It is not all about you
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In her sermon this past Sunday, Pastor Anne echoed the famous words that open and set the tone for Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life: “It’s not all about you.”
In this me-first, I’m-number-one, it’s-my-right society, those can be hard words to swallow, let alone digest. Even supposedly other-focused Christians can get it wrong. Last week we were encouraged to go forward for healing prayer in the service. Even there, in an atmosphere of seeking prayer, we have to check our motives, Anne reminded us this week.
Do we believe in and love God because of what He can do for us, rather than for Who He is? Yes, He wants us well; yes, He wants us healthy. But if we think we need our head-ache or sore back healed and He knows we need our heart healed first—or our memories, or our attitudes—well, it may seem like the prayer ‘didn’t work’.
"God answers prayers in four ways," Anne explained. "Yes, no, wait, or yes, but. And that last one we may not understand as a 'yes' since the answer wasn't what we asked for."
In this me-first, I’m-number-one, it’s-my-right society, those can be hard words to swallow, let alone digest. Even supposedly other-focused Christians can get it wrong. Last week we were encouraged to go forward for healing prayer in the service. Even there, in an atmosphere of seeking prayer, we have to check our motives, Anne reminded us this week.
Do we believe in and love God because of what He can do for us, rather than for Who He is? Yes, He wants us well; yes, He wants us healthy. But if we think we need our head-ache or sore back healed and He knows we need our heart healed first—or our memories, or our attitudes—well, it may seem like the prayer ‘didn’t work’.
"God answers prayers in four ways," Anne explained. "Yes, no, wait, or yes, but. And that last one we may not understand as a 'yes' since the answer wasn't what we asked for."
