Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
I started playing golf more than 30 years ago, and my husband took up the game when he was nearly 30. To level the playing field a bit and keep it fun, we often play a scramble. (Especially when one or both of us hasn’t touched a club in months.)
That way, we become a team on the golf course, cheering one another on and keeping one score. It also lends itself to more teaching moments since we’re hitting the same shots.
Ben and I have a big decision coming up, and we’ve not been on the same page about it in months. We recently sat down with his Aunt Sue, a marriage counselor, and presented our sides.
She then asked me a direct question: Have you been praying about it?
I said yes, but probably not with an open mind. At that moment, I realized we’d both been praying for the other person to come over to our side of things rather than truly asking the Lord for guidance.
Aunt Sue said we needed to commit to praying from a neutral position.
In Romans, Paul talks about the importance of not conforming to the patterns of this world but rather being transformed by the renewing of our minds.
“Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2, NIV.
It’s easy to box God in with our worldly concerns and viewpoints. When it comes to this particular area of prayer, I’ve done all the talking and not a lot of listening.
Going back to the scramble. Ben and I found that we often enjoy the game more when we play together as a team. The same goes for basically everything else in marriage. And the best part is that if we both seek the Lord with an open mind, he will tell us the same thing.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for speaking to us through your Holy Spirit. We come to you with an open mind, ready to learn your good, pleasing, and perfect will.