Usually, at the beginning of the year or before our birthday, we draw up a wish list. This list could include things we want for ourselves or things we want to happen. The list may include an iPad2, a dream house, a trip to Batanes, putting up a restaurant, meeting a favorite celebrity, or maybe doing something crazy like bungee jumping. The more difficult it is to fulfill the list, the more intense we pray to God to make them come true. After all, with God nothing is impossible, right? If you want your wish list fulfilled, don't come to a fictional genie, but come to a real God who can make a nation in a day or who can make water come out of a rock in a desert.
But do you know that God also has a wish list and only you can satisfy Him? A verse in the middle of the Bible says it this way, "How I wish my people would listen to Me; how I wish they would obey Me!"* Sure, God is delighted to hear our prayers but He will be pleased as well if He sees us seeking not only His blessings but seeking Him with all our hearts! This verse seems to tell me that God wants to be heard, that He wants to tell me things--maybe things like His good plans for me, His promises (that will not be broken), advice for a project I'm working on, and yes, I will not rule out even a rebuke or a command. I suspect that most of the time we're scared to hear from God because we think of Him as a stern figure. But the truth is, God is a loving Heavenly Father who wants the best for each one of us. He wants us to obey Him because what He's telling us to do is the best for us even when we think it's not.
It's difficult to find time to read God's love letter--the Bible--or to be sensitive to an impression from Him. What's more difficult is to obey Him. But I believe if we are at least willing, He will give us the grace to do so.
Will you fulfill God's wish list? Will you do what you feel He wants you to do this year?
*Psalm 81:3 Good News Translation
