"Wrestle Within"

"O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?" (Psalms 80:4) When it comes to prayer, most of our prayers are petitions, asking God for this or for that; which really isn't a bad thing, because the prayer Jesus modeled for the disciples had petitions within it. But there needs to be something expectant within our petitions, something that glorifies God, not us. Seeing that this Psalm is geared towards restoration, then is it restoration to our glory in God, or God's glory in us? I marvel at the way Jesus took on the cross. Here was a Man who was really more than just a man; in fact, He referred to Himself as "The Son of Man," yet He was God manifested in the flesh. When you study His prayer, that prayer He prayed the night He was arrested, He knew full well that what He was about to go through would be humiliating, to say the least. Yet He gladly faced what many would soon marvel at with great amazement. What holds us back from letting it all go? Pride is usually the primary force that prevents us from giving it all to God; just the thought of letting go and giving it all to God, it is hard to commit to that kind of a freefall. Will God catch me? Will I have any integrity left when it's all said and done? These are just a couple of the wrong prayers to be focused upon! Our focus needs to be on restoration with God, first and foremost! At whatever the cost, that needs to be the object of our concern, and the desire of our heart. Restoration is something that happens over and over; on many different levels, and in many different areas of our lives. When we first came to Christ, our soul was restored to fellowship with God, in that very instant. That was the eternal restoration which was manifested by God's gift of giving His Son, that we might have eternal life. Now that we have been reconciled to God, there are other restorations which must take place in our lives; like to our spirit and body, our minds and our hearts, our will and desires...
"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong -you want only what will give you pleasure. You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble." So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor." (James 4:1-10) NLT