Day 22: Prayer Fleece

Hey SIS!!

The partial scripture Mark Batterson used for today was taken from Judges 6:37, and it reads “I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor.” Now if you are like me and continued reading where Batterson starting referring to “a prayer fleece before the Lord,” then you probably thought to yourself: “Wait, what is the deal with this prayer fleece!?!” That is when I had to open my bible and research the passage in its entirety.

 From Judges 6 I read how God called Gideon to be a leader in rescuing Israel but Gideon had serious inhibitions about what God was calling him to do. Judges 6: 36-37 reads, “Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” That’s when it clicked! Instead of praying to God and stepping out on faith, a prayer fleece is when we come to God asking first for a signal. Its like saying “Hey, I’m uncertain You really want me to do this so can You give me a sign?” We have all been here, right?

 I can remember a time dating this guy long term and everytime issues came up in our relationship I would pray for God to get me through. So much that I eventually psyched myself out and started to overlook the completely unhealthy aspects of our relationship. I mean every couple has issues right?! We were going to get married one day, so this Had to Work! Besides, he needed me in his life to make him better and I just loved him SO much!  (Can anyone else relate?) Then, after years of great ups and downs, it happened. Something inside of me started to turn. At that time I didn't know it but God had started to call on me. Or maybe He was calling me all along but I was too busy being the “good girlfriend” to a man He never told me to be with in the first place. Regardless, I secretly wrestled with the thought God was trying to get my attention and something just clicked one day. As I was entering the doorway to my boyfriend’s apartment building I stopped dead in my tracks and said, “Wait. God, if you do not want me to be with him show me something great and then I will leave and never come back.”  Little did I know how impactful that prayer fleece was. Within 24 hours of that short yet heartfelt prayer, God removed the veil I had placed over my eyes and I found myself literally fighting to the door. Bags hurriedly packed. Heart-broken. Tears flowing. Never to return again.

 As Batterson notes,”As you press into God’s presence, old sinful desires die, and new holy desires are birthed in your spirit” and although I did not realize it at the time, this was exactly what was happening to me. When I started to consistently acknowledge that God was trying to get my attention (the press), then the old desire of wanting to stay in my relationship started to die and the new desire of what God wanted began to be birthed into existence. Not that I stopped loving the guy I was with, because that was FAR from the case, but in that instance at his apartment building my focus went from what my boyfriend and I wanted to what God wanted and the rest was history.

 While we should not make prayer fleeces a regular practice in our prayer life, Batterson notes “there are occasions when it’s OK to ask God for confirmation because of our uncertainty.”

Yet here are some things Batterson warned about when it comes to fleeces:

“First, if God has already answered your question in Scripture, then you don't need to even ask it. Don’t seek revelation when God has already given it. Second, check your motives to make sure they aren’t selfish. The fleece must come out of a genuine desire to honor God and do His will. Third, you have to be willing to accept whatever answer you receive without second-guessing it.”

 

Now to think if I never put that prayer fleece before the Lord that day, where would I be? Well SIS, although it hurt so much to leave, I am SO GLAD I made the decision to follow God so I NEVER have to find out!!

Say this prayer with me:

 Lord, I thank You for Your patience with me. I acknowledge that I am not always certain on what You would like for me to do. I ask forgiveness for times I have disobeyed and lacked faith. Or even ignored You when You were trying to get my attention. Father, I ask that if I do have selfish motives, You will remove them. I want to be able to come to You with pure intentions for answers that I was not lead to in Your word. And Father, whatever You desire, open my heart so I will be able to accept your answer without looking back. I trust you. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

   Message From The Ladies of Saved In Style:)

 

Post Written By: SIS Leigh