We humans are so impatient. We don't like to wait at traffic lights, drive through windows, restaurants, the DMV, the post office, or any place else! We live in a fast paced society and expect things to move along quickly. It's difficult enough to make time to pray, but when we do we expect God to respond with the same rapid speed which we expect from everything else. God, however, moves at his own pace. Patience is one of the essential elements in learning to pray effectively. However, Jesus does not expect us to wait passively but passionately! We are to be persistent in prayer believing that God will do his will on earth as it is done in heaven. And as we pray and plead with God to accomplish his will, we are to look for ways he is seeking to work through us. How often does God use our prayers to develop us so that we might become the very answer to our prayers.
Such is the case in the wonderful story of William Willberforce's life. The one weakness of the recent movie portrayal of his life is that it does not spend enough time showing this remarkable man's dependence upon God through prayer. However, knowing that as a historical fact, makes this movie a tremendous portrayal of how God works in answer to persistent prayer.
3 comments:
I've never seen this movie, but i think it might get bumped up to the top on my netflix movie roster!
Your sermon yesterday was great, it has really helped me in better developing my prayers to God. Once again I found myself reflecting back on past prayers and catching myself expecting God to do my will. My eyes are very much open in understanding that this is not how it normally works. We are here to do His will, not the other way around.
I'm very interested to seeing this movie now, my main focus in my studies at school are towards getting a major in history. I'm looking forward to the next lesson, and how it will change the way I view my prayers to God.
Thanks for reminding us that God is not an ATM or drive through window. It is difficult to remember that it is "not about me."
I was trying to listen to your sermon online and only got the first 16 mins or so. Right up to where you were doing the intro for the video clip. Did you talk more after the video? Or was that pretty much it?
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