a little bird told me ... {Changing the mind of God}

Here's the question I got last week:

Dear Robyn,
Can our prayers change God's mind?
Sincerely,
A-Couple-of-Friends-You-Know

photo credit: Terry Lunn

Dear Friends,

Yes! There a couple of biblical examples I will remind you of:

Some time later Hezekiah became deathly sick. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz paid him a visit and said, “Put your affairs in order; you’re about to die—you haven’t long to live.”

Hezekiah turned from Isaiah and faced God, praying:Remember, O God, who I am, what I’ve done!I’ve lived an honest life before you,My heart’s been true and steady,I’ve lived to please you; lived for your approval.And then the tears flowed. Hezekiah wept.

Isaiah, leaving, was not halfway across the courtyard when the word of God stopped him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, prince of my people, ‘God’s word, Hezekiah! From the God of your ancestor David: I’ve listened to your prayer and I’ve observed your tears. I’m going to heal you. In three days you will walk on your own legs into The Temple of God. I’ve just added fifteen years to your life; I’m saving you from the king of Assyria, and I’m covering this city with my shield—for my sake and my servant David’s sake.’ ” - 2 Kings 20:1-6 (Msg)

After King Hezekiah had been healed, he had fifteen healthy years, and enjoyed the joy of having another son - this guy: 

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king. He ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. In God’s judgment he was a bad king—an evil king. He reintroduced all the moral rot and spiritual corruption that had been scoured from the country when God dispossessed the pagan nations in favor of the children of Israel. He rebuilt all the sex-and-religion shrines that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he built altars and phallic images for the sex god Baal and sex goddess Asherah, exactly what Ahaz king of Israel had done. He worshiped the cosmic powers, taking orders from the constellations. He even built these pagan altars in The Temple of God, the very Jerusalem Temple dedicated exclusively by God’s decree (“in Jerusalem I place my Name”) to God’s Name. And he built shrines to the cosmic powers and placed them in both courtyards of The Temple of God. He burned his own son in a sacrificial offering. He practiced black magic and fortunetelling. He held séances and consulted spirits from the underworld. Much evil—in God’s judgment, a career in evil. And God was angry. - 2 Kings 21:1-6 (Msg.)

So - yes, it is possible, and I do believe He still listens so closely and loves us so much that He will indeed give us what we long for, ask for, and often beg for. (see also Luke 18:1-8) The problem with that is, what if what we long for seems good, but really isn't?  In all honesty, I've received something from God that wasn't good for me because I asked Him for it for an entire month straight. Did I change His mind, I'm not sure - but I know He did redeem the difficult situation for His glory and my good.  Had I not asked, could I have avoided all of the trauma? I can't say. 

Which brings back up our point from last week about why we pray in the first place. To which I would once again say, because prayer is about intimacy with God and surrender-cooperation with His will. 

Here's another example:

The Lord said to Moses, “Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’  And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.  Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” - Exodus 33:1-3 (NLT)

God was so fed up with the Israelites that He said - Go on your own. I'll give you what I promised you I would, but I'm not coming with you. If I come with you, I just might kill you all along the way. To which Moses pleaded with God, claiming,

 “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”  
 
The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.” - (vs. 15-17)

In this case, I believe the "change" in God's mind wasn't truly a directional change. When we look at this from a wider perspective, we see that God had promised that He would go with them and be their God.

“I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!” -Exodus 6:6-8 (NLT)

So Moses was not changing God's mind so much as he was calling God on His first promise to be with them.  He was interceding on the people's behalf for God's forgiveness of their stubbornness, and asking for mercy for all of them.

Okay. Deep breath. That was a lot of Scripture for one post. Let's conclude for now. Off the top of my head, I can think of also Abraham in the matter of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Jonah and Ninevah as examples of God seeming to change his mind in response to prayer or intercession. I'll let you check those out on your own.

As we consider all of this, let us conclude that God's will and His promises toward us do not change. He is always faithful and good to us, and will indeed bring the good work He started in us to completion, and work all (even the seemingly difficult, painful, and bad) circumstances for our good, if we love Him and are called His. (Phil 1:6 and Rom. 8:28).  Can our prayers change His mind? Yes - it is possible - but why would we want to change His mind if we trust that He is always only good and faithful to us? Our prayers, rather should be that of calling on His promises, interceding on behalf of others (according to His will), confessing our sins and our desires to emulate His Son, and praising Him with gratitude, knowing we can trust His intentions are loving and beneficial, for our good and His glorification.

I hope that makes sense, Friends. Will you allow me the privilege of praying for you?

