Page 79 - The Divine Quest

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fellowship with their heavenly Father.

The conceive it and believe it pattern of prayer does not bring forth this same
intimacy with the Father. Instead, it causes men and women to focus upon
themselves as they determine for themselves what they want to pray for, and they
then look inside themselves to find the faith necessary to obtain their desire. God is
merely a distant and impersonal being who, not unlike a vending machine, provides
the thing that the seeker requests. They put in their coin of faith, and out pops the
answer.

I would think that anyone who truly desires to know God, Who called them to be His
child, would find this latter form of prayer to be totally unsatisfying. It is also often
ineffective, and leads people to many doubts about God’s presence and care for them.
Some have even abandoned the faith when they met with great disappointment and
God did not meet them according to their expectation.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your many tremendous assurances of Your love toward us.
We thank You for so designing prayer that we are forced to seek Your face when we
are seeking something from Your hand. As we come to You with our needs we are
blessed by receiving much more than our petition, for we also gain a greater intimacy
with You, learning of Your will, Your love, and Your faithfulness. May you receive
glory as we wait patiently for Your provision and blessing.