Pray, Then Plan

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Good Evening to All!

Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand.
(Proverbs 19:21)

Reference by NKJV: A wise person commits his or her plans to the Lord (see 16:23). A person whose plans oppose the Lord (as in Ps. 2:1-3) may actually become God's enemy, but the person who's ways are from God will certainly succeed (see also 16:1,9).

Whether it's your daily plans or long-term plans let God be your Planner.

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God's Word shows us clearly that we need to listen for His voice and commit our ears to a covenant with Him, letting Him sanctify and circumcise our ears so we can hear Him. Many times God clearly shows us what to do, but we don't do it because we don't like His plan. We can even pretend spiritual deafness when we don't like what we clearly hear Him say. Our fleshly appetites and desires can hinder our acceptance of God's truth..

We can come face-to-face with truth and still not accept it. I admit that truth is often much easier to accept when it concerns other people and their lives than it is when it concerns me and my life. We have a plan for how we want our lives to go, and we have a way that we want to work out that plan. Most of the time we want god to listen to our plan and make it work instead of listening for His plan and asking Him to do what He needs to do to fulfill it through us. We always need to pray first and then make plans instead of making plans and praying for God to make them work. Listen for God's plan; follow it, and you will always succeed.

God's Word For You Tonight: Get God's plan before making your own plans.
Devotional taken from Joyce Meyer's "Hearing from GOD Each Morning"

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What we perceive to be right or true is not always the case as shown in the picture above. This is why it is better to let God direct our paths than leaning on our own understanding and plan-making.

The way I see it is this. When we make our own plans we don't foresee the problems that can arise, the postponements, or cancellations, the "man-made problems. God sees them all. Who better to be our "planner" than He? All we have to do is give Him permission, and say ok God, what have you got planned for me today?

As the old saying goes, "if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans". Well, truthfully, I have never actually heard Him laugh, but I'm sure He does. He is probably up there looking down on us saying "look at that silly person! Why couldn't they ask me what to do in this situation? I can really save him a lot of heartaches and head aches. Doesn't he know he can talk to me like a friend? He doesn't have to say fancy words or be on bended knee. He can talk to me just as though we are friends on a coffee break. I just want to HELP."

God knows best! When are we going to get that through our thick skulls and quit being stubborn as mules? I know, it is SO HARD to give up control. It is SO HARD to wait for God's answer. The thing is, His timing is not our timing. He doesn't have a "time line" like we do. He sees our past, present and future, so He knows what is going to happen in our lives. Not only that, sometimes what we think is a "bad thing" turns out to be a blessing if we will just wait and watch.

I bet some of us, (me included) have even gone to God, asked Him for help, but gave up waiting on Him because it took too long. You know what that is? It's called a "lack of faith". It's as though we are saying , "well God, You had your chance, I guess I'm gonna have to do something instead." Come on, you know you have. I have. You know what? I'm usually sorry afterward, because when I "take over", things get more messed up than ever.

I have gotten better, and most mornings, as soon as I wake up, I ask God to direct
my steps and be included in EVERY aspect of my daily life including all decisions. This way, He has control of "the wheel". He is my chauffeur, I'm along for the ride.

Stress is a major cause of sickness and death now days. Let God make your plans for you and let Him handle the stress. Just be "along for the ride".

Good Night and May God Bless~