Lord, please guide my friends in Your wisdom and sovereign knowledge as they pray. I'm so thankful that You know what's best for us, and that we can surrender to Your loving hand and will in every situation. God, Your faithfulness amazes me so much. We are so thankful that we can trust in Your goodness and Your Word in everything.


 Do you have a question too, Dear Heart? Don't be shy! Don't hesitate to ask - about life, the Bible, faith, God ... anything really. (Okay that last one was scary - but since I'm trusting Him to help me, I'll leave it.) Just post your question in the comments below, or email them to me at robynleelangdon@gmail.com . I'll keep you anonymous, and you can sign your letter however you like (i.e. Curious-About-Jesus or Needing-Some-Guidance-in-Revelation).  Just put "a little bird told me" in the subject line. Won't you be brave enough to ask, too? I'll bet you're not the only one wondering!

Gratitude on Thursday

I found this coming out of my mouth as I had coffee with a friend yesterday:

"I feel like I'm walking on a high wire or tight rope, and I'm holding a really long pole. One on side of my pole are all the difficult, hard, sad, infuriating things in my life that I need to at least acknowledge so that I don't stuff them, and on the other side are all of the really fantastic blessings I have that I can't let go un-thanked either. It's like I have so much of both extremes that the balancing of it gets overwhelming."

She nodded, acknowledging an understanding that she'd been here on this tight rope too. I love the feeling that comes when another soul "gets you."

And I was thinking about that high wire again while walking around the path at the park last night. Confessing and consecrating it all, talking to the One who holds my balance. Today, I'm so thankful for His reminder:

"Child, the only way you'll be able to balance is if you keep your eyes focused straight ahead on Me. And you can."

Again today - I share some of my gratitude list with you, Dear Heart. I pray it will inspire you to begin or continue to count all the ways He loves you and draws your focus straight ahead to His grace. Even more, I pray it will be a display of His glory, never mine.

Photo Credit: High Definition Wallpapers

- This video - hope in the face of hopelessness (We just got our picture of our sponsored girl, Pooja, who just so happened to be one of the featured children on the site. I don't know how that happened - her profile was there along with a number of others on our table when Pastor Cawston came.  What I do know - she's already tied up in the strings of my heart, and my arms ache to hug her like they did when my own daughter was in my womb. If I saw her today I'd kiss her beautiful cheeks. I wouldn't care about cultural barriers. Maybe it's good I can't, lol)

- Little Nina, and the way her face lights up when she sees me in the hall

- a warm hug from C at school, and the privilege it is that she can have lunch with her son at school

- an oriole, black with orange under his wings, and all the variety of birds here in this glorious place

- full blossoms of the dogwood trees, and the green of spring all around

- for peace and contentment to do just this which is right in front of me

- coffee with my friend, D, and the privilege to be an intercessor for her

- this verse, and Lizzie's spot-on exegesis of one of my all-time favorites

- the scent of the creek and the trees at dusk as I walk around the trail

- this quote, from my devotional today:

"The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance - a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power." Oswald Chambers [emphasis mine]

- the ticking of time today - though it may not seem like enough to me, it is Exactly. What. You. Have. Given.

- the way You teach me about intercession, and then give me people to pray for. You truly are Jehovah-Jireh, providing everything good I want and need

Lord, Thank You. I'm unworthy of all this goodness, but You made me worthy when Your Son took my place and gave me His. I see the ways You love me, and I'm grateful. Because You've given me Your son, and all these things, I gladly give You everything I have too.

standing up against brutality, and when grace unfolds

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible:

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. (2 Corinthians 4:16 (Msg)

Isn't the most beautiful, most glorious aspect of His grace often found in the way it unfolds?

Like a tulip.

See them there, among my mess? Unfolding in splendor and glory, unfurling, unwrapping, unwinding for days now while I scatter books and notes and scribbles in my Bread-Book and my notebooks, while I serve meals and wipe up spills and scold belches, while I debate exegesis with my Guy and we browse songs from Les Miserables and I say for the millionth time "It's too loud!"  Do you see this lovely unfolding of grace?  It's here - "on the inside, where God is making new life."

I'm absolutely and utterly astonished at the vast scope of our God. Because I see Him here among the soft uncurling petals of my tulips and my heart, and then ... then ... I see Him here:

photo Credit: India Rescue Mission

Look again. It says children. 

I still don't really understand how He can be here among the tulips and also there as Weeping Witness of putrid violation of little girls; but I trust, I believe, I know that He is.

Oh, how His grace unfolds!

