Category: Disappointment

Four Reasons Why our Prayers Aren’t Answered When and How we Want Them Answered-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Listen to my words, Lord, Consider my sighing.Listen to the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. In the morning, Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will present my prayer to You and be on the watch-Psalm 5:1-3 NASB 

Christians are instructed to pray about everything all the time, whether we feel like it or not (Luke 6:38, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2, 1st Thessalonians 5:17, 1st Timothy 2:1, 1st Timothy 2:8, James 5:13-16). Jesus is our model for how, when and why to pray. Jesus prayed constantly. His devotion to prayer was so passionate He often wandered off to pray in seclusion for extended periods of time (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 11:11). 

All that being said: 

Prayer can be tough. Prayer requires self-control, self-denial and perseverance. Therefore, prayer rarely comes naturally to fallen humans, even when the fallen human is redeemed, prayer can be a struggle (Matthew 26:41).  Our desire to pray is often complicated by situations and seasons when our prayers appear to not be “working”. We pray fervently for something we know is God’s will (like spiritual awakening or salvation) and nothing happens; or worse, we pray and the reverse of what we hope will happen happens. The whole messy muddle begs an awkward question: if God is real and He wants us to pray why don’t more of our prayers get answered with a resounding “yes” and “amen”? 

I don’t pretend to know everything about everything. 

What I do know for absolute certain is woefully inadequate. However, one thing I do know for certain is prayer is powerful and it works. When it doesn’t there are reasons why. If we understand those reasons, it helps us to pray more effectively and stay faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12). Following are four reasons for unanswered or slowly answered prayer: 

Freewill-

Nothing tempts us towards spiritual frustration more than praying and fasting for someone we love and then watching them do the exact opposite of what we have been praying they would do. It’s maddening.  Our frustration is often magnified by the fact that when we pray for people, we are most often praying for their salvation, maturity or moral transformation. We KNOW God wants people to be saved and come to a knowledge of truth (Romans 10:13, 1st Timothy 2:1-4, John 3:16). We also know God wants people to live wisely. Idiocy is not God’s will for anyone (Proverbs 8:33, Proverbs 19:20). The number one reason prayers don’t always get answered is because God will not normally overrule the freewill of a human being (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Ezekial 18: 30-32, Revelation 3:20, Galatians 5:13).  God will allow people to be stupid, refuse God and hurt themselves if that’s what they want to do (Proverbs 12:1, Ecclesiastes 10:3). Unanswered prayers related to salvation are often a clue we should change the direction of our prayers and ask God to bring situations into the person’s life that will cause them to want to seek the Lord. When someone seeks God, they find Him (Jeremiah 29:13) However, sometimes it takes a little hardship to get people there. Once we pray that hard prayer, we must choose to trust Jesus even if our loved one experiences pain or difficulty.

Demonic interference- 

One of the strangest and most enlightening passages concerning unanswered prayer and spiritual warfare is found in the book of Daniel (Daniel 10:1-15). Daniel had been given a series of visions concerning future events then all of a sudden there was radio silence, zero communication from God, so Daniel (in true Daniel fashion) prays harder and enlists some friends to pray with him. In chapter ten an angel (Gabriel) appears to Daniel. The angel tells Daniel in no uncertain terms he is “treasured” by God and that his prayer had been heard and answered immediately. He then explains that the answer was hindered by some sort of extreme demonic interference (verses 12—13). The whole passage is admittedly a bit weird but it along with Ephesians 6:10-18 does help us understand that there is unseen spiritual realm that impacts our world especially where prayer is concerned. 

It’s not time- 

A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a woman and her mother. The woman had severed ties with her parents (her dad was a pastor) as a young adult. For the next THIRTY years she lived as a lesbian, she proceeded to willfully disregard every truth she had been taught as a child. In 2020 she contracted Covid and believed she was going to die. She knew that if she died, she would go to hell. In that moment of realization, she cried out to Jesus and promised Him that if she lived, she would change. She did live and she changed everything. Within a week she divorced her “wife”, gave up some sinful habits, got back into church and reconnected with her parents. Her journey to wholeness and Jesus was a long one (admittedly due to her own stubbornness) but God was faithful in His timing to answer the prayers of her parents and their church community. Would her transformation have been as dramatic and decisive without those prayers? We will never know. But I do know that sometimes God’s immediate answer to prayer “is keep praying”. Then in due time He does things we never believed could happen (Ephesians 3:20-21). 

And finally, 

Sometimes the answer is “no”- 

God knows more than we can ever imagine knowing, as a result He sometimes says “no” to things we think He should He should say “yes”. to In those moments when it looks like the answer is “no” our job is to trust that God really does know more than we do. In those moments we must keep our hearts soft and continue to pray because we never know if the “no” is a “no” or God telling us to wait a little longer and pray a little harder (Luke 18:1-6). 

How Doubting God’s Love Leads to a Crazy Cycle and how to Fix it-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever. For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly-Psalm 37:27-28 NLT

God loves me. 

Personally.  

He loves you too—personally—God loves every individual human on earth so personally, deeply and passionately that He has been motivated to do some kind of crazy things. Like taking on human form so He could willingly die as a sacrifice for the sins of people who were and still are mostly ungrateful and disinterested in Him (John 1:4, John 3:16, Hebrews 2:14-17). God loves us so much He didn’t care that we didn’t care.  He still chose to die on a cross so He could pay the penalty for the sins of every human who has ever lived (Romans 3:23). As a result, literally anyone who chooses to put their faith and trust in Him will be forgiven for their sins (no matter what they are) and spend eternity with Him (John 3:36, Romans 6:23)

That’s a lot of love. 

