Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our active and purposeful God. God is always doing something good, even when we see only bad, or when we see stagnation or inactivity. God is always working with design to accomplish His purposes.
When we don’t know what God is doing, when we don’t understand His purposes or know His objectives, it can be hard to know how to pray. Thankfully, God gives us some knowledge in His Word that reveals some of His purposes. The Bible may not reveal specifics for individuals, but it does disclose universal objectives that God always desires. Those are things for which we can confidently pray.
One of my favorites is found in Hebrews 12:11. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
This gives us a definite desire to pray for as we walk through the unpleasant training – that God would grow in us the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing that we definitely desire? That when the trial is over, and after the fertilizer (manure) has worked its way into the ground and has fed our roots, that we would blossom and produce pleasant and desirable fruit?
In addition to providing a good way to pray, this verse also offers hope, in the reminder that this is what God is doing. As unpleasant as things are in the midst of the trial, it is for the purpose of bringing about a very good result. The fruit doesn’t appear overnight, but it does come within the plan of God.
May God continue to grow His good fruit in you, and may you be encouraged by realizing the growth that He intends.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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