If all your prayers from last year were answered, would anyone besides you, your family, and a few sick people be better off?

I didn’t have to stop and think too long about it. It was obvious that a majority of my prayers center around me, my family, my desires, my situation. Convicting to say the least.

The point is not to persuade you from praying for your circumstances or your family. The point is, there are a lot of other things that deserve our attention in prayer and God greatly desires our pleas.

> There are 27 million slaves in the world that deserve our prayers.

> There are a billion people without access to clean water that deserve our prayers.

> There are billions of people who have never heard the gospel that deserve our prayers.

> There are orphans in your city that deserve our prayers.

> There are single parents barely keeping their heads above water that deserve your prayers.

> There are kids that only ate a handful of rice today that deserve your prayers.

> The list could go on forever.

The challenge is not to stop praying about what you’re praying for currently, but to add bold prayers for those in need. It will take a mighty move of God to end slavery, end the water crisis, and bring the Gospel to those that are lost. A mighty move of God requires bold prayers. This will take additional prayer time for those that are serious. But it will be worth it. I want to see a mighty move of God in my midst. I want to see these prayers answered.

I’ve decided this is the year for bold prayers. Will you join me?

- They got a raise.

- They got a new book deal.

-They had 4,237 baptisms yesterday.

- They sold their house.

- They got engaged.

- They got their dream job.

- They were invited to a speak at ____ conference.

- The list is endless.

Sometimes, it is very difficult to keep going with your calling because “they” seem to be having so much more success. They get all the breaks. They get the opportunities. They land the deals, book the event, have the success. And when you compare that with where you are, it can really slow you down. I know from experience.

Here are few reflections:

1. For every great thing happening to “they”,  you rarely hear anything about the journey. If someone just got a book deal or a raise, it’s because they’re working hard and have been rewarded. You are comparing yourself to someone who is not at the same point of the journey.

2. Tune them out to focus. It’s difficult to focus on your calling if all you do is watch what everyone else is doing. Sign off of Twitter and Facebook for a few days and get back to work on your calling.

3. If you get jealous or frustrated when others succeed, you have pride and jealousy that needs to be dealt with.  I had to come to grips with this in my own heart. The more jealous you become, the harder it will be to pursue your calling. If the jealousy is left unchecked, it will infect your motives and destroy your potential. The best thing you can do is to start helping others promote their projects, congratulate them on their success, and pray for them.

4. It’s very difficult to trust God when you focus on them. God has mapped out your path specifically for you. You have to trust him, and the best way to do that is to focus your attention on him. Figure out what he is saying and trust his calling.

One of the doors I’ve been praying for is an opportunity to preach on a more consistent basis, with the ultimate goal of being full-time. I love preaching and have been doing it part-time for years now. I have had success and blessing with the opportunities I have been given. I take every opportunity with the utmost honor and opportunity of presenting the gospel. But I’m not full-time…yet.

My hope in sharing some of the frustration at where I’m at with my calling and ministry right now is for you to realize you’re not alone. You’re pursing what God has called you to but the doors don’t seem to be opening. Maybe:

• You’ve written the book, but few are reading.
• You planted the church, but few are coming.
• You started the business, but few are buying.
• You recorded the album, but no one’s booking.
• You want to become parents, but it’s just not happening.
• The list could go on and on.

I’m not very good at it. I hate waiting.

I try to pick the fastest checkout line at the grocery store.

I try and choose the quickest teller at the bank.

If there’s traffic slowing down on my commute, I take an alternate route.

I have Amazon Prime so I can have 2 day shipping instead of 5-7 day.

And I don’t think I’m the only one who struggles with waiting.

Our entire culture wants to hurry up and get it now. If you have to wait…well, that’s a problem.

I hate waiting. And its scary to see that bleed over into my relationship with God.

I don’t like waiting for answers to prayer. I don’t like waiting for doors to open.

I don’t like waiting in silence, begging to hear his voice. I don’t like waiting. I want the answers now. I want the doors open now. I want to hear his voice now. I don’t like waiting.

In the silence, I’m learning that just because God is not answering now, that does not mean he is not answering. God being silent does not mean God is not working.

In the waiting, we learn to trust. To get tomorrow’s daily bread, we’ll just have to wait.

God I’m waiting and believing you will answer in powerful and incredible ways.

]]> http://gregdarley.com/2012/01/i-hate-waiting/feed/ 2 http://gregdarley.com/2012/01/investing/ http://gregdarley.com/2012/01/investing/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:00:55 +0000 Greg http://gregdarley.com/?p=2509 When you try and time the market, the odds of success are low. Trying to pick the diamond in the ruff is nearly impossible. Investing your money like this is similar to throwing darts. You’ll most likely hit the board, but there’s low probability you’ll hit a winner.

I’ve noticed this is similar when people try and follow God’s leading when he gives an idea. They’ll wait on it and then through something out there hoping it becomes a winner. And that rarely works either. The best investors are the one’s that consistently invest whether there’s a short-term gains or losses.

