"Come Unto Me"

      

      Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:16 KJV) God wants me to trust Him like a little child trusts: with all my heart.

            I was a Community Bible Study Core Leader with some great ladies. One day last Spring our Teaching Director, Judy Bond, said, “I ask you all to simply be open to the idea of working with the children. Maybe you’re ready for a change. Being a core leader is intensive. Just be open to working with the children.”

            I sat there and felt she was speaking to me. I walked over afterward and said, “Judy, I can hardly believe I am saying this to you, but I am open to working with the children.” The rest is history. As September approached, I realized I had everything to learn about working with two year olds. These little people, around two feet tall, were going to teach me many things.

            Over and over in the scriptures believers are referred to as “children” of God. A little child has every kind of need – for sleep, for food, for drink, for hugs and embracing, for instruction, for being loved and received right where he is, right where she is.
 

            A little child, not yet two years old, can say things that leave you reeling, because you see he or she recognizes and understands things you would never have imagined. I have interacted with and spoken to adults for many years, but I realized I was clueless about relating to these little children.

            A little child’s trust and unquestioning dependence on its parent can be a model for us. They take your hand and you lead them from building to another. How I need to be led by the Lord minute by minute. I need to be instructed every day. I need to be guided every hour or I will not say the loving word they need to hear. I will not think the loving thought. If the Lord does not keep me every moment, I descend into an abyss of self-occupation.

           
        On any given day, if I get really hungry, having not eaten in a number of hours, I get desperate for something to eat. Our little ones eating their snacks is a perfect picture of how I feel. Nothing gets in their way. That bowl of snacks is devoured with purpose. I am utterly dependent on food and drink.hen I must ask myself, “How hungry am I for the Lord and for His Word?” I need to pray, “Lord, make me desperate for You and Your Word.” My very existence in a breath, a vapor/ He causes my heart to beat. 

It is wonderful to work with the little children at CBS. I am so thankful for CBS. It is wonderful to be a child of God. God wants me to trust Him like a little child trusts, with all my heart. So I pray, “Lord, make me like a little child, trusting in You with all my heart. Amen.”

Hilda Tecklenburg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally presented to the Leadership Council, Rutherfordton Day Class, January 14, 2015

Whatever it Takes

           Over the years, as I’ve prayed for my own heart, I’ve found these seven "D’s” from John Piper helpful. You might choose one “D” per day or you could choose one “D” as a theme for a week and pray through the whole list every seven weeks. You’ll also note that I have a scripture verse for each prayer. Other verses will come to mind as you pray and you might find it helpful to collect them so they are close at hand as the Spirit leads.

I begin each prayer with the phrase “Whatever it takes, Lord,” because the Bible teaches us to be bold and wholehearted in our praying, not reticent. This phrase tests my heart. How much do I want God and all he promises? Do I want true joy enough to ask for my Father’s loving discipline to wean me from joy-stealing sin? “Whatever it takes” prayers help me press toward the Father as I express childlike trust in Him.

Delight: “Whatever it takes, Lord, give me delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.” 

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4).    

 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) 

Desires: “Whatever it takes, Lord, align the desires of my heart with yours.”

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10) 

Dependence: “Whatever it takes, Lord, increase my awareness of my dependence on you in everything so that I will live continually by faith.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me

you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) 

Discernment: “Whatever it takes, Lord, teach me to discern good from evil through the rigorous exercise of constant practice.”

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14) 

Desperation: “Whatever it takes, Lord, keep me desperate for you because I tend to wander when I stop feeling my need for you.”

“Before I was afflicted I went astray,

but now I keep your word.” (Psalm 119:67) 

Discipline: “Whatever it takes, Lord, discipline me for my good that I may share your holiness and bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

“He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:10–11) 

Diligence: “Whatever it takes, Lord, increase my resolve to do your will with all diligence.”

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

making the best use of the time,

because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16) 

Very risky prayers, aren't they? Are we willing to go that far in desiring God? Do we trust Him that much?

 

Think and meditate on these things.

Evelyne Calton

Prayer Chairman

CBS Rutherfordton Class 

All quoted scripture is from the English Standard Version.

Find John Piper on his Desiring God website http://www.desiringgod.org