Day 1--A Magic Wand?

No big surprises to pass on to you from DAY 1 of my 30-Day Experiment. It was a quiet day. I made phone calls. Took the puppy on a walk. Did research. Went to the gym. I was looking—. I was waiting—. But—nothing. Nothing dramatic, anyway. But here’s what I was reminded of with subtle clarity.

Prayer is not a magic wand. Just because I pray “Surprise Me, God,” doesn’t mean that God is at my beckoning command. It doesn’t mean that God is ready to grant my earnest wish or the desire of my heart now that all the pressure's ON HIM. (yeah, right.) It doesn’t mean that God will finally “surprise me” by answering the prayer requests that I’ve been bringing before Him for these many months.

No, nothing changes on God’s part just because I start praying, “Surprise Me, God.” The Bible teaches me that God is constant, never-changing. God is always loving. Forever faithful. Infinitely merciful. God doesn’t START becoming more of these just because I start praying a new prayer. What changes when I start praying “Surprise Me, God”… is me. Or at least… I have the potential to change. God is always working in my life. Whether I see it or not depends on my openness to God’s leading. To God’s movement. To God’s voice—the spiritual “hungriness” of my heart, if you will.

Okay, now that I’m straight on that—again—there’s just one thing left to do today: to pray, once again, “Surprise Me, God.”