A Gift For You

It’s that time of year – the time for giving . . . and receiving! So it’s no surprise to me that our wonderful heavenly Father has a gift this month through this Prayer Nugget for His children of prayer.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” KJV

Before you hurry past this beloved and very familiar passage of Scripture, stop with me a minute and think about what God did. He gave His Son, Jesus, so that anyone who would believe in Him would have eternal life. This is the gospel, uncomplicated and easy to understand. Though there is much more to know of the Lord and His ways, this really is the gospel in its simplest form. As wonderful a gift as this is, it’s already yours; yet, God has more for those of you who pray.

Sometimes, we make too big a deal out of praying. There, I said it. Yes, prayer is a very big deal. If you are like me, though, too often you make it such a big deal and hard job that you put it off because you don’t think you have time to pray right now. Perhaps you plan to get someone else to pray with you over a big prayer issue, but get busy and forget about it. What often happens is that we take on the responsibility for a prayer need, and it becomes much too heavy for us. God only intended for us to take it on in the Spirit, not in our minds, for He knew it was too big for us to figure out with our human minds. Look at what Jesus said:

Matt 11:29-30 “²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” NIV

I believe that the Lord Jesus, Whose birthday we celebrate this month, wants us to give Him something so He can give us something so much better in its place. Actually, it’s included in the gift God already gave us in Him, but we haven’t realized it, or need to be reminded. He wants us to give Him our difficult yoke and heavy burden of prayer – the one that is carried in our minds – so we can receive His easy yoke and light burden – the one that takes place in and by the Spirit.

What does that mean in a practical way? I’ll share one suggestion to help you get started enjoying your gift. Instead of coming into your regular prayer time with the same pattern of praying for the people and items on your list one by one (whether it is a written or mental list), lift up that list, as a whole, to the Lord, and thank Him that He has heard your prayers and answered them, whether you’ve seen the answer or not (Mark 11:24). Now, mentally release the whole list to God, and turn all of your attention to praising and worshiping the Lord for Who He is. It may be that this is all you do during this time of prayer. It may also be that after you have focused so totally on Him in this way, He will share His burden for someone on His heart for whom He wants you to pray. If He does, remember that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Let Him lead you in the prayer, and then let it go unless He brings it back to you another time.

God gives good gifts! And good gifts are ones that don’t take lots of human effort to make use of them. It’s the same with His gift for you this month and for all time. Prayer burdens, whether they be for those you know or those you don’t know, are not for you to figure out in your mind, but to pray out by His Spirit. It’s easy. It’s uncomplicated. Believe it, my brothers and sisters, just like you simply believed John 3:16 and received eternal life. It’s His gift for you. Merry Christmas, for Jesus Christ was born and lives forever!

© Copyright 2007 Kay V. Stocking