our God hears and sees. And our God will send the rain for our "seed." Isaiah 30:23

 

"Blessed are all those who wait for Him."

Isaiah 30:18b