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Prayer, Trust, and Guidance

One of my closest friends loaned me a book entitled, Hudson Taylor God’s Venturer by Phyllis Thompson.2She and I received different messages from this book. She realized that we are never too old to be used of God in a way He chooses. Its message to me told me I don’t pray enough about my personal circumstances. I also found myself caught up in Taylor’s last words, “We should trust Him fully.”

I am an intercessor-I find it very easy to pray for others. My prayer lists are filled with names of those on our church’s prayer list, names of those I know online. Names of others that people ask me to pray for. But I always seem to forget to pray about my circumstances, unless they present themselves as serious.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances” (1Thessalonian 5; 16-18a, NIV)

In the craft of writing, there is a thought that the last words a person says are noteworthy. In writing dialogue, the last words stay with the reader and should be the most important. Hudson Taylor’s final words spoke of our trusting God completely (“We should trust Him fully.”) 2Jeremiah 29:13 tells us “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart.” Isn’t that what the Lord means in this verse? Wholeheartedly, completely, with all we have?

One of a Christian’s needs is the Lord’s guidance. As his children, we need God to keep us on the path on which He has placed us. We can only stay on that path if we look to Him and allow Him to direct us. (Proverbs 3:6)

One part of Hudson Taylor’s personal belief was that he needed to learn to trust God for all He had because, in his ministry, he would tell others they had to trust in Him. He didn’t want to be hypocritical.

After we pray, we have to wait for God’s answer. We might not get the answer we want or we might get an answer that surprises us. A daughter of a friend once gave testimony that she had prayed about a need. She felt He would respond in one of two ways. She found herself receiving that request taken care of in a totally different direction. He guides us as He sees fit, in ways that cause us to look to Him and thank Him. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105, NIV)

In our 21Century, we should pray more, for ourselves as well as for others. We should trust Him more. We should honor Him by following His guidance closer than we do. When we pray to God, surrender ourselves to Him and follow His guidance we find His peace.

Dear Father God:

I ask you to hear my prayers, those for myself and for others. I will trust in Your judgment and wait for the answer that is right for me. I will wait for Your guidance through all my circumstances. I will give You the praise. In Jesus’s name, I pray. AMEN

1.Moody Press, Chicago Illinois no copyright date.

2. Op.cit. Page 123

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