All that is the key reason Christians believe (and teach) that God doesn’t just love people, God IS love at the core of who He is. 

BUT…

What if someone does not believe God loves them? What if that someone is a Christian? 

It happens. 

Lots of Christians struggle to believe God loves them personally, sometimes without realizing it. Typically, at the root of this kind of doubt doubt are bad experiences, unrelenting trials, trauma and/or deep loss. These kinds of experiences can leave believers doubting God’s love for them. This has a massive impact on how we live out our Christian faith.  

Maybe you’re one of those people who doubts God’s love. Maybe you know someone who doubts God’s love for them. 

This matters because we cannot be wrong about ANYTHING—even a dumb thing—without some sort of consequence. If being wrong about a dumb thing (like what the weather is going to do) has consequences, then being wrong about something as serious as God’s love is bound to create some ugly issues. 

Truth-be-told it’s almost impossible to trust someone when we don’t believe they love us or have our best interest at heart. So, when painful life experiences cause us to doubt God’s goodness and love, it can cause us to stop trusting God. When that happens, we start doing things outside of God’s will for our lives to protect ourselves from further pain and loss. Oftentimes, we stop asking God for wisdom and guidance, instead, we make plans and ask God to bless them. 

This is always a bad idea. It causes us to do dumb, harmful things. We get into bad relationships and make poor financial decisions. When we doubt God’s love we end up running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for something or someone to help us do life instead of simply asking God to help and then trusting Him to provide the help we need. 

This leads to a crazy cycle. 

 When our prayers don’t get answered the way we were hoping we stop praying. It then gets harder to hear God’s voice. Which simply reaffirms our (wrong) belief that God doesn’t care. We end up doing more of our own thing than God’s thing. This leads to more negative consequences which lead to further belief God doesn’t love us. Which leads to more of the same bad stuff. 

I told you it was crazy.  

To break the crazy cycle, we must tell ourselves the truth, so that we can get back to a place where we are trusting God (Proverbs 3:5-6). It’s simply a fact that God does love us (Romans 5:8, Romans 8:37-39, 1st John 3:1, 1st John 4:9). God doesn’t lie about anything, so He wouldn’t lie about loving us (Numbers 23:19). It’s also critical we acknowledge the reality that God does not CAUSE people to do evil and hurtful things (Ephesians 6:12, Psalm 145:9). Humans have freewill and sometimes they use their freewill to hurt others (Genesis 50:20, Psalm 27: 1-14, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5, Revelation 21:8). Unfortunately, innocent people get caught in the crossfire of all that freewill. 

God grieves when that happens. 

 It’s also critical we understand that God loves us too much JUST care about our personal happiness. God doesn’t want us to be miserable. He’s not a jerk. However, ultimately, God is much more concerned with the state of our souls than with our momentary happiness. God’s primary desire for all people is that we become conformed to the image of Jesus so that we are ready for all the good things God has prepared for us in eternity (1st Corinthians 2:9). Unfortunately, human beings are a stubborn lot. Sometimes our stubbornness leads to some self-inflicted hurt. 

But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us. It just means He will use anything, even self-inflicted pain or our own foolishness to mold us into the image of Jesus.

And finally,

It really helps to cultivate a heart of gratitude when we are doubting. Gratitude is a game changer when doubt creeps into our hearts. Thankfulness opens our eyes to all that God has done and is doing in our lives. A healthy dose of gratitude can literally evaporate spiritual doubt. Gratitude is seeing and acknowledging our blessings. When we do that, we cannot help but know that God is good.

How to Grow Through a Hard Season-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

A bent reed He will not break off. And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice- Isaiah 42:3 NASB

Any believer in Jesus who lives long enough will go through what many Christians euphemistically refer to as “a season”.

“A season” is just a brutally long trial, or in some cases a long series of trials. In “a season” nothing goes the way it’s supposed to go, in spite of one’s best efforts and most impassioned prayers (Job 1:1-22). 

 “A season” starts with bad news.  

You discover your spouse cheated or a close friend betrayed you. Perhaps, a child you thought you raised right goes “no contact” or “comes out” as something totally unanticipated—or both. Or, maybe you experienced a job loss or a loved one was diagnosed with an illness. It’s possible the terrible and unforeseen news is something so dreadful I cannot even fathom it. 

Heaven forbid. 

It is not unusual in “a season” for the initial bad news to be followed up by a series of more catastrophes and more bad news. 

Most folks jump to the conclusion during “a season” that God is angry about something they did or failed to do. It is not unusual for Christians to expend a lot of energy trying to figure out where we went wrong or why God is all of a sudden ticked off at them. 

God is not angry and He is not punishing you. 

That’s just not His jam. God does not make bad things happen. We live in a fallen world so when bad things happen God uses those events to change us into something better. Punishment is intended to inflict pain. Discipline (hardship and trials) is intended to teach, train and make us more like Jesus. God takes the hardships of life and uses them to ultimately bring about our good and His glory (1st Corinthians 2:16, Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3;18). The Greek word for discipline in the New Testament is paideuo (Hebrews 12:7). Paideuo and all the words derived from paideuo are linked to educating, teaching, training and humbling (James 4:10, 1st Peter 5:6-10). Trials are the means God uses to align our thinking with His, deal with sinful pride and bring us into a greater state of glory (2nd Corinthians 4:16-18). 

