We Will Obey the Lord Our God

God has me reading through the book of Jeremiah in this season. And though it is a book of much heartache and warning, I find myself being touched or convicted by the words that God shares through His prophet.

Yesterday, I read chapter 42, in which a group of leaders comes to Jeremiah and asks him to pray for them. “Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”

What a great prayer request! Something that many of us might pray today. “God, show us what to do.” We don’t know. We’re confused or anxious or afraid. We hear so many conflicting views and we just don’t know what to believe anymore. We need to hear God’s voice above it all.

The leaders end their prayer request with this statement: “Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”

And that, my friends, is the posture I want to have when I approach God with prayer for guidance. I want to do what HE wants, whether I like it or not. In practices of discernment, this is called the prayer of indifference–I am indifferent to any particular response; I just want to know what God wants me to do.

Sadly, this group of leaders in the Bible didn’t mean what they said. They were proud and they refused to obey what God told them to do. But we don’t have to be like that. We can ask God to help us get to a place where all we want to do is obey what He says.

God, help us to let go of those things which prevent us from following You with everything that we have. Show us what “responses” we are hanging on to and help us get to a place where all we want is You and what You want for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.