Good advice from a good friend:
Pray like it's all up to God and work like it's all up to you.
I've heard a good friend of mine say this time and time again. He will wait till someone needs a little extra spiritual encouragement and then he will pull out this phrase an dust it off and let you have it. He's said it several times in our bible class in church and personally, to me, on a few occasions (it's a blessing from God to have close Christian friends).
I've said this to myself at times as well when I need the reminder that all I have to do is simply pause and go to God in prayer. I can be having a bad day or I could be completely over thinking something (which is often, sometimes, for me; one of my downfalls), and every time I approach His throne in prayer I know that He will work things out for my good no matter what!! [Romans 8:28]
I also have to tack this on too, however. Doing this, praying like it's all up to God and working like it's all up to you WILL work, but we also have to keep in mind that we may have to wait a while for His answer, or that His answer and solution may not always look the way we had hoped for it to or dreamed up in our heads. That's where our faith comes into play and also that peace that passes all understanding.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We have to let go and let God.
The world will not instantly become better, the clouds will not lift right away, hurtful words will not disappear from our memories and pain will not evaporate into the abyss, but God will take what we are going through and turn it into something glorious in due time; in His time.
His timing and His plan are always perfect.
The amount of comfort in that is what heals our hearts right away.
We also get another blessing when we constantly pray for help and trust Him to answer; a different kind of blessing besides an answer to our prayer.
We are taught an incredible lesson straight from Him in the meantime, He teaches us to slow down and appreciate the things that we do have, the things that others are praying for. He teaches us to be patient and wait on Him, to let things unfold in His time. He teaches us to go about our duties as Christians with love in our hearts and compassion in our manner while we wait. He teaches us to have faith in Him and trust Him. And He teaches us to be thankful and grateful for all the blessings He bestows on us. We get ALL that and we didn't even think to ask for it when we went to Him in prayer in the first place. That's just who He is; He blesses us even when we don't seem to notice.
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No matter what, God will handle our situations if we place them in His hands. He already knows what's going on in our lives, there isn't anything about us that He isn't aware of and nothing we do will ever surprise Him.
Our Great Father knows our hearts!!!
He wants us to pray to Him about everything so that He can bless us with all these gifts and He want us to let Him guide our lives. And we're better off when He does!
Say your prayer if it's laying heavy on your mind and heart, move on from it and let God take control, and do His Kingdom work here on earth.
He knows right now what you're in need of and He knows right now what you're hoping and holding out for; He's simply waiting for His child to ask.
“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” - Max Lucado
