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Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! (Psalm 4:1, ESV)
I recently said to myself, “I’ve done all that I can; now all I can do is pray.”
My statement was a resolution, like saying, “Okay, God, I’ve done all that I can do. I’ve tried, but it’s not resolved, so please help me.”
Instead of ending our efforts with an exasperated “What else can I do?” we should start solving problems by saying, “Well, God, I’m at the beginning of this, and I realize there is nothing that I can do.”
Ultimately our fate and the result of our own actions lie in the hands of God, and there is little that we can do about anything. So instead of spending days in frustration, why don’t we start with this assumption?
God, I can’t do this!
What does this look like in our lives? How would it look if we started every day, every project, and solved every problem with an “I can’t” attitude?
First: We realize that God works best when we say, “I can’t.” By not having false faith in ourselves, we can believe in the God of possibility.
Second: Saying “I can’t” is a different frame from which to make decisions. If we consider only solutions that are within our “I can,” we accomplish little, as our best efforts of “I can” are paltry facsimiles of God’s greatness.
Third: We see God work mightily and grow in faith. If we say, “No problem, I can do this,” we will be limited by our strength. We get to know God fully when we say, “I can’t,” and experience the “He can” from passages like Ephesians 3:20…
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think (NLT).
God is a master of placing us in “I can’t” situations. He doesn’t enjoy our predicaments, but He allows them so that resultant deep faith will give us peace through all conflict.
The next time someone says, “I can’t do this,” respond by saying, “Praise the Lord! Now you have an opportunity to learn that God can.”
Our most effective prayer should be, “God, I can’t, but I have confidence that You can!”