by Laura Farnsworth

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: February 17, 2009

Do You Think God Minds?

There are religious fanatics in the world and then the exact opposites exist, atheist. I'm not a fanatic and I'm definitely not an atheist. I was raised to believe in God and accepted Christ as my savior in '74. My grandfather was a deacon at that church.

I've seen turmoil and upsets in the churches that have caused them to split. I've often wondered what God thinks when that happens. Does He sit on His throne looking down with His chin in His hand and just shake His head? Does He put a mark by everyone's name? Of course not, God forgives, but it still makes me wonder.

We are taught, as very young children, to say our prayers before we go to bed at night and we are taught to say grace or bless our food before we eat. We are taught to be thankful for all things as God provides for His children.

I wonder if God ever gets tired of people praying for the same thing over and over. Or does He mind if we start praying and forget to say amen, or go to sleep praying? I do that many times and hope His understands. I know all things are done in God's time and will, not ours. Sometimes, I want to pray and ask for haste on His part. I never do, but the thought has crossed my mind.

I, also try to acknowledge God when praying, thanking Him for all the things He has done in my life. I ask for blessings for my family, friends and people, and then and only then do I address my needs, wishes and desires. I try to remember to pray for my enemies or my not so good friends. Often times, I pray for wisdom and knowledge to handle a difficult situation. I try not to ever ask for patience, because I've always been told that God will give you trials and tribulations to teach you patience.

As I began to pray as a new Christian, I often stumbled with my words because I was afraid they would not be good enough for God. I addressed that with my pastor at the time and he said, "Just think of it as a conversation that you are having with a friend or family member." Taking his advice, that is how I started praying. Sometimes my prayers are a single sentence or thought, like, "Thank you God." Some days they are much more complicated and very long. Some days they are very emotional and make it hard to breathe.

As a Christian I have days when the devil fights hard for control of my life, but I know God is there fighting just as hard to keep me out of the devil's clutches. He always wins, but some days I have the battle scars to show for the tug of war that has been played.

God is always in control. Although, sometimes I try to retain the higher percentage of that control. I always try to give God the upper hand.

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