Asking the Right Question

There is no end to the list of things  have to get done.  There is not shortage of tasks that I can choose from.  For the longest time I would always pray: "...please help me to accomplish all the things that I want to get accomplished" and then tomorrow would come and I wouldn't get half the things done that I wanted to get done.  It's little unanswered requests like that which would chip away at my patience and add to my frustrations with God.  "Why didn't you help me do everything on my list?" is usually what I would think to myself at the end of the day with great irritation.  But an interesting thing happened not to long ago.  I've recently started listening to a Christian music radio station (turns out it's quite soothing to the soul after a bad break-up and for those drives home after long day at work).  Anyways this song came on the radio called "Today" by NewWorlddson.  I actually listened to the lyrics and the chorus of the song actually spoke to me.  It goes: 

"Maybe this time you can take the lead.  And I won't try to pull you by the sleeve.  Because every time I think that I know better I loose my way.  So God, what you wanna do today?" 

It was like something suddenly clicked and I remembered a conversation I had with my graduate supervisor about a month ago (oh yeah, I'm also doing my Master's degree in Nursing).  We were discussing what question I could possibly come up with for my thesis and she said something to me along the lines of:  "in research, it's not about asking just any question it's about asking the right question".  At the time, the remark was completely useless to me, I just wanted her to tell me what to do so I could get started with my work, (although now I realize she absolutely right and I'm happy to say I'm finally beginning to formulate a research question). 

But as I listened to that song, I realized that her comment could also be applied to my prayer life.  If I am supposed to completely trust God and let Him guide me in my life, then I need to do what it is He wants me to do.  I think that by doing that, it puts me on the right path.  On the right journey.  Perhaps this whole time, I was making the wrong request.  So instead of asking God to help me accomplish what I want to get done, I've changed the question.  Instead I'll pray something along the lines of "...God, even though I have about a million things that I need to get done today, I ask that You please help me to do the things that You want me to get done today". 

You'd be surprised how often the things I had in mind were the things, apparently, He had in mind too.  But more than that, I find myself taking time to do things that I wouldn't usually do; like picking up the phone and having conversation with my dad, or sending a text to friend that I haven't spoken to in a while, or writing a blog about my journey with God.  And at the end of the day even though I didn't get everything done that I wanted to accomplish, I still feel like I did everything God needed me to accomplish that day.  Letting God take control like this and changing my mindset is a challenge every day because I really do have about a million other things I ought to be doing.  But I guess part of having faith is believing that God will still help you get it all done.  Yes I've lost thirty minutes of study/lit review time by writing this blog today but I have to trust it will still work out in the end.  And I do feel like this is what I supposed to do before I started my work.....just a thought I wanted to share.

So my hopeful thought for you today is that you discover the right questions to ask in your prayers and your conversations with God; so that those prayers and coversations become at least a little less frustrating.  I also hope that you enjoy "Today" by NewWorldson:

Stay Blessed <3