[adapted from The God of Miracles]
A rule for our times: do what God wants you to do, not what brings you "status." When you're obedient – "true to yourself" – you're tall in His eyes.
They are the Eyes that count.
When we seek something that is not in God’s Will, it’s like trying to take a big fish out of the water: There is tugging. There's resistance every step of the way. When we finally land the fish, it lashes and flops all over the dock and we see that it's a type we don’t want. It may even have teeth! We throw it back.
Instead, go with the gentle flow and fish I smoother waters.
Heaven does not exist on earth, and when we realize that, we transcend disappointment. It is all one big Lenten journey. Yet Heaven -- paradise on earth -- is what those who seek money attempt to contrive.
The right course, the wondrous, miraculous way, is to apply all excess gain to God’s cause and accept each storm as an opportunity. As one wise woman used to say, all of God’s tests are "good" tests. Handled correctly, they accrue to our benefit.
As we will show, there is actually a light -- a literal light -- at the end of a tunnel we will all traverse, and we must treat life in the light of that truth. Do you know what the pastor of that church in Punta Gorda told his congregation right after Hurricane Charlie devastated it? It was that "the greatness of our community is being born through this suffering."
Remember always that we are on the desert -- like Christ, between angels and beasts
(Mark 1: 12-15). Humility places a bubble of protection around us.When we don’t accept life
Through prayer, that openness, that surrender, grows. The more we pray, the more we envision the correct pathway, as well as the fruits of faith. Little prayers are answered, and then larger ones. The more prayers that are said (from the heart), the more opportunities there are to watch God work.
Through prayer our faith is born, nurtured, and strengthened – until what it produces is overtly miraculous, which means that big prayers are answered in astounding fashion. As I said, the Lord doesn’t answer them all. He has a plan. And thank God for that! How many times have you asked for things that you now realize would have been bad for you? He does what is best for us, along with what we deserve.
Use faith as a muscle, and it will both grow and strengthen. Use it even through your pain, like a bodybuilder. Especially, use it when you are struggling, discouraged, or depressed. Use it even when it doesn’t seem to be working. Use it blindly and soon your "faith muscle" will grow to Herculean proportion.
Pray about everything – especially first thing in the morning (all the details of the day ahead). Usually it’s not enough to just wing off a desire. Instead take the time to pray adequately about each of those details. Sometimes, when we are in immediate need, God does answer brief prayers, but mainly He wants us to spend time with us.