be careful what you pray for

we tend to say "be careful what you pray for." we say "i prayed for patience and boy did God give me an opportunity to gain it."

but i've been thinking about that lately. and i would like to propose that perhaps there are times when, instead of it being our idea to pray for a weakness or an area we want to improve or grow it, but rather that God, knowing a situation or challenge will be coming our way, draws us in to pray for His help in advance.

we don't know what's on the horizon. but He does. perhaps He wants to protect us and care for us and guide us by bringing us to our knees to ask for a fruit of His spirit He knows we are going to need to be exercising soon.

an interesting take on prayer when we've grown accustomed to assuming God waits for us to ask for something before He gives it to us. but He didn't wait to send His son until we asked for Him. no, He knew ahead of time we needed Him, and He sent Him. some of us still haven't asked for Him, but it didn't stop Him from paving the way for that prayer to be answered before we have prayed it.

by the same token why wouldn't He begin to prompt us to pray for a strength only He knows we are going to need down the road? we can act on that prompt or we can not. i love that He gives us that choice. but who's to say He doesn't prompt or... knock?

i think if God knows we are going to encounter a situation where we are going to need patience to pass through it, and He prompts us to pray for it, we had best pay attention and be praying for it. if He in His foreknowledge prompts us, we in our barely-focused-hindsight would be foolish to ignore it.

i say "be careful what you don't pray for."

the cat who cried wolf

my cat, simba, is a talker. he’ll slink through the house mrowring on a loop.

when we first got him we thought he was just lost. we’d be in the bedroom and he’d by walking his track crying up a storm and thought, ‘he can’t find us,’ so we’d yell, “we’re in here!”

after over a year of this, we’ve come to realize that’s just simba. he’s a talker.

but he does this cat thing that probably all cats do. they hang out below you, concentrate on your feet, and if even one toe twitches in the direction of the kitchen, they jump up and start heading to the feeding trough as if to say, “time to feed the kitty. follow me.”

simba does this. but he does it all.the.time! whether the food bowl is empty or the food bowl is full, count on simba to tell you it’s “time to feed the kitty.”

he’s especially adamant when i get up in the morning and when i walk in the door from work in the evening. that’s food time and simba is a creature of habit. even if there are kibbles staring back up at him from the bowl, he must have his ritual. i will go through the actions of feeding him while really only adding a few more bits. but it makes him happy.

the ritual i get.

but then there’s those totally random moments where he does it. and i think, ‘gosh maybe they’ve really eaten everything up and he’s still hungry,’ so i peek and... bowls are full.

he so cries wolf! and he stands there staring at me telling me “time to feed the kitty” with an earnest look on his face.

seriously? i think he’s messing with me. i think he’s putting me through a drill or something.

next time, i will not get up, i will not follow him into the kitchen, i will not i will not i will not.

gotta run. simba’s calling.

(does rosetta stone teach ‘cat’?)