So. 

All that to say: trials are a good thing that feel like a really terrible thing (James 1:2-4). 

Sigh. 

The early Church is a good example of how God uses difficulty for good. The early church thrived for a time (Acts 2:43-47) and then experienced a collective “season”. During their “season” persecution broke out and many believers in Jesus were jailed and even executed (Acts 8:1-3). The trials they experienced were horrific (Hebrews 10:32-35, Hebrews 11:33-38). However, it resulted in Christians being used to spread the gospel around the literal world. As a result, God’s people received eternal blessings for their faithfulness, people came to know Jesus and God was glorified. 

We ensure a trial accomplishes good things in our own lives by doing the following when life gets hard: 

Work on you- 

Commit to working on yourself even if you already feel like you are doing so (and you probably are). Step up your efforts. Get into the word, read some good Christian books and make self-examination a regular part of your spiritual routine (2nd Peter 1:3-11, 2nd Corinthians 13:5, Proverbs 12:1). Commit to making any changes that need to be made in your attitude or behavior. Seek to apply the word of God to every aspect of your life. None of these things are guaranteed to change your circumstances. However, they will ensure you come out of “the season” a better person and more effective Christian. And that’s a lot. 

Pray for fresh vision- 

God often uses trials to change our direction. This is what God did with the church in Acts. The believers in Jerusalem were content with the spiritual status quo and for good reason: the Jerusalem church was awesome (Acts 2-4). Nonetheless, God had a vision for His people that was bigger than one body of believers (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). He used trials (persecution) to move the early Christians out of their comfort zone and into a lost and dying world. Trials are the time to seek the wisdom of others and to pray for direction and vision (Proverbs 29:18).   

Worship-

Perhaps the purest act of faith is to worship God in the midst of circumstances where it makes zero sense to do so. Again, this will not magically transform your situation.  However, worship in the midst of a trial pleases God like nothing else can, positions you for future blessing and ensures you work out your salvation in a manner that pleases God and leads to greater faith and growth (Hebrews 11:1-39, Philippians 2:12-13). 

And finally:

Trust the Lord no matter what- 

By far, one of the most awful characteristics of “a season” is that God typically FEELS distant and far removed from the chaos and difficulty that is your life. That doesn’t mean He is. Feelings LIE. All. The. Time.  Truth-be-told, God is in fact right there with you. Jesus is praying for you; the Holy Spirit is guiding you and God the Father is holding you in the palm of His hand. He’s weeping over your pain but rejoicing in your faithfulness and growth (Luke 22:31-32, John 14:26, John 16:13, John 10:28-29). Your job is to trust Him to get you through to the other side (Proverbs 3:4-6).

He will and there will be good things there. 

What do the Imprecatory Passages Teach us about Hurt and Pain?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol. Let the lying lips be speechless. Which speak arrogantly against the righteous with pride and contempt- Psalm 31:17-18 NASB

About eighteen months ago I went through a situation that was ugly and unjust by any human standard.

Seriously.

 I will not be spilling the tea on all the details, suffice it to say it was a terrible deal that created a lot of unpleasant ripples in my life.  In the immediate aftermath I found myself completely shell-shocked and heartbroken by a situation I had zero control over.  

So,

I did something I have only done twice in my Christian life and only under the direst of emotional and spiritual circumstances: I cried out to the Lord and asked Him to give me comfort from His word. Then I opened my Bible fully expecting it to open to exactly what I needed in that moment. 

For the record, this is not a method I recommend.  It is certainly not the greatest way to discern God’s will, obtain answers to life’s greatest questions or even get comfort from Gods word. There’s a lot that could go wrong with this technique. The devil could certainly produce all kinds of mayhem with this sort of spiritual practice. Discernment is critical; therefore, this is NOT a spiritual practice I support as standard part of one’s devotional routine. 

All that being said:

 God is good and He deals graciously with His people where they are at in the moment. In that moment I felt overwhelmed, crushed in spirit and in desperate need of comfort. I needed to know God saw me and understood my situation. I wanted more than anything in the world to believe He was on my side. The Bible fell open to Psalm 35. Psalm 35 is a part of a collection of psalms known as the imprecatory or cursing psalms.  Following are the first eight verses: 

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take hold of buckler and shield
And rise up as my help.Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
For they hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.

Let destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very destruction.

I will not lie.

That psalm was a salve to my weary, confused and broken soul. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I was seen, understood and loved by the God of the universe. At that moment I felt like God got me and He truly cared about the details of my situation. 

However,

It also raised a few questions in my mind. I had read the imprecatory psalms before but never really thought much about what those psalms mean for Christians. Like most Christians I have been taught to forgive, forget, let go of hurt and pain and trust God to deal with things in His way and timing (Romans 12:10, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 6:37). The whole notion God would be okay with me asking Him to fight for me and bring humiliation on my enemies was a bit appalling even in the state I was in. 

There are a total of twenty imprecatory psalms. The primary purpose of these psalms is to make a an appeal to God for judgment or to call down curses on one’s enemies. The New Testament assumes Christians will have have enemies (Matthew 5:43-44, Luke 19:43). Therefore, imprecatory passages are not unique to the book of Psalms or even the Old Testament. Jesus even quoted two precatory psalms (John 2:17, John 15:25).  Matthew 11:2-24, Matthew 23:33, Matthew 26:24, 1st Corinthians 16:22, Galatians 1:8-9, James 5:1-6 and Revelation 6:10 are all New Testament examples of imprecatory New Testament passages. 

