Do We Trust God . . . Enough?

Any of you who know me at all probably think I have lapsed in spiritual belief when you read that title. Enough is one of those words that sets me on edge. For instance, when I hear in my mind, “You didn’t pray enough,” the Holy Spirit has taught me to recognize that as the voice of the enemy desiring to bring guilt and condemnation, driving me to pray from a sense of duty rather than from faith. Think about it a moment. When would it ever be enough?! If I could pray 24 hours a day, I would still not have time to pray for everything and everyone who needs prayer.

Since I really can never pray enough to cover everything and everyone who needs prayer, I might feel like I’m always farther behind, even when I am faithful to pray regularly. It’s kind of like Paul when he speaks in Romans 7 about wanting to do what he knows is right, and yet the flesh still has such a hold on him. When you read that whole chapter, it can make you feel like you’re in that vortex of heaviness and oppression with him – until you get to the very end and move on into the first verses of the following chapter.

Romans 7:25-8:2 “²⁵ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. . . . 8:¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” KJV

Maybe you understand the preceding words and feel the weight of the burden of praying enough lifted off just by applying these verses. Then comes the question of reconciling the need to pray without ceasing with the freedom of being out from under the law of sin and death (including guilt and condemnation) which tells us we haven’t prayed enough. The answer is simple, yet it includes the very word that I’ve been writing against in some of its other usages. We need to trust God . . . enough – enough to believe that He will put on our hearts the very things He wants us to pray for, which won’t include everyone and everything. We must also trust Him enough to believe that He will put everything and everyone else on the hearts of others who pray. It is God’s responsibility to keep everyone and everything covered in prayer, not ours. It is our responsibility to keep those people and situations covered in prayer He has assigned to us. This is called praying by the Spirit.

Maybe I really do allow the Holy Spirit to lead me in prayer, praying for those people He specifically puts on my heart. But what do I do after I finish – or even before I sit still to ask what is on His heart for me to pray? Many times I go through my mental list of the people I “have to” pray for – family, friends, leaders, etc. On those days I forget, get busy, or just don’t think of them in prayer because I’m praying by the Spirit, I might feel bad later because I didn’t do it. Do you recognize yourself in this yet? I ask the question again, “Do we trust God enough?” It’s really important to understand that, for whatever His reasons, He may choose to have someone else pray for that loved one of yours, at the same time He has you praying for someone else. If we pray for that person anyway (not led by the Spirit), that isn’t a prayer of faith. When we peel back the layers, it is really based on fear, human reasoning, and human understanding. Romans 14:23 tells us that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Praying from a platform of fear, human reasoning, etc., is actually sin, and is of no effect! As we apply this truth to our lives, we might feel like Paul in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am!” until we continue on to the glorious revelation of having been set free from the law of sin and death by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus!

There are certain “assignments” for which the Lord calls individuals to pray regularly, some of them being long-term and others being shorter-term. It is important to pray them through to their completion, by the Spirit, recognizing there may be days when that will not be on the Holy Spirit’s agenda for us, choosing someone else to intercede instead. What do we do in those times? Do we trust God enough to believe that He still has it all covered? Do we trust Him enough not to pray even if we see things in the natural that make us think we should pray (fear-based)? Do we trust God enough to believe that every prayer we have prayed in faith is still working, and will not return to God empty, but will accomplish what it was sent forth to do (Is. 55:11)? Do we trust Him enough to believe that He really cares about that person and that situation even more than we do, and knows who needs to pray and when? Do we trust God . . . enough?

© Copyright 2007 Kay V. Stocking