Greatness of Thought

Scripture:
"Get behind be Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interest, but man's." Matthew 16:23

Observation:
Peter filtered his emotions through his own thoughts of God. By doing so, he was limited to his capacity to understand the things of God.

Application:
It is impossible to miss the fact that all the great men whose stories unfold on the pages of the Bible had incredible thoughts about God. Their interests were focused on things that were impossible for them to accomplish. Many times, they were sent on a mission that was not all that pleasant. They faced rejection, humiliation, persecution, physical torture and even death; yet these men maintained their ability to articulate great thoughts of God.

When I survey my on thoughts, I am ashamed to say what I find. My thoughts are not great. My thoughts are not even that good. In fact, my thoughts are not really thoughts; their questions. My ability to think great thoughts of God is strictly limited by my ability to get my mind around the questions that I have. Often when I find myself thinking about the greatness of God, I get lost in the how, why, and when’s of life.

The torture of these moments is that I know God enough that I can never walk away from my beliefs. Yet in still, my questions lead to doubts which can make believing really difficult. In these moments, I find myself torn between my doubts and beliefs just like a man strapped to two stallions pulling in opposite directions.

Prayer:
This prayer scares me a little. It actually scares me a lot. But I need to be honest with You. Sense You already know my thoughts it is really silly to fear sharing them, but it is hard all the same.

When I try to think great thoughts of You, I get lost. I either feel like I am forcing something or it starts me down a path of questioning that leads me to sitting in a maze of dead ends. Try as I may; I just never seem to be able to open my mind to the realities of just how great You are.

The scary part of this prayer is letting go, but I need for You to take over my thoughts. Teach me to pray. Teach me to think. Open my eyes to the fullness of Your majesty and power. Allow my life to be transformed by my impression of Your greatness. I ask today that You destroy every false thought I have and replace it with something that is bigger than anything I could come up with on my own.