So. Why would the Bible call down curses on people?

These passages have a greater purpose that just calling down curses on the jerks who hurt us. These passages are gift to us. They prove beyond a shadow of a doubt God sees our suffering and pain. There are times when it can feel as if God is AWOL in the most critical of situations. When we are cheated, slandered or hurt by someone and nothing awful happens to the people who harmed us it FEELS as if God is ignoring our situation. The imprecatory passages remind us God SEES everything. There is no act of injustice, unfairness or inequality that is overlooked or ignored by God. The existence of these psalms serve as a much-needed reminder cares about our pain. God cares so much about our pain that He records the tears of the righteous on a scroll and stores their tears in bottles (Psalm 56:8, Isaiah 25:8, Psalm 116:7-9). 

There is a lot of comfort in that knowledge.

Each imprecatory passage reminds us God is not sitting idly by, twiddling His thumbs while terrible people do terrible things. Justice delayed does not mean justice denied. God is the author of justice. When the timing is perfect God will right every wrong and avenge every misdeed (Revelation 20:11-15, Jude 5-7, 2nd Peter 2:4-10). David authored many of imprecatory psalms as he was running from Saul and living as an outlaw. Each one stands as a reminder that God has a way of turning hopeless, painful, awful situations around in His timing. 

Ultimately, I believe the imprecatory passages to give Christians a healthy place to vent our pain to the one who understands it most and is most horrified by it. It’s critical to note, each one of the imprecatory psalms reaches a turning point in the lament where the author moves from cursing his enemies to expressing peace with the situation and faith God will deal with evil-doers appropriately. When read with faith the imprecatory psalms take us to the same place. 

What’s Happening While we Wait on God?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

  Maintain kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually- Hosea 12:6b NASB

Waiting. 

It’s literally the worst.

Seriously.

Just hearing the word can make otherwise rational, mature people cantankerous, anxious and irritable. 

Okay, maybe it’s just me.

But still.

  Waiting is terrible. That said, some things are easier to wait for than others. It is not pleasant to wait for a barista to finish your latte. However, unless you have a childlike absence of self-control waiting for coffee will not present any real challenges to your faith.  Waiting on God can be another matter altogether.  There is nothing worse than being stuck in a bad situation that is one-hundred-percent outside your control and waiting for God to do what only He can do. 

Waiting on God is always bewildering and frustrating. However, if the situation is dire enough or goes on long enough, a protracted waiting period can and often does present some very real challenges to our faith. The story of Hannah in 1st Samuel 1:1-2:11 provides valuable insight into what goes on behind the scenes as we wait on the Lord. 

Hannah was married to Elkanah. Hannah and Elkanah loved each other.  The only real sticking point in the relationship was Hannah’s infertility. The text strongly implies (but does not say outright) Elkanah chose to take a second wife (Peninnah) in order to build a family. This plot twist is appalling to our modern sensibilities. However, Elkanah’s actions were culturally appropriate and even expected at the time. Having children (especially sons) was critically important to ancient people and they would go to great lengths to make it happen. 

All that being said. 

 It’s simply a fact that humans were not created to flourish in polyamorous relationships (Genesis 2:24, Mark 10:7-9). As a result this arrangement created all sorts of difficulty for both women. Peninnah appears to have effortlessly conceived children. However, she was (understandably) devastated by Elkanah’s lack of affection and care for her. She responded badly. She cruelly taunted Hannah for her barrenness. Poor Hannah had nowhere to run from her problem. It literally confronted her at the dinner table every night.  Year after year Hannah pleaded with God to change her situation and year after year she got nothing but crickets from the Almighty (1st Samuel 1:1-8).  First Samuel reveals God may have been silent in the face of Hannah’s pain but He was far from absent in her situation.  Anytime we are stuck in a holding pattern God is actively doing at least one of the following four things. 

Teaching us to live by faith rather than by sight- 

There are times in this life when we just don’t get what we want when we want it or think we need it. When this happens, we are left with one of two options. We can get mad at God, take matters into our own hands and see where that lands us. Or we can choose to believe God is good and He still loves us in spite of the fact life is hard and we are not getting what we want or need. When we choose the latter our favor with God increases exponentially because nothing in this world pleases God more than faith in the face of impossible situations (Hebrews 10:38, Hebrews 11, James 2:23).

Preparing us for the next thing-

God eventually answered Hannah’s prayer in a big way. She ultimately gave birth to three sons and two daughters (1st Samuel 2:21). Her first child was Samuel, a little boy who would grow up to be a Prophet, Priest and the final and most important Judge of Israel. Samuel led the Israelites faithfully, anointed the first two kings of Israel and mentored David, the man who would be called a man after God’s own heart and the great-great-great-grandfather of Jesus. In order for Samuel to become the man God needed in that moment of time, it was mission-critical he receive in-depth instruction from an early age. Hannah took Samuel to the tabernacle when he was about five-years-old to be trained under the Priest Eli. Hannah’s years of waiting, praying and trusting God for a miracle made her strong and prepared her to do what needed to be done so Samuel could become the man God needed in the moment. It was a big stinking deal with all sorts of blessings that Hannah would not have received if she hadn’t been ready.