In January I made a vow to God that I would blog every Tuesday about justice for the victims of Human Trafficking. My compassion for them started long before that, but this path jutted off there. I also sent my husband and two of my best friends to India on mission to a place where daughters are bred to be sold to brothels. No - I'm not lying. These three precious ones to my heart looked into the eyes of little girls whose petals were sold nightly to filthy "customers" for a few rupees. They came home to me and cried fountains of tears because what they had allowed God to show them had burst those springs wide and unstoppable. Sometimes what goes into your eyes causes only tears to come out. But tears are powerful prayers.

In February, the organization for whom I volunteer blog, The Exodus Road, announced a no-gimmicks program to rescue victims of the sex-trade [I hate calling it that - sex is NOT a commodity to be sold ... and yet it is] in India. I gave a little, invited others to do the same, and prayed a lot.

In March, I read the story of one victim and began to intercede for her too.  She taught me to crucify my veil that this injustice happens only over there. And in seeing the reality of what happens here, I began to pray for a new thing. And He told me, the developmentalist, never to despise the development of a work He calls His own.  Stay tuned for more on that.

In April I kept praying for the 7 and the 40 and the 1 victim and the 27 million slaves and the 13 million children and the 1 brother in the village with sisters, and I kept writing and fasting on Tuesdays. You might think that would get too complicated for my mathematically-challenged mind, but God said in his calculator that all of our prayers together added up to 89. Do you see them?

These 89 girls include 32 minors (under 18), and these are the faces, the eyes, the bodies, the hearts, the dreams, the minds, the precious flowers I was praying for - they were rescued from a single brothel in Mumbai in ONE NIGHT because we fought and they fought with them and the Holy Spirit fought, and now they can choose freedom.  I'm not so naive as to think their journey is over. Restoration is a long road. A lifetime journey of being a survivor and a thriver.

And now in May - we can't NOT celebrate this, and then keep praying for them. When I saw the news article I straight out clapped all by myself in my kitchen because He deserves every applause I can give. This is the unfolding of grace, Dear Ones. I want to shout it to you and high-five you and hug your neck and jump up and down with you. This is huge. This is answered prayer. The kind of exodus that only comes by fasting - it's here! 

And no, we're not done, but yes, this is GOOD - and how can we not smile for the victory through all these unfurling tears? I am so exceedingly thankful.

Keep praying, keep giving, keep fighting, dear soldiers - because Freedom Rocks!!

a little bird told me - {Wondering-Why-We-Ask}

Hello Robin,

I also have a question to ask. I have a friend who is struggling through a tough time. His mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and is facing six months of chemo and radiation with an unsure prognosis. My friend is not saved, but he is becoming curious about God and we have talked many times about him. I am praying for his salvation and willing to be used however God needs me. We have not talked in person since his mom's diagnosis, but I will be seeing him soon. 

I guess my question is personal as well as for my friend. Sometimes I'm not sure how to look at things like this. We can pray to God and release our faith for healing, but there is no guarantee that God will heal her. God only knows if he will or not. Perhaps her illness (and maybe even death??) are part of his plan to reconcile other peoples' hearts, etc. There are so many scenarios that we can't even imagine - ways in which God could use this for his glory.

When we pray and petition God, if our prayer is according to his will, then he answers, right? But if we pray and it's not according to his will, he does not answer our prayer, right? OR, more accurately, he does not answer our prayer in the WAY we ask or expect. But he always has our good at heart and I most definitely believe that. I'd rather have his good and perfect will than to receive something that is not his best for me.

I've wondered - and I bet my friend is too - why don't we just pray for god's will to be done? Why even ASK for healing? (Or whatever is going on in your life that you need) if God already knows how he is going to answer. Then I think about how we are to come boldly to his throne as His children and ask what we need to ask. The Bible says we can and should! 

I have rambled, I'm sorry! This question is one that is complex to me. I have never for one second doubted God or his goodness, but at times I feel lost in this and definitely don't have answers for someone like my friend who is struggling.

Photo Credit: Vijay Cavale

Dear Wondering-Why-We-Ask,

I love your faith! I hope you know that you bring glory to God in the way You trust Him. I definitely think you're on the right good track.  Let's explore a little more about prayer and intercession, and I pray this will help. Before I begin, let me say thank you for your courage once again.

