Reason #23
"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for..." (Luke 11:9) I specifically asked, so why didn't I receive it?
This is a question that I've been facing over and over and resurfaced again this weekend. Saturday was a difficult day, so I thank the Lord that he met me this morning to speak truth to me. As I sat in church this morning, we discussed Luke 11. James 5:6 tells us that, "The earnest prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective" and I have seen the power of prayer displayed in an incredible way over the past 4 months. I have seen God answer prayers time and time again but sometimes I wonder why he answers them the way he does.
As I started to try and decipher why my prayers have been answered in the form that they were, I was reminded of the potter and the clay. In Jeremiah 18, the Lord asked Jeremiah to go down to the potter's shop so he could speak to him there. I love when God uses an illustration to really drive home his point. Jeremiah went down to the shop to find the potter working at his wheel. The jar he was making was not turning out as he had planned it would, so he smashed the clay back into a shapeless lump so that he could start over with the clay and mold into the jar he was desiring it to be. The jar was taking on a form that the potter did not desire, however, the potter did not throw away the clay, rather, he gave it a second shot to become the jar he needed it to be. I have never personally made a clay pot, but I've seen it done (on TV). From my small amount of clay pot making knowledge, I know that the potter has to constantly keep his hands around the pot to mold and shape it. The wheel is spinning quickly so if he removes his hands, the clay is going to fly of the wheel. Making a clay pot is a messy job that takes skill. The potter has to get his hands messy as he removes the unneeded clay. He also has to keep the jar wet so that it will continue to mold.
I realize that I have been the clay pot who decided the shape it would take. In fact, I specifically asked for that certain shape. I knew the potter's hands were around me but I figured if I prayed for my will to be done, surely he would go ahead and shape me into the pot I was asking to be. I thought if I made the request over and over and over and over, it would happen. I know he heard my prayers, but unfortunately, they were selfish prayers. They went something like, "your kingdom come, Brittnye's will be done..." I wasn't taking on the shape the potter needed me to be due to my selfish requests. Of course, to me, it looked like I was going to be shaping up just fine. Well, I had to be smashed back into a lump because I was cracking and falling apart. I'm so thankful that my potter still saw the value and potential in this lump of clay and didn't throw me out.
So, I'm back on the spinning wheel. Some of the clay has had to be removed because now, I'm being shaped into the clay pot he's desiring me to be rather than the clay pot I was praying I would be. There are days when I want to be stubborn and start taking on the "previously prayed for" shape but then I realize that this shape is suiting me much better than the one I asked for... over and over and over and over. I still don't know what I'll look like when I'm complete, but I rest in knowing that his hands are constantly shaping me. Some days I still want to ask why. Why this shape and not the other one? I am slowly beginning to realize why he chose to answer my prayers by spinning me into a different pot rather than letting me be the pot I prayed to be. I may never fully understand all of the "why's," but I trust the potter because after all, "He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than [me], the clay!" (Isaiah 29:16)
Reason #23 - Because he has put me back on the spinning wheel.
"As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand." - Jeremiah 18:6"
"Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thy will. While I am waiting, yielded and still."
This is a question that I've been facing over and over and resurfaced again this weekend. Saturday was a difficult day, so I thank the Lord that he met me this morning to speak truth to me. As I sat in church this morning, we discussed Luke 11. James 5:6 tells us that, "The earnest prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective" and I have seen the power of prayer displayed in an incredible way over the past 4 months. I have seen God answer prayers time and time again but sometimes I wonder why he answers them the way he does.
As I started to try and decipher why my prayers have been answered in the form that they were, I was reminded of the potter and the clay. In Jeremiah 18, the Lord asked Jeremiah to go down to the potter's shop so he could speak to him there. I love when God uses an illustration to really drive home his point. Jeremiah went down to the shop to find the potter working at his wheel. The jar he was making was not turning out as he had planned it would, so he smashed the clay back into a shapeless lump so that he could start over with the clay and mold into the jar he was desiring it to be. The jar was taking on a form that the potter did not desire, however, the potter did not throw away the clay, rather, he gave it a second shot to become the jar he needed it to be. I have never personally made a clay pot, but I've seen it done (on TV). From my small amount of clay pot making knowledge, I know that the potter has to constantly keep his hands around the pot to mold and shape it. The wheel is spinning quickly so if he removes his hands, the clay is going to fly of the wheel. Making a clay pot is a messy job that takes skill. The potter has to get his hands messy as he removes the unneeded clay. He also has to keep the jar wet so that it will continue to mold.
I realize that I have been the clay pot who decided the shape it would take. In fact, I specifically asked for that certain shape. I knew the potter's hands were around me but I figured if I prayed for my will to be done, surely he would go ahead and shape me into the pot I was asking to be. I thought if I made the request over and over and over and over, it would happen. I know he heard my prayers, but unfortunately, they were selfish prayers. They went something like, "your kingdom come, Brittnye's will be done..." I wasn't taking on the shape the potter needed me to be due to my selfish requests. Of course, to me, it looked like I was going to be shaping up just fine. Well, I had to be smashed back into a lump because I was cracking and falling apart. I'm so thankful that my potter still saw the value and potential in this lump of clay and didn't throw me out.
So, I'm back on the spinning wheel. Some of the clay has had to be removed because now, I'm being shaped into the clay pot he's desiring me to be rather than the clay pot I was praying I would be. There are days when I want to be stubborn and start taking on the "previously prayed for" shape but then I realize that this shape is suiting me much better than the one I asked for... over and over and over and over. I still don't know what I'll look like when I'm complete, but I rest in knowing that his hands are constantly shaping me. Some days I still want to ask why. Why this shape and not the other one? I am slowly beginning to realize why he chose to answer my prayers by spinning me into a different pot rather than letting me be the pot I prayed to be. I may never fully understand all of the "why's," but I trust the potter because after all, "He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than [me], the clay!" (Isaiah 29:16)
Reason #23 - Because he has put me back on the spinning wheel.
"As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand." - Jeremiah 18:6"
"Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thy will. While I am waiting, yielded and still."