Breaking strongholds-

A spiritual stronghold is an area of our lives where our flesh (humanness) or Satan has more control over our actions and attitudes than we do or God does. Just like everyone else Christians have spiritual strongholds in their lives. God wants to free us from our strongholds so that we can become more like Jesus and more spiritually productive in every way (2nd Corinthians 10:3-5, Matthew 28:18-20). Periods of waiting have a way of creating stress that reveal our strongholds. Sometimes God makes us wait so we will see the things in our lives that need to be transformed (Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18)

He’s working on the people in our sphere of influence- 

There are times when our pain isn’t all about us. Sometimes the way we handle our struggles has a huge impact on the people around us. Such was the case with Hannah. Through her faithfulness, persistence and trust in God Hannah showed Eli (the priest) what it really looks like to seek the Lord in the midst of a trial (1st Samuel 1:12-17). By following through on her vow, she also showed Eli what real obedience looks like (1st Samuel 1:9-24I. it was a lesson he needed to learn (1st Samuel 2:12-17)

If you are in a period of waiting I want to encourage you to make every effort not to give into despair during your trial (Psalm 31:24, John 16:33. 1st Peter 1:3-7).  Instead, do what Hannah did and seek God until you have peace or see transformation in your circumstances. Above all, trust God is doing something in you or through you cannot see or understand just yet.

Because that’s what He does in a period of waiting.

Breaking Through God’s Silence-

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law- Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV 

Okay. I’m going to get really real for just a minute and say the quiet part out loud.

Sometimes God feels distant. Really distant.

Like radio silence distant.

This experience can get emotionally and spiritually messy really quickly because a Christian derives comfort, peace and security from knowing God sees their needs and hears their cries (Psalm 61:1-3, Psalm 28:2). Whether it’s through answered prayer, a Bible passage that speaks to our situation or a still small voice that guides us through the complexities of life, anyone who really loves God wants to hear from God (Psalm 63:1, John 10:27).

This is even more true when the going gets tough and life gets challenging, uncertain or just plain hard and sucky.  Radio silence in these moments is beyond discouraging. It can challenge our belief God is good. (Psalm 13:1-6, Psalm 42:9, Psalm 43:2, Psalm 22:1).  It just gets worse when we feel like we are doing our level best to keep the lines of communication open and still—nothing, zero, nada. That still small voice that guides and directs our steps is painfully quiet. 

Sigh. 

Nothing is gained and much is lost anytime we give into the very human temptation to give up our faith, get angry or place all of the blame on God in these moments, nor should we turn to sin or worldly methods of coping to fill our empty places, dull our pain or relieve our frustration in these seasons.  The best thing we can do when we feel God is far away is to keep our hearts open and use our situation as the jumping off place for some self-examination and perhaps some healthy transformation. There are a whole bunch of really good reasons why we don’t feel the presence of God or hear His still small voice, some of those are: 

We don’t want to- 

Sometimes we think we want to hear from God but we don’t. Not really—mostly because deep down in our heart-of-hearts we have a niggling little hunch God might just have something to say to us we have zero interest in hearing.  Most of us have been guilty at some point of desperately wanting to hear from God in one area of our lives while we entertain some ugly sin in another area of our lives. Truth-be-told God usually addresses the sin that’s holding back our spiritual growth before He blesses us with a clear direction or a deep sense of spiritual peace (Hebrews 12:1-2). It’s critical we remember our pride is not worth stunting our spiritual growth over or shutting down communication with the God of the universe (Matthew 5:30, 1st Corinthians 15:34). It’s just not.   

We do and we don’t like what he says- 

Alas, we are all human, and sadly, one aspect of being human is an inclination towards moments of stupidity, pride, willful blindness and obstinacy. Sometimes we do hear from God and we don’t like what He has to say so we ignore Him (Hebrews 12:25). Typically, what happens in these situations is God wants us to forgive someone we don’t want to forgive (Matthew 6:15, Ephesians 4:31, Hebrews 12:15), or He wants us to repair a relationship that would be personally embarrassing for us to deal with. Other times God wants us to look at our own actions in a situation where we have chosen to lay the blame on the actions or attitude of the other guy. Whatever the case may be, it is always in our best interests to ask God if there is something we’re just not seeing when He feels far off.

We’re just too dang busy-

Okay, so this is a big one, because many Christians and almost all Christian leaders have made busyness into strange little badge of honor, an indication of righteousness and a weird idol in our Christian culture. Busyness in none of those things. The Bible is clear, we are least likely to connect with God when we are spinning around in a flurry of frantic over-activity. Conversely, we are most likely to connect with Him when we slow down and seek Him in a spirit of quiet trust (Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 37:7, Psalm 46:10, Hebrews 4:1). Sometimes all we have to do to reconnect with God is take a day off from our striving and make Him our priority (Jeremiah 29:12-14).

We want to be in charge of how he communicates-

Most of the time God speaks through His word (the Bible) or in a still small voice that leaves an impression on our spirit that we should do or not do something (2nd Peter 1:3., 1st Kings 19:12). God rarely communicates verbally and when He speaks through other people it’s usually just them talking in a wise way that hits home with our situation (Matthew 10:20). It’s fairly rare for a person to get a bold prophetic proclamation that clears up all their confusion concerning a matter. As a general rule we should always look to the “normal ways” God communicates rather than demanding He be dramatic in His communication.

