Fourthly, lastly, and I venture to say most importantly, we must pray and ask for God to take control. This is something that I myself often neglect. Why must we? Because without God's help and presence, we have no hope of ever going anywhere. Jesus Himself said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 14:5.
I want to tie this to one of the most important lessons God has ever taught me- that of humility. We must come to the point where we realise that we truly are nothing. That if God does not fill us, then we will forever be nothing. That anything that we ever hope to accomplish for Him can never be done if He does not empower and strengthen us to do it. William Carey, the father of modern missions, said this- "Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God." It is well that he included the second part, for it is God alone that brings every work to fruition.
There are numerous verses in the Bible that speak of this particular aspect of humility; here are some that have been particularly useful to me.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" 2 Cor. 3:5
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:13
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, there also doeth the Son likewise." John 5:19
"I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Cor. 3: 6-7
"...for if this counsel or this work be of me, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it..." Acts 5: 38-39
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency in the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7
I personally like the last one the best; it summarizes everything succintly. We are but empty vessels that God can fill with his amazing power and grace, if only we are willing to be just that- empty earthen vessels. So long as we try to do things by our own strength, we will fall short of the great plans that God has for us. "He must increase, but I must decrease..." said John the Baptist of Jesus (John 3:30). We must be willing to surrender the work to Him, even if it means laying down our pride and our strengths, to let Him take over. For no matter how much we can do, it is nothing compared to what He can do.
Hence the importance of prayer. In everything we must learn to ask for God's help and grace; we must ask Him to guide us in every work, in every part of life. We must ask for His Spirit to work within us- "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord". 2 Cor. 3:18. Of course this is only part of prayer.
And there is one last bit we must remember, that we must always give glory back to Him, whether publicly or privately. What plainer way of glorifying God is there than giving all glory to Him, glory that is truly His and His alone? "...I will not give my glory unto another" Isaiah 48:11. And rightly should God say so, for all glory is fully and truly His; we have no claim at all to any. We must fight the temptation to take any glory, no matter how tiny that bit may be, and vigorously rebuke and correct ourselves when we find ourselves doing it. We must be willing to be mere instruments in His hand, letting all glory go to the Master Surgeon. We must be willing to be mere mirrors, reflecting His glory back to Him, and to a world in need. We must forsake all glory, that our King may be glorified. Hallelujah!
I want to tie this to one of the most important lessons God has ever taught me- that of humility. We must come to the point where we realise that we truly are nothing. That if God does not fill us, then we will forever be nothing. That anything that we ever hope to accomplish for Him can never be done if He does not empower and strengthen us to do it. William Carey, the father of modern missions, said this- "Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God." It is well that he included the second part, for it is God alone that brings every work to fruition.
There are numerous verses in the Bible that speak of this particular aspect of humility; here are some that have been particularly useful to me.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" 2 Cor. 3:5
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:13
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, there also doeth the Son likewise." John 5:19
"I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Cor. 3: 6-7
"...for if this counsel or this work be of me, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it..." Acts 5: 38-39
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency in the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7
I personally like the last one the best; it summarizes everything succintly. We are but empty vessels that God can fill with his amazing power and grace, if only we are willing to be just that- empty earthen vessels. So long as we try to do things by our own strength, we will fall short of the great plans that God has for us. "He must increase, but I must decrease..." said John the Baptist of Jesus (John 3:30). We must be willing to surrender the work to Him, even if it means laying down our pride and our strengths, to let Him take over. For no matter how much we can do, it is nothing compared to what He can do.
Hence the importance of prayer. In everything we must learn to ask for God's help and grace; we must ask Him to guide us in every work, in every part of life. We must ask for His Spirit to work within us- "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord". 2 Cor. 3:18. Of course this is only part of prayer.
And there is one last bit we must remember, that we must always give glory back to Him, whether publicly or privately. What plainer way of glorifying God is there than giving all glory to Him, glory that is truly His and His alone? "...I will not give my glory unto another" Isaiah 48:11. And rightly should God say so, for all glory is fully and truly His; we have no claim at all to any. We must fight the temptation to take any glory, no matter how tiny that bit may be, and vigorously rebuke and correct ourselves when we find ourselves doing it. We must be willing to be mere instruments in His hand, letting all glory go to the Master Surgeon. We must be willing to be mere mirrors, reflecting His glory back to Him, and to a world in need. We must forsake all glory, that our King may be glorified. Hallelujah!
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