But now, in this early morning light, I was feeling for the first time the
scalding shame this elderly woman must have felt. Moving from house to house,
never having one of her own. Totally dependent on the good graces of nieces and
nephews for the very necessities of life. Never in all my years at home, or
indeed until now, had I given a single thought to how she felt in the situation.
But now I was getting a full dose of it-the pride that had to be swallowed daily
in a galling gulp. It was more bitter than I could bear.
The next evening she repeated the same exercise, offering her petitions to God
and then listening awhile before drifting off to sleep. The same kind of thing
happened the next morning over another incident from her past, again with the
same shattering results. She wasn't quite so sure she wanted to hear from God
anymore!
Such has been the experience of the Jeremiahs and Pauls and other great men and
women of prayer down through the centuries. They pray for God to change things
in their world, and he begins by changing them. They tell God what is on their
minds and he tells them what is on his mind: them!
Used with permission from Deepening Your Conversation With God by Ben Patterson
(c)1999 Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Book House Company. All
Rights Reserved, p. 151-152.
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