Pursuing a dream is like that. You have to invest every day, every week, every month in the hopes of a long-term pay off. I talk with a lot of people that want to write a book. Most people think its easy until they sit down and try to write one. When there emotions are high, they’ll write a little bit. When their emotions are low, they push it to the side. They only invest when the “market” is just right. These people rarely ever write a book.

If you want to be great at something, you have to invest consistently.

 

• Want to be a great husband or wife? Watching TV every night will not make it happen. Invest in the relationship consistently, even when you don’t feel like it.
• Want to be a great parent? Cut off the phone, the computer, the iPad, the Playstation, the TV, the distractions and go read a book with them, or through the ball in the back yard. Take them to get ice cream or heaven forbid, dad’s take your daughter to the mall. I know you’re tired. We all are. But the deserve it.
• Want to have a great walk with Christ? Spend time daily in the Word and in prayer. Find quiet time away from work and even family. If you only pray when things are really bad or really good, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Spend time investing in that relationship.
• Want to write a book? Write. (I’ve written on this plenty)
  
• Want to get in shape? You have to eat healthy foods consistently. You have to work out at least 3 times a week. And unless you are one of those weird people, you’ll never feel like working out. But you make the investment or you’ll miss the payoff.
• You want to __________? It will take consistent investment to make it happen.

What is it that you want to do?

• Your profile matches up perfectly with her’s, but you don’t get the date.
• Your resume fits the job description perfectly, but you don’t get the job.
• Your SAT and GPA are great, but you don’t get in the school.

I’ve had my fair share of opportunities like this and here’s a few lessons I’ve learned.

1. Rarely will a “no” from God ever make sense in the moment.

2. You can’t reason with emotions, so pray like crazy and give it some time.

3. If God says “no” now, it actually means he’s got a better “yes” in the future.

4. A “no” can give as much clarity (if not more) than a “yes”.

5. A “no” is never the end unless you quit. Don’t give up after one “no”.

6. You need people that won’t coddle you, but will encourage you to keep going.

The road to big dreams is paved by doors shutting and rejection. When I got my first turn-down letter from a publisher, my initial thought was frustration. But then my second thought was, “I’ve joined the likes of Stephen King, JK Rowling, and tons of others who were rejected, but went on to make it.”

Everyone hears “no”. It really is how you respond that matters. Thankful for great friends and an amazing wife that support me when God says “no”.

What is something that you have been told “no” to recently?

Open Weeks:

June: 10-16

June: 17-23

July: 15-21

Let me know if there’s anyway I can help.

Thanks!

While everyone is hustling to finish shopping, getting ready for the climax of Christmas morning, I hope we can take a serious moment to reflect on the full story. The real climax of the Christmas story is not the presents, it’s not the egg nog, it’s not even the manger scene. The real climax is found in John 20.

John 20 records the entire point of the gospels and the reason we celebrate Christmas.

The tomb is empty!

This Christmas, may we not forget that the point of the entire story which began on a cold December morning is that the tomb is empty.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Because of construction on the main road near my neighborhood, we’ve had our water shut off all day. I actually remembered late last night they were shutting it off, so I filled up a gallon jug and put it in the fridge. When I woke up this morning, I completely forgot and realized as soon as I finished my shower that I’d used all the water in the tank and it wouldn’t fill up until tomorrow. Not having unlimited access to water changes your entire day. I’m having to be strategic about going to the bathroom, washing dishes, and what to cook to eat. I was going to cook the kids mac and cheese for lunch, but I don’t have the water to cook the noodles. The laundry basket is overflowing, but I can’t wash them.

Today I realized the simplicity and complexity that the clean water issue poses. Water really changes everything. Thanks Charity Water for your work. I am more bought in than ever. Go here to see the great work they are doing.

Imitation is a great form of flattery and a dangerous type of parenting. By imitating me, my daughter picked up on a word that when used improperly, shows great disrespect and defiance (all things we would rather not see in our kids!).

The affect of imitation is powerful. That’s why Paul instructed the first church to be imitators of God (Eph 5:1). As I reflect on that verse in light of the experience with my daughter, here are some thoughts on imitation:

1. You can’t imitate who you don’t spend time with.

My daughter doesn’t imitate you because she doesn’t spend time with you. She imitates me because she is with me most of her day. We can not imitate God if we are not spending time with him.

2. Imitation takes multiple contact.

You don’t start imitating someone after one small encounter. My daughter picks up habits after watching me or my wife do something over and over. It’s never a one-time event. It takes repetition, thus the importance of number 1.

3. Imitating God seems impossible.

How in the world can we imitate Almighty God? He is perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful. We can imitate him because we are created in his image. We can imitate him because with the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. And we can imitate him because of his grace that we have freely received.

Living the life that God has for us is one of invitation and imitation. Follow me Jesus said. Then he said, do what I do. That’s what discipleship looks like.