Tag Archives: God answers prayer

Pray Anyway

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Genesis 22-24

The man prayed. And before he said “Amen,” the answer to his prayer was right in front of him. Now, you might say Rebekah went to the well every night at that time. Must be a coincidence, right?

Not at all. To prove this was more than a happy accident, God gave Rebekah the exact words the man prayed.

This was a direct answer to prayer.

I talked to my sister this morning before I read these chapters in Genesis. I love God’s timing. She told me that she and her daughter had taken two cross necklaces to a jeweler. They needed a chain for one of the crosses, and the chain for the other one repaired. The owner of the store explained that their business was struggling so they no longer did repairs, and they didn’t have what they were looking for. So my sister picked up the boxes from the counter and returned to their car.

My niece said she would take the necklaces to another jeweler at a later time, so they headed back home. My sister sat in the passenger seat, holding the two boxes. When they pulled into my niece’s garage, her mom handed her the boxes, got into her own car and headed home. At least that what my sister remembered happening.

Later, my niece asked her mom if she had the necklaces. My sister reminded her that she had given the boxes to her. I think both mom and daughter doubted the memory of the other at this point. And neither was 100% sure their own memory was correct.

My niece and her husband have a security camera in their garage, so she looked at the video and watched her mom hand her the boxes, watched herself take those boxes into the house. Mystery solved. Well, kind of. Now she knew they got into the house. But where were they now?

She started looking everywhere. Then, when she didn’t find them, she looked again. When her husband got home, he looked. For two days they searched. I’m pretty sure there isn’t an inch in the whole house that wasn’t uncovered. Still, no jewelry boxes.

My sister, seeing how upset her daughter was after days of frantic search, prayed. “God, please help her find those boxes.”

About that time, my niece wondered if she had somehow put them in the trash. But the trash was at the street ready for pick-up. She hurried to the curb and pulled out three bags. She figured the top two bags had been filled after the jewelry went missing. So she opened the third bag and there – on the top – were the missing boxes!

An answer to prayer, or a coincidence?

Sometimes we seem to think there are some things we should just handle on our own. It’s such a little problem, we don’t want to bother God. He’s a busy guy. So we try this, then that, we search here, then there. And finally, we pray.

Friend, let me encourage you to pray. Not as a last resort, but may prayer be our first line of defense. The man’s answered prayer in the chapters we read today in Genesis, and my sister’s testimony today ought to remind us that God answers prayer. God delights in answering our prayers. We have not because we ask not.

These two examples aren’t necessarily about getting a wife for Isaac or finding two valuable pieces of jewelry. Both these examples point to a God who is intimately involved in the lives of his children. This is about a God who answers prayer. Yes, I know not all prayers are answered in this same way. Some prayers are answered with a “No,” or a “Wait.”

Pray anyway. Then trust the Lord to answer your prayer in exactly the way He knows is best. And when you get an answer to prayer… shout it from the rooftops. Or tell it to a sister who might put it in a blog and into cyberspace.

And may God be glorified when we pray.

Squandering A Blessing

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John 6

Jesus was focused on His mission. But the Jewish people didn’t want a spiritual Savior, they wanted a human king, someone like them who would overthrow Roman rule. Jesus knew they were eager to make Him into that king. But becoming that king would have been disobedience, and Jesus wasn’t having anything to do with that. He was not about to compromise the mission.

So Jesus did something that spoke to me today. He removed Himself from their presence, and went instead into the Presence of the Father. Jesus went up the mountain alone to find a secluded spot where He could pray in private.

We Christians are being coerced into compromise these days. Giving in is the easy thing to do. But it’s sin. We go ahead and call people by their preferred pronouns, pretending along with sinners that a person can change his or her God-given gender. We embrace sin, tolerate false teaching, blend in so as not to offend way too often. We’ve even changed the way we worship so it’s appealing to non-believers, instead of what is required of the One we are supposed to be worshiping. Compromise has become the norm, and it’s becoming a requirement for Christians.

I’m wondering if we shouldn’t learn from Jesus’ example. Have we neglected the blessing of prayer, the incredible privilege of shutting ourselves off from the world for a moment to spend some intimate time with the Creator God who loves us? Even Jesus knew the importance of intentional communion with the Father. Shouldn’t it be obvious that we need it even more?

I think the evidence that we are squandering this blessing of prayer is plainly seen. If we were praying for God to reveal sin in us, He would. If we asked Him to cleanse our hearts, He would. If we asked Him for strength to stand up to the temptation to compromise, He’d gladly give us the strength. We have not because we ask not.

And we compromise because we don’t have the strength to stand. Look around. Are we happy with where our compromises have taken us?

We have the privilege of prayer. It might take some effort to climb a mountain to get alone with God. We might have to step away from technology for a few minutes, remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of life, from our families and friends. It might be a bit inconvenient. But anything worth having is worth working for.

And I think tapping into the gift of prayer is worth it. How sad when we squander this precious privilege of prayer.

(I Kings 8) Be Specific

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When King Solomon prayed, he covered all the bases, everything he could think of that would cause God to remove Himself from the people:

When a man takes an oath, when our enemies defeat us, when there is drought, or famine, when foreigners come, when we sin, when there is pestilence, blight, mildew, locusts, plague, illness… may your people return to You. Then God, hear our prayers and forgive.

I’m sitting here realizing that God would have me be more specific in my prayers, too. Not because He needs direction. But because it is a way of searching my heart, of putting my needs into words. It is identifying what I’m asking God to do, so that I will recognize His hand when answers to prayer come.

The Bible teaches that God hears… and answers… the prayers of His people. Let’s be specific.

