How is your prayer life? Do you pray daily? What do you ask for when you pray? Are your prayers getting answered? If not, do you know why? These are all the questions I asked myself. The questions were brought about during my study time. I was reading in I John. I John Chapter 5 to be exact. I came across verses 14 and 15.
'And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for'. (NLT)
I stopped reading and started thinking about my prayer life. I had to say that it is okay. (can be better) Then I started thinking about what I pray for. I'm not asking to be a millionaire. My requests are pretty level-headed. Most of my prayers are for someone else. So I'm not even praying selfishly. Then I thought about whether or not my prayers are being answered. I just read a verse that says that I can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything and we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for. So yes my prayers are being answered. My problem is I don't always like the answer.
Now go back three sentences and read what I wrote. Notice anything? Some thing is missing. Five very important words. 'In line with his will'. See how easy it was for me to see 'What was in it for me'. It was so easy that I omitted the part that was probably the reason I wasn't getting the answer I expected. This was my Ah-hah moment. You see I was praying, every day in fact. But the part I really had to think about was if I was praying in line with His will. Which led me to another question. How do I know the will of God? By getting to know Him better. By talking to Him. By reading His Word. And if we really don't know we be sure to include the words, 'Thy Will Be Done", which sometimes cancels out everything we just prayed for. You see often times we become frustrated either with unanswered prayer or 'wrong' answered prayer. At least we think the answer is wrong. Especially if it's not the one we wanted. This one simple detail was a big challenge for me. For some reason I could understand it better if I was praying some crazy prayer - like becoming a millionaire. But I was praying for someone's health, to find a job, etc. Simple, reasonable things. And you know what happened, the loved one passed on and I remained unemployed. My logical conclusion was God didn't answer me. He most certainly didn't give me what I asked for. I specifically asked Him to heal my grandmother and to help me find a job within three months. My family could survive at least that long.
I am not going to take a deep dive at this time into the will of God. Maybe at a later date. It is important to understand the will of God. And if you are really unsure about it, what a great opportunity for you to spend in the Word and talking to God. You can never go wrong to praying the scriptures. I do it quite often. (Not because God needs a reminder of what He said but because I know it is in line with His will. After all, it was God-breathed.) But I want to share with you how I learned to accept the answers I received. I accepted that God is Sovereign. He can do what He wants to do when He wants to do it. When you accept this concept there is a peace that comes over you like no other. I'm telling you what I know. I experienced it. God is a good God but he allows evil. The Murrah building bombing. The World Trade Center. God is a loving God, yet He allows us to experience hurt and pain. Death. Divorce. Disease. And even with all of this I would so much rather be in His hands than anyone else's.
The other thing I came to grips with was God's timing. What we consider an eternity is like a second to our God. We must learn to accept that He knows when we are ready to receive whatever it is He has in store for us. If you set God on a time schedule, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. And I know you don't like to be disappointed. So sometimes we must wait. But it is not a hopeless wait. It is a hopeful wait. A wait that we are excited about because we know that God Almighty is in control. That is why we trust Him. We exercise our faith - our internal engine. We are confident that He will answer us. And we don't walk around with our lip stuck out when we don't like the answer.
Today I asked lots of questions. God's word and those who write about God's word should make you think. It should bring about change. Just when I have determined in my mind to give up on God or determine that He must not want something for me, that's when He shows up. And there has never been a time that it was not on time. So I continue to pray. I pray with an expectant heart. I have no doubt that He will answer. I know that He is Sovereign. His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts. But just like the painter who sees the big picture when starting off with a blank canvas and the architect who draws a few lines that becomes a giant skyscraper, I know that as I pray in line with God's will and accept His answer, I too will become a great masterpiece.
Our Father, which art in heaven. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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