This month I have shared with you various tools I use to help me prevent a relapse.
Out of these tools, I believe the most important one is to stay in the Word of God and in prayer. During my prayer time, I take a moment to just sit and be still in God’s presence.
“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”
I slow down long enough to not only pray, but long enough to hear God’s answer. I am the first to admit, I am impatient. I want my prayers answered right now. I don’t have time to wait on anything (most of the time). I need to remember, though, my version of time is not the same as God’s. God’s timing is perfect and mine, well, it’s just not.
I’ll give you an example of what I mean. I prayed for two years for God to change the heart of someone close to me. I spent countless hours on my knees begging God for change. I couldn’t see any movement and I was growing impatient. Have you been there? There were moments where I thought, “That’s it, God must not be listening to me.” But, let me tell you, God hears our prayers. I was just about to give up praying for the heart change and God moved. He moved in His timing, not mine. My prayers were answered and hearts were changed!
Now, sometimes, God’s answers to our prayers is “No, that is not a good thing for you, right now.” While God’s “no” is disappointing, I can look back on it and see His protection. Listen, God is perfect and I am not. He knows what is good for me and His plans are perfect. My plan are, well, they’re not!
God speaks the loudest to me in the moments when I am the quietest. If I don’t slow down, be still, and listen, I just might miss something important. But I have to listen closely.