All that being said: 

 God is always with us even when we don’t feel His presence, hear His voice or understand what exactly is going on (Joshua 1:5, Psalm 91:3-4, Hebrews 13:5).  He never leaves us or forsakes us. God is always moving us towards the end goal of being more like Jesus and sometimes the road to that end is a bumpy one where we feel alone even when we’re not (1st Corinthians 15:49, 2nd Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:10). In those times must remind ourselves that God’s love never fails and He never walks away. 

Even when He’s quiet. 

My Prayer List for the Week-

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

For the ear tests words, as the palate tastes food. Let us choose justice for ourselves;
let us know among ourselves what is good- Job 34:2-3 NKJV

I had an unusual problem this week. I found myself totally at a loss for a decent blog topic. 

Typically, blog topics just kind of come to me. But, for some reason it just didn’t happen this week.  Typically, by Tuesday afternoon I have an idea locked down and ready to go but for some reason I literally had nothing this week. 

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

 So, I did this thing I do on the rare occasions I find myself utterly desperate for thought-provoking writing material. I spent a couple of hours one-night binge-watching some of the popular cable news channels (FOX, CNN, MSNBC). I have found in the past that there is almost always enough crazy stuff being reported on the news to generate at least a blog post or two. 

It worked. 

I learned a lot that night, most of it was more than a bit maddening. I also ended-up with a serious glut of excess material. It turns out there is quite a lot of super outrageous stuff going on in the world.  I do not believe Christians should run or hide from the ugliness and sin in our world. Christians are called to fight darkness rather than flee from it. Because I believe that I decided to share (most) of what I learned. My hope is that you will spend some time in prayer over these issues and looking for ways to engage with our sin-sick world.

The sex industry is being normalized for teens by adults who are smart enough to know better- 

A popular periodical marketed to girls between the ages of 12 and 17 published an article about the importance of destigmatizing and normalizing “sex work” (AKA prostitution). The article was entitled “Sex Work is Real Work”. For the record, no one has to convince me that sex work is real work. Sex work is without a doubt the most grueling, dreadful, dehumanizing, horrific work there is. What I don’t understand is why a magizine that presents itself as pro-girl and pro-woman would write an article that glamourizes the job and might possibly inspire young women to consider a vocation that degrades, marginalizes and damages women solely for the sexual gratification of men. Wasn’t that the sort of thing feminism was supposed to end? 

Drug use is trendy once again-

Recreational drug use became popular in the 1960’s and use rose steadily throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Then drug use plummeted in the early years of the 21stcentury.  For the first time since the 1980’s drug use is rising among 8th, 10thand 12thgraders. When questioned about drug use teens admit that this is due almost entirely to decriminalization and legalization efforts on the state level. Legalization and decriminalization have removed fears of addiction and being saddled with a criminal record. As a result, for the first time in decades teens view drug use as a potential positive rather than an overwhelmingly negative experience. This means that millions more teenagers are voluntarily damaging their brains before they really even get an opportunity to use them.  

City and State leaders are refusing to be honest about homelessness- 

Homelessness is booming (especially in the West). Leaders in cities where homelessness has become an issue refuse to blame the thing those who work with the homeless say is the number one cause of homelessness: drug use. Perhaps it’s because those states are beginning to view taxing drug use as a potential money maker and they don’t want to admit that there is a cost to legalizing drugs and encouraging drug use. 

 HBO has a new program for teens- 

In its first season Euphoria has showcased hardcore drug use, full frontal nudity, masturbation, endless expressions of nihilism and transgender teenagers having sex with adults. Whoo-hoo. Thanks HBO, we didn’t have nearly enough filth on T.V. 

A small minority of parents are cashing in on their children’s gender confusion-

Apparently, there are parents who dress their kids up as the opposite gender and parading them around for money. I literally have no words and I always have words. Words are my thing. We obviously need revival if these parents aren’t in jail for this.

Powerful words are being abused- 

This is nothing new.  Hardly a week goes by when a lawmaker or newscaster doesn’t call someone a NAZI or refer to the holocaust in an inappropriate manner. But this week Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took it to a new level when she claimed that immigrants who voluntarily turned themselves in at the border hoping to become citizens are being forced to live in “concentration camps”. Sigh.   

A tiny minority is redefining morality-

A particular senator who is hoping to become the President stated emphatically this past week that taking a pro-life position is so outside the mainstream that pro-life people shouldn’t be judges. What? Who gave this woman the “right” to redefine what the mainstream is or isn’t?  

Okay, so, now you have a prayer list for the week. Let’s get to it. 

The Sad Truth Concerning #Metoo

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful~ Proverbs 12:5

I will not lie. I had high hopes for the #metoo movement.

 Back in the day, I found myself on the receiving end of some bad behavior from men who were well beyond the point of knowing better. These days, that behavior would without a doubt be considered sexual harassment.

 Back then we called it “boys being boys”. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now. It just got a whole lot less attention back then.

 Crude comments, unwelcome touching, and rape are wrong for many reasons, most of which are clearly obvious to thinking people. At the root of every single one of those many reasons is the reality that predatory sexual behavior is an attack on the God-given dignity and personhood of women (Genesis 1:27). For that reason sexual violence against women is an attack on God Himself (as the author of life and giver of human dignity).

 Which brings me back to my original high-hopes for the #metoo movement. I like the idea of drawing attention to the very real problem of sexual violence. I also feel that those who commit acts of sexual violence deserve to have their deeds exposed (Numbers 32:23, Galatians 6:7). For those reasons alone, I wanted so badly for #metoo to be something that I, as a Christian woman, could support and stand behind.