As a foundation for intercession, when we are praying on behalf of someone else to the Judge for a favorable outcome, I think it's most important to keep this in mind: If we're only seeking God's hand, we could very well miss out on His heart; but if we are seeking God's Heart, we will wind up with what is also in His hand. Oswald Chambers says it this way:

"I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn't give me the rest and peace I expected." And instantly God puts His finger on the reason - you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeing something for yourself. [see Jeremiah 45:5]

When we pray, it's just as simple as a conversation with God, and He desires that simple honest faith that comes when we just talk to Him from what is in our heart and thoughts. We need not complicate prayer here. But when it comes to the prayers/intercessions that God answers and is pleased to answer - I find the prerequisite to be this: ask while seeking. Pursuing hard after His presence, pressing in for the revelation of what He wants to do above all else - these are pleasing to Him. He likes to answer those kind of prayers most because they are revealing His glory and drawing His people closer to Him. And isn't that what He's always after? What His will always is - truly the bottom line.  God wants people close to Him - worshiping and following and glorifying and praising Him. The devil wants the opposite - to do whatever is necessary to distract and pull people away from God and to steal as much of His glory and power as he can, getting people to worship anything but Jesus.

In this grande scheme, where does prayer (specifically the asking part) fit in? 

We could explore the Word all day about this one topic, but I'm going to choose two verses for our purposes here.

"You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." -James 4:2b-c (NIV)

The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose." -Exodus 33:19 (NLT)

In the first passage, James encourages God's people to ask for what they need (with righteous motives) or they won't get it. In the second, God is saying that He will do whatever He deems best, no matter what.

I believe that rather than ask ourselves which is true, we need to ask God how both can be true, and how He would like us to respond as we pray.

When we're asking those kinds of questions - we're aiming for His heart, which is the revelation of His love for us and for those He loves. And as we're aiming for His heart, asking for what we think He would desire, but surrendering the decision to Him ... I believe we'll find ourselves in His hand, ready to receive His gifts of grace, blessing, healing, and goodness.

When it comes to your friend, here's what I'd recommend: tell him about Jesus, and describe His great love in your best terms, according to your experience of it. Admit that people are limited in our understanding, so only God knows what will happen in any given circumstance, but that we can trust Him to be loving and good - in the details and in the life-and-death matters. He will define love and define good, but we will be secure if we choose to surrender our lives to Him, since He surrendered His life for us. 

I also like how Oswald Chambers describes the purpose of asking:

Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. "Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:8). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him. [emphasis mine]

That, by the way my friend, was my devotion on April 27th, the day you asked!  Just another astonishing blessing I find myself in the midst of as I'm seeking His heart.  Isn't He so good?

Jesus, would You continue to guide my brother or sister into Your wisdom, peace and most importantly - Your presence? I pray that s/he will not stop asking in faith for Your will to be done, believing that You hold every answer and power in Your hand. May this dear soul be given the boldness to speak the truth in love to this friend, especially in regard to his mother, and may You give the favorable healing, in Your timing and for Your glory. Ultimately I ask that everyone involved will know You as their God and see Your power and glory on display. We were made to worship You, and when we ask and You answer, seeking You and also Your will, we all, including You, fulfill the purpose we were made for.

I pray this is helpful as you reach for Him and His answers, Dear One. Don't stop asking, seeking, and knocking ... you'll find His heart and His hand are just a prayer away.

In His Hand,

Robyn 



Do you have a question too, Dear Heart? Don't hesitate to ask - about life, the Bible, faith, God ... anything really. (Okay that last one was scary - but since I'm trusting Him to help me, I'll leave it.) Just post your question in the comments below, or email them to me at robynleelangdon@gmail.com . I'll keep you anonymous, and you can sign your letter however you like (i.e. Curious-About-Jesus or Needing-Some-Guidance-in-Revelation).  Just put "a little bird told me" in the subject line. Won't you be brave enough to ask, too? I'll bet you're not the only one wondering!

Fridays are for Writing: {Competence}

I love to give writing prompts because it's simply astonishing what people can come up with in response to a topic. It's as if we have so much creativity swimming around in our brains, and all we need is some time, a topic, and either paper/pen or keyboard/screen to get it onto the canvass of display.

So, first off - let's make sure we're using as many colors on our palette as we can, to get the brightest hues onto this canvass of words. (a.k.a. - vocabulary boost)

Fecundity:
noun

1.

the quality of being fecund; capacity, especially in female animals, of producing young in great numbers.

2.

fruitfulness or fertility, as of the earth.

3.

the capacity of abundant production: fecundity of imagination.

And now - our prompt for the day, straight from my Bible reading this morning:

Spend 15 minutes freewriting a poem, article, short story, or prose about the following - the relationship between competence and confidence.  For added inspiration, see the following verse:

"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." - 2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (NIV)

Please paste your response into the comments section below, or simply a link to your blog if you post it there. I can't wait to see your colorful thoughts displayed in your words! p.s. extra credit if you can use the vocabulary word in your freewrite...