Astonished? Why? (Acts 11-12)

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The believers were being persecuted. King Herod had arrested many, and even had Jesus’ disciple James, put to death because James preached about Jesus. Peter was arrested and was imprisoned with a death sentence over his own head.

Many believers got together to pray. We find them in the home of Mary the mother of John Mark, no doubt pleading with God during this scary time. We don’t read their words, but I imagine they prayed for God’s mercy, His protection, His will to be done in their situation. I imagine they prayed specifically for Peter, “God, please spare his life, undertake on his behalf, save him from Herod’s evil plan.”

While they were praying, they heard a knock on the door. Rhoda, a little servant girl, went and probably put her ear to the door. She whispered, “Who’s there?” Peter, no doubt with his own ear up to the door whispered back, “It’s me! Peter!”

Rather than opening the door and letting Peter into the house, Rhoda rushed back and interrupted the prayer meeting. “Peter is here,” she exclaimed. The praying believers responded:

“Impossible!”

“You’re crazy!”

“It must be his angel, which means they’ve killed him!”

Rhoda kept insisting, Peter kept knocking, until someone from the prayer group went to open the door and see for himself.

There stood Peter! Their prayers had been answered, but Scripture tells us they were astonished. They couldn’t believe their eyes, yet they had been praying for that very thing. There before them stood the answer to their prayers, yet they were astonished.

Jesus Himself had told them, “Have faith in God… Therefore I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22,24)

Jesus also said, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

I wonder how many times I have prayed to God for something, but somewhere in the back of my brain I don’t think He’ll answer that prayer. I know many people are praying these days that God will turn this country around, that people will return to God and that He will restore our land. But I wonder if we really believe He will.

I also wonder how many times God has answered a prayer of mine, and I was astonished to see it. Should it surprise me when God is faithful to His Word?

I am challenged today to pray believing. I am challenged to pray specifically for people and situations, to tell God what is really on my heart. I am challenged to trust Him with the outcome, and to be looking for His answer so I don’t miss it. And I am challenged to pray in His name, with the intent that the answer to my prayers would glorify Him and draw people to the cross.

I will pray, “God help us. God defeat Satan in our government, in our society, and in our churches and homes. God take away this virus. God heal the unrest, send a revival, open eyes and unite us as one nation under God.”

And I will be listening for that knock on the door, expecting God to hear and answer my prayers for Jesus’ sake and for His glory. Seeing answers to my prayers might blow me away, but I never want those answers to surprise me.

Jeremiah 26-29; God’s Got Plans

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There are a lot of verses in the Bible that seem to indicate God wants His children to be healthy and wealthy, or at least receive the things they ask Him for. 29:11 is one of them.

So is John 14:14, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.“

And Matthew 21:22, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.“

There are dozens more. You probably can come up with some off the top of your head, too. God promises to bless His people, to answer our prayers. And I believe Him.

But I look at the Bible as a whole and see many, many examples of God’s children not receiving what they ask for. Believers who are sick, tortured, poor. Paul said he prayed three times about something and God never granted him what he wanted.

So which is it? Is God true to His word, or not?

More than we ask or think!

We are short-sighted if we limit God’s promises to the material. Yes, God answers our prayers for physical healing, or financial relief. Sometimes He gives us the desires of our hearts. But not always.

If we limit God to answering only our material needs, we miss out on the greater thing. How does God prosper His children?

I am with you always… (Matthew 28:20)

Peace I give you… (John 14:27)

If you confess your sins… I will forgive… (I John 1:9)

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Remain in me and I will remain in you… (John 15:4)

I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am… John 14:3)

There are more. God promises His presence, His strength, His joy, His righteousness, His help in our time of need. Someone told me once that I can believe all that because I’m not hurting, I’m not hungry, I’m not homeless, I’m not being persecuted. But I know there are hurting, hungry, homeless, and persecuted people who know the truth of these promises even better than I because of their circumstances.

The interesting thing to me about this is that, the closer I get to God, the more time I spend with Him in His Word and in prayer, the more I find His desires become mine. I think less about my physical comfort, and more about reaching the lost, or more about the needs of my neighbors. My prayers become more about others than about myself.

My friend, Toni, lived much of her life in great pain. She had a disease called HS from the time she was a child, and doctors were unable to do much to help her. But she never lost her joy in the Lord. She never lost her servant’s heart even on those days it was hard to move.

There is a youth convention in Atlanta held on New Years day each year, and Toni felt led to volunteer on New Years Day last year, 2017. She had such a burning desire, but common sense told her it was too much for her, as her pain had increased to an almost unbearable level. She talked to her husband. They prayed. And they went.

My friend was a greeter at that conference for hundreds of teenagers. Her job was to hold the door, and welcome the kids as they went into the worship services. She said she “fist-pumped” dozens and dozens of young people that day. In fact, she came home with bruised knuckles. But, she said, “I felt called to be a door holder.”

Four months later, she was diagnosed with colon cancer that had already spread. Her pain, that she thought was from her HS, was in fact from the cancer that was destroying her organs. But I will tell you, even with this devastating news, Toni believed in the plans God had for her, plans to prosper (her) and not to harm (her), plans to give (her) hope and a future.

God has plans. His plans include showering you with the forgiveness Jesus’ blood bought for you. He wants to fill you, build you up, be your joy and confidence. He wants to draw near to you, to walk with you, and finally, to bring you home to be with Him forever.

That’s where my friend lives today. She’s finally home.

Our road might be hard. Or we might enjoy the physical comforts of this world. But with Paul, let’s “learn to be content whatever the circumstances… whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need…” (Philippians 4:12-13)

And let’s trust God to bless us with Himself, to give us what we need when we need it and not a moment before. Let’s give Him our hearts, and let Him work out the rest as we obey Him.

Let’s trust God’s plans.