You don't know me, and I don't know you, but your mother and I have seen you and have chosen you. You are my son. How I long to hold you, wrap my arms around you, kiss your forehead, and tell you that I love you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."(John 14:3)
We've enjoyed every moment of preparing your room, and I hope you like green. There is a crib of stuffed animals smiling and waiting for your arrival. The bed is ready for you to lie down on and rest after such a long journey. The windows open up to a vast view of the countryside where you'll hear an occasional freight train clicking on the tracks between illustrious oak trees and acres of lofty cornfields. Below is a deck where I envision us sitting together laughing and talking about God, life, and our shared experience of adoption. A little playground awaits footsteps up the ramp to your little outdoor playhouse. How I long for the sound of joyous giggling overcoming the competing sound of rusty chains rubbing together from swinging back and forth as I stand behind you and gently push.
I dream of us playing catch outside with the football and me tackling you to the ground in the warmest of embraces. I dream of the smell of lasagna and baked bread drifting out the kitchen window as your mother waves us in to gather around the rustic table with a spread of the finest of feasts. This is a palace fit for a king compared to the orphanage that you are in and yet I know that even here I cannot fully protect you from all of your tears, pain, sin, and death. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)
How I long for us to partake in the free gift of salvation together through belief and surrender to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
And for those who believe, how I long for a place where "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”(Revelation 21:4)
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?(John 14:1-2)
Your mother and I have prepared a room for you, but through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, He has prepared a way to a room unimaginable and so much greater...
Evan Dlugosz
Friday, April 27, 2018
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
The Power of Prayer
"Although the Atlantic was rough, the ship remained on schedule until running into thick fog off Newfoundland. Captain Dutton had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours when George Muller appeared at his side.
'Captain, I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon'
'It is impossible,' said the captain
'Very well,' said Muller, 'if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way... Let us go down into the chart-room and pray.'
Muller then knelt down and prayed simply. When he had finished the captain was about to pray, but Muller put his hand on his shoulder.
'Do not pray. First, you don't believe He will answer, and second, I believe He has and there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.'
The captain walked across to the door and opened it. The fog had lifted."(177-178)
George's need to be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon was not to enjoy a vacation he had planned, but rather to start his first preaching tour in the United States on time. This is one of the many amazing stories from George Muller's life in Delighted In God. George not only chose to lead his family and pastor a church without a salary, but also went on from there to build five large orphanages housing thousands of children by praying for every penny of the building costs, food, etc!
I am not saying that we all need to quit earning salaries or build orphanages by praying in every penny, but reading about his life has really reminded me of the power and importance of prayer in our lives. It can be easy to recite the same prayers habitually without thought or only ask for what we need or want, like God is some genie granting wishes. It can be hard to figure out the balance of coming to God with a request, believing He will answer, hoping for the answer, and then trusting in His timing and waiting patiently. George Muller said, "asking aright/correctly has three elements:
1- Desiring God's glory
2- Confessing our unworthiness and pleading the merits of Jesus
3- Believing that we do receive the things for which we ask"(180)
Let's also remember to be thankful even during difficult times. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Hopefully, years down the road, after we have our little one at home and we're just going about daily life, I will remember all that I have learned. Prayer is something that is always important, not just as I go through the long and exhausting process of adoption.
Near the end of his life, Muller said this about the Lord:
"'He has never failed me! For nearly seventy years every need in connection with this work has been supplied. The orphans from the first until now, have numbered nine thousand five hundred, but they have never wanted a meal. Never! Hundreds of times we have commenced the day without a penny in hand, but our Heavenly Father has sent supplies by the moment they were actually required. There never was a time when there was no wholesome meal. During all these years I have been enabled to trust God, in the living God, and in Him alone. One million four hundred thousand pounds have been sent to me in answer to prayer. We have wanted as much as fifty thousand pounds in one year, and it has all come by the time it has been really needed.'" (221)
I have always known that prayer is important. I have even prayed continuously throughout my days. Yet prayer has always been a bit mysterious to me. I am sure I will continue to grow in this area, but I have learned so much about prayer in the reading of this book and through the study of God's word. The fog has lifted!
"George Muller: Delighted in God, Roger Steer"
Ashley Dlugosz
'Captain, I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon'
'It is impossible,' said the captain
'Very well,' said Muller, 'if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way... Let us go down into the chart-room and pray.'
Muller then knelt down and prayed simply. When he had finished the captain was about to pray, but Muller put his hand on his shoulder.
'Do not pray. First, you don't believe He will answer, and second, I believe He has and there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.'
The captain walked across to the door and opened it. The fog had lifted."(177-178)
George's need to be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon was not to enjoy a vacation he had planned, but rather to start his first preaching tour in the United States on time. This is one of the many amazing stories from George Muller's life in Delighted In God. George not only chose to lead his family and pastor a church without a salary, but also went on from there to build five large orphanages housing thousands of children by praying for every penny of the building costs, food, etc!
I am not saying that we all need to quit earning salaries or build orphanages by praying in every penny, but reading about his life has really reminded me of the power and importance of prayer in our lives. It can be easy to recite the same prayers habitually without thought or only ask for what we need or want, like God is some genie granting wishes. It can be hard to figure out the balance of coming to God with a request, believing He will answer, hoping for the answer, and then trusting in His timing and waiting patiently. George Muller said, "asking aright/correctly has three elements:
1- Desiring God's glory
2- Confessing our unworthiness and pleading the merits of Jesus
3- Believing that we do receive the things for which we ask"(180)
Let's also remember to be thankful even during difficult times. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Hopefully, years down the road, after we have our little one at home and we're just going about daily life, I will remember all that I have learned. Prayer is something that is always important, not just as I go through the long and exhausting process of adoption.
Near the end of his life, Muller said this about the Lord:
"'He has never failed me! For nearly seventy years every need in connection with this work has been supplied. The orphans from the first until now, have numbered nine thousand five hundred, but they have never wanted a meal. Never! Hundreds of times we have commenced the day without a penny in hand, but our Heavenly Father has sent supplies by the moment they were actually required. There never was a time when there was no wholesome meal. During all these years I have been enabled to trust God, in the living God, and in Him alone. One million four hundred thousand pounds have been sent to me in answer to prayer. We have wanted as much as fifty thousand pounds in one year, and it has all come by the time it has been really needed.'" (221)
I have always known that prayer is important. I have even prayed continuously throughout my days. Yet prayer has always been a bit mysterious to me. I am sure I will continue to grow in this area, but I have learned so much about prayer in the reading of this book and through the study of God's word. The fog has lifted!
"George Muller: Delighted in God, Roger Steer"
Ashley Dlugosz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)