Lord, would You glorify Yourself through us as we write for You today. Amen

"I think it is wrong not to want to influence people when you write" -John Piper 

Photo credit: Bev Barker

if anyone could win my heart ...

it would be Him.

When a heart has been won by a Lover like this, every day can be the honeymoon.  Full of extravagant gifts like these, how could I not be swept of my feet?

- the privilege to pray for C and D via this post - and to see Your power in heaven and all over this earth

- funny stories from the students during homeroom with Miss N

- sunshine and breezes, and all these fresh-life signs of spring; the new green leaves all over the trees, the color of lime jello

- time to watch this video and this song, and for the way her life glorifies You

- a pretty diagonal braid across T's head and over her shoulder

- a fresh awakening to repentance, and reminder that only by Your power and goodness will I be able to walk in the kind of submission that You desire (Romans 7)

- for S and A and R who rescued my phone and library book

- "[Friendship] has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival." -C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves

- waking up to bird songs and the sunrise

- a beautiful full peach moon 

- "If you will remain true to God, God will lead you directly through every barrier and right into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself. But you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and personal beliefs." -Oswald Chambers

- the opportunities You give me to point to Your glory

- K laughing on the bus with her friends

- my Guy home safe from Colorado, and watching TV on the couch with him

- a silly squirrel bounding from the top branches all the way down each branch to the ground

- for the way You work for my good - which is further intimacy and one-ness with You, and for aligning my desires and efforts and prayers to be the same (Romans 8:28 and Psalm 37:4)

- for being all the reward I desire, seek, or need. I'm so delighted in Your presence and the prize of eternal life with You (Jeremiah 45:5)

- Pooja - our new sponsored child in India! So thankful for her sweet smile!

- Chinese food lunch with Pastor DC,  and his encouragement for us to persevere in the simplicity You give

- little A in my house and her tiny voice chatting as I work as she snacks on yogurt and crackers

- the volunteer tea at school, and a treat of afternoon coffee for J and me

- Your Son and the privilege to know Him, see Him in the words of my Bible, and the joy of being Yours

- the privilege to pray for the rescue of girls trapped in slavery

- this photo and all it represents: freedom for over 100 previously trafficked slaves, 30 of whom are younger than 18. And for the brave men and women who fought and prayed to make it possible.

- for being my Father, Brother, Husband, Lover, Guide, Protector, Teacher, Best Friend - my Everything I could ever want or need. You alone complete me

Lord, I'm a hopeless romantic in Your arms. Thank You over and over - a thousand and ten thousand times - for these gifts of love. My hands are open and my heart is Yours. My gratitude is what I have to give back to You, and You've said this praise is what You desire. Along with it I offer my obedience guided and empowered by Your Spirit. Would You make my life a pleasing love offering to You, and would You guide my heart ever closer to Yours. Oh God, I'm so thankful.

{Dear One new to this nest - if you haven't heard, I count my blessings/gifts with you on Thursdays here on the blog. If you've never known the life-changing joy of gratitude, I encourage you to try it too. You can start now, and start with #1 - I did! Count all the ways God loves you with the big, small, and even ugly-beautiful gifts. For more help and encouragement along the same lines of thankful communion with the Savior, check out this too. I love you so much, I write. -R }

Simply Simple

I knew this would happen at some point this year. It always does with My One Word. The more I pursue Simplicity in my life, the more complication I'm finding.  Resistance is sometimes the key to strength training. Add more resistance and add more strength. The hope is I'm finding all the courage I need from the Holy Spirit to keep pressing on. I saw this on facebook the other day:

"Faith is the courage to let God have control."

This has been the story of my faith walk for years. But I'm discovering that the more control I let Him have, the easier it gets to walk in that surrender. It's still not a cakewalk. But it is so beautifully Simple.

I was talking to a missionary on Sunday, who recalled a quote from Billy Graham along the lines of, "The Gospel simplifies everything, but the devil makes everything complicated."

And as I look at the schemes coming against me lately, they are all in the form of complications. I surrendered at the beginning of the year to Him and His plan of change for me. He spelled that plan of change-growth S-I-M-P-L-E.  Though weapons of complications aim to strike me down, I hold onto His promise today, as messaged to me by a trusted spiritual mentor over the cyber-mess straight into my soul:

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.   - Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV)

So again, today - I'm saying yes to Simple. And saying yes to Him. And getting stronger the more the resistance comes.  His faithful goodness never ceases to amaze me.

Are you learning from your one word too? 

I'd love to know what God's showing your heart and strengthening your courage to let Him have control as well!  Please leave a comment below.