Part 3 – Could it be that We are Doing it Wrong?

                           By Patrick Hawthorne

This morning I did a really, really dumb thing.  Well…let’s start at the beginning.  I am usually a morning person.  I hop out of bed with a spring in my step.  The crickets are chirping and the birds are singing…ok, it’s 5:20 in the morning, so birds are still asleep.  Anyway, I like mornings.  One of the first things I do is tell the Lord, “Good morning Father, good morning Jesus, and good morning Holy Spirit.”

This morning I woke up rough.  I mean, the cobwebs were still being spun by those pesky dream spiders.  As I hooked little Odie up to take him out for his morning constitutional, I half-heartedly said, “Good morning Father, good morning Jesus, and good morning Holy Spirit.”  Then, instead of praising God for the wonderful day, I said, “Wow Lord!  I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck this morning.  My head is in a fog and I can’t think straight…”  Suddenly, I stopped.

“What are you doing?” I asked myself.  “Are you belly-aching to the Lord about your miseries?  Are you praying or complaining? How on earth is Jesus supposed to be the mediator of that garbage?”

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…(1 Tim 2:5)

In my younger days, I attended a church that was rather – how do I say this nicely – religious.  One of the songs they sang was the very anointed – insert cough – “I’ll be Up Again.”  Part of the lyrics, as I recall, is “Down on the bottom, all my hope is gone.  Down on the bottom, I just can’t go on.  Enemies surrounding me, laughing at my calamities…”  Eventually the song breaks into the chorus.  “I’ll be up again, just you wait and see.  Hard times won’t keep me down, they’ll just drive me to my knees.”  Now, here comes the part that brings so much glory to God, “And there while in prayer, God will give me the victory song, and I’ll be up again where I belong.”

Some of you may be reading this and think, “Praise God!  That seems so anointed.”  I hate to break it to you but there is absolutely nothing anointed about that song.  It is nothing but doubt and unbelief.  It is no different than the nonsense I was praying this morning.  On top of that, Jesus already gave us the victory.  We just have to walk in it.

We love to proclaim that Jesus is the Mediator between God and man, but my question is, “Just what are we trying to get Him to mediate?”  Should Jesus go before the Father and say, “Wow!  It is really a bad day for Patrick.  I know he is supposed to stand on faith but how about we let him slack off a bit today?”  Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.

This morning I stopped my doubt prayer in mid-stream and said, “Lord, I apologize.  You don’t need me to give You my list of gripes and complaints.  How about this…Lord, I thank You for this day.  It is the day You have made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.  As for the cloudiness in thought, I thank You that I have the mind of Christ.  Because of You abiding in me, I am ready to face the day with clarity of thought.”

After a minute of praying in faith, the cloudiness in my brain disappeared.  Suddenly I was waiting for the birds to awake so I could hear their chirping.  Jesus knows your problems.  There is no need to tell Him your laundry lists of complaints.  How about instead of rehearsing the problems with Him, you rehearse the solution according to His Word.  Be blessed.