Jen's prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "God is God"

God and I have been fighting a lot. My flesh wants to go one way and God's spirit is leading me to go the exact opposite direction. Needless to say, it's a lot of weepy prayers of me going, "Why God. Whyyyyyy."

*sigh*

A problem with young peoples like myself is we refuse to look to the future very often. I see what I want now and I know how I'm feeling and I think I know exactly what is best. Yet somehow when I talk to my older and wiser parents they have an entirely different idea because they're looking "down the road of my future." I want to brush off their advice, but even Steven Curtis Chapman is bringing up the obvious...

I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting

Although I realize what I need to do (God's told me and my parents have emphasized it), it still sucks. I can't see this picture God's painting, but if I just trust Him, it'll be so much prettier than what I currently have in mind.

Catie's prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "God is God"

God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God

There are so many times when I want to see the entire picture. I want to see where I'm going, what I should plan for, what I need to expect. However, that's not how God works. God works on his own time, in his own way. While I would like to be able to see the big picture now, it is probably for the better that I can't. For now, I'll try to be patient and let God tell me in his own time. It'll be better that way anyway.

Chris' prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "God is God"

I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting

When I heard this line, the first thing that came to mind was a video I saw awhile ago of a painter on stage in front of a large audience. As he painted, music played, and the painter would spin the canvas and paint various parts of the artwork, seemingly at random. Through much of the video, which was about 5 minutes long, the painting didn't look like much of anything. The randomness of the artist's strokes, coupled with not knowing which direction was up, made it very hard to decipher what he was trying to achieve. Suddenly though, right before the end, the artist spun the painting to its correct orientation, and the beauty of the painting was revealed to all.

According to Steven, and according to my experience, this is how God often works as well. He is working in all different areas of my life, setting up things that are seemingly unrelated, and then in an instant they all come together and produce a masterpiece. Though I may not be able to see the entire painting, I have to trust that the other parts are being worked on, and that it will all come together in the end.

Lord, please paint my world with your brush of Life.


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Katie's prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "God is God"

I am not God. That statement may sound like a no-brainer, but sometimes, it's not so easy to realize. I get into this habit of planning out my entire life, telling God how my life is going to go, what's best for me, all that. I take what should be God's role in my life and make it my role.

When I do take the time to see what God has in store for me, I don't always look fully. I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting. I may look at some part, think I see a dog and just run with it. Ok God, you want this to be a dog, I got it! That's great, cause it's exactly what I wanted for my life too! After a while, though, I'll look back at that part and suddenly, the dog looks like a chicken. But it can't be a chicken, it has to be a dog, because that's what God was calling me towards a month ago, and that's what I want for my life! So I move on with this delusion that I think I know what God wants for me, but really it's not.

I'm at a point in my life right now where I think what I saw as a dog is now becoming a chicken. That scares me, and I don't like it. I desperately want it to be a dog. But like I said at the beginning of this post, I'm not God.

God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God

pssst... I hope my dog-chicken thing didn't confuse you, they were metaphors, really. I don't really see a dog or a chicken in my immediate future. (:

Megan's prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "God is God"

God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting

I was talking with a friend a few months ago who had just got into a new relationship. She told me that it made her a bit nervous when she realized just how much she liked the guy, and that she was almost scared that it happened to quickly. She said instead of allowing herself to become worried and stress about it, she just gave it up to God. She told me that she prayed to God and trusted in Him, knowing that he would help lead her down the right path, whether it be with this guy or not.

So often I fail to see, or even think about, the big picture. I focus on myself and think of how I should plan my life, but after talking with my friend, I (once again) realized just how important it is to trust in God, knowing that only he can see the complete picture.