 It’s not.

 For the record, I did not rush to judgment on that pronouncement. I sincerely wanted to see where the movement would go before I made up my mind about how I felt about it. I did this because, generally speaking, I feel that Christians are a little over eager to both condemn and embrace movements.

 When Christians criticize and condemn before getting the facts, we all end up looking like a bunch of small-minded, knee-jerk Judgy McJudgers. Conversely, when Christians choose to embrace movements prior to getting all the facts, we wind up looking ridiculous when we are inevitably forced to backtrack and retract our support.

 I have been observing the #metoo movement for a while now and have concluded that smart, thoughtful Christians should avoid the #metoo movement for at least four reasons:

 The movement is insincere-

 If #metoo were truly serious about ending sexual violence and the exploitation of women they would do more than simply point fingers at high profile predators. They would denounce the porn industry, fight for the end of prostitution and raise money to support those victimized by the sex trade. To my knowledge none of those things are happening, which makes all their talk about being “advocates for women” appear hollow and self-serving.

 Not every man is a bad man-

 One of my biggest concerns with the #metoo movement is that they seem to sincerely believe that every man is a sexual predator and every unsolicited flirtation from a man is somehow a form of rape. One does not need to be clairvoyant to see where this insanity might lead. Innocent interactions between men and women will no longer be seen as innocent, men and women will be further alienated from each other and the war between the sexes will intensify. If that happens we will all lose.

 The movement is quickly becoming one-big witch-hunt-

 The #metoo movement believes that all women should be believed regardless of evidence (or lack there of). They also believe that women should be able to accuse men anonymously. I am all for keeping the identity of victims of sexual violence who have reported the assault to the police out of the public eye. The privacy of victims should be protected from the press. Period. That said, sometimes people lie (Deuteronomy 19:15-17) and in the interest of fairness (and keeping our justice system just) the accused have a right to know who is accusing them.

 #metoo could set women back decades-

 I work in a field (ministry) where men tend to be very reluctant (for obvious reasons) to be seen interacting with a woman. This fact (as understandable as it may be) has not made my life in ministry easy, nor has it helped me to move ahead in a field I love. I’m not complaining. I am simply describing the world I live in. I am fearful that the law of unintended consequences will come into play and my (admittedly weird) problem will become a problem for all women. No man in his right mind will be seen associating with women (even in a business setting) if he knows there is a good chance his reputation will be ruined for it.

 Nothing in this world aggravates me more than the powerful taking advantage of the powerless. It is true that some men (not all) have taken advantage of women in the past and even prevented some from reaching their God-given potential. That said, the way to correct a past injustice is never with more injustice. We correct injustice through understanding, open communication and a commitment to believe the best in others unless there is an obvious reason not to.

 

 

When Life Feels Stuck-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world~ John 16:33 NIV

 There is little in life more challenging than a bad or frustrating situation that does not change in spite of our best efforts and fervent prayers. Sometimes the situation is financial. We need a job or a some sort of a financial miracle, or someone we love needs one or another. Other times the seemingly unchangeable situation is relational. We want to see health and healing in our marriage or a close relationship and despite our best efforts it just doesn’t happen. For Christians oftentimes the situation is spiritual, we want to see a breakthrough in someone we love that just doesn’t happen.

Sigh.

When these kinds of situations drag on for years at a time they can test our faith and cause us to doubt the goodness (and sometimes even the existence) of God.

 The following strategies are not magic bullets. Putting them into practice may or may not change your situation for the better (sorry). That said, we become what we do. Doing these things will help you put your mess in better perspective, allow you to grow in wisdom, empower you to handle the situation more effectively and enable you to grow in the midst of your trial (Proverbs 4:5-6) .

 Stop resenting the situation- Job 5:2, Job 36:13

 Resentment is the worst. It literally poisons to our souls. It clouds our judgment, hinders our ability to problem solve and steals our joy. Furthermore, resentment is an emotional black hole that sucks up mental energy that would be better spent on problem solving. If resentment is allowed to fester and grow it will eventfully mutate into bitterness. Bitterness is the most destructive and defiling force on earth. It has the power to prevent us from doing anything good in this world (Ephesians 4:31, Hebrews 12:15). For those reasons (and at least a dozen others) it’s critical we deal with any resentment we may be harboring so we can move on to a healthier way of looking at and dealing with the present situation. Gratitude is the antidote to resentment. If resentment is an issue, spend some time in prayer thanking God for the good things you do have or the situations that are going well. It will melt away the resentment and refresh your soul.

 Learn what you need to learn from the mistakes that landed you in the situation but don’t live in the past- 2nd Corinthians 13:5

 No one is a bigger advocate of frequent self-examination than I am. Seriously. I believe with all my heart there is wisdom in scrutinizing past mistakes and poor choices. Understanding and owning our junk prevents us from making similar mistakes in the future. However, an unhealthy fixation on the past (ruminating on it constantly) is a pointless distraction that robs us of our ability to deal with the present productively. If you find yourself thinking constantly about past choices ask God to forgive you for those mistakes and help you to move past them with some healthy and wise choices in the present. Taking just one baby step in the right direction today will make tomorrow a little bit better.

