Every once in a while over the years I have felt shocked, hurt, horrified, saddened, and sometimes even devastated over losing someone or some people or some thing or many things in my life seemingly all at once. Now sometimes this has had nothing to do with me whatsoever, but other times it absolutely has had to do with me. And here is why. It has to do with my big PURGE PRAYER I have prayed to God a number of times over the course of time.
“Lord, please take every person, place, and thing you want out of my life. And please put in my life every person, place, and thing you want in it.” Now sometimes I leave out the part about putting in my life the people, places, and things God desires to put in it. But the PURGE aspect anyway isn’t about what God brings into my life. It’s about what He has taken out! Let me give you an example.
Just yesterday the Lord took something HUGE that I was REALLY EXCITED about out of my life. Just like that. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I absolutely could not see it coming. Then all of a sudden I remembered that JUST ONE DAY BEFORE I had prayed with a brother in the Lord, “Please God take every person, place, and thing you want out of our lives.” Oh my! Truth is I had felt really good about saying the prayer, but my flesh was anything but happy when God answered it!
So here is the thing. And I have shared this in my writing countless times. GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT IS BEST. When we ask God to take out of our lives every person, place, or thing He wants out of our lives, we can rest assured HE WILL ANSWER THIS PRAYER AND ALL OUR PRAYERS ACCORDING TO HIS PERFECT WILL IN HIS PERFECT TIMING FOR HIS ALMIGHTY GLORY AND CONCERNING WHAT IS BEST FOR WE WHO ARE HIS CHILDREN AND SERVANTS!
I won’t be surprised if God does more purging in my life in the near future. And I know the very best response I can have to God’s answer to my big PURGE PRAYER is to TRUST HIM, TO BE THANKFUL TO HIM, TO REJOICE IN HIM, TO ABIDE IN HIM, TO FOLLOW HIM, and TO GLORIFY HIM!
Led to say the prayer?
As I wrap up this message, these verses come to mind. May they be an encouragement to us all!
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:1-6 KJV
Oh dear God, THANK YOU for answering my big PURGE PRAYER according to your perfect will. Thank you for comforting me through dealing with how you answered it. Thank you for teaching me to trust in you and to rejoice in you. Please, oh God, use this message to bring countless people to total surrender to and total devotion to you. Help them to desire as I do no matter how hard it is on the flesh to live to love and glorify you – no matter the cost to our flesh, oh Lord! Thank you God, AMEN!