Many times in life we want things
Things we see as good
     as necessary
     as harmless
And we pray and we ask God
Give us this thing we want
     and we set about
     to obtain our desire
Helping ourselves to our want
Feeding our hunger for it
     with our own commentary
     surely this is best?

We pray, for we’d not pursue this
Without praying and asking
     God grant me this
     Bless me in this way
We are persistent like the widow
We shall find what we seek
     the Bible tells us
     seek and you will find
We have not because we ask not
God desires to give us good things
     this is surely on His list
     our reward for this day.

In our praying we are focused
This that we want so badly
     must be God’s will
     it is a good thing
Obstacles are to be overcome
Caution signs prayed past
     detour signs ignored
     for this is right and good
When what we want is delayed
Red flags, warnings appear
     we want it badly still
     it is for us the brass ring.

Yet God is saying “No my child”
This isn’t what I have for you
     wait a little longer
     open your eyes
Perhaps financing falls through
Or houses fail inspection
     family feuds begin
     we have to settle instead
Everywhere we look is turmoil
Unexpected roadblocks appear
     our desire grows stronger
     we overlook stormy skies.

The way seems so right to us
What we want so benign
     surely it is God’s will
     this is a blessing we seek
And we reshape puzzle pieces
We redraw the road map
     we cover up pitfalls
     we make the picture fit
So sure are we that we know
That for us this is the best
     we desire it badly still
     do we hear God speak?

“What I have for you is better.”
“This will happen in my time.”
     we ignore these words
     we turn off our ears
“…broad is the way…to destruction…”
“I know the plans I have…”
     but this is our want
     this is our desire
We mean to follow God in all
Our intention is to honor Him
     but we have not heard
     we do not truly hear.

Then this we wanted is ours
See we are right after all
     the others had less belief
     we were right all along
This person is now our spouse
The job is now our position
     we have achieved our goal
     the wanted is ours
The car is ours to drive
The house is ours as home
     “Oh what a relief!”
     Hear how sweet the song?

Until the skipped stitches
Cause the dream to unravel
     the ignored can’t continue to be
     obstacles beckon in droves
The raise just isn’t enough
The new employer closes shop
     the car breaks down
     the spouse walks out
Didn’t we pray about this?
Did we not seek the Lord?
     Yes, but we now see,
     we ignored God’s no.
               d.f.a.v. 3-24-14

Are we listening?
–Donna