Have you ever prayed and asked God one thing, and He seemed to answer with something that was totally off-topic? For most of my adult life, I felt this way when I prayed about my life’s calling or direction.
My prayer would always start out something like this: “God, I know You’ve called me to write, but it feels like there is something specific I should be writing. Would You show me, please God? Call, and I will do whatever You want me to do.”
Eventually, God would answer, but it seemed His answers to my plea for direction were totally incongruous with what I thought I was asking. His answers always seemed to come back to how to lose weight and get healthy. This was the one thing I didn’t think I could do. Plus, I didn’t consider this a life calling, like being a missionary, preacher, teacher or anything else that seemed godly.
What I didn’t see all of those years, though, was how very persistent He was with this answer. Recently, I was cleaning out my office and found all my old prayer journals. It was a rainy afternoon, perfect for revisiting my life. Reading through them helped me see my life in a different way.
Specific Instructions
Back in 1977, God had given me specific instructions I had never followed. This came during a prayer time where I asked Him how I could move the mountain of weight that was amassing on my body? He told me exactly what to do. One of those things was to stop eating sugar.
I told Him that I knew I’d lose weight if I did that, but I couldn’t do that. I said that because I didn’t think I could give up sugar for the rest of my life. I also thought I shouldn’t have to give it up because others could eat it, so I should be able to as well. For the next 30 years, I ignored His advice.
God did not forget, though. Any time I prayed about what I was supposed to be doing while here on earth, His answer would always come back to what He said back in 1977. Looking through my prayer journals I saw it clearly.
Read the rest of this article at teresashieldsparker.com and listen to Sweet Grace for Your Journey on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}
Teresa Shields Parker is the author of six books and two study guides, including her No. 1 bestseller, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds. Her sixth book, Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds, is live on Amazon. She blogs at teresashieldsparker.com. She is also a Christian weight loss coach (check out her coaching group at Overcomers Academy) and speaker. Don’t miss her podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, available on CPN.
Read articles like this one and other Spirit-led content in our new platform, CHARISMA PLUS.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