 Control the one thing you do have absolute control over- Proverbs 16:22, Titus 2:11-12, 2nd Peter 1:3-10

 Oftentimes, when we feel stuck we also feel we have very little power to change the details of the situation or move things in a better direction. Our perception of the situation may or may not be accurate (see next point). That said, there really are times when the only thing we have any control over in a given situation is ourselves. We cannot control other people or the circumstances that come into our lives but we can control how we react and respond to the people and circumstances in our lives.

 Get advice from others and put at least some of it into action – Proverbs 12:1, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 13:10, Proverbs 15:22

 I know from my own experiences stuck people tend to develop tunnel vision when it comes to their situation. As a result we tend to think there is absolutely nothing that can be done to change or even improve our situation. Typically other people (friends, Pastors, counselors, coaches) can see options and alternatives that we cannot. This is why it’s absolutely critical we seek the counsel of others. However, simply asking for advice will do nothing if we don’t actually take the advice we are given and make the appropriate and necessary changes.

 Don’t give up- Galatians 6:9

 Ultimately, staying sane in a stuck situation is all about keeping things in perspective. Perspective is about far more than simply finding a way out of a bad situation. It’s about making a commitment before God to come out of the situation a better person than we were before we got in it (2nd Peter 1:5-11). It’s about keeping our heart open and free from bitterness, so we can learn and grow in the midst of the situation.

 Keeping things in perspective enables us to help someone who is going through something similar in the future (2nd Corinthians 1:3-5). Keeping things in perspective and refusing to give up (no matter how tough it gets) empower us to come out of our difficult situation with a deeper faith, stronger character and more passionate love for God.

 And that’s what life is all about anyway.

Another Steaming Pile of Subversive Crap-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do~ Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT

Reader warning:

The subject matter of this post is not a topic I would typically choose to discuss and I apologize in advance for the rawness of the subject matter. It is not my intention to shock or offend, there is simply no polite way to discuss this issue. I had a long debate with myself (I do that sometimes) about whether or not to even address this issue (mostly because it’s kind of icky and offensive). In the end I decided it was wrong not to address an issue that has such deep ramifications for our culture.

 Teen Vogue (a magazine for girls between 11 and 17) won the cultural race to the bottom this month when they featured a graphic how-to on anal sex aimed at teenage girls. The article presented heterosexual anal sex in the most positive terms imaginable. Which is odd considering the fact that even the dependably progressive cheerleaders for teen sex and unfettered abortion at the Alan Guttmacher Institute have nothing positive to say about the practice.

 Not a word was spoken concerning the risks associated with anal sex, although the Alan Guttmacher Institute stresses in their literature that anal sex is an extremely risky behavior. Short-term risks include extreme pain and anxiety during sex, emotional trauma after, and anal tearing (sometimes requiring surgery to repair). Long-term risks include an increased risk of anal cancer, a 17 times greater risk of contracting HIV from an infected partner and fecal incontinence (and yes, that means exactly what you think it means).

 Understand that I am not judging or attempting to dictate what consenting adults do privately. That is simply none of my business. However, I cannot help but think that a list of the potential medical risks would be relevant information to include in an article concerning a demonstrably risky sexual practice. It seems to me that even consenting adults would value that information and are in fact entitled to receive it. .

 I believe the Teen Vogue article exposes some seriously ugly truths concerning our civilization (I use that term loosely). Most notably, it clearly reveals that we are not a society that cares about the heath and welfare of women, especially young women.

 The woman assumes virtually all the risk during anal sex. Yet Teen Vogue did not see fit to warn their readers concerning any of the risks involved in this type of sex. Teen Vogue also neglected to mention the violence that frequently surrounds this sexual practice. A study done by the Alan Guttmacher Institute reveals that 25% of women who participated in anal sex admitted to being forced into it at least once. Sadly, this is not the only topic where sex educators and progressives display an obvious lack of concern for the psychological, emotional and physical welfare of women.

 Abortion is another situation where the man benefits (by walking away from the moral and financial responsibility of parenthood) while the woman is left dealing with the potential physical and emotional consequences of the procedure. Those risks include distress during and following the abortion, bowel and bladder perforation, infection, cervical laceration, hemorrhage, infertility and depression.

 Sadly, progressives typically present abortion as a sanitary, beautiful and necessary equalizer and liberator for women. No one ever mentions that abortion is just another avenue for men to escape the responsibilities of their sexual choices.

 The very existence of a magazine like Teen Vogue reveals a disturbing lack of good sense on the part of too many parents in this country. When my oldest daughter was a young teen (and asking to read Teen Vogue) I paid a visit to the local library and read through a couple of issues of both Teen Vogue and Seventeen Magazine. As a result I was not at all surprised to learn Teen Vogue had published a how-to on anal sex.

 I am thunderstruck that there is a parent alive who would voluntarily shell out their hard-earned cash for even a single copy of that steaming pile of subversive crap (feel free to insert a stronger word here if your theology will allow it).

 Seriously.

 Parents who choose to purchase this or any other magazine for their children without carefully reading through it first are hopelessly naïve and doubtless contributing to the moral downfall of their children. Parents in this country need to wake up and recognize the ugly truth that the publishing industry is plagued with unscrupulous, amoral people who do not care about the spiritual health of our children.

 Christians must commit to praying daily for revival and a return to our collective senses. As a culture we have moved away from God and even the most basic of truths and as a result we have become the most pitiable kind of fools. Fools who promote dangerous practices for no good purpose other than to corrupt the hearts and minds of the most vulnerable among us.

 Judgment cannot be far off.