Praise God for working wonderfully through imperfect humans

Before I begin today's praise devotional, I simply have to say that God is faithful. When I felt within my spirit, the call of His Spirit to do a praise a day, I honestly didn't know what I'd come up with. But God is faithful. Sometimes I feel that it is He who is giving me the day's topic, and sometimes I think it's me just kinda winging it and being quite free to choose whatever topic I think of. But I have never run out of ideas.

This reminds me of what happened the day before Wind Follower was to be sent by the publisher to the printer to be uploaded, printed, and bound. I woke up with the impression: "Carole, you didn't put an epigram/epigraph in the beginning of the book." God uses our own soul to speak so English isn't the issue...the impression is. I didn't know if the real word was epigram or epigraph but I knew exactly what he meant. I was supposed to have a Bible verse in front of Wind Follower. As usual, He didn't tell me which particular verse. I was free to choose any. I just had to find one. So I got three verses and emailed them to the editor at Juno. Three Biblical verses, mind you. At a secular press. I told her to choose one. She put in all three. Isn't God good? But what was weird about that incident is A) I hadn't even been thinking of epigrams/epigraphs and getting this tought on the day before the book was going to press showed me that God was thinking of my book and those verses were needed for some reason He knew of. Plus B) God gave me the leeway to choose any old verse I wanted and C) Ask for what you want. Don't edge your bets. Go all out.

I am always amazed at how God has made us His co-laborers. How wonderful He is! We have a treasure in earthen vessels. Christ in us the hope of glory! God in us -- Emmanuel. And yet we are so imperfect so loony so prone to our besetting sins and so frail. And yet, it is the Called Out ones, Christians, whom God uses...even in our imperfection and faithlessness and sin.

Sometimes I'm supposed to be praying for someone to be healed, let's say. And Lord knows I am...but then hubby sincerely p*sses me off and I don't want to forgive him but there I am at the same time praying for someone else to be healed. When I am annoyed with husband or son or life or when I am angry that I'm not rich, I may want to touch God but I also am very attached to my anger or my lust or my greed and I don't want to put it aside to pray. Yet God hears me.

I'm not saying that all my prayers get answered. And I'm definitely not saying that all my prayers get answered when I'm obviously doing something the Bible warns me against doing. Sometimes I know very well that one of my attitudes is getting in the way of a blessing or a prayer. Yet, how many more times have God answered my prayers even when I was in the middle of sin and unforgiveness and doubt. How lovely our God is! If we were to understand His love, oh my!!! He is just sooooo loving.