Honi the Circle Maker was walking down a dirt road when he saw a man planting a carob tree. Honi asked this man, "How long will it take this tree to bear fruit?" The man replied, "Seventy years." Honi then questioned the man on why he would plant a tree if he didn't know if he would live the additional seventy years to eat of its fruit. This is what the man replied, "Perhaps not. However, when I was born into this world, I found many carob trees planted by my father and grandfather. Just as they planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren so they will be able to eat the fruit of these trees."
Honi realized that, like the man planting the tree for his children and grandchildren to receive of its fruit, praying is just like that. Each prayer that we pray, is a seed that gets planted in the ground. It will disappear for awhile, but eventually our prayers will bear fruit that blesses our future generations.
Even when we die, our prayers do not. Each prayer that I pray has a life of its own. I may not see the fruit of that prayer while I am alive, but I trust in God to bring it to fruition.
Prayer is the inheritance we receive and the legacy we leave behind. Every prayer that you have prayed, your spouse and children have prayed, your parents have prayed for you, every word that has been spoken, will bear fruit in God's timing. We may find ourselves fighting outcomes, fighting changes that we don't want to make. We may as well stop fighting, God is working at answering prayers that were made for you - and for me - before we were even born.
This morning I had such a longing for someone to know my heart. I'm really struggling with 'things' that I have no control over. I know what God has called me to, and yet, I feel I keep hitting closed doors and it hurts. I believe that through all these struggles within me that God is working in me, changing me (answering my parents' prayers for me, perhaps). I feel so many obstacles are in my way of doing what I feel I was called to do. So I try to grow and bloom where I am planted. I seek His will in teaching and becoming a part of the community. I want to excel - not for my glory, but that I will be used by Him and Him glorified. Sometimes my vision is wrong. His vision is always right. I won't know which way to go unless I am living with Him in me.
As I took Marley out for her morning roll in the little patch of grass she loves to lay in, I sat in the lawn chair and poured out my heart to God. I don't feel I have anyone I can completely confide in on what I really feel about things. I know that God already knows, and He knows my heart. Sometimes I just need to get it 'out there'. So I poured out my heart to God this morning. I'm sure I didn't cover everything that is on my mind and heart, and He will wait to hear the rest. But I was able to put 'out there' my prayers and my requests.
Now it is up to Him to answer. The answers may not come in my lifetime. I may never see the fruit of my prayers. God knows my heart and that I want no glory on my own, but only Him glorified in and through me. If I am to serve, He will bring it about. If I am to be an empty vessel, He will empty me. If I need to be broken, He will break me. I've given Him permission to do whatever He wants to do with me, so that I can be put back together and used for Him alone. Even if it is to uproot and move away, I have surrendered to His will.
What about you? Have you prayers prayed for you - or that you have prayed - that have not been answered? Are you still waiting for that season of growth to be completed and the fruit to be forthcoming?
Perhaps you feel that God won't hear your prayers. Try seeking His face and talking with Him. That's what prayer is - just talking with your Best Friend. Tell Him your struggles, your pain, your hopes, your dreams. All things are possible. Believe in the One who died for you. He believed in you. His death on the cross is bringing fruit in us. Grab hold of what He has for you.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. It's that simple. He didn't make it hard. Believe in Him. He's reaching out to you - will you grab His hand and allow Him to pull you up? Start praying and see the fruit of your prayers - remember the answers may not always be 'yes' and may not always be 'no'. Put your requests in His hands and trust Him to answer in His perfect time.
Blessings!
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