As they often do (regardless of where I am), my thoughts strayed during the sermon this morning. This particular trail may or may not have been sparked by the pastor's comment of Nehemiah's four-month preparation of prayer; I can't really remember for sure.
I began pondering the changes in my heart over the past couple of years. There was a time when I could barely drag myself out of bed on time to play along on my guitar with the Sunday morning songs; now, I've been dubbed "worship leader" and am "leading" a full team of musicians and singers. There was a time when I couldn't wait for church to end so I could slip out and go home before anyone noticed me; now I gladly hang around and talk to my fellow brothers and sisters until we relocate to some restaurant and reconvene there.
I thought of all the people who prayed for me during those days - faithful and dear friends who prayed for God to change my heart, and others who challenged me one Sunday at a time to intentionally speak to a single person before fleeing. Bit by bit, over the course of many months, God did His work and changed me.
I then thought of other friends for whom I've prayed. They have struggles, doubts, fears, sins...and I pray for them to overcome, to be changed, to heal. I want these prayers to be answered overnight, and I look for quick results.
But this morning, maybe tucked between the lines of Nehemia - or maybe not - I saw how God does not usually change a person in an instant. He is capable, and He answers many other prayers in such ways. But when it comes to the heart, He takes His time. Change will come, but with time, through the patient molding, forming, chastening, and loving hands of the Father.
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